This document discusses green, high-performance buildings. It defines green building as creating healthy built environments based on efficient use of resources and ecological principles. The key principles of green construction are minimizing resource use, maximizing reuse, using renewable materials, protecting nature, non-toxic environments, life cycle cost analysis, and quality. Green buildings focus on energy, water, indoor environmental quality, materials, landscaping, and construction processes. Major organizations promoting green building include the US Green Building Council and its LEED rating system. Government programs at all levels are also supporting green construction.

1. Introduction to Green, High
Performance Buildings
Lecture 3

2. Industry Response: Green, High
Performance Buildings
 What is Green Building? The creation and
maintenance of a healthy built environment based on
resource efficient and ecological principles.
 Also referred to as High Performance buildings
 And sometimes referred to as Sustainable
Construction
 Architects refer to the process as Ecological Design or
Ecologically Sustainable Design.

3. Principles of Green Construction
1. Minimize resource consumption (Conserve)
2. Maximize resource reuse (Reuse)
3. Use renewable or recyclable resources
(Renew/Recycle)
4. Protect the natural environment (Protect
nature)
5. Create a healthy, non-toxic human environment
(Non-Toxics)
6. Apply Life Cycle Cost Analysis (Economics)
7. Pursue Quality in creating the built environment
(Quality)

4. The Process
Principles
Conserve
Reuse
Renew/Recycle
Protect Nature
Non-Toxics
Economics
Quality
Use
Phases
Planning
Development
Design
Deconstruction
Maintenance
Operation
Energy Water Materials Land Biota
Resources

5. Green Buildings (1)
 Energy
 Passive Design: energy, lighting, envelope (skin,
windows, door)
 Renewable energy: solar HW, PV
 High efficiency: lighting, HVAC, transformers,
appliances
 Water
 Low flow fixtures, greywater, rainwater harvesting,
reclaimed water
 Indoor Environmental Quality
 Zero emission finishes, properly sized HVAC,
attention to details (moisture control)

6. Green Buildings (2)
 Materials
 Zero emissions
 Deconstructable, DFE
 Renewable, Recyclable, Recycled Content, Reused
 Landscaping
 Native and adapted species, low water use
 Construction Process
 Low waste, protection of natural environment
 Contracting Process
 Based on performance

7. Greening Movement in
Construction
 The U.S. Green Building Council is the major US force
in greening the built environment
 LEED: U.S. Green Building Rating System
 NAHB chapters engaged in green building
 New Urbanism and Sustainable Architecture are
rapidly increasing in influence
 Green Materials are becoming more prevalent
 Energy efficiency is increasing
 Healthy interior environments are critical

8. The U.S. Green Building Council
www.usgbc.org

9. US Green Home Builder Programs
Greater Atlanta HBA

10. Sustainable Forestry

11. Thomas Fisher, Architectural Design, Charlottesville, VA

13. City Programs
 Austin, Texas: A voluntary program that certifies green homes on a scale
of one to four stars, with more stars being awarded to homes with more
green features. The program also provides assistance to building
professionals, such as architects, engineers, and builders, in exchange for
offering and promoting green building practices.
 Portland, Oregon: An integrated, conservation-based effort to promote
resource-efficient building and sustainable site design practices throughout
the City. Coordinating the expertise and resources of six City bureaus, this
intiative sets aggressive goals and recommends a carefully selected set of
strategies to leverage local expertise and develop cost-effective solutions for
builders, developers, and building owners and users.

14. State Programs

15. Federal Government

17. National Park Service

19. Rocky Mountain Institute Building

20. Darmstadt Passivhaus

21. De Montefort University

22. ING Bank, Amsterdam

24. Raw Materials for an Earthship

25. Earthship under Construction

26. Shopping
Center

27. Strip Mall

28. ‘Green’ Building Materials
Hebel Block
ACC
Truss Joist McMillan
Engineered Lumber

29. Concluding Thoughts
 Green building is a recent phenomenon and
movement (1993 in the U.S.)
 The main proponent in the U.S. is the USGBC
which created the LEED standard
 There is a rapidly emerging demand and
market for green buildings and products and
services that support this new direction for
construction
 Federal, state, and local governments are
creating a good percentage of the demand.
 The private sector is rapidly coming on board,
especially software, telecommunications, and
aircraft industries.