We're interested in making our buildings "green," but builders tell us the materials are hard to come by or really expensive. We thought this would help us save money in the long term, but the short-term pain has my board questioning this strategy. Any suggestions?
The DEI Design Team, Cincinnati
Healthier employees and helping the environment are both wonderful incentives to build a green building. But there are many steps required to get there.
Building a certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) facility includes everything from site selection to light fixtures. It is also important to find a LEED certified designer and decide which level of LEED certification you want to reach.
With this determined, the plans must be reviewed and approved by the US Green Building Council.
The initial cost of green materials can be higher and it is possible that lead time for materials may be slightly longer than common building materials.
However, only the facility owner can decide if the initial cost is worth it. How long do you plan on staying in the building? Will the cost savings in the years to come make up for the initial expense? Will the potential reduced number of employee sick days be considered when measuring the costs compared to worth?
As building materials and processes become more sophisticated, industry standards are becoming more strict. Therefore designing facilities in this way may become more of an industry standard in the future. In the short-term, your effort to be more environmentally friendly may attract new members, proving the credit union to be proactive.
Ralph La Macchia, CEO, La Macchia Group, Milwaukee, Wis.
The first question for you is: are you seeking tax credits and LEED Certification? If so, the credits will be tied to the work you do prior to the actual construction. Documentation is critical from the onset. The initial documentation work required to achieve the certification for an experienced LEED-accredited architect is approximately 600 hours, in addition to the regular course of architecture to achieve "Gold Status."
The building will cost more, however, some of the costs are recouped through energy savings. Many of the elements need to be evaluated in a lifecycle cost-benefit analysis.
Finding the products is not as difficult in most cases, but finding contractors that have experience in LEED-certified buildings may be a little trickier.
Designers will be a challenge as well, because you would hate to hire a LEED-accredited designer that does not understand the credit union business. In addition, remodeling an existing building is also different in terms of certification vs. constructing a new building.
The bottom line is that you must put into perspective why you are moving towards a "Green Building" and what your expectations are - public relations, energy savings, being a responsible corporate citizen, or do you simply feel it is the right thing to do?
While working on achieving a green building certification you may determine that the certification process is too time consuming and expensive.
You may decide only to obtain some of the elements and not to pursue certification. One of the approaches we have taken is incorporating elements such as recycled building products, materials considered components of sustainable design, geothermal HVAC systems, and a photovoltaic (PV) system for electrical.
Other green building systems that you may want to pursue are recycled rubber products (flooring), high performance glazing systems (windows), and rain gardens (exterior), to name a few. Grey water or black water systems are also areas to watch, however they begin to increase the complexity of the project exponentially.
Thus far our philosophy has been to make the determination early of the benefits of LEED certification or to simply evaluate the benefits of a building that is designed with energy efficiency and is environmentally friendly.
Much of what is being discussed here can provide you the energy savings and the benefits of future thinking without a tremendous amount of heartburn.
What is most critical is to determine what specifically you want out of your project-just energy savings, sustainable design, and environmental friendliness? Or is the documented certification your ultimate goal?
For more information, the website for LEED is www.usgbc.org/LEED.
The professionals in our own design department are currently working on several projects that involve varying degrees of green building components and certification-one of them being our new office.
William Dean, Vice President Business Administration, NewGround, Chesterfield, Mo.
You must be psychic, because we have been working with a banking client in the west that is being "forced" to comply with Green Building Design. Here is some of our research that we have uncovered related to the key component areas of this building type.
One of the "complaints" of builders and developers is their reluctance to want to work within the guidelines and suggested specifications of the green building design and construction criteria.
Materials are harder to come by and in many cases expensive, because they require a higher grade of equipment or additional component parts that either filter or recycle air, water, or other building environment processes, which in the short term, appear to be expensive, but in the longer term will actually not only save both money and health, but allows the building to function more efficiently and effectively.
Another possible plus for the green building approach now is that many municipalities are moving towards "green" construction requirements for new construction.
This process will most likely continue to spread nationwide and the government will most likely continue to offer tax rebates and other incentives for its implementation and use.
Looking into the future, I would not be surprised to see the government dictate that many older building be retrofitted to have some elements of "green" design to force some of the energy efficiency and health-related components into these buildings.
The fact that builders are reluctant or are charging construction premiums, should not deter a credit union from investigating the immediate and longer-term paybacks in building efficiency, tax relief, and health factors that could possibly provide a higher level breakeven for the building, employees, and members that will be using the facility for the next 20 to 30 years and beyond.
We have to remember that a branch built today, will be a key business center for the credit union for a long period of time, considering depreciation, use, and location factors.
Sustainable Building Design or Green Buildings:
Siting of Building
1. Along mass transit route.
2. Protect and retain natural landscape/features.
3. Use compost and recycled mulches.
Energy Efficiency
1. Passive design: shape of building, orientation to maximize natural lighting and solar design.
2. Use high efficiency lighting and lighting controls.
3. Use thermal efficient building shell in combination with energy efficient heating/cooling system.
4. Use minimal glass on east and west elevations.
5. Use light color roofing materials and interior wall finishes.
6. Use alternative energy sources, if available in the region.
7. Use exterior shading devices and high performance glass.
Material Efficiency
1. Use sustainable materials: these are materials that are recycled/reused, give of low gassing or harmful air, and have long durability and longevity.
2. Recycle waste materials from demolition.
3. Use dimensional planning to reduce waste.
Water Efficiency
1. Use a "gray water" system: recycle water for toilet flushing.
2. Use water conserving plumbing fixtures.
3. Use insta-hot devices at remote places in the building, rather than hot water recirculating loop.
4. Meter/control water for landscaping separately.
Health & Safety
1. Improve indoor air quality by choosing interior materials that give off low emissions, such as formaldehydes.
2. Use adequate ventilation and filtration as part of HVAC system.
3. Control humidity in building to prevent microbial growth.
Several articles you might find helpful can be found at:
* on the green building rating system: www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1095.
* on PNC's efforts to design green retail: www.greenbiz.com/news/news-third.cfm?NewsID=28860&CFID=12403903&CFTOKEN=30160133.
* on green banking: www.sdearthtimes.com/et0403/et0403s6.html.
* more on green banking: www.harvesth2o.com/pcu.shtml
* additional green banking article: wainwrightbank.com/html/about/news/news/articles/030127.html.
* More guidance can be purchased at www.greenleaf-publishing.com/catalogue/banking.htm.
CUJ Resources
For info on this green buildings, our panel of experts suggest:
* Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): www.usgbc.org
* www.greenbiz.com
* www.sdearthtimes.com
* www.harvesth2o.com/pcu.shtml
