Sustainable Building construction
Sustainable building construction or Green building, also known as eco-friendly, refers to the use of processes or best practices that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s lifecycle including the use of materials.
Sustainable building processes include site or building location, design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.
It is referred also to close cooperation among the design team, architects, engineers, LEED or energy star rater, builder, and owner at all stages of a project.
These are not new but evolved processes from classical building design, to manage concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
Four primary programs or codes:
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) – A set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Learn more about LEED.National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) ICC 700 – A collaborative effort between the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and International Code Council (ICC) that provides green practices that can be applied to new homes such as high-rise multifamily buildings, home remodeling and additions, hotels and motels and the site upon which the green homes are located. Learn more information about NGBS ICC 700.
International Green Construction™ Code (IgCC) – The ICC’s IgCC is an overlay code, meaning it is written in a manner to be used with all other ICC codes. The IgCC contains provisions for site development and land use, energy efficiency, water conservation, material resource conservation and efficiency, indoor environmental quality and comfort, commissioning and operations and maintenance and existing buildings. The energy efficiency provisions use the commercial provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code® (IECC) as a basis and then improves on them by generally increasing the efficiency of the IECC provisions by 10 percent. ASHRAE Standard 189.1 is also adopted by reference into the IgCC as an alternative path to compliance. Learn more about the IgCC.ASHRAE Standard 189.1 – The standard, developed for the design of high-performance green buildings except low-rise residential buildings, addresses site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy use efficiency, indoor environmental quality, high-performance operation and the impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources by buildings. Learn more about the ASHRAE Standard 189.1.
The common objective is to design buildings or structures that reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment through:
Efficient use of energy, water, and other resourcesProtection of occupant health and improvement in employee productivit Reduction of waste, pollution, and environmental degradation.
Other concepts related to sustainable construction are:
Natural building focuses on the use of locally available, natural materials. Sustainable design meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable design is architectural design that minimizes the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.Sustainable retrofitting is an option for existing homes, and structures for energy efficient refurbishment, following sustainable construction principles.