Green Building

Enabling low carbon living in UK housing developments

by Helena Titheridge

Broer, S. and Titheridge, H. (2010) Enabling low-carbon living in new UK housing developments. Management of Environmental Quality, 21 (1). pp. 90-107. ISSN 14777835

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool (the Climate Challenge Tool) that allows house builders to... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool (the Climate Challenge Tool) that allows house builders to calculate whole life carbon equivalent emissions and costs of various carbon and energy reduction options that can be incorporated into the design of new developments. Design/methodology/approach – The tool covers technical and soft (or lifestyle) measures for reducing carbon production and energy use. Energy used within the home, energy embodied in the building materials, and emissions generated through transport, food consumption and waste treatment are taken into account. The tool has been used to assess the potential and cost-effectiveness of various carbon reduction options for a proposed new housing development in Cambridgeshire. These are compared with carbon emissions from a typical UK household. Findings – The tool demonstrated that carbon emission reductions can be achieved at much lower costs through an approach which enables sustainable lifestyles than through an approach which focuses purely on reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and from improving the heating and lighting systems. Practical implications – The tool will enable house builders to evaluate which are the most cost-effective measures that they can incorporate into the design of new developments in order to achieve the significant energy savings and reduction in carbon emissions necessary to meet UK Government targets and to avoid dangerous climate change. Originality/value – Current approaches to assessing carbon and energy reduction options for new housing developments concentrate on energy efficiency options such as reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and improving the heating and lighting systems, alongside renewable energy systems. The Climate Challenge Tool expands the range of options that might be considered by developers to include those affecting lifestyle choices of future residents.

Assessing Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Options in Santa Barbara County

by Geneva Travis

One potential solution to address this water shortage is reducing demand through recycling water. Decentralized... more One potential solution to address this water shortage is reducing demand through recycling water. Decentralized wastewater treatment can provide high quality,recycled water on site, but these technologies are scarce in Santa Barbara County dueto a lack of familiarity. We partnered with The Sustainability Project, a Santa Barbara based non-profit, to develop a decision support tool for architects and builders tolearn about and compare systems, and to assist them in identifying appropriate wastewater treatment systems for their projects. We then applied our tool to a project for Peikert Group Architects that faced strict wastewater restrictions. Additionally, we analyzed the life cycle global warming impacts of centralized and decentralized systems, including sewage collection, to comprehensively evaluate their impacts.Lastly, we created a decentralized wastewater treatment permitting flowchart to guide stakeholders through the complex regulatory process. Our project provides a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of various decentralized wastewater systems from an environmental, economic, and social perspective. Our analysis shows that there is no perfect technology since trade-offs exist between different criteria, and that obtaining a permit for advanced decentralized wastewater treatment systems is difficult. Information is presented in an accessible manner to stakeholders, preparing them to meet the sustainable design challenges of the future.

The Mueller Report: Moving Beyond Sustainability Indicators to Sustainability Action

by Joshua Pearce

Joshua Pearce, Christopher Uhl, Austin Mandryk, Dennis Matalavage, Christie Vischer, Loren Byrne, and Sara Eisenfeld, "The Mueller Report: Moving Beyond Sustainability Indicators to Sustainability Action", The Green Destiny Council of The Pennsylvania State University, Fall 2001.

The assignment that we gave ourselves was: Cut the ecological impact of Mueller Building in half while creating... more The assignment that we gave ourselves was: Cut the ecological impact of Mueller Building in half while creating healthier working conditions for all building occupants. The analysis on the following pages reveals that it is, indeed, possible to reduce significantly Mueller's aggregate impacts in many areas. The majority of environmental improvements that Mueller could make would actually save money! For example, by following the suggestions outlined in the energy portions of this study Mueller building could reap more than $45,000 per year in energy savings alone.

