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 Green
Building
Requirements
Guidelines
 Introduction
Acknowledgements
 What
is a Green Building?
Why
Green Design?
Green
Design Process
Green
Design Strategies
Performance
Ordinances
Using
these Guidelines
Required
Practices
Suggested
Practices
Siting
and Form
Landscape
Transportation
Envelope
and Space Planning
Materials
Water
Systems
Electrical
Systems
HVAC
Systems
Control
Systems
Construction
Management
Commissioning
Appendices
Case Studies
Additional Resources
Site
Map
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What Makes
a Building Green
A
"green" building places a high priority on health, environmental
and resource conservation performance over its life-cycle. These
new priorities expand and complement the classical building design
concerns: economy, utility, durability, and delight. Green design
emphasizes a number of new environ-mental, resource and occupant health
concerns:
- Reduce
human exposure to noxious materials.
- Conserve
non-renewable energy and scarce materials.
- Minimize
life-cycle ecological impact of energy and materials used.
- Use
renewable energy and materials that are sustainably harvested.
- Protect
and restore local air, water, soils, flora and fauna.
- Support
pedestrians, bicycles, mass transit and other alternatives to fossil-fueled
vehicles.
Most
green buildings are high-quality buildings; they last longer, cost
less to operate and maintain, and provide greater occupant satisfaction
than standard developments. Sophisticated buyers and lessors prefer
them, and are often willing to pay a premium for their advantages.
What
surprises many people unfamiliar with this design movement is that
good green buildings often cost little or no more to build than conventional
designs. Commitment to better performance, close teamwork throughout
the design process, openness to new approaches, and information on
how these are best applied are more important than a large construction
budget.
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