fertilizer for green design, part 2
by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, CSI, CCS, CCCA
fertilizer for green design, part 2by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, CSI, CCS, CCCA |
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LEED and BEES promise the standards necessary for logical decisions about building products |
In last month's column I noted that making good decisions about green design is difficult at best. I went on to say that the average architect is no more qualified to make rational decisions about environmental impact or life-cycle cost than to specify a simple structural beam from scratch. The key to solving either of these problems is outside help. There is a multitude of standards for material, physical characteristics, and performance for steel, as well as for standard shapes. Without these, it would be extremely difficult to design a building. Similarly, it is extremely difficult to implement sustainable design when there are no standards for "green" performance. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) now offers computer programs that standardize processes used in developing green designs. Supported by the Federal government and several other important organizations, these programs offer the first step in rational evaluation of a facility's life-cycle cost, which must, by definition, include the environmental impact of product selection. The first of these, LEED, is probably familiar to any firm interested in green design. According to USGBC, "LEED is a self-assessing system designed for rating new and existing…buildings. It evaluates environmental performance from a 'whole building' perspective over a building's life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a 'green building.' " The second program, BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability), is used to evaluate individual products. According to USGBC, BEES "brings to your fingertips a powerful technique for balancing the environmental and economic performance of building products. Developed by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Green Buildings Program, the tool is based on consensus standards and designed to be practical, flexible, consistent, and transparent. The Windows-based decision support software…includes actual environmental and economic performance data for a number of building products." Although still being developed, these programs promise to offer the standards necessary for logical decisions about building products. Once a library of standards is available, and products have consistently applied performance characteristics, we will be able to select, compare, and specify those characteristics that affect life-cycle cost, the same as we presently do for structural steel. Look for both of these programs at www.usgbc.org/, under "resources". © 2000 Sheldon Wolfe, RA, CSI, CCS, CCCA |
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