A Modern History
We have come a long way from the beginning of the industrial revolution. Its burgeoning negative effect on the planet’s ecosystem has caused enough concern for us to finally turn our collective attention for sustainability in every way possible, and that includes building design and construction practices.
Thought it may feel like a new movement, what we call ‘green building’ practices and designs is nothing new. For example, the Anasazi ruins featured homes that were designed to soak up the sun’s heat in the winter. However, it’s only recently that we’ve been able to combine this understanding of energy conservation, born out of necessity, with the technological capability and advanced materials for large and highly complex design and construction.
The concept of going green progressed (and became more recognized) the 70’s, when oil prices started to rise. The research began in earnest to find more efficient and renewable energy sources, paving the way for experimentation with using sustainable practices in building. How our way of thinking about the process has changed is evident in the change in the terminology that’s been used over the last few decades. In the 80’s, the main focus was on energy efficiency, so the movement was then known as energy-efficient construction. In the 90’s, the movement gained momentum and began to shift it’s focus to green building. The focus then was on energy efficiency and renewable materials.
Now we call it sustainable design and construction, an all-encompassing term, reflecting an expanded focus which includes energy efficiency, renewable materials and energy sources, reducing the negative environmental impact of the construction site, using building positioning and placement to further improve efficiency, reducing waste and pollution from the building itself as well as throughout the building process, and more. Research into new materials and designs that will increase sustainability, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and be more cost-effective continues in universities, private facilities, national laboratories and industry.
So We’ve Changed, Has Our Policy?
In 1990, the American Institute of Architects formed its Committee on the Environment, the voice of the AIA regarding sustainable design. In 1992, with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, the committee published an environmental resource guide for architects and builders. Also in 1992, the first local green building program was launched in Texas. The following year, the U.S. Green Building Council (the developers of LEED) was founded as a non-profit organization dedicated to green building and sustainability in construction. The White House caught on and then-president Bill Clinton began renovations that would make the White House a little greener. The pilot version of the LEED program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was instituted by the USGBC in 1998.
2006 and 2007 saw a flurry of activity at the federal level, beginning with the signing of the Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding by 19 federal agencies. An Environmental Scorecard was created for federal agencies which included a Sustainable Building section, along with a Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers. Then came Executive Order 13423, which included an update on federal goals for high-performance, sustainable buildings.
2008 marked a significant change in truly sustainable building movement. The EPA launched a new Green Building Strategy, focusing on the entire life-cycle of a building, including siting and the development and construction processes. So, just in the last few years has there been a truly significant impact on the roles and responsibilities of construction managers. Beginning in 2009, the AIA became a cooperating sponsor of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). This code was developed to govern sustainability in construction, including site development, land use and the preservation of any and all resources involved in the construction process and the built environment.
The new risks that accompany this shifting construction process are not yet fully defined, and so have yet to be fully incorporated into the legal matters that surround sustainable building. To this end, though, there is work being done, and documents like the 310 Green Building Addendum, a comprehensive standard contract specifically addressing the needs of owners, contractors, sub-contractors and sureties as they relate to the green building process.
Industry Innovation
With green building incentive programs on the rise as well as increasing concern for environmental well-being, the push toward sustainability will bring even more changes to the construction site. What are we looking at for the future of construction? Here are a few ideas.
Fleet Management – By using GPS to track fleets of construction vehicles, you can cut costs in several directions. Once you’ve identified problem areas, like excessive idling, you can prevent wasting diesel. You can track engine hours and use preventative maintenance to more effectively cut down-time. Tactics like this will have secondary benefits, such as improving the accuracy of bids and the efficiency of time-management.
Software Innovation – At the moment, you can get construction management software that tracks LEED projects, but there’s a lot of potential for increased incorporation of sustainability practices and procedures in the software. Increased functionality and less complication for LEED projects is important, but also a program that will maintain a focus on other important elements of sustainable construction, such as eliminating paper invoices and maybe even software to log real-time fleet emissions, since you’re already tracking them via GPS.
Net Zero and Beyond – We have the technology to make homes net zero energy-, even net zero water-users. For many this is not yet economically within reach, but we may not have to wait too long. And why stop there? Each home has the possibility of becoming a net producer and sharing their energy with the community.
The Building as a Living System – Rather than seeing construction as a more organized alternative to a tornado for plopping a building down onto a landscape, we’ll begin to see it as a process of integrating the structure into the landscape and the community, in terms of materials and resources as well as design, turning it into a regenerative element.