| Q: What is sustainable design? |
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A: The goal of sustainable design in architecture is to lower the operating costs and improve occupant productivity through healthier environments. By choosing and experienced architect dedicated to the sustainable perspective you an archive these goals without adding to the cost of construction.
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| Q: What is involved with sustainable design? |
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A: Basically, the addition of a simple overlay called "the integrated design" approach. In essence, all members of the consultant team and client team get involved in your project from day one. By doing so, the range of exploration is greater and the subsequent results are better tuned to your goals.
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| Q: Can sustainable design be applied to existing buildings? |
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A: YES! Contrary to the commonly held beliefs, the efficiency of existing building can be discernibly boosted economically. Sick buildings can be a thing of the past.
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| Q: When is the best time to get started? |
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A: The best time is the very moment you conceive the need for a project, The reason is that instituting a set of sustainable goals is the very outset enables you to benchmark the progress and compare options with confidence.
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| Q: What can I expect for results? |
A:
Significantly lower operating costs. For example, our work on the new provincial headquarters of St. John Ambulance will reduce energy consumption by $28,000 per year. This is a 52% reduction over a average benchmark building.
Happier occupants. Providing working windows, zero off gassing and natural light produces corresponding boost in productivity.
The knowledge that you are making a positive contribution to our environment, one building at a time.
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| Q: Will this hurt? |
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A: Not at all. In fact, many of our clients quickly embrace sustainable goals and re-think their organizations to achieve greater results. Sustainability is infectious: Seattle's chief public works official (a champion of the sustainable perspective) looks forward to work each day, stating " what wonderful things will I discover today?"
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| Q: What simple sustainable things can I do for each project? |
A:
Design with flexibility in mind.
Recycle during construction and beyond.
Choose materials that are non-toxic and can be recycled later.
Design building components to be easily removable at the end of the building's life.
Work with new sites, not against them.
Locate a new building on sites to optimize daylight and diminish energy usage.
Specify native plants and trees, reducing the need for irrigation.
Conserve water.
Provide access to natural light and ventilation.
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| Q: What's LEEDTM? Why should I consider it? |
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A: LEEDTM is a acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It's a framework that benchmarks overall impacts of buildings on people and the environment. This benchmark standard is being adopted by many Canadian municipalities. LEEDTM Canada will likely become a benchmark standard for all future projects. It should be considered because it will likely become the standard by which we measure success or failure.
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| Q: How can I tell if a sustainable architect is the real McCoy or a pretender? |
A: Look for LEEDTM accreditation among at least three staff members and a body of successfully completed sustainable projects.
LEEDTM accreditation by itself is not enough; it is possible to obtain accreditation with as little as ten hours study. By extension, one probably wouldn't board a jumbo jet knowing that the pilot possesses only ten hours of flying experience. However, it does indicate commitment.
Appropriate experience is harder to quantify. Chances are, if the consultant has one or two sustainable projects under their belt, they're still low on the learning curve. In contrast, a proponent who has a number of successful sustainable projects will have greater understanding of what works and what doesn't.
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| Q: Is a sustainable building a difficult and complicated beast? |
A: In the hands of a experienced Architect and Engineer, No. The two principles are:
Is it based on precedent? If so, time tested solutions tend to be simpler, easier to construct and require less operational attention.
"Same parts, different kit" approach. We use a commonly available components to build more efficient systems. This minimizes the avoidable scenario of a broken component with a foreign language manual and prolonged turn-around time.
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