Ahwahnee Principals http://www.walkablestreets.com/ahwah.htm
"Pollution is the consequence of bad design." Buckminster Fuller
It's only in the last 100 years, since the onset of the industrial revolution, that economic growth and development has been driven primarily by the extraction and development of nonrenewable resources. When the U.S. Department of Energy commissioned a group of architects to design buildings that could function on reduced energy loads during the energy crisis of the late 1970s, the energy-efficient proposals demonstrated potential for a 50-80 percent reduction. But valuable inroads, including those earth-sheltered and energy-efficient designs of Malcolm Wells and passive-solar designs of David Wright, among others, fell into shadow with the lifting of the oil embargo, and as government incentives came to an end in the mid-1980s.
A Definition of Sustainable Design and Green Building
Sustainable design incorporates green building. Sustainable design takes a holistic approach to development integral to environmental stewardship and the conservation of natural resources, while green building concerns itself with energy efficiency and the environmental considerations of the built environment. Both herald a fundamental change in how and why we build.
So, What Makes a Building "Green"?
Compared to conventional construction, green building relies, to varying degrees, on environmentally sensitive materials and a construction process that delivers a structure designed to be healthy and energy efficient. A green-building design can incorporate sun, wind, water filtration and airflow patterns and can be built with renewable materials, recycled and recyclable materials or materials salvaged from deconstruction sites, and construction techniques that reduce the amount of waste on-site. A green building can qualify a developer for incentives, rebates and certifications that reduce costs and attract investment. However, while a green building is designed primarily to maintain healthy indoor temperatures and air quality and is outfitted with technically advanced appliances and systems that conserve energy, it typically continues to operate on a grid powered by fossil fuels.
Then ... what is Sustainable Design?
Sustainable design goes beyond energy efficiency. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development provides for the current generation to meet present-day needs without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Fossil fuel is a nonrenewable and environmentally degrading energy source. The practice of sustainable design can erase, or even reverse, the negative environmental impacts of development on a region, because it includes green building within a larger organic ecosystem of resource supply, storage, reclamation of waste, restoration and renewal, vibrant community development and economic growth, without reliance on fossil fuels. Such a building, community or region designed to operate as a living organism, recapturing and recycling its waste to create new sources of energy, is sustainable.
The Role of RDAs
Because redevelopment agencies focus their efforts in urban areas, they will be challenged by AB 32, the landmark California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, to commit to land-use and urban-design plans and strategies intended to significantly reduce their region's carbon footprint. By integrating support for aggressive green-building standards with funding and technical support for transit-oriented development, preservation and infill, adaptive reuse, ecological restoration and affordable housing as the gateway to environmentally and economically equitable urban regeneration, redevelopment agencies have a vital role to play in approaching sustainability in the State of California and staying the advance of global warming.
Related Information and Sources
AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Ecological Literacy in Architectural Education: http://www.aia.org/practicing/groups/kc/AIAS074665
Green Building A to Z: Understanding the Language of Green Building, Jerry Yudelson, New Society Publishers, BC Canada, 2007
US Green Building Council http://usgbc.org/
The Green Standard: Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings, Except Low Rise Residential Buildings Information on Standard 189.1: www.ashrae.org/greenstandard
From site location to energy use to recycling, this standard will set the foundation for green buildings through its adoption into local codes.
Beyond Green Building: How to Get Deals Done in the New Era of Sustainable Community Planning and Development prepared by Partnership for Sustainable Communitieshttp://www.p4sc.org/ Join the PSC mailing list by clicking http://www.p4sc.org/Join_Our_Mailing_List.html
The Sustainable Sites Initiative: Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009
The Case for Sustainable Landscapes
To Download a free pdf version of the report and companion documents, click http://www.sustainablesites.org/report/
|
