Sustainable Facilities – Techniques & Synergies
In the broad context,
sustainable facilities are environmentally-conscious buildings which utilizes
natural, technical and configuration to minimize the negative environmental
impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of
materials, energy, and development space. Sustainable facilities are an
integral part of the larger discussion of sustainability
- pressing environmental, economic and political issues of our world. Most
simply stated, corporate facilities construction and operation must be
implemented in a manner to ensure that meeting these need of today do not
inhibit the opportunities of future generations to meet the same needs.
Sustainable Facilities
& Planning Principals
To
achieve sustainability in our building designs, I employ a host of natural and
technological design measures which I define as Passive and Active.
Combined and integrated, these synergistic
measures not only provide high-level aesthetics, but also promote human health,
energy conservation and natural resources conservation – in-parallel with LEED
and other international sustainability disciplines.
Passive
measures are generally non-technological design aspects of building which
acknowledge the natural features of a project’s site and capitalize on them through
building orientation and the shaping of the building’s form. For example in the
northern hemisphere – orienting roof surfaces to the south to best collect
solar energy, and sculpting a faced to catch prevailing breezes.
Active
measures are those measures which can be classified as technological. These
measures acknowledge the natural features of a project’s site and then modify
the natural features of the site through mechanical or scientific practices. Active
measures are wide ranging - from photovoltaic solar collection cells to site
bio-swales.
The following
section provides a cursory description of ways in which passive and active
sustainability techniques may be integrated into corporate facilities and demonstrates
the resultant synergistic benefits.
Project Sites &
Building Orientation
Passive
technique – Reduce
energy cost/consumption - use the form and solar orientation of buildings to
reduce public utilities demand/cost – design building to accept/reject solar
radiant energy, prevailing breezes, sunlight for daylighting of interior spaces
and geo-thermal energy as appropriate for augmenting heating and cooling
systems on a seasonal basis.
Passive technique – Maximize exterior open spaces and
reduce construction costs by avoiding the use of undisturbed lands for new facilities
- select previously developed building sites and locate facilities away from habitats,
water bodies, forests, farmlands and parks.
Passive technique – Reduce transportation related energy cost/consumption
and the creation of associated pollution – choose to encourage the use of
public transportation and reduced use of automobiles by selecting a facility site
which is near or in an urban or other previously developed area.
Active
technique – Reduce facility
site stormwater runoff and water utility costs – Install catch basins,
cisterns, and ponds to collect rainwater onsite and reuse this water for
landscape irrigation.
The
Synergy – lower public utility costs +increased human health & productivity
Choose facility
sites with an eye toward conservation of energy, water, virgin lands and
natural habitats. These site/facility techniques reduce energy and water
consumption, protect habitats/species and promote employee productivity.
Reduced demand on public utilities and reduced onsite energy use provide life-cycle
and operating costs reductions to building owners and operators. Additionally,
the water and air pollution caused by the generation of public energy is
reduced, and the raw natural resources used in energy generation are conserved.
Reduced air and water pollution contribute to reduced healthcare costs – and studies
show that employees work harder when they are happier at work in a healthy pleasant
environment.
Water Use & Facility
Design
Passive
technique – Reduce water
utility demand and costs of facilities operations and landscape maintenance – integrate
rainwater collection into the design of facilities such that the building’s
roof, for example, acts as a rain-catcher. Site collected rainwater can be use
for irrigation and in some cases graywater plumbing fixture supply.
Passive technique – Reduce water utility demand and costs of
facilities operations and landscape maintenance – choose to use drought-resistant
and location/geographically appropriate landscaping design to reduce
unnecessary irrigation demand.
Active technique – Reduce water utility demand and costs of
facilities operations and landscape maintenance – install mulch landscaping
where possible to assist with onsite water retention and reduce irrigation
evaporation by installing high-efficiency drip irrigation systems.
Active technique – Reduce water utility demand and costs of
facilities operations and landscape maintenance - Install low-flow and ultra
low-flow interior plumbing fixtures such as water closets, faucets and urinals.
The
Synergy – water cost reductions + natural habitat protection
Conserve
natural aquifers and other fresh water source while reducing water utility demand
and reduce water costs for facility owners. These passive and active water
saving techniques reduce water utility consumption which translates into building
life-cycle and operational cost reductions, while simultaneously
preserving/protecting natural habitats. For example, native plantings are parts
of natural habitats, and they require little or no supplemental irrigation - so
maintaining natural habitats reduces landscape irrigation needs therefore
reducing the need and cost of public utility water for irrigation. In the
larger view – onsite water retention/conservation also reduces the demand on
natural aquifers which supply our rivers and streams – a rapidly depleting and
vital resource.
