Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
8
Green Build
ings
8.1 General
Green construction (or sustainable building) is a structural process that is
environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout a building's
life cycle, from laying down the design principles, construction, operation,
maintenance, renovation, to demolition. This requires close cooperation
among the design team, the architects, the engineers and the client at all
project stages. Green building practices expand and complement the clas-
sical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability and comfort.
Although new technologies are constantly being developed to comple-
ment current practices in creating greener structures, the common objective
is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built
environment on human health and on the natural environment by
1. Efficiently using energy, water and other resources
2. Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
3. Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale
and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally [1].
Other related topics include sustainable design and green architecture.
Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs. Although some green building programmes do not address the issue
of retrofitting existing homes, others do. Green construction principles can
easily be applied to retrofit work as well as to new construction.
A 2009 report by the U.S. General Services Administration [2-4] found 12
sustainably designed buildings cost less to operate and had excellent energy
performance. In addition, occupants were more satisfied with the overall
building than were those in typical commercial buildings.
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