Connecticut Architect Karin Patriquin - Commercial Architecture & Residential Architecture, New Haven CT, Guilford CT, Madison CT, New Haven County, Connecticut

Posts Tagged “stewardship of resources”

Mar 22 2010

Sustainable Building Design

Posted by Karin in Architecture

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN

By sheer necessity, building green is the future. According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the buildings where we live and work are responsible for roughly 40 percent of our energy consumption, and are responsible for about the same amount of the nation’s carbon emissions. The greening of the building industry is one of great relevance and urgency.

When we ask people to imagine living or working in a sustainable building, the answers invariably fall into two camps: the low-tech ideas of building with local materials, collecting rainwater, growing your food; or the high-tech approach, which can include capturing solar energy with photovoltaics, modulating the sun’s light with kinetic louvers, using high-efficiency mechanical systems.

SMART DESIGN

At KPA, we usually suggest an approach that is both low and high tech. Good design starts with location. We consider its orientation to the sun, its proximity to the street, and what, exactly, our clients will be looking at through their windows. We consider the access and proximity to public transportation, ease of commuting, as well as existing road networks. Generally speaking, it is easier and cheaper (not to mention more environmentally friendly) to retrofit and/or add onto an existing building than building new.

When tailoring a project, we consider the existing landscape and buildings first; harmony with both is tantamount to any design. The best design is not only harmonious with its surroundings but flexible in its uses; we design spaces so that they can easily be reconfigured in the future. In this sense, the ‘green’ approach is simply smart design.
Finally, we design with the intent of creating a building that is the most efficient in the long term, both for the client and the environment. We consider the amount of energy it takes to produce and transport materials, with emphasis on salvaged, recycled and locally produced materials. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are geared for their specific environment, maximizing efficiency and comfort.

RESULTS

The results of a sustainable design process are a building that simply ‘fits’, in every sense of the word. Building owners know that the building’s energy systems have been designed efficiently, have been tested and will be monitored. Long-term costs are much less than those of a typically designed and constructed building. Those who work, live and visit the spaces are often struck by the beauty of the materials, of the quality of light, of the simplicity of the design, be it a small house, a large office building, or anything in between.

KPA is currently working on the design of a sustainable daycare, on a house in a previously developed site, and on a flexible conference/seminar/performance space.

CERTIFICATION

The decision to certify a project as a sustainable project, or to simply design toward the best sustainable practices, is an important part of the early design process. Although we are LEED certified professionals, we work in several ‘shades’ of green, depending on the client’s priorities and on the project’s suitability for certification. There are a number of certification systems for whole project certification:

LEED
Leadership in Energy Efficient Design is the most recognized building system certification system, providing third-party verification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

GREEN GLOBES
An alternative to the LEED standard is Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes certification. New and existing commercial buildings can be certified for their environmental achievements and sustainability by pursuing Green Globes certification that assigns a rating of one to four globes.

Other certification systems are used for individual materials or building systems:

ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that focuses on improving energy performance in buildings as a method of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

GREENGUARD
The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) is an industry-independent, non-profit organization that oversees the GREENGUARD Certification Program. As an ANSI Authorized Standards Developer, GEI establishes acceptable indoor air standards for indoor products, environments, and buildings. GEI’s mission is to improve public health and quality of life through programs that improve indoor air.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
FSC is a certification system that provides internationally recognized standard-setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services to companies, organizations, and communities interested in responsible forestry.
The FSC label provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.