Perceptions Of Green Building Features Over Performance

When asked what makes a building environmentally friendly, the average person may respond with a rooftop garden, a green wall, or solar panels as examples. While they are not completely incorrect, “Green Building” is not merely characterized by greenery or elaborate architectural embellishments. When it comes to architecture and the built environment, the green idea transcends physical building components and aesthetics. But what exactly qualifies a building as “green”?

What Is A Green Building?

A green building is one that increases energy independence and creates a healthier environment through high efficiency and responsibly sourced materials, water conservation, onsite renewable energy production, and reduced waste.

Green buildings are those that have a low environmental effect and function in accordance with sustainability principles. Sustainability is defined as the responsible use of natural resources, efficient energy usage, proper waste management, and consideration of the inhabitants’ well-being in order to promote economic, social, and environmental longevity. An environmentally sensitive building should be characterized by its performance throughout the course of its life in accordance with these sustainability criteria.

Green Building Features vs. Performance: Misconceptions

The green design may be a difficult task to do. It takes more than just adding green elements on the outside of a building to make it environmentally friendly. Pre-planning, feasibility studies and research into architectural advances are all required for green design. It is essential to work with a large number of experts from a variety of fields. The strategic objectives of the project should be established from the outset. In order to guarantee long-term performance, it is critical to discuss, investigate, record, and assess the environmental effect of each design choice throughout the design process.

Green building design is a process that starts with a long-term impact goal and then proceeds with site analysis, energy modeling, credit counting, research, and finally with implementation. Operation and maintenance identify efficiency and environmental sustainability respectively.

Performance Criteria of a Green Building

The following sustainable building performance standards may be applied to any structure, whether it’s an apartment building in the suburbs or a townhouse in the city. A school, office, mall, or gymnasium are examples of buildings that can be classified as “green.”

Less Energy Consumption

Passive design techniques are used to optimize natural light and ventilation in a green building in order to reduce energy consumption from artificial lighting and heating and cooling systems. The orientation of a building in respect to the sun and wind patterns is the most fundamental technique for introducing natural lighting and ventilation into a space. Due to the Venturi effect or the stack effect created by vertical shafts, vents, open-air atriums, and courtyards, passive cooling solutions such as these have been shown to be effective methods for natural ventilation. Installing energy-efficient lighting fixtures and only using them during nighttime activities can further reduce total energy usage. As part of the building design process, there are also methods for achieving a balance between natural and artificial lighting.

Use Of Non-toxic, Locally Available, And Renewable Building Materials

The environmental effect is minimized by carefully selecting the kind of building materials used in the construction. The first factor to examine is the method through which the construction components were produced. Because of the intense heating required to make cement from the mineral alite, the cement industry, for example, is a significant source of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Eco-cement, produced from reactive magnesia, would be a more environmentally friendly option since it requires only half the heating required in the manufacturing process, resulting in lower carbon emissions and energy usage.

Another consideration is the method through which the materials are delivered to the site. When resources are obtained locally, they have a shorter journey time, resulting in less greenhouse gas emissions and less use of fossil fuels for shipping and transportation.

Recycling existing building materials is the most environmentally friendly technique since it conserves energy and minimizes trash in landfills. According to Construction Business Owner, recycling the concrete and asphalt pavement produced yearly in the United States is equal to conserving 1 billion gallons of fuel or removing more than 1 million vehicles off the road. Metal, asphalt, wood, concrete, glass, gypsum, and cardboard are some of the recyclable building materials available.

Consideration To The Environment During Construction

Aside from eco-friendly materials, there are sustainable construction techniques that are used in green development. Another common technique is adaptive reuse, which involves the conversion of existing buildings into new ones for a variety of uses. There is also modular building, which is a method that builders employ to create structures more quickly and efficiently while conserving resources to the greatest extent possible. Structures made of modular components may be constructed off-site, where pollution can be regulated and resources monitored. The final step will consist only of delivering the completed product to the location. Using sustainable development methods, repurposing existing buildings, and making use of green technologies, the goal of sustainable construction is to minimize the industry’s negative effect on the environment.

The Bahay Kubo

In the Philippines, the Bahay Kubo (cube house) is a fantastic representation of green construction concepts in practice. It is made of bamboo and nipa, both of which are locally sourced and easily accessible sustainable building resources for the area. The sloped roofs are effective in shedding rainwater and providing enough above area to dissipate heat. The big windows are shaded by the expanded roof eaves, which also allow for natural ventilation and sunshine. The tropical environment of the Philippines has had an impact on the overall architecture of the building. Because of its structural strength, the Bahay Kubo even withstood the ash fall from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, while many modern-day homes crumbled around it.

The Bahay Kubo is the pinnacle of what it means to live in a green building. We may not be able to return to the traditional architecture and aesthetics of this indigenous design, but we may draw inspiration from its simplicity, pragmatism, and commitment to sustainability.

Post-Construction: Maintenance and Operation

A green building cannot maintain its green status on its own. It will still be necessary for users to engage in active engagement and motivation in order to establish long-term habits. There are essential maintenance and operating procedures that must be followed throughout the life cycle of a structure. These are some examples:

• Sustainable design techniques that reduce the likelihood of building system failures are being introduced and taught to occupants, building managers, and maintenance professionals.
• It is recommended that both janitorial personnel and building occupants utilize biodegradable, organic, non-toxic, and non-chemical cleaning solutions to guarantee that the interior air quality is healthy.
• Recycling, reuse, and composting waste created by the building by providing trash containers for recycling, reuse, and composting;
• Energy audits and assessments of building lighting fixtures should be scheduled to ensure that energy efficiency is maintained.

Embracing Performance Over Features

Green buildings are designed and constructed to be environmentally responsible in terms of performance per square meter, as well as performance per unit of time or energy spent by inhabitants. To be considered green, a design must also include interior environmental quality elements such as thermal comfort, air quality, acoustics, natural light, and outdoor views from the building’s openings.

Eco-friendly buildings not only include environmentally favorable constructions but also incorporate the process of their construction into their design. The final product of a green building is seen as important as the method through which it was constructed.

Many designers are still designing buildings with harmful features that will only worsen the world’s environmental problems. To be environmentally conscious, architects and builders must examine and predict the environmental, economic, and social consequences of their projects from conception to completion.

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