Green occupants for green buildings: The missing link?

by Max Deuble

Deuble, M.P. and de Dear, R.J. (2012) 'Green occupants for green buildings: The missing link?' Building and Environment, 56(10): 21-27

Green buildings, often defined as those featuring natural ventilation capabilities, i.e. low-energy or free-running... more Green buildings, often defined as those featuring natural ventilation capabilities, i.e. low-energy or free-running buildings, are now at the forefront of building research and climate change mitigation scenarios. This paper follows the results of recent post-occupancy evaluation (POE) surveys within two academic office buildings located in sub-tropical Sydney, Australia. Supplemented with an environmental attitudes questionnaire, based upon the New Ecological Paradigm [1]), it was found that occupant satisfaction levels on the POE were positively associated with environmental beliefs. Occupants with higher levels of environmental concern were more forgiving of their building, particularly those featuring aspects of green design, such as natural ventilation through operable windows. Despite their criticisms of the building’s indoor environmental quality, the ‘green’ occupants were prepared to overlook and forgive less-than-ideal conditions more so than their ‘brown’ (non-green) counterparts. These results support the hypothesis that pro-environmental attitudes are closely associated with the stronger ‘forgiveness factor’ often observed in green buildings, but the question of causality remains moot.

Evolution and sustainability of in-situ concrete flat slabs in office buildings

by Oscar Liebana

Co-authored with G. Pulido, MD; Gómez Hermoso J.
XXXVII IAHS World Congress on Housing (October 26 – 29, 2010, Santander, Spain)

In the current office building construction practice, flat plate is the most common floor structural system due to its... more In the current office building construction practice, flat plate is the most common floor structural system due to its economic and practical advantages. Traditionally, high material costs have had a great impact on total construction cost, so voided options as ribbed or waffle slab have been used extensively. However, recently there is a tendency to design solid slabs options, especially due to rising labor costs, simpler and quicker construction, which reduces execution timeframe and increases construction safety.
The use of post-tensioned (PT) floors in building structures has been growing in recent years. This type of construction allows thinner slabs and thus, it creates lighter structures, produces a large reduction in rebar tonnage, with the subsequent advantages in transportation, storage or labor. Also, these slabs have other advantages as reduced cracking and deflections, reduced floor to floor height or quick construction. In most countries these design mechanical and economical features have enabled the system to compete economically with traditional in-situ concrete floor slabs; however, this is not the case in some other countries like Spain. Introduction of sustainability criteria and specialization in construction can allow for this system to be introduced in the market, which can also mean lower costs, improved performance and focusing on sustainability in construction.
Different solutions have been studied for an actual project, in terms of material quantities, minimum structural thickness and it has also been checked the impact of costs and environmental criteria based on CO2 emission. With these data, we could assess that the current status of low production of flat slabs in Spain it is not related to real economic reasons; it is actually related to a combination of reasons as lack of technical knowledge of designers or builders, inconsistencies or deficiencies in current national codes in each country. The construction industry is following an inertial period that resists changing known systems, apparently satisfactory, and that especially shows an unsustainable view of the construction. Post-tensioned concrete slabs will not always be the most suitable and sustainable option, but it should be evaluated while considering other more familiar techniques of construction with updated considerations.

A political ecology of the built environment: LEED certification for green buildings

by Julie Cidell

Published in 'Local Environment' in 2009

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards of the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council have... more The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards of the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council have become the accepted benchmark for designating “green buildings” in the U.S. and many other countries. Throughout their ten-year history, the standards have remained flexible, changing with input from designers, builders, environmentalists, and others to incorporate new types of buildings and modify the existing standards to make them more geographically, economically, and functionally sensitive. In this paper, I examine through an urban political ecology lens how the LEED standards help to produce a particular kind of built environment.
Political ecology has broadened from its origins in the cultural ecology of the developing world to include urban and industrialized environments. In recent years, work in this area has focused on hybridity and socio-nature to explore the ways that urban environments are constructed and maintained through biological, political, and economic processes. Political ecologists have also shown sensitivity to the importance of scale in both the ecological and social constructionist senses. In this paper, I show how the LEED standards and the green buildings and built environments they help to produce are hybrids of material objects and human practices.

