What is this article?

This is merely a short introduction to a large and rapidly changing area of architecture and facilities. More detail can be found in Greening America's Schools ( G. Kats, October 2006) and at the CHPS and Betterbricks web sites.

What is Sustainable Design?

Over the past ten years, sustainable (or environmentally-conscious) design, which had been a small niche within the practice of architecture, has become the major movement of the 21st century. Many government agencies mandate sustainable building construction. Many architecture firms market it. But what is sustainable design?

The design, construction, and operation of buildings results in environmental impacts at the building site as well as in the broader environment. In its purest sense, sustainable design manages and minimizes negative environmental impacts that result from design, construction, and operation of buildings and sites.

The most common tool in this effort is the US Green Building Council's LEED rating system, which assigns points to various aspects of a building which result in assignment of certification at the base certified level, a silver level, a gold level, or a platinum level. There is as much criticism and controversy about the LEED system as their is adoption of it. However, it is a broad-based consensus rating system in common use through the USA, so no matter how much people argue about its merits and qualities, it is unsurpassed for recognition.

Why Does this Matter?

Buildings have huge environmental impacts. U.S. buildings consume 35% of all energy, 65 % of electrical energy and contribute 35% of our carbon dioxide emissions (Betterbricks). The construction process itself uses massive amounts of energy, materials, and natural resources, and the operation of the resulting buildings produce effects that quickly outstrip the impacts of construction. Basic siting decisions can have far-reaching, permanent effects on transportation and vehicular use. Building design runs through the chain of environmental impacts resulting from the extraction of raw materials, manufacture of building elements, installation in the construction process, and ultimately the disposal of these materials at some future date. Every building system has major environmental impacts, both locally and globally. For that reason, this is an area that is extremely difficult to deal with during design unless some kind of structure or format is provided, hence the LEED rating system.

In addition, research is showing that human performance tends to be measurably higher in buildings with daylighting, natural ventilation, good indoor air quality, and many other aspects of a sustainable building (also called a high performance building). Use of daylight instead of electric light, especially through windows that provide views, definitely enhances learning if problems with glare and heat gain have been dealt with. Retail sales are higher in buildings with daylight. Patients in hospital rooms with windows have better outcomes than patients without windows. High performance buildings provide tangible benefits throughout their lives.

How To Design a Sustainable School?

Integrated Design: The design of a high performance building has to start early in the design process and address issues and opportunities in in an interdisciplinary way if it's going to be very successful. One kay question relates to the life of the building. A decision to make a building with a long intended life is fundamentally important, so that smart decisions can reap benefits for a long period of time (see Steward Brand model in Introduction to Building Systems). Ideally, selection of a building site is based on opportunities to apply advanced concepts, to encourage environmentally-friendly transportation (walking, biking, mass transit), and to preserve undisturbed sites by building on land previously developed for buildings or other functions.

The next level of decison-making, the massing and orientation of a building, can have profound effects on its use of energy, opportunities to treat stormwater, use of materials in construction, and so on. Here in the Pacific Northwest climate (and most climates in temperate latitudes), a building that has its long sides on the north and south will be easier to light with sunlight, cool without air conditioning, take advantages of breezes, etc. If the building is designed around daylighting, then it's easier to keep the building cool, as electric lighting is a large part of heat gain. If it minimizes the east and west exposures (unless shaded properly), then heat gain at unwanted times is minimized. More information on daylighting and climate response can be found in Sun, Wind and Light and at Betterbricks (see below).

After orientation and massing, then daylighting, heating and cooling strategies, building structure and skin materials are a next logical step. Does the material use a lot of energy in its manufacture? Is it recyclable? Is it made of recyclable materials?

In addition to the basic building materials of the structure and skin (the most long-lasting parts of the building), the details of resource use should be considered:

Use plantings, green roofs, and advanced drainage structures to clean stormwater, especially runoff from roadways, and provide an opportunity for storm water to percolate back into the ground

Finally, interior finishes are an essential issue in sustainable building design. Do they compromise indoor air quality by off-gassing noxious fumes? Are they recyclable and made of recycled materials? Do they have a long service life? What are the environmental effects of maintenance? For example, many floor materials (vinyl composition tile, many sheet goods, some bare or stained concrete) require regular stripping and waxing, which results in release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. Five years of VOCs from maintenance is often more significant than the VOC load from the new material in the first place. Other floor materials (some rubber sheet flooring, diamond-polished concrete, some ceramic tiles, terrazzo) only need to be washed.

There is much more to advanced building design than this limited set of issues, but if you have the interest and make sustainable design a criteria in your selection of architects and engineers, the rest is easy.

Can We Afford a Sustainable Building?

If planned from the early stages, and if people are on board for changing their preconcepts and, in some cases, how they use buildings, an advanced building need not cost more to build than a conventional building. If properly designed, an advanced building is much less expensive to operate and people using it will be healthier, happier, and learn more. Can you afford to not build a sustainable building? However, be clear to your architects and engineers from the first stages of the hiring process through the entire design process that you are as concerned about operating costs as you are about sustainability.

In addtion, there are subsidies, utility incentives, and transferrable tax credits available for various sustainability or energy strategies. Consult your utility companies and your state energy office for assistance before you start designing.

What About My Old, Worn Out School?

Many older schools can be improved dramatically.

• The classic pre-1960s school usually starts with good daylighting or at least the potential for it.
• The classic 1960s or 197's school with few or no windows can often have windows added, improving morale, improving student learning, and sometimes providing an opportunity to save energy through daylighting.
• Insulation can be added in windows, crawlspaces, and exterior walls.
• Unshaded west and south exposures can be protected with exterior shading devices or deciduous trees or vines.
• Old or leaky windows can be improved or replaced. In some cases, the amount of exterior window can be reduced, even through leaving the windows in place and insulating them on the interior.
• Toilet fixtures can be replaced with others that use much less water.
• Stormwater can be redirected to special planters or bioswales.
• Modern controls can be added to the heating system to provide exactly the desired temperature, but only when the space is occupied.
• Occupancy sensors can turn off the lights when the room isn't occupied. Daylight sensors can turn dim the lighting when daylight is adequate.

Where Can I Learn More?

Heschong Mahone Group - research on the effects of daylighting on human performance (including learning)

Sun, Wind, and Light, GZ Brown, Wiley, 2000

Betterbricks and its extremely high-performance, low-energy prototype classroom

Oregon Department of Energy - an important first stop for assistance
     and public purpose funds
     and Business Energy Tax Credits (BETC)

Collaborative of High Performance Schools (CHPS)

Greening America's Schools ( G. Kats, October 2006)

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