Green Buildings Essay

Running head: ACHIEVING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY – GREEN BUILDINGS

Achieving Urban Sustainability Through the Construction of Green Buildings

Morgan Webb 999968815

Professor David Sider

ENV307H1

University of Toronto

April 4th, 2016

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ACHIEVING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY – GREEN BUILDINGS

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to examine green buildings as a means of achieving urban

sustainability. As humans continue to degrade the environment and deplete the world of its

natural resources, it has become vital to control and mitigate resource consumption. Girardet

proposes that a sustainable city, “enables all [of] its citizens to meet their own needs and to

enhance their well-being, without degrading the natural world or the lives of other people, now

or in the future” (2008, p.6). Presently, over half of the world’s population resides in cities,

however, this number is quickly increasing. According to UNEP, cities produce 50% of the

world’s global waste, they account for 60-80% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and

cities consume 75% of the world’s natural resources (n.d.). As cities account for much of the

world’s resource consumption, GHG emissions and creation of a vast amount of waste, cities are

obliged to take action to become more sustainable. Green buildings are one method cities can use

to achieve this.

A green building is a structure that uses environmentally friendly or sustainable practices

in all phases of its lifecycle, from production to demolition. They use resources more efficiently

than other buildings resulting in a lower ecological footprint (American Chemical Council, n.d.).

The Marble Institute asserts in History of Green Building, that green buildings increase the

efficiency of resource consumption while simultaneously improving the quality of life for

occupants of the buildings (as cited in Marble Institute, n.d.). There are many different types of

green buildings ranging from commercial, to community and even residential buildings. Green

buildings’ overall function is to conserve and limit resource consumption. The importance of

green buildings is apparent by the awards and recognition given to the buildings that achieve

excellence in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Specifically, the award

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system looks at how the buildings save money and resources, whether they have a positive

impact on occupant health and if they promote renewable, clean energy (“The Evolution of

Sustainable Design”, 2016, p. 47). LEED has varying ratings: silver, gold and platinum.

Platinum is the best possible rating that a building can achieve for its sustainable practices and all

of the green building examples used in this paper are platinum level LEED.

The paper will delve into the benefits of implementing green buildings for both people

and the planet. Subsequently, the consequences and challenges of green buildings will be

addressed, in addition to incorporating ways to overcome the aforementioned challenges in the

future. This will support the notion that green buildings are a mechanism for achieving urban

sustainability, which will then be reinforced by three examples of different types of green

buildings in urban centres. The first building is a commercial building. It is a bank located in

Frankfurt, Germany. The second building is a residential home in Mill Valley, California. The

last green building is a community building. It is a middle school located in Washington, DC.

Benefits of Green Buildings

Green buildings have an abundance of benefits for people as well as for the planet. This

section of the paper will focus on the benefits for humans and for the environment. Their benefits

include anything that adds to the well-being of people. This can include, social and economic

benefits in addition to overall happiness. Comparatively, environmental benefits in relation to

green buildings, include anything that does not detract, or degrade the environment but instead

works towards enhancing it. This can include a reduction in water usage, conservation of natural

resources, improved air quality and the protection of biodiversity.

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There are many social benefits that come in hand with green buildings. Poor indoor

environmental quality (IEQ) is often associated with buildings that are not designed to be

sustainable. They are often deprived of natural lighting, have poor air circulation, temperature

variances as well as mold and dust build up. The IEQ, in green buildings is generally better than

the IEQ in other buildings because green buildings place an emphasis on using environmentally

friendly, non-toxic materials in addition to focusing on openness and ventilation (City of

Bloomington, n.d). Sick building syndrome is a result of the adverse effects that people can feel

when they spend a lot of time in buildings (“Low-Tech Solutions”, 2016). The outcome of

implementing green design is a reduction of health issues associated with poor IEQ like asthma,

allergies, nausea, headaches, and skin rashes (CEF, 2014). Thus, green buildings create a healthy

and comforting environment to work or live in and contribute to lower levels of absenteeism in

schools and work places.

Economic benefits are also a positive outcome of implementing green buildings. The

function of green buildings is to lower costs by conserving more natural resources. This can be

done in green buildings in many different ways. Using renewable energy and water conservation

methods results in lower energy and water bills at the end of the month. According to the

Government of Canada, in 2011 the average daily water usage per individual in a residential

home in Canada was 251 L per day (2016). A grey water system can reduce residential water

consumption by up to 40% (Langston, 2012), thus owners of green buildings profit in the long-

run.