Spatial variation among green building certification categories: Does place matter?

by Julie Cidell

Co-authored with Alex Beata; published in 'Landscape and Urban Planning' in 2009

Given the increasing interest in sustainability within the academy, government, and the private sector, it is... more Given the increasing interest in sustainability within the academy, government, and the private sector, it is important to know the extent to which steps currently being taken towards sustainability differ from place to place. Namely, this paper seeks to determine the existence of a spatial pattern in the implementation of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. For example, is green energy used more often in one part of the country, or is water conservation practiced more heavily in one region? Variation among the implementation of various LEED certification categories and variation across space were both considered and found to be statistically significant. Variation among categories is more pronounced than variation among regions, especially when the most spatially specific subcategories are isolated and considered. Altogether, this study underscores the importance of place in the growing green building field, and underlines the need for more spatially sensitive certification standards.

Building Green: The Emerging Geography of LEED-Certified Buildings and Professionals

by Julie Cidell

Published in 'The Professional Geographer' in 2009

One of the most important attempts to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment is through the... more One of the most important attempts to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment is through the construction of green buildings. This article examines the geography of the emerging green building industry through a study of the spatial distribution of two different elements of that industry. The first element is the location and diffusion of green buildings themselves as certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) through their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. There is a clear shift from an original concentration in major coastal cities to a more even distribution across the country, with broad representation across commercial, public, and nonprofit owners. The second area of study is the spatial distribution of LEED-accredited professionals, who are accredited by the USGBC to oversee the certification process. The distribution of these professionals matches existing concentrations of population, suggesting two different geographies of building green.

Energy Efficiency in Building Installations using Thermal Insulating Materials in BRAZIL NORTHEAST

by Miguel Melo

Miguel O. Melo (PhD)
Luiz Bueno da Silva (PhD)
Antonio S. Coutinho (PhD)
Normando Perazzo (PhD)
Vivian Sousa

Federal University of Paraiba
Joao Pessoa – PB, Brazil, 58051-970
mobcmelo@ct.ufpb.br

ENERGY and BUILDING Journal

ABSTRACT
This paper presents a solution for improvement of energy efficiency in buildings by using thermal... more ABSTRACT
This paper presents a solution for improvement of energy efficiency in buildings by using thermal insulation materials. The application was tested in areas of northeast Brazil where the average temperature reaches 34°C. The research considered building materials from the region such as: (a) gypsum, that is abundant in nature and found in several deposits in Brazil and it is absorbent of water; (b) vermiculite, a mineral composed of hydrated silicates of aluminum and magnesium; (c) EVA, an ethylene-vinyl acetate produced in large quantities as residue from expanded sheet cuttings in the shoe industry. The thermal conductivity of each material was measured but the comparison of the thermal behaviour of the two walls is based on calculation only. The application of these materials in plates coated with a layer of air showed, compared to conventional walls, 38% reduction in heat load per square meter when using vermiculite-composed plaster and 41% reduction when using gypsum or EVA composition.

Keywords: Energy efficiency in building; Thermal insulating; Thermal non-conventional materials

Greening Affordable Housing: An Assessment of Housing under the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Programs

by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects

Sparks, Chance W., "Greening Affordable Housing: An Assessment of Housing under the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Programs" (2007). Applied Research Projects, Texas State University-San Marcos. Paper 251.
http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/251

WINNER MCGREW AWARD (2007). CenTex Chapter of American Society for Public Administration (Practitioner category)

Affordable housing programs constitute a significant expense for many local Community Development Block Grant and HOME... more Affordable housing programs constitute a significant expense for many local Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership program local government recipients. According to literature, it is sound public policy to use Green building methods in affordable housing programs. The research develops a model affordable Green building program to assess Texas local government Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership recipients’ housing construction programs using administrators’ perceptions. Following the assessment, the research provides recommendations for improving Green building practice under those programs. The simple, straightforward model is designed for administrators lacking technical expertise in Green building. The model developed could be used as a template for Federal Green building standards under the two programs.

