Climate change is not a fashionable topic in certain quarters these days, but it cannot be ignored and will only get worse unless those who can do something about it take action.
Since two-fifths of energy use in the U.S. can be attributed to buildings (including multifamily structures), the responsible parties in this case are building owners, facilities managers, property developers, architects, engineers, builders, and contractors. In other words, you and your professional colleagues.
SEE ALSO: Take BD+C’s free Passive House continuing education course, "Building Passively"
PRESUMABLY, YOU’RE ALREADY DOING YOUR BIT
Maybe your firm has signed up for the AIA 2030 Commitment to eliminate carbon emissions in the buildings you design by 2030. Or you’re shooting higher and higher on your LEED for Homes projects. Or you’re certifying your apartment property with GreenPoint, or with the NAHB National Green Building Program. All commendable, but not enough. In general, those efforts will only yield an average energy savings of 20-25% over “conventional” construction, i.e., meeting minimum building energy code requirements. To make a real dent in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we need to be in the 50-75% range of energy savings for new construction.
MAY I SUGGEST A FRESH APPROACH?
If you haven’t looked seriously at “passive house” design and construction, you should. OK, I know. You’ve already got an image in your mind of a bearded guy in lederhosen holding a stein of beer, standing in front of a cute little cottage in the Bavarian Alps.
Passive house design and construction is anything but that; in fact, it started right here in the good ol’ USA. Passive house uses systems and building products you use every day. It employs techniques that are familiar to the construction trades. Most important, it relies on solid building science: Orient the building correctly to the sun. Seal it tight to halt air leaks that sap energy. Insulate the walls and roof to a “super” level. Use high-performance windows and doors.
Eliminate thermal bridges. Do these things right and you can save 80-90% on heat energy, 50% on cooling energy, for an average 50-70% total energy savings. That’s what you can get when you build “passively.”
PASSIVE HOUSE HAS SPECIAL APPLICATION TO MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS.
In addition to the energy savings (which are hardly trivial), apartment and condominium buildings built to passive house standards use quiet, low-volume air circulation systems that filter indoor air and enhance occupant comfort. That’s a nice payoff for doing the right thing.
To learn more about passive house (and gain 1.0 AIA HSW Learning Units or Professional Development Hours), go to BDCnetwork.com/building-passively-aia-course.
I hope “passive house” will be the start of a whole new professional adventure for you.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Skanska completes $74 million Harbor Towers project six months ahead of schedule
Skanska USA Building Inc. announced the completion of a $74 million rehabilitation project at Harbor Towers, a 40-story luxury condominium complex comprising two towers located on Boston’s waterfront. Skanska served as Program Manager and oversaw the repair and replacement work that dramatically enhanced the reliability, cost-effectiveness, and energy efficiency of the buildings’ MEP systems.
| Aug 11, 2010
Best AEC Firms of 2011/12
Later this year, we will launch Best AEC Firms 2012. We’re looking for firms that create truly positive workplaces for their AEC professionals and support staff. Keep an eye on this page for entry information. +
| Aug 11, 2010
Manitoba Hydro Place, Tornado Tower among world's 'best tall buildings,' according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat last week announced the winners of its annual “Best Tall Building” awards for 2009, recognizing one outstanding tall building from each of four geographical regions: Americas, Asia & Australia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. This year’s winners are: Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Canada; Linked Hybrid, Beijing, China; The Broadgate Tower, London, UK; Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar.
| Aug 11, 2010
Call for entries: Building enclosure design awards
The Boston Society of Architects and the Boston chapter of the Building Enclosure Council (BEC-Boston) have announced a High Performance Building award that will assess building enclosure innovation through the demonstrated design, construction, and operation of the building enclosure.
| Aug 11, 2010
CampusBrands Inc., NYLO Hotels team to launch student housing franchise brand
Which would you choose: the cramped quarters, thin mattresses, and crowded communal bathrooms of dormitory life or a new type of student housing with comfortable couches, a game room, fitness center, Wi-Fi in every room, flat-screen televisions and maybe even a theater?
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