Environmental benefits from green buildings are vast. For example, by implementing a

grey water system, not only is one saving money but you are also helping to conserve water.

Thus, saving water is an environmental benefit in addition to being an economic benefit.

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Similarly, switching to renewable energy helps to lower your ecological footprint. Green house

gases are a huge contributor to climate change (“The Evolution of Sustainable Design”, 2016).

Climate change is a global environmental crisis that has many negative outcomes. Climate

change is responsible for an increase in severe-ness and frequency of tropical storms like

Hurricane Katrina, loss of biodiversity, higher PH levels of the oceans, the melting of polar

glaciers and higher sea levels. (NASA, n.d.). These are just a few of the many effects that

climate change has on the planet and on people. Climate change is greatly attributed to

greenhouse gas emissions. Green buildings help to mitigate the effects of climate change by

significantly decreasing GHG emissions.

Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Green buildings are generally recognized for the positive attributes that they entail. Upon

doing research of green buildings, there were few challenges associated with them. The biggest

challenge associated with green buildings is the cost that goes into building them. Unfortunately,

a lot of people do not want to create buildings in a sustainable manner because it is cheaper and

easier to use non-sustainable practices. This being said, there are a number of incentive programs

and rebates that are offered by companies and governmental parties to encourage sustainable

practices. For example, the municipality of Guelph (Ontario) offers a rebate program for grey

water users of up to $1000 (n.d.) for implementing a system. Despite the heavy initial costs of

installing and implementing sustainable features into buildings, they are a long-term investment

and they often pay for themselves over time.

Another challenge associated with green buildings is trying to ensure that they create a

comfortable environment for occupants. A study was done in China comparing the overall well-

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being, happiness and comfort levels of occupants of non-green buildings against those who

resided in green buildings. The study determined that the residents of the green building were

generally happier and healthier than those in non-green buildings. However, many of the people

residing in the green buildings experienced felt that they had to sacrifice their comfort in order to

achieve sustainability (Gou et al, 2013). In order to improve green buildings and make them

more comfortable, it is important to focus on the flexibility of the design. Green buildings have

the potential to be sustainable while simultaneously providing comfort for residents. A lot of the

features of green buildings make them user friendly. For example, operable windows with blinds

makes it so occupants can adjust the natural lighting and can control the ventilation. This should

contribute to making it a comfortable and more suitable environment.

Examples of Green Buildings in an Urban Context

Example 1: Commerzbank – Frankfurt, Germany

The Commerzbank (See Figure 1) is an excellent example of a commercial building that

uses sustainable practices. The building was designed by Lord Norman Foster and was

constructed in May, 1997 (Commerzbank, n.d.). Germany has a long and lustrous history of

being environmentally friendly and the Commerzbank is a staple in the “eco-capital” (Sider,

2016). Commerzbank has many features incorporated into the building that enhance its

sustainability. Its most prominent feature is the “green lungs of the building” (Commerzbank,

n.d.), the nine sky gardens that the building possesses.

The sky gardens (See Figure 2) are spread out throughout the building from the ground

floor to the top, ranging about 300m. They are used for informal meetings, breaks and, “are part

of a hierarchy of social focus” (“Ten Shades of Green”, 2016, p.9). Not only are they

aesthetically pleasing, and a social benefit (by bringing people closer and creating a tight-knit

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community), they also help with environmental factors like regulating the urban heat island

effect. The urban heat island effect is an influx in temperatures in urban centres due to a large

population, heavy flow of traffic and increased activity (Susca et al, 2011). Gardens serve as a

cooling mechanism in cities because they create shade, thus, they can counter the effects of the

urban heat island. One study in New York found a positive correlation between vegetation and

temperature, which helps to support the idea of gardens as cooling systems. The area in New

York with a lot of vegetation was 2C colder than areas lacking plants (Susca et al, 2011). A 2C

variance in temperatures can have a tremendous impact. For example, at a climate change panel

in Copenhagen while discussing global temperatures, NASA scientist James Hansen insisted that

a global increase of temperatures by 2C was too much. He stated that, “international

negotiations for two degrees of warming is actually a prescription for long-term disaster”

(McKibben, 2012). Thus, every degree in temperature is integral.