Data collected from a Web-based survey of local government program administrators is used. The administrators were asked specific questions about their housing construction programs. Survey results are compared to the model affordable Green building program in order to assess how well local government programs have implemented Green building practices in their affordable housing programs.

The data reveals local government programs do not align with the model affordable Green building program. Even so, data reveals the programs are capable of meeting the model requirements given that on most survey responses, a few administrators indicated they followed a particular standard at least most of the time. By following recommendations presented, local government recipients can bring their affordable housing programs closer to the model.

Beyond sustainability – the importance of thinking beyond efficiency based initiatives in buildings

by Dominique Hes

Presented at SB11 Helsinki October 19-21
http://www.ansatt.hig.no/fredj/SB11/Table%20of%20Content.pdf

Current practice in green buildings is centered on increasing their efficiency in the use of water, energy, provision... more Current practice in green buildings is centered on increasing their efficiency in the use of water, energy, provision of comfort and material usage. Though admirable and a step on the journey
towards a more sustainable future, this paper questions their effectiveness in light of growing populations and continued expectations around wealth. Based on the work of several leading thinkers this paper speculates how green buildings could become net contributors to their context rather than more efficient takers and looks at the barriers to this type of thinking. It looks at the concepts of positive and regenerative development as possible ways of looking beyond sustainability and outlines ongoing research investigating their real world application.

Creatures in Captivity and Ethics

by Poppy Valentine

Prisons. Factory States. Low-Wage Workers. Child Sex Trade. Animal Abuse for: Clothing, Entertainment and Food. I... more Prisons. Factory States. Low-Wage Workers. Child Sex Trade. Animal Abuse for: Clothing, Entertainment and Food. I really could go on with other outlets of injust captivity, but this covers some major ones.

Damian White A Green Industrial Revolution Sustainable Technological Innovation in a Global Age

by Damian White

Sympathetic critique of Natural Capitalism and Factor Four literatures......some initial attempts to formulate questions that a critical sociology of design should be asking......

Rethinking Sustainability Indicators in Green Building Codes

by sonay aykan

Green to Gold? An Empirical Analysis in the AEC Industry

by Yujie Lu

Yujie Lu and Qingbin Cui
Engineering Project Organization Conference (EPOC), Estes Park, Colorado. August 9-11, 2011. Proceeding Editor: T. Michael Toole, Buckness University.

Green projects continue to expand rapidly as a result of growing concerns about environment and energy efficiency.... more Green projects continue to expand rapidly as a result of growing concerns about environment and energy efficiency. According to the Engineering News Record (ENR), green retrofits and new green building construction will probably represent 20%-30% of the non-residential market by value in the next five years. At the same time, green elements are increasingly incorporated into infrastructure planning, design, construction, and maintenance. Along with the growth of green market, going green in the AEC industry not only demonstrates corporate social responsibility, but also can yield significant economic benefits. However, the actual cost and benefits of going green have not yet been thoroughly measured. The issue is even more pressing under the current economic recession when many companies are forced to cut costs and close unprofitable operations. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the financial performance of green and conventional companies. The companies are selected from the ENR top contractor and design firm list, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) series, and Newsweek 500 green U.S. companies . The DuPont method and Economic Value Added analysis were used to evaluate the performance of green and conventional companies based on several aspects: profitability, financing, activity, tax, and operation. A comparison analysis of the 12 pairs of conventional and green firms shows a significant difference in return on equity (17.44% vs 8.72%) and economic value added (1.08% vs -0.743%) between green and conventional AEC firms. The results of the analysis also raise an important question of how one can determine a green contractor, and what are the green strategies for construction firms.

Using LCA In a Green Building Project

by Dominique Hes

Facilitating 'Green'Building: Turning Observation Into Practice

by Dominique Hes

ESD Operations Guide - for owners, managers and tenants

by Dominique Hes