Green Buildings Pay: design, productivity and

ecology
Prof Brian W Edwards
Author of books :
Green Buildings Pay
Rough Guide to
Sustainability
Sustainable Architecture
Green Architecture
RIBA sustainability advisor
2000-2
Questions addressed in research:
Main Question :How do green buildings pay?
What measures of benefit should we use
What is the mix of Social, Economic and
Environmental benefits
What is the relationship between energy
use, wellbeing, health, ecology and staff
productivity
Do green buildings produce image
benefits for the company
What impact does environmnetal
certification have upon design and client
expectation
Research method
12 primary cases (6 in USA, 3 in Denmark, 3 in
UK)
6 secondary cases (4 in USA, 2 in UK)
Criteria for cases (POE, high BREEAM, LEED
score, architectural quality, client feedback)
Technical (energy use) and social/user surveys,
interviews (clients, designers etc)
Comparison of building types and within types
The main cases
Denmark Ramboll HQ, VKR Holding HQ,
Green Lighthouse
UK- BDP offices, Wessex Water HQ, Woodlands
Trust
USA- Hearst Tower, Bank of America Tower,
New York Times HQ, San Francisco Federal
Building, Genzyme HQ, US Census Bureau
Canada- Manitoba Hydro HQ
Examples 1 (Denmark)
Ramboll Head office
High energy performce 79 kWh
(equivalent to BREEAM
Excellent) (83kWh in use)
High level of staff satisfaction
(8.5 out of 10)
Key satisfaction points were
daylight quality, comfort and
controls (80+%)
Lack of satisfaction were cold
drafts, top floor and noise
(20%)
Other key points noted- good
communication, inspiring,
motivating, democratic
Atrium, views and public
transport highly valued
Examples 2 (UK)
Examples 3 USA
Context and Issues
Growth in environmental
assessment and
certification schemes
BREEAM (1990), LEED
(1998), DGNB (2008)
Client drivers for
accreditation (image, life
cycle costing, market
advantage)
Global standards or
national standards
(conflicts across frontiers)
Added value of green
certification- real or
perceived
Key Findings: Impact of BREEAM,
LEED etc
On clients (business benefits, recruitment,
productivity, image)
On architects and engineers (new design
approaches, new digital tools, integration
of design and technology)
On users (perception of health and well-
being, commitment, retention, quality of
life at work)
Key Findings (clients)
Different client types have different
motives and objectives
Corporate HQ is main arena
Private clients leading public clients
Different business models in USA
compared to Europe and China
Green clients are green across a broad
front (not just building)
Key findings (Architects)
BREEAM, LEED etc has led to much innovation
in design
Innovation is most marked in facade
engineering, atria design and roofs
Practices now use a wide range of
environmental simulation tools
Architects are expected to be green
Renewable energy is big design driver in
emerging economies
Move from passive to active systems
Key findings (users)
High level of satisfaction with certified buildings
(8.7 out of 10)
Users like natural design
Users like views and green space
Users acknowledge productivity benefits
Users like social benefits of atria
Users like simple controls and screen
knowledge
Users think design affects communication and
ideas generation
Typical examples of working space
Problems
Clients- buildings do not perform as well
as intended. Energy use often 3 times
predicted consumption
Designers- risks and complexity of green
design. Certification is driving design
solutions
Users- noise is problem in open plan;
ground floors and top floors are less
attractive; lack of control
Future Trends 1
New workspace types require new sustainable
solutions (Google model)
Environmental assessment is moving towards
sustainability assessment
Certification matters more than assessment
Growth in environmental assessment software
Energy is driving built form (especially
renewable energy)
Skill and accreditation migration into architects
offices
Growth in green research in practice
Future Trends 2
China is catching up
LEED has led to global awareness of business
benefits of sustainability.
Growth in green marketing via LEED, BREEAM
Regional patterns of green design are emerging
in spite of global accreditation
Consumers (users) are a big driver for green
buildings especially in knowledge industries
(media, banking, research)
Knowledge flows from new build to
refurbishment (in recession)
Future Trends 3
Accreditation can erode national characteristics
Cultural differences exist between Europe, USA
and Asia
In Europe there are big differences
Green buildings reflect cultural values as well as
environmental priorities
Denmark has strong social democratic tradition
in architecture. Will it survive the techno-focus of
DGNB
Future Issues
Should building environmental certification be for
life
Should LEED, BREEAM, DGNB etc be
incorporated into national legislation
Should there be EU standards for certification
Can design variety exist in highly regulated and
certified green world
Are the design professions moving fast enough
Are our assumptions correct
LEED Images
BREEAM Images
Danish Green (but not DGNB)
Offices
Conclusions 1- Does Green
Building Pay?
Yes but...
Green offices produce tangible business benefits. These
benefits are improved with certification
The benefits are found mainly in increased business
performance and productivity
Green offices have marketing and image appeal
Energy savings are relatively small but good energy
design leads to factors enjoyed by users
Life cycle model has to consider social, economic and
environmental factors, not just energy performance
Conclusions 2: Life Cycle models
Business benefits of enhanced productivity (2%-
5%) outweigh energy cost benefits of green
design by a factor of about 4 to 1
Image (of building) and marketing (of company)
through sustainable design brings secondary
benefits (to company and community)
Energy is not the only impact (ecology and other
environmental resources matter too)
Life cycle models must include users
POE should be conditional on certification to
confirm LCA
New green model
Research suggests the following model. Green Buildings Pay when:
En+Ec+Ev=<U(w+h+pr)+C(i+pe)+B(v+lcc)
Where En- energy costs
Ec- ecology costs
Ev- environmental costs
Where U- user benefits
w- wellbeing
h- health
pr- productivity
Where C- company benefits
i- image
pe- performance
Where B- building benefits
v- value
lcc- life cycle costing