The sky gardens are a low-tech/high energy, biophilic design. Biophilia, according

to E.O. Wilson is a love of nature (as cited in “Low-Tech Solutions”, 2016). After the

industrial revolution, urban centres were flooded with people, factories boomed and

nature was exploited. This resulted in an increase of concrete and paved land and a loss

of biodiversity. Green roofs and sky gardens function as a way for humans to love and

reconnect with nature within an urban centre. A similar attribute that the Commerzbank

building has is a large atrium that provides an open space and natural lighting.

Daylighting is not only an economic incentive because of energy savings, it also helps

reduce stress and improve people’s moods because of increased exposure to sunlight.

Upon exposure to sunlight, more of the serotonin hormone is secreted resulting in higher

levels of happiness, more optimism and a surge in energy (Allen et al, 2016). Employees

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of the bank reportedly love their jobs because of the close relations that they have with

their coworkers and the closeness they have to nature. Subsequently, this leads to lower

absenteeism rates and a higher level of self-esteem (“Ten Shades of Green”, 2016). As a

result, the Commerzbank has a long waitlist for employment because of the societal and

environmental benefits that the sky gardens have to offer.

Aside from the sky gardens that Commerzbank offers, there are other sustainable

features that attribute to its platinum LEED rating. The building has operable windows

and a cross-ventilation system that optimize the indoor air quality of the building. Indoor

air quality is very important because people spend the majority of their time indoors and

poor air quality can cause a number of health problems. Aside from human health and

well-being, improving air quality is also beneficial for the environment. By using a

natural ventilation and cooling system (i.e. the operable windows), the building is making

a, “long-term contribution to climate change” (Commerzbank, n.d.), by using a zero

energy system. The bank also encourages its employees to ride bikes to commute to

work, offering 200+ bike stations to park bikes. This promotes a healthy lifestyle for the

employees and again contributes to decreasing GHG emissions.

As a result, Commerzbank is an example of how a commercial green building can

contribute to overall urban sustainability. A large building, such as the Commerzbank,

effects hundreds, upon thousands, of peoples lives by improving lifestyles and overall

well-being of people and lowering the planets ecological footprint.

Example 2: Residential Home – Mill Valley, California

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The Californian, platinum LEED, residential green building located in Mill Valley, was

designed by Scott Lee, majority partner of SB Architects (See Figure 3). Lee and his family

reside in the green home, established in January, 2010 (SB Architects, n.d.). As the architect and

designer of his home, Lee aspired to make the home as sustainable as possible, claiming that,

“this house lives far larger than its actual footprint, with an impact that is far less” (SB

Architects, n.d.). Thus, a number of sustainable features were incorporated into the design of the

building. Photovoltaic solar panels are used as a high-tech/low-impact system for producing

energy for the home and solar thermal is used to heat water. In-floor hydronic heating is used as

a type of radiant heating (“High-Tech Solutions: Heating and Cooling”, 2016). A passive solar

and geothermal system makes it so the home does not require a lot of air conditioning use. One

of the benefits of not requiring a lot of air conditioning usage is a reduced energy bill and better

IEQ.

One of the main focuses of Lee’s design was to use sustainable materials. The home is

composed of reclaimed, recycled and locally sourced materials. The exposed timber framing of

the building is reclaimed. Deforestation is an environmental crisis that has many negative effects.

According to environmental organization, One Tree Planted, “80,000 acres of forest disappear

from the planet every day”. Simplified, this amount accumulates to approximately the area of a

football field of forest being destroyed every two seconds (n.d.). Reclaimed wood is aesthetically

pleasing because no two pieces of wood are the same. Therefore, reclaimed wood makes the

frame of the Mill Valley home unique. Aside from its aesthetic appeal, it also helps reduce the

need to cut virgin wood, thus functioning as a preservation mechanism for the natural resource.

When materials need to be imported across countries and shipped over seas the

ecological footprint is substantial. Locally sourced materials significantly lower the ecological

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footprint that goes into creating a home. LEED standards assert that a locally sourced material is

one that is, “extracted, harvested, or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles of the

project site for a minimum of 10% or 20%, based on cost, of the total materials value” (as cited

in Morton, 2013). Lee designed his home to use as many locally sourced materials as possible to

decrease his ecological footprint. In addition to using locally sourced materials, when possible

Lee chose to use recycled materials. The countertops, sinks, tubs and surfaces were made from

recycled concrete and the roofing was made from recycled metal (SB Architects, n.d.).

