To create high quality and more energy-efficient buildings; Green Building is the right solution

As the world’s urban population expands, architects and planners are mapping out ways to make cities more sustainable. Cities produce a vast amount of emissions and waste, putting a strain on both human and ecological health. But our buildings themselves may hold a solution. High-density urban areas—especially those built using green methods in design and construction—can be more energy efficient and pollute lessThe environmentally-conscious construction (and operation) of buildings. For many good reasons, green construction is becoming more common. Several of these reasons are outlined in a recent article from Smart Cities Dive.

Green building practices
Whether you’re building new or retrofitting an existing structure, there are many ways to implement eco-friendly building practices. Minimizing (or eliminating) the negative impact a proposed (or existing) building has on the environment and surrounding community is the common goal of these green technology approaches.

Green building benefits
The environmental benefits of eco-friendly construction are obvious, but there are other compelling reasons to implement green building practices that may not immediately come to mind. Examples include:

  • Healthier and happier workers—employees that work in green buildings report fewer headaches, as well as improvements in asthma and allergy symptoms.
  • Reduced energy costs.
  • The ability to attract and retain top talent.
  • The greater likelihood a green building will sell for more money than a standard building.
  • Additional business opportunities that come from appealing to an ever-growing pool of conscious consumers.

Green Building – from the idea through to operation

Design

The appropriate building design is the first step on the road to achieving a green building; this means specifying the right solutions for effective control of the building’s energy requirements.

Execution

Products installed must meet demanding environmental requirements. Evidenced by standards conformity marks, this compliance ensures that projects’ environmental impact is kept to a minimum, in line with sustainability principles.

Operation

75% of a building’s total cost arises during its operation, a phase in its life cycle which therefore requires specially careful attention. Users need to be equipped with the means to analyse and control how the building works, so as to reduce its environmental impact.

Controlling Energy Demand

Occupant Behaviour

There is a general consensus about the fact that controlling the demand for energy requires focusing on the behaviour of building occupants. They need to be made aware of the impact they can have on their own consumption, and to be given tools to command their environment in an eco-responsible way.

System management and equipment efficiency

Measuring and control devices enable effective measurement, analysis and command of a building’s energy efficiency, both locally and remotely, thereby allowing facility managers to steer consumption patterns. As lighting is the second biggest factor causing energy consumption in buildings, one advisable move is to set up a lighting management system ranging from simple presence detection through to smart dimming.

Intrinsic building quality

A building’s energy requirement will be shaped by construction factors such as the materials used (e.g. wood vs. concrete), the amount of glazed surface, its orientation facing South or North, etc. The electrical infrastructure must not be installed to the detriment of the building’s intrinsic quality; to avoid such impact on the structure itself, cold bridges need to be avoided.

Building a share of renewable energies

As we consume steadily rising amounts of energy, this consumption will need to be increasingly offset by the fitting of renewable energy sources directly in buildings.

 

Integrated Thinking in the construction space

Integrated Project Delivery is built on collaboration, which in turn is built on trust. Effectively structured, trust-based collaboration encourages parties to focus on project outcomes rather than their individual goals. Without trust-based collaboration, IPD will falter and participants will remain in the adverse and antagonistic relationships that plague the construction industry today. IPD promises better outcomes, but outcomes will not change unless the people responsible for delivering those outcomes change. Thus, achieving the benefits of IPD requires that all project participants embrace  of Integrated Project Delivery

 

The principles of an

Integrated Project Delivery in construction:

Mutual Respect and Trust
In an integrated project, owner, designer, consultants, constructor, subcontractors and suppliers understand the value of collaboration and are committed to working as a team in the best interests of the project.

Mutual Benefit and Reward
All participants or team members benefit from IPD. Because the integrated process requires early involvement by more parties, IPD compensation structures recognize and reward early involvement. Compensation is based on the value added by an organization and it rewards “what’s best for project” behavior, such as by providing incentives tied to achieving project goals. Integrated projects use innovative business models to support collaboration and efficiency.

Collaborative Innovation and Decision Making
Innovation is stimulated when ideas are freely exchanged among all participants. In an integrated project, ideas are judged on their merits, not on the author’s role or status. Key decisions are evaluated by the project team and, to the greatest practical extent, made unanimously.

Early Involvement of Key Participants
In an integrated project, the key participants are involved from the earliest practical moment. Decision making is improved by the influx of knowledge and expertise of all key participants. Their combined knowledge and expertise is most powerful during the project’s early stages where informed decisions have the greatest effect.

Early Goal Definition
Project goals are developed early, agreed upon and respected by all participants. Insight from each participant is valued in a culture that promotes and drives innovation and outstanding performance, holding project outcomes at the center within a framework of individual participant objectives and values.

Intensified Planning
The IPD approach recognizes that increased effort in planning results in increased efficiency and savings during execution. Thus the thrust of the integrated approach is not to reduce design effort, but rather to greatly improve the design results, streamlining and shortening the much more expensive construction effort.

Open Communication
IPD’s focus on team performance is based on open, direct, and honest communication among all participants. Responsibilities are clearly defined in a no-blame culture leading to identification and resolution of problems, not determination of liability. Disputes are recognized as they occur and promptly resolved.

Appropriate Technology
Integrated projects often rely on cutting edge technologies. Technologies are specified at project initiation to maximize functionality, generality and interoperability. Open and interoperable data exchanges based on disciplined and transparent data structures are essential to support IPD. Because open standards best enable communications among all participants, technology that is compliant with open standards is used whenever available.

Organization and Leadership
The project team is an organization in its own right and all team members are committed to the project team’s goals and values. Leadership is taken by the team member most capable with regard to specific work and services. Often, design professionals and contractors lead in areas of their traditional competence with support from the entire
team, however specific roles are necessarily determined on a project-by-project basis. Roles are clearly defined, without creating artificial barriers that chill open communication and risk taking