Buildings are the result of both intended and unintended design and practices. When we make a decision about what to do or use it changes the character and function of the whole. Without tracing these changes through the project unintended consequences are the result.

Within the frame work of sustainable design is the importance of adhering to the seven steps of sustainable building. Because of the complexity of designing a building it is easy to get side tracked and forget the consequences of those decisions. This is where the concept of interdependent design comes in.

When we consider the relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole, we have much more control over the desired results. A simple example of this relationship is how we work with the thermal envelope in a home. When a house is very well insulated and sealed, the way we relate to other components of the building need to be understood. Clearly the heating system size can be reduced. If the glazing is designed well then AC may be eliminated, with night cooling being sufficient during the summer months. This will also allow for more fresh air. Because the building is so well sealed a controlled air exchange will need to be introduced. In the winter an air to air heat exchanger will do nicely, but in the summer, in a naturally cooled space, the air exchanger is redundant and becomes a parasitic load. By taking all of these elements into consideration the building's energy usage will be significantly reduced for years to come. Health conditions such as asthma, understood as a product of our environment, can be controlled and reduced. 

Commercial buildings have a different set of issues to navigate, but many of the same principles are still evident. The cooling load for a large building, with a lot of people and equipment, is often a major issue. Reducing more heat from solar gain is obvious but often ignored. Although, the engineering can be complex to model, great efficiency gains can be made by redistributing the internal thermal mass.  This type of modeling can also determine how air currents work in the building, helping provide fresh air to the occupants and creating strata, thereby reducing the amount of air to be conditioned. The result is reduced HVAC equipment and uncomfortable air. Using smaller equipment means that the budget may allow for the equipment to be more efficient, with a longer life expectancy, and requiring less servicing. In the end all this means spending less money.

This type of thinking can stretch through the project, potentially alleviating many undesired results and significantly reducing operating expenses. Interdependent design requires an open mind, a thorough understanding of how a building works, and a willingness to try new, creative approaches.

The “green” building movement is maturing quickly and has created a tremendous amount of dialog. People of many disciplines and backgrounds are engaging with what green building means. With this in mind, it seems good to go back to some basic principles, before jumping into what sometimes may seem like the latest craze.
Buildings consume resources: human, space, material, energy, and financial
Human energy is at the center of any project. We spend a great deal of our time building, maintaining, and paying for what we live and work in. At best all this effort results in a quality of life, both personal and professional, that is both good and long living. Our buildings need to reflect both our personal needs and the needs of a changing planet.
We begin by choosing a place to put a building or reflecting on the space an existing building is on. By relating to the environment surrounding the structure we have a unique opportunity for the building to be in sync with its surroundings.
The physical structure of a building both encompasses the idea of the space, and the reality of a safe, functional and comfortable form. Working with sustainability in mind, size is often the first consideration. As the project becomes more defined, the quality and quantity of the applied materials take precedent. An enormous amount of information about building practices and material are now available. Often in conflict with either larger principles or design constraints, the design of a space and materials usage is a dynamic, complex relationship.
The reality of modern building sciences is that structures are not a static form. They take energy and other resources to run. Along with the imbedded energy in the materials, operating it for years to come is a central concern in sustainable building. Lighting alone can use 25% of a building’s energy. Heating, cooling, and appliances all create a substantial, often invisible energy demand. Too often we rely on technology to help solve these problems. By stepping back and looking at how to first use passive approaches, we can greatly improve comfort and productivity. Then, by applying appropriate technologies, we can reduce energy and water consumption to the point where sustainability or “green” building truly means something.
Money. What else can be said, it is the bottom line. The best way to effectively save money is through good design. A well conceived project will use resources efficiently and provide a building that is both easy to maintain and affordable to run.

Visualizing Sustainability: the Eco-Sphere

Brian Dunbar, director of the Institute for the Built Environment, developed this model to help express the relationships and interconnectedness that springs from our built world.

“The center of the Eco-Sphere is a set of core dynamics, often referred to as the ‘triple bottom line’ or the ‘three Es,’ Economy, Equity (society), and Ecology (environment). In this model, the 3-E core is overlaid on the built environment and is further imbedded with five outer dimensions of Nature, Energy, Health, Culture, and Economics. Each of these five dimensions is, then, expanded in concentric rings of text, illustrating major and minor aspects of that dimension. This model has proven useful as an instructional tool for illustrating and developing a functional understanding of sustainability.”

-147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability

We all live in buildings. That is where to start thinking about sustainability. Up until now the "green" building market has been focused primarily on new buildings, and with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program this means commercial and industrial buildings. So what about the rest of us? The fact is that new buildings compose only 5% of the building market. The resulting existing buildings have the largest potential for making a difference, and that is where the largest "bang for the buck" as far as being sustainable is concerned. Retrofitting an existing building to meet our needs is often the best opportunity to make a significant difference. More than the cars we drive, how we shop, or just about anything else.

By starting early with a focus on sustainability, the quality of a building project is greatly improved. Remodeling, retrofitting, and adding to a building with sustainability in mind is best incorporated at the concept stage of a project. A successful "green" project is inherent by the process. The finished building is a product of that process.

The starting step in retrofitting is to determine your objectives. Are you looking for a more comfortable environment, a better use of space or just a space that better reflects your tastes? Finding clear objectives can quickly lead to viable solutions that fit the proposed criteria.

Once a design is settled upon materials usage is the dominant issue. How "green" a building's material is is not a hard science. Gaining an objective view can be difficult. To further complicate the matter, as a result of an explosion of "green" products on the market finding the best ones can take considerable research. This research can be crucial. A product that costs more does not often mean it is better. In fact you may be paying for all the inherent energy that went into the manufacturing and shipping process. It is also important to consider that not just cost, and "green" components go into the decision process, but also the life cycle of the materials. Can it be recycled, or does it wear well given the application.

