flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

AEC professionals should push for net zero projects

Codes and Standards

AEC professionals should push for net zero projects

Educate and lead clients to more sustainable choices, says LEED fellow.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | January 25, 2019

Courtesy Pixabay

Architects, engineers, and construction professionals should move aggressively to encourage more clients to build to net zero, says Gunnar Hubbard, FAIA, LEED Fellow, in a column posted at Real Estate Weekly.

Dire warnings in the latest climate report by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change require bold action in the built environment, Hubbard writes. “Not all clients are environmentally aware or proactive to the same degree,” he writes. “Regardless, we must do everything in our power to educate them, and should not wait for them to ask how their projects can be more sustainable.”

The AEC profession has the knowledge and the tools to achieve net zero, and in many cases the budget allows that standard to be reached, he writes. This can be done by making the investment and ROI clear, “and getting away from unreasonable paybacks of 3-5 years as a cap on improved performance.”

Thermally sound, climate-responsive architecture including taking into account sun path movement and wind direction, and defining levels of comfort for the building type are critical. That approach, combined with smarter system selection for ventilation and comfort that can be tuned for increased controllability and performance will help achieve the net zero goal.

Related Stories

Codes and Standards | Oct 21, 2016

Green Bond Guidelines for the Real Estate Sector updated

The market growth is a signal of future opportunities.

Codes and Standards | Oct 20, 2016

What top-ranked energy efficiency states are doing right on codes, utility mandates

Calif., and Mass., use aggressive targets to lead nation.

Codes and Standards | Oct 20, 2016

New cross-laminated timber fire tests back proponents of high-rise wood structures

'Demonstrating for the first time the feasibility of tall mass timber buildings in the U.S.’

Codes and Standards | Oct 14, 2016

ASCE issues first tsunami-safe building standards

The new standards will become part of international building code.

Codes and Standards | Oct 12, 2016

Making concrete greener

The high energy-consuming material can be made more sustainably.

Codes and Standards | Oct 11, 2016

Historic preservation moving beyond saving grand old buildings

National Trust for Historic Preservation CEO says the focus is on saving cities, not just buildings

Codes and Standards | Oct 10, 2016

Los Angeles voters will decide whether high-density developments should be harder to build

A March vote on the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative would put 2-year ban on zoning changes

Codes and Standards | Oct 10, 2016

New sustainable landscape development and management credential launched

GBCI offered the first testing opportunity Oct. 3 at Greenbuild

Codes and Standards | Oct 6, 2016

Obama administration will spend $80 million for smart cities initiatives

The technology is targeted for climate, transportation, resiliency.

Codes and Standards | Oct 6, 2016

New York City files criminal charges on owner for deadly building façade accident

The owner allegedly did not heed warning about danger of the crumbling exterior.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Sustainability

Grimshaw launches free online tool to help accelerate decarbonization of buildings

Minoro, an online platform to help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, was recently launched by architecture firm Grimshaw, in collaboration with more than 20 supporting organizations including World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), RIBA, Architecture 2030, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and several national Green Building Councils from across the globe.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021