Get green: practically

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More and more owners and developers are incorporating green building requirements into their solicitations for design and construction services. The great thing about a benchmark like LEED is that it serves as a reference point, even if the standard isn’t officially being used.

The language of LEED has become common enough in the building industry that we can now communicate our goals with ease and select ideas that work best for our projects. Although this means some may choose not to use the LEED certification program, LEED has met its goal of driving market change even among the most practical owners.

With the desire for practical green solutions, the following are a few of the best investments that I believe provide the most economical and environmental benefits:

1. In new construction, orient the building correctly on the property. At the earliest planning stages of the project, it is usually cost-neutral to rotate a building so that the long axis runs east-west. As long as this doesn’t increase excavation costs due to site topography, a builder or developer can take full advantage of passive and active solar strategies. Also, operable windows can be placed to take advantage of prevailing winds for natural ventilation and deciduous trees can be planted to provide timely shading. The results are lower utility bills and reduced use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling.

2. Implement strategies to reduce water use. Water charges are usually not the largest monthly utility bill, but they often have a cumulative effect on sewer charges. Each gallon saved results in two fewer gallons handled by the municipality. Low-flow faucets and toilets can reduce water use by 30 percent without sacrificing quality or cleanliness. If your company uses water for manufacturing, investigate ways to incorporate recycled water, either from your own operations or a neighboring business. Minimizing the cost and reducing the pressure on our most precious resource is a win-win situation.

3. Take care of the skin. A building’s skin, or exterior façade, serves as the interface between the harsh outside world and the pleasant inside environment. It should have the highest practical insulating factor and be different on each side of the building because the sun’s path in the sky presents different challenges on each face. Since a building's identity is inextricably linked with its appearance, the price of performance has been unfairly muddled with the cost of high design. Simple, elegant designs let high efficiency be the iconic statement.

4. Take a pragmatic approach to design and programming. The easiest way to minimize environmental impact is to build more simply. Owners and developers should thoroughly analyze the business for ways to reduce the need for little-used or ceremonial spaces, then design flex or swing spaces that can be adapted for multiple uses. Temperature is difficult to control in large-volume spaces, especially those adjacent to expanses of south-facing glass. This difficulty translates into cost that can be avoided. Be realistic about future growth and expandability needs.

5. Use the building as designed. Only a few completely passive energy saving solutions are unaffected by occupant behavior. The rest require proper use and maintenance. If a hybrid is driven like an Indy car, its fuel efficiency won't be any better than that of an inexpensive standard-fuel vehicle. I believe money is well spent on a good commissioning agent to ensure the building is running in peak condition before the design and construction team disbands. To realize the best return on investment, this process should be kept up for the life of the building through proper maintenance and use.

As demand increases for sustainable construction, so do the options for the levels of sustainability. The wording in these solicitations often varies from strict ("…this project will obtain a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council") to much less specific ("…this project will seek to implement sustainable building practices when feasible"). One might think that, because of its ambiguity, the less specific approach would be less of a motivator to build sustainably.

However, because the USGBC has been so successful in educating building owners and developers, unofficial designations, such as "LEED-like" or "LEED-lite," are becoming common without going through the LEED certification process. Ultimately, everyone benefits because the market as a whole has begun a shift to common acceptance of sustainable building practices like those listed above that provide time-tested tangible results.

Steve Clem is vice president of preconstruction in the Beaverton office of Skanska USA Building and specializes in sustainable building. He can be reached at 503-207-2594 or Steve.Clem@skanska.com. Previous columns by Steve Clem include “Beyond green building,” “Local sourcing is a local challenge” and "Tenant impacts on green buildings are massive."