Sustainable Building Design

In order to mitigate a building�s impact on global warming, sustainable building design incorporates renewable sources of energy into the architecture of a building, besides considering other important factors such as planning, materials, functionality and energy efficiency over the entire life cycle of a building. Every aspect is taken into account: siting, design, maintenance, renovation, deconstruction, use of water, energy and materials, waste and pollution, indoor environmental quality, among others. One popular sustainable building design concept is natural building, more often applied to smaller scale projects and focused on the use of natural materials available locally.

Creating a sustainable building design starts with careful with site selection and the reuse of any existing buildings. The Whole Building Design Guide says that �the location, orientation, and landscaping of a building affect the local ecosystems, transportation methods, and energy use�. Keeping homes small, heating with the sun, proper insulation (making the most of the heat and coolness that a home produces), being energy efficient, conserving water, using local materials, saving forests, recycling and longevity, among others, are factors to be considered when thinking of a sustainable building design.

It is very common for sustainable building design to incorporate solar power into the design of the building. Devices such as photovoltaic solar panels help to provide sustainable electricity for any use. Roofs are often angled toward the sun to allow photovoltaic panels to collect at maximum efficiency, and some buildings even move throughout the day to follow the sun. Depending on the location of the building as well as its design, sustainable building design will harness wind and hydro electric power. Other types of renewable energy that can be incorporated into the design include solar thermal hot water and ground source heat pumps. In the UK, for example, the Low Carbon Building Programme covers up to 50% of the cost and home owners can even choose to sell excess renewable energy back to the supplier.

An aspect of sustainable building design that should be highlighted is the type of materials used in the construction. These should be low-impact, recycled as well as recyclable, sourced locally and sustainably and free of toxic materials. Many architectural offices these days specialize in green building methods. Since you will probably need professional help when building a new home, you may as well hire a company that will help turn your eco-house dream into a reality. Finally, WBDG highlights the importance of a building's operating and maintenance issues during the preliminary sustainable building design phase of a facility. That will contribute to improved working environments, higher productivity, reduced energy and resource costs, and prevented system failures. �Encourage building operators and maintenance personnel to participate in the design and development phases to ensure optimal operations and maintenance of the building. Designers can specify materials and systems that simplify and reduce maintenance requirements; require less water, energy, and toxic chemicals and cleaners to maintain; and are cost-effective and reduce life-cycle costs. Additionally, design facilities to include meters in order to track the progress of sustainability initiatives, including reductions in energy and water use and waste generation, in the facility and on site�, they say.