Energy Use & Facility
Design
Passive
technique – Reduce
energy utility demand and costs – choose to provide renewable energy systems - integrate
solar energy collection into facilities such that the facility’s roof, for
example, acts as a solar collector. Onsite collected solar energy can be
converted directly into water heating and/or into electricity through
photovoltaic processes – electricity, both of which can be used for facility
operations purposes and reduce these costs.
Passive technique – Reduce energy utility demand and costs – choose
to include “Trombe wall” design into the form of buildings. These thermally
absorptive exterior walls collect solar radiant heat and use the temperature
differential to either add heat to a building’s interior or evacuate heat when
cooling is needed.
The
Synergy – energy cost reductions + human comfort
Use
less public energy, reduce operational and life cycle energy costs and provide
increased user comfort. These passive and active energy saving techniques
reduce energy utility consumption which translates into building life-cycle and
operations cost reductions, while simultaneously reducing air pollution (caused
by power generation) and preserving unused natural resources. By reducing
public energy demand I reduce public energy production which reduces the need
to use natural resources like water and fossil fuels for the production of
energy. Also this reduction contributes to the survival of human and other
species relative to the reduction of need to construct additional nuclear
facilities which produce hazardous uranium production bi-products extremely
dangerous to human life.
Construction Materials
& Building Design
Passive
technique – Reduce
construction costs and keep zoning rights – choose to reuse existing buildings
in favor of constructing new facilities.
Passive technique – Reduce construction costs and reduce
pollution - choose regionally made materials made wit
Active technique – Reduce construction costs and decrease
materials in the waste stream - recycle
construction waste during constru
Active technique – Preserve natural habitats and reduce
pollution – install materials containing recycled content and choose materials
Active
technique – Increase
human comfort - install materials having high insulation values for thermal
energy savings and thermal comfort.
The
Synergy – energy cost reductions + indoor spatial quality
Materials synergies are
mostly related to reducing the use of virgin natural resources and reducing
construction costs for facility owners. Facility owners may reap the financial
benefits of re-using existing buildings - their existing utility connections,
structural systems and sometimes otherwise unattainable zoning rights. By
reusing existing buildings, owners can save construction costs by not having to
build new structural systems, floors and interior/exterior walls. Also, often
municipalities allow “grand-fathered” existing/historic zoning right to remodeling
facilities, which are less stringent than newer zoning regulations and
unavailable to new construction projects. Facility owners can benefit from the
reduced cost of construction materials by selecting and installing materials
produced within a 500 mile radius of facilities. Using regional materials reduces
the quantity of materials in the waste stream and reduces energies used and
pollution create to extract, fabricate and transport construction materials to a
building project. The environment benefits from these techniques are many - reduced
air pollution created by the manufacturing and transporting of new construction
materials, natural resources (raw materials) are conserved as they are replaced
by recycled materials to make construction materials. By installing well
insulated materials, a higher degree of human comfort is achieved as heating,
cooling and acoustic performance are easier to control. Happier, more
comfortable employees are more productive.
Healthy Spaces &
Building Design
Passive
technique – Increase
human health, comfort and productivity – design facilities which capture
prevailing breezes and use them for facility ventilation.
Passive technique – Increase human health, comfort and
productivity – design interior spaces which are naturally lit by the sun
(daylighting).
Passive technique – Increase human health, comfort and
productivity – design interior
spaces with views to the out of doors and without glare.
Active technique – Increase human health, comfort and
productivity - install low-voc (volatile organic compounds) construction
materials and finishes.
Active technique – Increase human health, comfort and
productivity – install lighting controls which allow for adjustability based on
room occupancy/use.
Active technique – Increase human health, comfort and
productivity – Install heating/cooling systems which have a high degree of
control and adjustability based on room occupancy/use.
The
Synergy – energy cost reductions + indoor spatial quality
The synergy in this
section is primarily centered on the human condition as facility occupants use
their buildings. Fresh outside air and air free of volatile organic compounds
is often easier for heating/cooling equipment to process and contributes to the
well-being of building occupants which lowers health maintenance costs.
Controlled heating/cooling and artificial lighting leads to building owners
achieving life-cycle energy cost reduction and simultaneously conserves natural
resource due to reduction in energy used for heating/cooling and lighting of
unoccupied spaces. Visual access – views to the outdoors has been shown to
improve worker productivity and is usually coupled with daylight previously
mentioned. Healthier more comfortable working environments encourage more
productive building occupants – healthy and happier building users have been
shown to be more productive workers – out performing the discontent. This
translates into more profit for corporations.
Inventiveness &
Building Design
Beyond simply providing
shelter, corporations must continually “raise the bar” of facilities design
& operation. It is incumbent upon corporations to strive to improve the
human condition and respect the natural environment while generating maximum profitability. Human
comfort/health, environmental stewardship and prosperity must belie all corporate
facilities …. A creed to innovate.