Finally is the application of the materials. This is where "the lowest bid" can get you into trouble. It has been said that the most expensive materials installed poorly look much worse than the cheapest materials installed well. A building really is a machine at heart, the components need to work well with each other. A leaking roof, cold room, or that annoying squeak can often be the result of poor craftsmanship, not bad design and components.

In the end, with proper care your result is a space that takes care of your needs and your health. Your ongoing investment in energy to make it work is significantly reduced.

You have your dream project, or a necessary one. If you invest to do the project well now you will be rewarded with the performance of your building through its life span. The benefits of building a “green” building are significant and will only become more valuable in the future. Like a good pair of shoes your building will wear in well. The McMansion phenomenon of our last decade provides ample evidence of what happens when you purchase an expensive pair of shoes that was not particularly well made or comfortable.  To create a sustainable building does not need to cost more.

The distinct advantages of building from scratch are numerous. From site location to system integration, to conceptual realization, building can be a very exciting endeavor.  Unlike an existing structure, a new building provides an opportunity to build and integrate a structure that takes best advantage of sighting, materials, and techniques. Using advanced framing to save lumber, good engineering to save concrete, and a smart floor plan to provide more useable space, saves money up front.

Even more importantly than a retrofitted building, good planning for a new building is crucial. The integration of all aspects of a building will help guarantee that the most potential is taken from the resources involved. Examine how natural ventilation will work, how thermal mass can be integrated, how natural, balanced light can be utilized, what product last the longest or have a reduced environmental impact. There can be scores of questions that can be addressed, reworked and integrated to achieve subtle, dynamic, and elegant answers. The next new building should be the answer to these questions.

Air
The average Colorado home produces 18 tons of CO₂ per year.
The average car produces 5.6 tons of CO₂ per year.
New buildings often do not have enough fresh air exchanged.
PVC and vinyl become more toxic as they age.
Indoor air pollution is one of the top five health concerns in the US.
The average new home introduces over 2000 chemicals into the living space.
A well-designed building in Colorado can be cooled without any AC.
Air infiltration is the #1 loss of heat in a common building.

Land
Colorado’s landfills are 45% construction waste.
Colorado diverts 10% of its waste from the dump.
Ft. Collins diverts 25% of its waste.
The average home can save 30% of its energy just by utilizing good solar orientation.
Green buildings are the fastest growing segment of the building market.
Certified green buildings consistently outsell other buildings.

Water
More than 50 million households worldwide use solar hot water.
The average Ft. Collins resident uses 187 gallons of water per day.
Average landscaping in Colorado requires 15-19 gallons of H₂O per sq. ft. each year.

Energy
1/10th of human-related CO₂ emissions stem from cement production.
The use of recycled steel requires 75% less energy than virgin steel.
Recycled aluminum requires 90% less energy.
Buildings consume 44% of all energy in the US .
The use of low-e windows can increase the heating cost of a home.
The US is consuming more energy per year than is being offset by alternative sources.
The average home uses 612kW per month.
The Rawhide coal power plant, just north of Ft. Collins, consumes 40 rail cars of coal per day.
A 60-watt bulb, left burning for 24 hours, consumes a pound of coal.
It costs 2¢ per kilowatt to produce energy from coal.
It costs 8¢ per kilowatt to produce energy from natural gas.
Large wind turbines cost 50% more than just a few years ago.
White LED bulbs operate at the same efficiency as compact fluorescents.
Without subsidies and at current prices, solar electric’s payback is approximately 14 years.
Electricity prices in Colorado are climbing 6% per year.
Production of cellulose insulation uses 1/10th the energy used to produce fiberglass.

The “green wash”. It comes in many different shades. Perhaps the biggest offence is that you need to buy expensive equipment that may only complicate your life. This and other issues abound.

Take the light switch. At a recent green building conference, when talking to a very nice rep. of a high quality light switch company, I realized that their products largely do not work with compact fluorescent bulbs. A motion detector switch, intended to save energy, could only use the infamously wasteful incandescent bulb.

Perhaps these issues are chronic. With a building industry desperate to create demand the spirit of green building is often misunderstood, even misrepresented.

Buying Low-E windows does not compensate for over use and poor placement, as was displayed in a recent “green” home magazine. The over use of windows clearly made a home that would be very energy intensive to heat and cool.

Another sustainable building magazine featured on it’s front cover a home that touted R32 ceilings, R19 walls, seer13 ac, low-e windows, among other green qualities. All good, but also required by the building code for all new homes. Think they could have done better?

At $100 a square foot, a popular “green” countertop’s reduction in paper waste is relatively insignificant. How could this money being spent be used to really improve a project’s impact?

Bamboo flooring is a fantastic addition to the choice in modern flooring. Unfortunately, many off-name manufactures are supplying a poor quality product that creates a backlash to the industry. These floors will need to be replaced in 10 to 15 years.

Air conditioning may be getting much more efficient (and expensive) but it is still common practice to oversize the units for applications, rather than work on creating an efficient delivery system. This means more expensive equipment that runs inefficiently. The same issue is often the case with heating equipment.

On a solar tour I witnessed a home that was to be cooled using an evaporative cooler and solar electric panels. Great idea if only the home was not built under a tree with the panels in the shade. No sun, no power, no cooling.

Beware the recycle label. As you know, many products put the little recycle triangle, often with the type of material code on their packaging. This may help efforts at creating awareness of recycling but often not to recycle the materials themselves. Most recyclers only accept a portion of products that claim to be recyclable.

Manufacturers also often claim to use recycled material in their products. Without giving information on the post consumer content we have no way to tell if these products are closing the waste stream circle. Products are much “greener” the higher the post-consumer percentage is.