Sticks & Stones / Steel & Glass. Anthony Poon
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would benefit further from additional links to lighting, roofing, and other suppliers to fill in the bigger picture.
On the positive side, LEED standards really can lower the carbon footprint of a building. Still, most good architects were practicing green design before sustainability became an agenda.
I think of my friend Nicole, whose father was an architect in Australia. As an example of his green design, which he never labeled as such or cared to do so, he went to great lengths to limit or eliminate any construction material waste, which is one of the most basic foundations of being green. Every piece of wood was from a standard length of lumber or sheet of plywood off the shelf, not custom fabricated. Calculations in advance resulted in fewer waste pieces, and scraps were used down to the nub. Never discarded, remaining pieces of materials were all used creatively in his design.
Nicole’s father possessed the incredible intelligence, meticulous planning, and painstaking attention of an architect who had patience and just believed this was the way things should be done. This architect did not call himself a green architect, did not have his logo printed in green on recycled paper with soy-based ink, and did not market his approach as better than anyone else’s. For him, this was just professional architecture and common sense.
Competition for projects has increased, and the commitment to being green has become integral to marketing. In recent years, most public projects dependent on state funds have required the architect to be LEED-accredited and the project to be LEED-certified, whether the client had an understanding of all the requirements or not. As an incentive, some jurisdictions offer an expedited permitting process to projects that are intended to be LEED-certified or meet the city-authored independent green standards.
Why am I concerned? This is all good, right?
The end result is good in terms of the heightened awareness of the benefits of green living—and yes, some truly more efficient buildings—but are they the best they can be, and is there a sincere desire to be green, or just to be seen as green? When we were designing a new preschool in California, some committee members asked, “How much does it cost to get the solar panels we need to get the LEED rating?”
The certification process of a building is like receiving a report card, where the building is scored by an authorized agent and provided a LEED rating based on site design, efficient water usage, energy conservation, responsible use of materials and resources, and quality of indoor air and light. The LEED design and certification are broad and comprehensive, not limited to how many solar panels fit on the roof.
I obtained my LEED Green Associate accreditation in 2009 because, at the time, clients wanted proof that their architect was green. LEED accreditation was the only legitimate national stamp of approval that clients understood.
The portfolio of our completed works that are sustainable, the performance ratings of our projects, and the recommendations of past clients were not as relevant or as convincing as seeing the four letters L-E-E-D after my name on my business cards. I could spend hours explaining how our work is inherently environmentally conscious—but instead I just point to the LEED after my name.
In fact, the remaining challenge in many cases is to explain why a LEED building would cost more to construct but save money over time. Every piece of a building can be greener—and more costly—beyond the myopia associated with solar panels. A countertop made of recycled glass and stone may not be cheaper, but its recycled content reuses materials that would otherwise be tossed out as trash. Part of green architecture is using local materials, not unlike the local farm-to-table approach. Shipping marble from Italy consumes a lot of energy.
We create charts that show how the costs are earned back over time. We don’t greenwash; we are up front about every aspect that truly makes for a better, environmentally conscious building with a healthier environment for the people who use it. It is important to understand how a building impacts the environment, individuals, and communities now and in the future.
We all know how everything from hybrid cars to iPhones sucks up rare earth minerals and consumes vast amounts of energy to produce. I look forward to the day when green products are manufactured in a green manner, when the price of everyday green products will be affordable to all. Someday, the green-colored window cleaner will not be twice the price of the blue-colored window cleaner.
When I’m as good as my friend’s father, I’ll use every scrap of wood and glass with 0 percent waste.
When I stop getting asked, first thing, about solar panels.
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