Sustainable building is a strategy which aims to minimize the environmental impact of a building and its associated grounds, while providing a safe, functional, and comfortable living or working environment. Conventional building practice does not work within the boundaries of this strategy. Too often our buildings make us sick due to poor indoor air quality, waste our precious energy, and cost more to maintain and operate than what can be achieved. Sustainable building is an element of overall sustainable development ideals. Sustainable buildings promote:
- energy efficiency
- renewable energy sources
- water conservation
- waste minimization
- a healthy and comfortable indoor environment
- reduce operation and maintenance costs
- ecosystem preservation and enhancement
- historical preservation
- access to public transportation
- adaptability of the building for different uses in the future
Conventional building practice has many flaws in terms of sustainable design. Too often buildings are poisoning our lungs, threatening the natural ecosystem, and wasting resources. Sick building syndrome, unfortunately a large problem, is due to selecting materials that emit dangerous organic and chemical compounds into the air as well as poor fresh air ventilation systems. Materials tend to be chosen based solely on aesthetic appeal without consideration to the resources consumed to produce it. This leads to inclusion of materials that scar our earth and damage it for future generations. Furthermore, our buildings waste water, heat, cooling capacity, and electricity, increasing the environmental and economical load of the building.
Sustainable buildings, sometimes referred to as "green" or "advanced" buildings, represents a revolution in the way humans think about building design, construction, and operation. It requires a group design process, involving all parties throughout the design stages. This means the owner(s), future occupants, building and landscape architects, engineers, environmental scientists, etc. should all be involved from the initial stages of the building and grounds design. These collaborative design teams are often able to realize economic and environmental gains that could not otherwise be attained. By using a "systems" approach to the design, a more economical and environmentally friendly building can be built. The process helps to identify how gains or losses in efficiency of one system has a spill over effect onto other systems within the building.
Sustainable building also requires a rethinking of the payments allotted to different parties involved in the project. Payment schedules should be focussed on the functionality of the building. This might mean that the lighting engineers receive payment based on the amount of electricity consumed by the lighting fixtures. The less energy consumed, while meeting required intensity levels, the higher their contract awards them. Or, the general contractor might face penalties for damages to existing vegetation during the construction process. This type of incentive laiden payment plan can help to reduce energy consumption, improve indoor air quality, and protect the natural surroundings.
The factors listed above are not the only aims of a sustainable building, nor are they presented in order of importance. The order of importance will vary depending on the type of project and its geographical location. Often conflicts will emerge between multiple factors necessitating a compromise. Should it prove possible to fulfill all of the objectives, it is unlikely that the cost would still be reasonable. This would also necessitate a compromise.
This website does not offer advice on how to choose between options nor does it profess to be the final answer to product selection. The products represented within this website are merely ones taken from examples of sustainable building or alternative materials that might be included in a sustainable building. They are by no means the only solution and we hope that someone who is serious about this topic will conduct their own research into materials and products that are the optimal selection for their project.
This website offers a range of ideas to help design sustainable buildings. It has been divided into three main sections:
- Building materials and techniques covers items such as the heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, finishing materials, alternative framing methods, windows and doors, exterior finishes, indoor air quality, etc.
- Landscaping of the accompanying grounds covers items such as storm water runoff, the selection of appropriate vegetation, microclimate design, maintenance, etc.
- Construction process outlines various techniques to help protect the site, to protect workers, lessen the impact on the natural ecosystem, etc.
This website also offers a page of links to other sites addressing sustainability issues and specifically sustainable building design. We have only listed a few, which we found most relevant to our research. There are other websites already in existence that have substantial links.
To view a bibliography of the sources that were used to build this website, please follow this link (14.3kB).