Sustainable Green Building is here

Real Estate Weekly, July 10, 1996 by Lois Weiss

Think about a pre-built column holding earth and seeds that becomes plant covered within a few weeks, enlivening a half-mile long indoor atrium in Spain - designed by a New Yorker.

In Holland, a staircase bannister containing a gently flowing stream tickles banking executives fingertips while it adds humidity to their office building.

Lockheed is saving so much money through energy efficiency and employee productivity that it no longer gives out statistics on its environmentally conscious building in California - it considers it a competitive advantage.

Current modeling techniques can show architects the most efficient siting for a new building, and only a few degrees difference can greatly affect operational costs.

While environmentalists and developers used to be natural enemies, they are now becoming partners in ensuring savings - financial, ecological and human - through sensitive building design.

Yesterday's protesters have grown up into today's owners, developers, architects and engineers, and they are taking what they know best and using their knowledge to change old-fangled building practices. They don't have to burn down the walls, but they can build them without using irreplaceable resources.

Armed with a portfolio of projects from around the world, the new generation of consultants not only have something pretty to show company heads, but can show accountants a pretty penny in savings.

According to the green design gurus, worker productivity rises, absenteeism decreases and that also affects corporate savings

Lockheed's $50 million project in California included $2 million in energy efficient components with a four-year payback. But the productivity of its 2,600 employees increased 15 percent and they found they were able to bid on a contract that they would have never considered previously. They won it and that paid for the building in two years.

According to William D. Browning, director of the Rocky Mountain Institute's Green Development Services, a program that researches and provides consulting on environmentally responsive project, Lockheed now considers the building a competitive advantage and will no longer confirm or deny the information.

Browning, who was the liaison to the Greening of the White House project, and others, including New York City developers and government officials, spoke at the Earth Day New York's conference Building the Sustainable Economy II at the New School last week.

These professionals agree that building better and smarter buildings is not just the wave of the future, because the future is now.

The technology is improving each day and there are established professionals that have success stories to share.

"The first time it will cost more and take more time, but the second time it is cheaper and faster," said Robert K. Watson, a senior energy resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Such development "will give you notoriety and set you apart," he added.

The NRDC refitted its own space in an older New York City building and paved the way for the Audubon House headquarters gut renovation of a 100-year old NoHo building.

NRDC has re-done its Los Angeles office and is in the middle of greening its new Washington office.

Recycling older buildings, as with the Audubon project and as is being done through Lower Manhattan's conversion plan, is one way local developers can take part in the re-use scenario. And a carefully attuned fit-out can also add savings to the piggy bank.

The conference speakers emphasized that there are many issues to consider when renovating properties, but thankfully, there are guides to help see you through.

The Department of Energy has a modeling system - dubbed the DOE model - to help determine the most efficient designs, and New York State offers help for smaller developers.

The new green building at 4 Times Square being developed by the Durst Organization and constructed by Tishman, is using the DOE model in partnership with Cosentini Engineers, and they are working "round robin in non-linear design."

"The old, 'I'm a lighting designer and you are an engineer, here cool this,' doesn't work any more," said Browning.

Riverside South Planning Corp.'s Executive Director Mary R. Musca said you can't start early enough to push architects, engineers and construction managers to rid themselves of their preconceived notions on construction and designing buildings.

The design for the first four rental buildings is being done as responsibly as possibly, with the skin alone expected to be paid for in five years. New air-conditioning units are being designed by the manufacturer and other systems are also being carefully planned.

Some of the systems that need to be considered for any development or retrofit are non-CFC HVAC systems, energy efficient windows, lighting fixtures that react and adjust to motion as well as daylight sources, interior finishes that don't off-gas and a whole host of practical products made from recycled materials.

One issue that developers grapple with going in is costs, that can be slightly more for green design. When the developer turns over the property to the user, they usually want to pocket as much profit as possible.