DECEMBER 2007

Going Green: The First in a Series of Articles about Green

By Tom Kapusta, AIA

We’ve all been reading about it, and some of us have been practicing it: the responsible actions necessary to manage our office spaces in ways that are less harmful to our environment and our planet. Some of us have even accomplished projects or practices that are recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as LEED Certified.

LEED is the U.S. Green Building Council’s designation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The LEED standards have been created for guiding facility managers and architects through many types of projects. They are currently organized by categories such as Existing Buildings (LEED-EB), Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI), or New Construction (LEED-NC), just to name a few.

 TKA designed the recently completed expansion of the Chicago Center for Green Technology, Chicago’s premiere public resource center and training facility for sustainable design. The LEED Accredited Professional has filed applications for the center to be judged as a Platinum LEED-CI Certified project, which is the highest level of LEED certification. Having just accomplished this project, and with other LEED-CI projects recently designed or on the “drawing board” now, we would like to share parts of the LEED rating system with readers of the NI-IFMA newsletter, and intend to cover the topic of LEED Commercial Interiors projects over the next several months.

This first article can be thought of as an introduction to the “Going Green” series that will address the art of sustainable design in building projects. To lead into this expanding topic, it is important to understand where the “green” movement has come from. Many people talk about sustainable design but few truly understand the implications of it, or rather, the implications of ignoring it. Global climate change. Reliance on politically unstable regimes for non-renewable energy sources. Non-biodegradable and often hazardous waste piling up in landfills. Human health disasters. Species extinction. These are just some of the problems we are facing if we continue to follow status-quo building methods. If that’s not enough to convince anyone that sustainable design is worth pursuing, there are also significant cost savings over the life of a building which can be realized through sustainable design. So whether one falls into the “do the right thing” camp or “the only green I care about is money” camp, sustainable design makes sense for everyone.

The basic Golden Rule of the environmental movement is: Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle. Adding a fourth “R”, Renew, completes the sustainability circle. These simple fundamentals hold true for sustainable buildings as well, and can be used to guide every design decision, in order to create a smart, sustainable building. In a later article, we'll also explore the idea of a fifth "R," Responsibility.

First, the idea of Reducing. Most importantly, reduce the amount of space we build into our buildings. This can be accomplished by working closely with end-users to determine the minimum amount of space needed to meet programmatic requirements. Creating spaces that multi-task is also a great way to reduce a building’s footprint. When the built area of a building is minimized, other great “reducing” effects occur, not only at inception, but throughout the lifecycle of the building: less materials are needed to construct the building, less heating, cooling and lighting is needed during operations, and less cleaning products and staff are needed to maintain the building.

Other strategies for Reducing include: Reduce the amount of water that is needed to operate faucets and toilets by using high efficiency fixtures, no-irrigation landscaping and greywater systems. Reduce conventional heating and cooling load by using passive solar heating, natural ventilation and super-insulated walls. Reduce the power required for lighting by providing access to natural light, designing to appropriate light levels, and using individual control and dimming systems. Reduce transportation energy expenditure by choosing locally manufactured and indigenous products. Reduce the heat island effect by using green roof technology (which has other sustainable benefits) or by using light-colored roofing materials.

Next comes Re-using. This one is simple: Renovate existing buildings rather than building new. Naturally, systems and assemblies need to be assessed for replacement to maximize energy efficiency and longevity. Should these require replacement, the other R’s kick in.

Last on the basic list of R’s: Recycle. This applies both to waste generated at the construction site as well as construction materials used in the building. Creating and enforcing construction waste management plan can divert much of the waste generated at construction sites from landfills. A good construction waste management plan includes provisions for re-using intact materials in the finished product, and on-site recycling of certain others (such as concrete). Using a high percentage of post-consumer or post-industrial recycled materials reduces the demand for extracting raw materials from the earth. Choosing construction materials that can be easily recycled at the end of their useful life is also a great way to keep construction materials out of landfills.

And the final R in the sustainability circle: Renew. This R applies to products created from the earth’s raw materials, as well as the energy sources that we choose to power, heat and cool the building. By substituting products created out of rapidly renewable raw materials such as bamboo, straw, and cork for more conventional products made from petroleum-based materials and old-growth timber, we are being responsible stewards of the earth’s forests and reducing our dependence on finite petroleum sources. By choosing renewable “micro-power” energy sources such as solar and wind power, we further reduce our dependence on polluting, depletable, and climate-affecting energy sources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear power.

These simple, cost-effective strategies are often overlooked or under-emphasized in the pursuit of more cutting-edge technological answers. Once the private sector embraces and mainstreams these strategies to create responsible buildings, the environmental, social and economic payoff is huge. Over the next several months, we will be explaining the LEED rating system, and will demonstrate some simple opportunities to look for in your existing building management, or in your next office construction project. In the meantime, look for opportunities to Go Green!