Transcript Green Architecture - Environmental Science and Policy at SIO

Green Architecture
Green Materials
LEED
Renovating Buildings
Cost
Leilei Shih
What is Green Building?
Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings
and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building
impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting,
design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — taking
into account every aspect of the complete building life cycle.
Green Building (continued)
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Sustainable development and sustainability are
integral to green building. Effective green building
can lead to
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1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity
and using less energy and water,
2) improved public and occupant health due to improved
indoor air quality,
and
3) reduced environmental impacts by using sustainable
resources.
Green Architecture
Practitioners of green building often seek to
achieve not only ecological balance but aesthetic
harmony as well.
 The buildings are built out of materials that are
good for the environment. The appearance and
style of sustainable homes and buildings can be
nearly indistinguishable from their less sustainable
counterparts.
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Energy Conservation
Over one-third of the U.S.’s
energy is consumed by buildings
-This does not consider the amount of energy
used in the manufacture of building materials or
the finite resources used in product
composition
 Construction debris accounts for nearly 28% of
landfill waste
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What is LEED?
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LEED is the U.S. Green Building Council's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building
rating program.
The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is the
nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction,
and operation of high performance green buildings.
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to
sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas
of human and environmental health:
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sustainable site development
water savings
energy efficiency
materials selection, and
indoor environmental quality
LEED (continued)
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LEED-certified buildings:
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are leading the transformation of the built environment
are built as designed and perform as expected
have lower operating costs and increased asset value
are healthy and comfortable for their occupants
reduce waste sent to landfills
conserve energy and water
reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions
qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances, and other incentives in
hundreds of cities
demonstrate an owner's commitment to environmental stewardship
and social responsibility
LEED (continued)
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LEED designation has 4 possible levels: Certified,
Silver, Gold, and Platinum
LEED applies to both new construction and existing
buildings.
There are LEED standards for commercial construction
and private homes
Since its inception in 1998, LEED has grown to
encompass over 14,000 projects in all 50 US States.
Material Resource Efficiency
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Recycled Content: Products with identifiable recycled content, including postindustrial content with a preference for post-consumer content.
Natural, plentiful or renewable: Materials harvested from sustainably managed
sources and preferably have an independent certification (e.g., certified wood)
and are certified by an independent third party.
Resource efficient manufacturing process: Products manufactured with
resource-efficient processes including reducing energy consumption, minimizing
waste (recycled, recyclable and or source reduced product packaging), and
reducing greenhouse gases.
Locally available: Building materials, components, and systems found locally or
regionally saving energy and resources in transportation to the project site.
Salvaged, refurbished, or remanufactured: Includes saving a material from
disposal and renovating, repairing, restoring, or generally improving the
appearance, performance, quality, functionality, or value of a product.
Reusable or recyclable: Select materials that can be easily dismantled and
reused or recycled at the end of their useful life.
Recycled or recyclable product packaging: Products enclosed in recycled
content or recyclable packaging.
Green materials are:
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Durable: Materials that are longer lasting or are comparable to
conventional products with long life expectancies.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) enhancing by utilizing materials that meet the
following criteria:
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Low or non-toxic: Materials that emit few or no carcinogens, reproductive
toxicants, or irritants as demonstrated by the manufacturer through
appropriate testing.
Minimal chemical emissions: Products that have minimal emissions of VOCs
and CFCs
Low-VOC assembly: Materials installed with minimal VOC-producing
compounds, or no-VOC mechanical attachment methods and minimal
hazards.
Moisture resistant: Products and systems that resist moisture or inhibit
the growth of biological contaminants in buildings.
Healthfully maintained: Materials, components, and systems that
require only simple, non-toxic, or low-VOC methods of cleaning.
Systems or equipment: Products that promote healthy IAQ by
identifying indoor air pollutants or enhancing the air quality.
Available Materials
Hundreds of types of materials are available, for an
incredible variety of uses.
Examples of Materials
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Pyroblock is a Class A Fire Retardant Particleboard,
MDF, and Plywood. These panels are formaldehyde free,
FSC Certified, contain recycled fiber, moisture resistant,
and use a rapidly renewable fiber.
Plyboo bamboo plywoods are made from grass, a rapidly
renewable resource unique to the sheet goods industry both
in their unconventional construction and range in size.
Agri-Panel is a structural insulated panel manufactured
using compressed Wheat Straw. It is used for structural
walls , curtain walls, floors, roofs, and firewalls.
Materials (continued)
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Eco-Cem(R) cement and cellulose fiber sheets is an innovative
hard surface finish material. Extremely resistant material used for
flooring, wall coverings, cladding, furnishings or shelving.
TrusSteel Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) trusses are preengineered for each project and are manufactured by local
fabricators. TrusSteel trusses are made from recycled steel and
are also fire resistant and mold resistant.
Erosion control blankets and turf reinforcement mats for slope,
channel, and shoreline erosion control needs, ranging from
photodegradable or 100% biodegradable temporary, lightweight
straw blankets to heavy-duty coconut and permanent channel
liners.
Materials (continued)
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Reflective Insulation was designed by NASA for the Space
Program to protect astronauts and space crafts from extreme
heat and cold. It is now used in homes to lower utility bills.
Nanogel (aerogel) is the lightest, best insulating solid material.
Ideally used in daylighting to meet strict energy and building
codes due to superior insulating and light transmission. UV
stable, reduces noise, resists moisture, mold and mildew.
Energy efficient daylighting controls using suspended particle
device (SPD) film with randomly oriented microscopic particles
to block daylight. Regulated voltage controls the amount of light,
glare and heat through windows, doors, skylights and partitions,
blocking 99% of harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Renovations
Renovations are a great
opportunity to make
buildings green!
 Remodeling an existing building is a resourceefficient choice.
 Buildings are evaluated to determine its condition
and identify what could be reused or recycled.
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Renovation of Ridgehaven
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The Ridgehaven Green Office Building for the City of San Diego
Environmental Services Department is the first building ever to achieve
the Energy Star performance designation from the EPA’s Energy
Star Building Program.
Savings of over 65% in energy consumption compared to the original
building prior to renovation upgrades. This translates into about
$80,000 in annual energy savings.
Most of the energy savings can be attributed to
the renovation design, which utilized high
efficiency mechanical systems, energy saving
lighting, and computerized controls.
Ridgehaven (continued)
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LEED Gold level
Most of the materials used had recycled content such as:
cellulose insulation, fiberboard, ceramic tile, toilet partitions,
steel framing, carpet tiles, carpet base, acoustical ceiling
tiles, linoleum sheet flooring, countertops, and gypsum
board.
A lot of stuff was salvaged!
The Green Ridgehaven building is visually identical to its
neighbor.
Cost of Green Building
It is a myth that green building is more expensive.
Cost of Green Building (continued)
Initial costs are approximately 2% more than
traditional building
 Lifecycle savings will yield more than 10 times the
initial investment, or 20% of the construction costs.
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Some Financial Benefits of Green Building
Energy and water savings
 Reduced environmental costs from pollution
 Occupant health and safety- improved employee
efficiency
 Reduced maintenance/replacement costs over the
life of the building
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Cost Reduction
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As markets are developed for recycled and green
building material costs will go down further.
Summary
Building green is good.
Discussion Question
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If Green Building is cost efficient and
user friendly, will it become more
mainstream? If not, what could be some
other incentives?