Green Design, Construction, and Operations

Buildings are responsible for more than half the world's energy use, thus thinking sustainably requires attention to how buildings can be designed, constructed, and operated to use less energy and fewer material resources. The processes of design, construction, and building operations are inextricably linked: Design decisions determine in large part the methods, materials, and sequencing of construction; and the type of building systems selected in design and installed during construction determines the costs (dollar costs as well as energy costs) of operating systems both in the short-term (operational) and in the long-term (replacement). Traditionally, these three processes have been sequential and separate: performed by different teams of people at different times and places. More recently, the concept of performance engineering has been used in order to integrate the expertise of maintenance workers and contractors from the earliest points of building design in order to produce buildings that will be appropriately designed for prevailing construction practices in particular locales, and effectively and properly maintained by owners or maintenance staff.

[Page 205]Two central objectives in green design are to reduce energy use, especially the use of fossil fuels, and to minimize the wasteful use of resources. The aim of designing green buildings is to produce zero net energy; this is achieved through conservation measures and by using the building or site to produce energy with renewable sources, such as geothermal, solar, or wind power. Any surplus may be sold back to the local energy grid. The latter goal, minimizing use of resources, may be achieved by using smaller amounts of materials, using recycled or salvaged materials, using materials that are produced in a sustainable way or without harmful chemicals, or by some combination of these.