5 Implementing Sustainable Building
5.1 Introduction
Implementing a sustainable building is no more complicated than for a conventional building. It does, however, require more in-depth analysis, design and buy-in from all stakeholders. In many ways, it results in a more considered, balanced and valued building and can reduce much of the risk in the procurement process by focusing more attention on the initial design phase.
5.2 Key tips
When implementing a sustainable building:
- consider sustainable building strategies in the initial briefing of the project
- visit sustainable buildings of a similar nature during the development of the brief
- select a professional team with a concern and understanding of sustainable building
- encourage an integrated and co-operative design approach
- adopt measurement tools throughout the design, construction and first years of operation
- include a suitable budget and across-the-board allowances for sustainable building
- ensure cost advice is on the basis of whole-of-life-costs and not just capital costs, with net present value and internal rate of return rather than simple payback as the financial measures
- investigate external funding available for implementing sustainable building strategies (eg, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority design and energy audits and Crown loan schemes)
- avoid over-elaborate solutions and compromising on sustainable building strategies to enable extravagant design
- fine-tune and evaluate the building in use and optimise its continued sustainability
- communicate and market the sustainable building message to all parties including building users.
5.3 Briefing
It is important that client, designers and construction team are familiar with sustainable practices and are willing to commit to a process that allows sustainable strategies to be incorporated from the outset. The overarching project goals and objectives should be clearly spelt out as part of the brief and the main design features that respond to these goals should also be identified. Sustainable measures, such as those given in Greenstar and National Australian Built Environment Rating System can provide a more detailed and useful starting point in the development of projects. These should be supplemented by project-specific design measures to meet the sustainable building project goals. Work at the briefing stage can be collected and summarised by an outline specification that can be used by owner-occupiers as the basis of design development or as a schedule of leasing requirements to give to a development team for a commercial client. Even at the briefing stage, many of the essential features can be identified, visualised and incorporated into the project cost model.
5.4 Integrated and cooperative design
The greatest gains in sustainable building are achieved through good integrated and cooperative design early in a project's development. This covers many issues, with the overall aim being to achieve a result that is greater than the sum of the parts - synergy. This requires teamwork from initial briefing through to completion, as well as a commitment by all, including architects, engineers, building modellers, quantity surveyors, builders, project managers, landscape architects and the client/developer, to sustainable building principles and outcomes from the macro to the micro including:
- site selection
- orientation and massing
- internal planning
- façade treatment
- materials selection
- building services
- implementation, commissioning and aftercare
- energy modelling.
5.5 Timing
Sustainability must be considered as early as possible in a building project and must continue to be considered at every step of design and construction.
A well thought-out and considered building is likely to include sustainable design within its numerous attributes. As the design process is more complex, it generally requires more time and higher fees. However, this should be viewed as a sound investment, as the additional costs and project durations are very small in relation to the overall end-out costs and life of the building.
5.6 Budgeting
It is important to recognise, from the outset, sustainable building as an integral briefing requirement rather than as an as added extra. This requires:
- including sustainable goals in the brief
- aligning the budget with the brief
- staying on track during design and construction
- ensuring quantity surveyors are providing realistic, rather than inflated, figures for sustainable features.
Simply choosing to add a premium to the budget for sustainable building is not enough, as there is no standard answer for each individual project. Benchmarking with other comparable projects can be useful but is not necessarily productive. Any assessment of the cost of sustainable building must be project-specific.
5.7 Measurement
Measurement is an important element in the implementation of sustainable building, especially as sustainable building becomes more mainstream, and particularly for commercial offices.
Rating tools or systems can help determine how sustainable a building is in relation to a benchmarking standard normally expressed in terms of stars, metals or grades. Rating schemes can also easily communicate the relative level of sustainability to clients and the market.
New Zealand currently has no rating scheme. Australia has two schemes suitable for adaptation to New Zealand conditions - Greenstar and the less commercially driven National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS). Greenstar currently covers only offices and office interiors. NABERS covers all building types generically. Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) has also prepared a pilot version of an office-rating scheme. The development or adaptation of a New Zealand rating scheme is a priority.
Using thermal, daylight and energy modelling, and three-dimensional massing model tools to refine, test and benchmark sustainable design strategies is also important. Although not routine in New Zealand this software is widely used overseas. Energy modelling in particular is useful in quantifying the relative cost benefits and sensitivities of differing sustainable strategies, as building investors need accurate figures on which to base their investment returns.
Measuring the building energy and water consumption on completion of the project and reconciling these with design stage estimates is also important.
5.8 Post-occupancy evaluation
Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) should become part of the sustainable building culture. Sustainable building has started to raise our consciousness about discovering what works and what goes wrong. Many people view sustainable building as a risky venture, so we need to ensure we meet expectations and projected goals without compromising internal comfort and usability.
5.9 Skills
The initial uptake of sustainable building in New Zealand has, to some extent, been limited by the available expertise and skills of consultants, architects, builders, modellers, engineers etc. To date it has been very much a niche market. Availability of skills has widened to meet the increasing demand for sustainable building but there are still inadequate resources and skills for its widespread application, as seen in the current upturn in interest and demand for skills from a limited range of practitioners. There is also inadequate education and development of an indigenous New Zealand resource in this area and an over-reliance on recruiting staff from overseas to meet this demand. As educators and as a construction industry, we urgently need to fill this gap.
5.10 Further information
Sources of further information on sustainable building in New Zealand are given in Appendix 4.
