Tags: sustainability

18 Jun 2009, Comments Off

CFC Reviews CMHC Design Report: IDP — Means

Author: admin

The Direction: Green Buildings Rating Systems

Beyond Bruntland and The Natural Step, a strategy for achieving sustainability goals is still needed. We can develop strategies by imagining future success and then take the actions needed to get there.
In the building industry, much preparatory strategy work has been done by the various green building rating systems and energy and environmental assessment methods.
These systems categorize and detail the impacts, actions and indicators required at a building level. LEED® Canada,10 Green Globes, Go Green and other rating systems give us the compass we need as we steer towards sustainability, and as they are refined over time, they will become more effective. And, as we work to refine our building practices, our buildings will also become more sustainable.

The Instrument: Integrated

Design Process as a Tool:
Even with rating systems and energy design tools spelling out the actions needed to proceed, it is still not always clear where to start and what tools to use. IDP is one of the best tools we have to help define the most appropriate design path. It provides the means to apply the design strategies and move society towards sustainability, one project at a time. Reviewed by Moishe Alexander.

5 Apr 2009, Comments Off

CFC Reviews CMHC Design Report: IDP — How is IDP Different? — Structured

Author: admin

There is a generally recognized order to dealing with design and sustainability issues in IDP. The reason that we need to deal with issues and decisions in the right order is to avoid locking in bad performance by making non-reversible decisions with incomplete input or information.
For instance, mechanical engineers may come up with very sophisticated air conditioning designs to deal with cooling loads, but if those cooling loads are three times what they need to be, due to huge amounts of unshaded, low-performance glazing in the wrong orientation, the improvement in energy performance will be marginal and the cost will be higher. By contrast, if architects quantitatively understand at the concept phase the impact of that glazing on performance and cost, they are in a better position to come up with alternatives.
Also, in most IDP, the design time is distributed differently. More time is spent upfront, but because the quality and completeness of decisions taken are better, less time is required later, especially by the engineers on the design team, to re-design and to correct for mistaken assumptions.
For example, on one conventionally designed project I am aware of, the owner switched glass types during construction, based on an offer from the contractor, in the belief that the new glass would save money. Unfortunately the cheaper glass also had lower thermal performance in both heating and cooling seasons, which necessitated re-design and upsizing of the mechanical systems at a premium after tenders closed. In the end, there were negligible cost savings and the operating cost was also higher for the tenants. Had IDP been employed, the owner would have understood that the system was optimized for the lowest total cost. Reviewed by Moishe Alexander.

5 Apr 2009, Comments Off

CFC Reviews CMHC Design Report: IDP — How is IDP Different? — Goal-driven

Author: admin

The big-picture goal is incorporating sustainability into the project, but it is necessary to set explicit subsidiary goals, objectives and targets as a means of breaking the goal into manageable pieces.
These are best framed in performance; not prescriptive, terms and will then form the basis for strategies to achieve them. These goals are set with the entire project team involved and must include the client. The idea is to get commitment, not compliance, from everyone involved. People support what they help create. The first goal is a review of the project brief against the list of client needs. Is this the best location from an environmental point of view? Is a new building actually required or would a major renovation be more appropriate?
Remember, because you started this process really early on, you get to ask these questions. In some cases, the best answer for your client might not result in a new building project this time, but the added value to your client by doing the right thing enhances the relationship, your reputation and will likely result in repeat business. From there the team moves on to specific environmental goals. These can be derived from rating system categories, but they should include fixed targets for:

Reduced site impacts;
Reduced off-site impacts, such as stormwater runoff, greenhouse gases or other emissions;
Reduced energy and water consumption;
Improved indoor environmental quality and thermal comfort, contributing to human health;
Increased construction waste diversion and recycling, material reuse and recycled content;
Improved durability, longevity and maintainability.

IDP, because of its inclusionary nature, is also a useful way to develop goals for social values, although there is little consensus in the building industry generally on how to deal with social issues at a project level, unless they are an explicit part of the program.
These goals and targets need to be clearly articulated, written down and kept front and centre as the design progresses. They serve as reference points as the detailed design develops or if conflict arises between goals. Reviewed by Jan Luistermans.

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