Page 227 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

11

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

During this phase, we should have narrowed down our design choices to a few important
alternatives that will help the building owner or developer realize the goals of the proj-
ect. We need to complete the modeling of major systems and approaches and to give
the design team clear direction. In some cases, we may decide, for example, to make
heat recovery ventilation a major design focus (Fig. 11.1). We certainly need better
cost estimates at this stage to make sure we are still within budget.
The public viewing window and computerized data display of the enthalpy energy
recovery wheel earned the Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology at
Ohlone College an “innovation” point in the public education category, which con-
tributed to its LEED-NC Platinum certification.

General Sustainable Design Questions

At this stage, it is often useful to take a step back and see where we are and whether
earlier project goals need to be reexamined. We might also take a meeting or two to
look at new opportunities that might have surfaced through the analytical efforts of the
early design stages.

1 Has the project changed its green goals at this stage, and have we listed these in a
way that all stakeholders are aware of them?
2 What are our goals for using life-cycle costing and life-cycle assessment methods
for materials selection, and how can we use these and similar tools to help us decide
on major building systems at this stage?
3 Have we evaluated all energy and water-using system alternatives as a team and do
we fully understand the energy cycle and water balance for this project?
4 What are the costs of various strategies under consideration—compared to their
environmental benefit? Compared to the increased productivity we can expect? Can
we create a tool to examine these issues?

203
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use.