Lee managed to design his home to maximize sustainability without compromising his

family’s comfort. The homes interior is a noteworthy, 2,116 SF with an additional 1,567 SF of

decks and balconies. The home contains low flow toilets, faucets and shower fixtures to conserve

water. LED lighting is also used because of its energy efficiency, accompanying the Energy Star

rated appliances that the home is comprised of. A drought tolerant landscape is achieved through

xeriscaping. Plants that are native to the area are well-adapted and suited for the climate and

environmental conditions and also make the garden aesthetically pleasing. The flexibility of the

sustainable features infused in this home allow for the user(s), in this case Scott Lee and his

family, to adjust things accordingly for optimal comfort and pleasure.

Example 3: Commercial Building, Sidwell Friends Middle School – Washington, DC

The Sidwell Friends middle school (See Figure 4) is a platinum LEED, community

building. It was designed by Kieran Timberlake Associates and is located in Washington, DC

(Sidwell Friends School, n.d.). The school uses a rather unique grey water system. There is a

constructed wetland behind the school where waste water is treated (See Figure 5). First the

water goes through a treatment tank that removes solid mass and then the water is treated using

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natural processes from the wetlands. The wetland is essentially a “highly efficient sewage

treatment works, absorbing chemicals, filtering pollutants and sediments, breaking down

suspended solids and neutralizing harmful bacteria” (WWF, n.d.), all done through the aquatic

life, plants, sunlight and other microorganisms that clean the water naturally. The “waste water”

from the wetlands is reused in the school to flush toilets as well as for irrigation purposes, thus

the wetlands are multifunctional. They is an economic benefit because they save money on the

water bill by using less water, likewise, the wetlands help to conserve water. One US study

found that coastal wetlands help reduce impacts from hurricanes with an estimated savings of

$US 23.2 billion per year in damages (WWF, n.d.). Wetlands in general also encourage an

abundance of biodiversity, help with flood control, and are vital for certain agricultural growing

crops such as rice. Thus the role of wetlands benefits people and planet.

Sidwell Friends school also has a pivotal societal role because it creates awareness about

environmental issues. In the school, children are not only taught about environmental issues but

they are also shown sustainable practices that they can employ and incorporate into their every

day lives. The school fosters ‘eco-literacy’ through design demonstration (“Low-Tech

Solutions”, 2016). A green roof on the building provides another opportunity for students to get

first-hand experience in nature. First-hand experience growing gardens and learning in-depth

about the environment nurtures students and promotes feelings of biophilia. When someone

loves something, they are more likely to care about it. Thus, by encouraging students to love

nature, the school is also promoting looking after the environment. This means that students are

more likely to adopt and practice sustainability in their lives. Similar to the Commerzbank

building, the green roof not only reduces stress, is aesthetically pleasing and encourages students

to spend time outdoors, it also assists in tackling the urban heat island effect. The green roof

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provides shade and helps to lower the temperature of the building resulting in less need for air

conditioning. Thus, the building uses “60% less energy through passive solar design” (Sidwell

Friends School, n.d.).

The school uses a lot of natural daylighting by having large double glazed windows, sky

lights and solar chimneys (Sidwell Friends School, n.d.). Daylighting has been attributed to

improving performance of students by about 20%, and has also been shown in some studies to

reduce bullying (“Low-Tech Solutions”, 2016). Sidwell Friends School is also participating in a

study of green buildings to address whether or not daylighting contributes to enhanced, “health,

happiness and ability of students to concentrate and learn” (Sidwell Friends School, n.d.).

Additionally, the school is comprised of reclaimed wood, 60% of the buildings waste upon

construction was managed and kept out of landfills and 78% of materials used to create the

building were locally sourced.

