Green building is the process of creating structures using processes and materials that are environmentally responsible and efficient throughout the life of the building. Green building is known as sustainable or high-performance buildings.
Using local, renewable materials dates back thousands years when the Anasazi Indians (in the southwest U.S) built their villages so homes could get solar heat during the winter months. In modern times the movement grew out of the need and desire for energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. Due to the increase in oil prices in the 1970s, research to improve the efficiency of energy and find renewable energy sources came alive. The environmental movement during the 1960s and the 1970s led do the earliest advancements in contemporary green buildings.
Article by Architects in the North East
What green buildings are is not always easy to explain. In general, they are sustainable buildings or now referred to as Eco-homes. These buildings are designed to have a positive impact on the environment and create an economic and an improved social impact over the lifetime of the structure.
These structures are designed, built, operated, and renovated to meet energy-efficient guidelines. Known as green specifications, they provide a good set of guidelines for the building industry. That said, the process is still being defined in the UK regulations and open to broad interpretations.
Required Materials For Green Buildings:
There are four categories that are required for a building to be considered a green building and they are as follows:
All materials must be obtained from natural and renewable sources that have been managed and harvested in a sustainable manner. They should be obtained locally in order to reduce energy costs for transportation and/or salvaged from reclaimed materials in nearby sites. Acceptable materials are defined by green specifications that examine their Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) including their embodied energy, durability, recycled content, minimization of waste, and whether they are reusable and/or recyclable.
Regarding Energy:
Passive solar design will dramatically reduce heating and cooling costs for a building, must have high levels of insulation, and have energy-efficient windows. Natural sunlight reduces the electricity needed to provide the energy used in a building, and will contribute to the improvement of people’s health, and will improve productivity. Green buildings also offer energy-efficient lighting, low energy appliances, and incorporates renewable energy technology such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Saving Water:
This allows for using minimal amounts of water by installing rainwater systems that will recycle water for irrigation or for flushing toilets. This also includes installing water-efficient appliances such as low flowing showerheads, spray or self-closing taps that include low flush toilets or waterless composting toilets. The installation of hot water systems will save on the use of hot water.
Improved Health:
By incorporating non-toxic materials and products will enhance indoor air quality that will reduce asthma, various allergies, and other respiratory inflictions. These materials should be moisture resistant to prevent mold, spores, and other microbes. They should be emission-free and have low or no VOC content.
VOC or Volatile Organic Compounds means any compound of carbon, excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid,metallic carbides or carbonates and ammonium carbonate.
Indoor air quality should be addressed through ventilation systems and materials that control humidity and let the building breathe.
Also, green buildings should offer cost savings to both the builder and the occupant, offering the greater needs of the community, hiring only local labor, and providing affordable housing.
Comprehensive Approaches:
Comprehensive approaches should take into consideration each component of the building in relationship to the context of the entire building. What the green building’s impact will have on the overall environment and the surrounding community.
This approach can be very complicated and requires architects, builders, and designers to become quite creative by using system integration throughout the entire building process. There are several technology tools and assessment methods that are available for buildings including Building and Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methods (BREEAM) and Eco-homes.
Becoming A Green Deal Installer:
Green buildings are a very important topic and becoming even more significant. In order to help homeowners make their homes energy efficient, the UK government has introduced the “Green Deal”. Installers should take advantage of these new ideas and become green deal installers. An installer must be PAS2030 certified and in order to get the certification, they must have a quality management system in place.
Building For The Future:
Even though green buildings are still in beginning stages, their popularity is growing in leaps and bounds. The UK has regulations in place that demand green specifications are being followed with the construction of all new buildings in both design and development. This proves that green buildings are growing significantly throughout the country. With the ongoing threat of climate change, energy shortages, and increasing health issues it only makes common sense to follow the actions of the U.S. and build a greener environment. Through building durability, energy saving actions, reduction of pollution and waste will promote increase in health and well-being across the board. Green buildings, without doubt, are the way of the future and is a splendid concept!
In Conclusion:
You cannot turn on your television or radio without hearing discussions regarding Global Warming, melting icebergs, and the disappearance of Polar Bears. Leaders from around the world continually meet to figure out ways to cut back on environmental issues. To say one formula will correct all environmental issues is foolish. But, using smarter alternatives, within our homes and office buildings, can help out more than many might think possible. Energy-efficient appliances, implementing new technologies for building construction, and the implementation of solar panels, water-saving systems, high quality of insulation materials, and energy-efficient windows will not only save on costs but will give our planet a much needed break!
Our planet will thank you, our air will thank you, and wildlife will thank you and might even save the Polar Bear from becoming extinct.
Architects North East 