ADDING GREEN
To the Bottom Line
By James T. Berger
Whether it’s a state-of-the-art Manhattan office building, subsidized tax credit apartments in Los Angeles, a 2,000-acre development on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast --- green has become the “in” color for new construction.
Because of new knowledge and learning curve cost savings, green architecture is no longer a luxury. In fact, costs of using green technologies and building materials are marginal at best. Even if there are small additional costs, the payback is the gift that keeps on giving. The real bonus is on the other end. The American public has become highly sensitive to green’s environmental benefits and is willing to pay a premium for them.
What it means to be GREEN
There are a variety of shades of green, according to Stephen Selkowitz, program head of the Building Technologies Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories on the University of California campus in Berkeley. “We use words like ‘environmental,’ ‘sustainable,’ ‘energy efficient,’ ‘zero energy,’ ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘renewable,’” he says. “They overlap and mean different things to different people. The words ‘sustainable,’ ‘green,’ and ‘environmental’ imply not only energy efficiency but building materials.”
Hotbeds of green architecture includes California, Washington, Oregon and the Northeast, says Selkowitz.
Chris Garvin, an architect with New York City-based Cook + Fox Architects and co-chair of the environmental committee of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, points out the driving forces toward green architecture are “rising energy costs, scarcity of available land, increased requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. From property owners and municipalities reduced first costs and greater awareness of environmental problems are fueling the acceptance of green buildings.” He adds, “There is more of a connection to natural resources on the West Coast. In the Northeast, there are a lot of intellectual resources and land is very scarce.”
What makes green development so compelling are the costs. “Most people mistakenly believe that green buildings are far more expensive than conventional buildings. That’s simply not true,” says Garvin. “The numbers we talk about,” Selkowitz adds, “is a couple of percent more to build green. There are certain things you can do that will add no costs. Also energy efficiencies have a payback over time. If you look at life cycle costs, which is what everyone should be doing, it’s really always a savings.” However, both Selkowitz and Garvin admit that the “retro-market,” which encompasses renovating older buildings to green, is costly.
However, Garvin points out, “renovation to green costs should start falling as effective tools are brought to market.”
Tax incentives and rebates also are fueling the green boom. “There are an unbelievable number of tax incentives. Whole Web sites are devoted to them,” says Garvin. “These are coming from the federal, state and local governments. Also there are utility company incentives and rebates.
Yet another advantage is the speed in which plans for green buildings receive governmental approval as opposed to conventional buildings, Garvin adds.
Where’s the Green?
“Green architecture runs across the board,” says Garvin. Included are office buildings, multi-family, shopping centers, universities, hospitals, corporate campuses, even manufacturing plants and warehouses. Among examples of green projects are: a tax-credit apartment building in Downtown Santa Monica, CA; the 48-story Bank of America Building in Midtown Manhattan, and the 2,000 acre Punta Domincal hotel and residential complex on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast.
Colorado Court, a 44-unit affordable housing complex in Santa Monica opened in 2002 and has major implications for architects and developers seeking to create environmentally friendly “green buildings” for those with low and moderate-incomes.
This project was designed by award-winning Pugh + Scarpa Architecture. “It debunks the myth that environmentally friendly design is impractical for low-cost housing,” says Gwynne Pugh, partner.
“In getting approval, the city of Santa Monica stipulated that it had to be a green project,” says Pugh. The 29,000 square foot apartment building sits on a 13,500 square foot land track in the heart of the Downtown. Each of its 44 units are only 375 square feet. Average rents are $350 a month and average incomes are $14,000 a year.
On the other extreme is the new Bank of America headquarters at 1 Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, on 42nd Street between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue Garvin, whose firm is architect for the half-completed building, which is scheduled to open in 2008. This “cutting edge” building has received the ultimate “platinum rating” from the United States Green Building Council’s LEED rating system.
He describes some of the key features and benefits: “It’s going to produce 80 percent of its energy on site. It captures the rainwater and uses it to flush toilets and for the cooling tower. Higher ceilings and low-e insulating glass in floor-to-ceiling windows permit maximum daylight in interior spaces, optimal views and energy efficiency. The building will also reduce potable water consumption by 50 percent and uses paints and carpets that reduce chemical emissions.”
“The building is getting premium rents and is nearly all rented even though it won’t be finished for a year,” he adds.
Born-again green believer
Yet another example of a green initiative is Punta Domincal, a 2,000-acre enclave of resort properties in Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific Province. Hal Wright is Punta Domincal’s managing partner. The founder of the Homestead Village hotel chain and Extended Stay America in his previous life, Wright is a “born-again” green believer.
Wright has assembled a team that includes Michael Neuman, professor of sustainable development at Texas A&M University and organizations like Savannah College of Art and Design and the Organization of Tropical Studies.
Punta Domincal has a comprehensive plan of green initiatives, which include:
- Increasing energy efficiency by reducing electric demand and developing solar alternatives.
- Developing water collection and re-use.
- Building with sustainable materials, such as bamboo.
- Increasing waste and food re- cycling.
- Examining total life cycle costs of construction methodology.
- Adding accessibility to the property to reduce fuel consumption.
- Taking advantage of Costa Rica’s agricultural output to reduceproduce from outside the country.
- Designing within existing topography to control erosion and run-off.
- Involving and educating the local community.
Reprinted from
EXECUTIVE DECISION
May/June, 2007
James T. Berger is a Chicago-area marketing consultant.
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