Green buildings such as the Sidwell Friends School are important in society because they

strengthen community bonds by bringing people closer to one another, and closer to nature. The

buildings practices encourage and enhance biodiversity through the application of the wetlands

and the green roof. In a world where cities tend to pave over and eliminate biodiversity,

preserving it is proving to be very important. In one study, the health of a bee and other

pollinator populations was linked to human nutrition. The study found that, “as the pollinators

decrease, people are more susceptibly to malnutrition and disease” (Good, 2015). Aside from

assuring that the wildlife on the planet continues to be diverse, it is apparent that biodiversity is

also vital for human survival. Thus, the Sidwell Friends School contributes to achieving urban

sustainability by preserving biodiversity, conserving natural resources and encouraging and

fostering feelings of biophilia into children at a young age.

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Is Urban Sustainability Achievable?

The goal of urban sustainability is to “enable all its citizens to meet their own needs and

to enhance their well-being, without degrading the natural world or the lives of other people,

now or in the future” (Girardet, 2008, p.6). What is important to note is that no city will ever be

entirely sustainable. This being said, there are steps that can certainly be taken in working

towards this goal. Green buildings are unique because of their multifunction. They have social,

economic and environmental benefits that ultimately benefit people and the planet. The

construction of green buildings within urban centres can help to alleviate traditional views of

cities as polluted and degraded, places to live (Sider, 2016). Notions like Odum’s, thinking of the

city as, “a parasite on the natural and domesticated environments, since it makes no food, cleans

no air, and cleans very little water” (as cited in Sider, 2016), can be considered as no longer true.

Green roofs and gardens are used to not only grow aesthetically pleasing and drought

resistant plants, they can also be used to grow food. Different sustainable features within green

buildings also function to improve air quality by limiting and controlling green house gas

emissions. Rainwater harvesting and grey water systems are now instruments that help to clean

water and allow for its reuse. Despite the initial challenge of financing the construction of a

green building, it is certainly worth the cost and can be built not only to satisfy human comfort,

but to enhance it. Thus concluding that the function of green buildings coincides with the goals

of urban sustainability. Constructing green buildings in urban centres assists in making cities not

only more sustainable but also more liveable because they improve the quality of human life.

References

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Allen, J. G., MacNaughton, P., Guillermo Cedeno Laurent 1, J., Flanigan, S., Sita Eitland, E., & Spengler, J. D. (2015). Green Buildings and Health. Current Environmental Health Report, 2, 250-258. Retrieved March 23, 2016.

American Chemical Council. (n.d.). What is a Green Building? Retrieved March 22, 2016, from https://greenbuildingsolutions.org/Main-Menu/What-is-Green-Construction/What-is-a-Green-Building

Bielek, B. (2015). Green building – towards sustainable architecture. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 824, 751-761. Retrieved March 22, 2016.

Canada Green Building Council. (2014). Canada Green Building Trends: Benefits Driving the New and Retrofit Market (pp. 1-58, Rep.). McGraw Hill Construction. Retrieved March 20, 2016.

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Girardet, H. 2008. Big Feet, Small Planet. In Cities, People, Planet: Urban Development and Climate Change. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Pp. 1-19.Good, K. (2015). The Surprising Effect Being Disconnected From Nature Has on Our Health and Well-Being. One Green Planet. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from

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http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/natural-world-impact-on-human-health-and-well-being/

Gou, Z., Prasad, D., & Siu-Yu Lau, S. (2013). Are green buildings more satisfactory and comfortable? Habitat International, 39, 156-161. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

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Langston, P. (2012, January 20). Adding a Grey-Water Recovery System. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.ottawacitizen.com/homes/Adding grey water recovery system/6037675/story.html

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McKibben, B. (2012). Global Warming's Terrifying New Math. Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2016.

Morton, J. (2013). Regional Materials: Benefits and Advantages. BUILDINGS. Retrieved March 27, 2016, from http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/15165/title/regional-materials-benefits-and-advantages/viewall/true.aspx

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Susca, T., Gaffin, S. R., & Dell’Osso, G. R. (2011). Positive effects of vegetation: Urban heat island and green roofs. Environmental Pollution, 159(8-9), 2119-2126. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.03.007 Retrieved March 22, 2016.

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AppendixFigure 1: Commerzbank – Frankfurt, Germany

Figure 2: The Sky Gardens, Inside of Commerzbank - Frankfurt, Germany.

Figure 3: Residential Home - Mill Valley, California

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Figure 4: Sidwell Friends Middle School – Washington, DC.

Figure 5: Layout of Sidwell Friends School – Washington, DC

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