 |
| Matthew B.
Ackerman,
LEED-AP AIA |
| Jeffrey L.
Zucker,
LEED-AP
AIA |
|
 |
Sustaining Our Client's Dollar
Resources
One of the most
common concerns we hear from our clients who are considering building
green: "...isn't it going to cost
more?"
The short answer to that is, "No". And particularly so, once
we're able to help our clients understand that the conceept of "cost"
necessarily has to include what it's going to take to operate and
maintain their building down the road– for the long haul.
A growing body of research
continues to show that there is no statistically significant difference
in construction cost between green-certified projects (such as the LEED
Green Building Rating System), and non-green certified projects.
My 20+ years of experience as a sustainable architect has tended to
validate this data.
 Most of the important
energy-efficient features that any self-respecting green architect must
consider first, are items that don't cost anything more up front.
They're simply what I'd call basic, common-sense design. These
include such considerations like how the building is oriented on its
site and where the windows are located. Have the roof overhangs
been properly placed and designed? Are the windows appropriately
sized, with correctly specified glazing for each exposure? Are
there deciduous trees nearby that can be used to both control and take
advantage of the sun? While each of these considerations can
greatly affect the overall performance and thermal comfort of a
building, none of these are design items that cost a penny more.
For those green building features that do cost more up front, overall cost
savings can still be achieved through creative, informed design
decisions regarding just how and where that added investment is made,
and what other building systems can be reduced or eliminated as a
result. This is known as "Cost Shifting".
Cost Shifting can function as an investment strategy (like putting
money in the bank used to be), where greater dividends are earned over
time, on top of the initial investment amount. Planned carefully,
these savings can add up substantially.
For a hypothetical 18,000 square foot Community Center building for
example, if we were to specify a high-performance double-glazed window
system costing $10,000 more to install than a more conventional window
system, savings are realized when that investment allows us to cut 8
additional tons of refrigerant cooling, and 75,000 BTU's of additional
heating from the construction scope that would otherwise be needed.
The reduced heating and cooling plant size would save roughly $5,000
right out of the box. With the reduced operations and maintenance
cost for the mechanical equipment that we didn't need (at a savings of
~$3,000 per year) we'd achieve what's known as "payback" in about 2.5
years, saving an additional $3,000 each year after that, year in and
year out, for the duration of the building's life. Over an
arbitrary 30-year period, that would add up to around $90,000 net worth
of savings– and that doesn't even account for the generally rising
costs of energy, or the life-cycle replacement cost savings for
mechanical equipment that was never installed.
As you can see, while perhaps costing a bit more up front, with the
right choices it doesn't take long to achieve a net-gain ROI (return on
investment), which can easily exceed the initial added expense.
In the Community Center example above, shifting costs from the
building's heating and cooling systems to a better quality window
package, yields a more energy-efficient building, with a significant
cost savings for the owner over time. This only makes good
economic sense.
Though typically overlooked, sustainability in general and green design
in particular must also take into account the large amounts of "human"
energy that also goes into any building project. At Catalyst, we
consider our client's financial resources as important to sustain and
conserve, as the material and energy resources that go into our
buildings.
To address this notion of "our client's finances" as being a critical
project resource, we've developed a unique process called "Value Optimization".
With Value Optimization (in contrast to Value Engineering), we pair up
our design-side engineers (representing the major building trades–
architectural, mechanical, structural, civil, etc.), in an intense
two-step workshop environment, with their build-side counterparts
(representing the same building trades), in an effort to creatively
brainstorm on how to best construct the approved design– and for the
least amount of money. Our Value Optimization process has
consistently trimmed 10 - 15% from our initial construction cost
estimates, and for less than half the cost of traditional Value
Engineering. It's become a proven win-win-win process for our
entire project team.
Using this innovative cost control method, our company has brought in
each of our last three
significantly sized projects under budget– including the new County
Administration building, which is currently under construction out
on Commerce Drive. On this particular design, ALL 16 of the
qualifying construction bids came in well under the County's $5M budget
cap. This is an excellent example what can be achieved when the
best of our industry's creative capabilities is applied to the task of
conserving and sustaining our client's financial resources.
So no, building green doesn't have to cost more. And especially
when we're able to apply the concepts of sustainability to ALL the
resources that go into a building– material, energy, and monetary.
|
 |
 |
|
| Green Product of
the Month: |
 |
Enceliums' Polaris 3D Takes Energy
Management For Commercial Buildings To The
Next Level  |
|
| Green Technology of
the
Month: |
| |
Artificial Leaf Makes Fuel from
Sunlight |
|
| Green Builder's Tip of
the Month: |
| |
Attic Insulation– Check Your Fill, And Lower
Your Bill
|
|
| Green Project of
the
Month: |
| |
A Mountain Home Is Gracefully Sited To Work
With The Topography And Its Neighbors
|
|
 |
|
|
Deb's Green Activist Corner:
EASY Steps YOU
Can Take
To Help!
|
|
|
|
| |
Make Your
Holidays Greener.
Check Out The
Sierra Club's Top 10 Tips For
The Holidays
Learn More 
|
|
|
 |
 |
 Questions?
Email Deb. |
 |
--
|
 |
News from the Blue |
Our
Featured AZUR Project:
Mixed-Use Art's District Masterplan
for Atlantic City, NJ
AZUR-Ecotecture is the
master-
planning and large-scale projects
division of Catalyst Architecture.
- |
|
|
CATALYST
ARCHITECTURE
is an award winning, full-service sustainable design
firm located in Prescott, Arizona. We specialize in educational,
commercial, master planning and custom residential work, with an
emphasis on high- performance design, and caring client relationships.
At CATALYST, our
mission is to creatively transform the space and budget needs of our
clients, with the opportunities and ecology of the site, into
functional and sustainable solutions that move the spirit.
| Comments
or
feedback? Email
us. |
|
|
|
