Nick Merrick

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Evaluating Buildings: 12 Green Building Certifications to Know

The Brundtland Report, 1987 - "Our Common Future" - introduced the notion that the sustainable use of natural resources must "meet the needs of the present generation without affecting the ability of future generations to meet theirs." Since then, the term sustainability has been popularized and, often, trivialized in our daily lives. In the construction industry, this is no different. As much as we know that to build, we need to destroy, how is it possible to mitigate the effects of construction during the useful life and demolition of buildings? A sustainable building, in its design, construction, and operation, must reduce or eliminate negative effects overall and may even generate net positive impacts on the climate and environment – preserving resources and improving the quality of life of the occupants simultaneously. To say that a building is sustainable is easy and even seductive. But what exactly makes sustainable construction?

Answering this question is not a simple exercise. That is why, in the last 30 years, several building sustainability certifications have been created. Through outsourced and impartial evaluations from different sources, they aim to verify the sustainable aspects of any construction. Each of them addresses particular building elements and is typically focused on certain regions of the world. While there are some certifications that verify whether the building meets certain efficiency criteria, others create different classifications, assigning a score based on these evaluations. Below, we list some of the primary sustainability certifications around the world – ranked alphabetically – and include their main architectural applications alongside a brief explanation:

Makers Quarter Block D Office Building / BNIM

Makers Quarter Block D Office Building / BNIM - Exterior Photography, Retail , FacadeMakers Quarter Block D Office Building / BNIM - Interior Photography, Retail , Stairs, HandrailMakers Quarter Block D Office Building / BNIM - Interior Photography, Retail , Facade, ColumnMakers Quarter Block D Office Building / BNIM - Exterior Photography, Retail , FacadeMakers Quarter Block D Office Building / BNIM - More Images+ 20

The Site Operations Center at BMW / Perkins+Will

The Site Operations Center at BMW / Perkins+Will - Institutional Buildings, Facade, BeamThe Site Operations Center at BMW / Perkins+Will - Institutional Buildings, Facade, BeamThe Site Operations Center at BMW / Perkins+Will - Institutional Buildings, Facade, Beam, Handrail, LightingThe Site Operations Center at BMW / Perkins+Will - Institutional Buildings, FacadeThe Site Operations Center at BMW / Perkins+Will - More Images+ 11

  • Interior Designers: Perkins and Will: Perkins+Will
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  65000 ft²
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2016
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  2 Thousand Degrees, Assinkhout

How the AIA's Committee on the Environment Can Ensure Its Own Obsolescence

This article by Kira Gould was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "The Case for COTE's Obsolescence."

Recently the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment published, for the first time, a comprehensive report about the winners from the debut year (1997) through 2015: “Lessons from the Leading Edge.” Its lead author, a current COTE advisory board member, Lance Hosey, set out to review two decades of Top Ten winners as a group to see how performance is changing over time, how the winners size up (scale, cost, type), and more.

The result is a compelling report. It reveals that these high-performing projects skew small. That performance gains and metrics, particularly real-time performance metrics, are improving each year. That the leading projects tend to be expensive. On average, they come in at $537 per square foot. “The cost data shows us that we need more compelling examples of lower-cost, higher performance projects,” Hosey says. Clearly, more exemplars at greater scale, type, and cost variation would be beneficial to both the profession and the market.

AIA Names Top 10 Most Sustainable Projects of 2016

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten sustainable architecture and ecological design projects for 2016.

Now in its 20th year, the COTE Top Ten Awards program honors projects that protect and enhance the environment through an integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology.

A recently released study, entitled Lessons from the Leading Edge, reports that design projects recognized through this program are “outpacing the industry by virtually every standard of performance.”

The 2016 COTE Top Ten Green Projects are:

American Enterprise Group National Headquarters Renovation / BNIM

American Enterprise Group National Headquarters Renovation  / BNIM - Institutional Buildings, FacadeAmerican Enterprise Group National Headquarters Renovation  / BNIM - Institutional Buildings, Facade, BeamAmerican Enterprise Group National Headquarters Renovation  / BNIM - Institutional Buildings, FacadeAmerican Enterprise Group National Headquarters Renovation  / BNIM - Institutional Buildings, Facade, Beam, DoorAmerican Enterprise Group National Headquarters Renovation  / BNIM - More Images+ 17

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B / Fentress Architects

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B / Fentress Architects - AirportNorman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B / Fentress Architects - AirportNorman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B / Fentress Architects - AirportNorman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B / Fentress Architects - AirportNorman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B / Fentress Architects - More Images+ 15

  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Canadian Solar, Construction Specialties, Energy Labs, Hunter Douglas, Overly