The hottest topic for architects and developers in the green building industry is, “How well do green buildings actually perform?” How do we know that these environmentally-friendly designs significantly reduce energy consumption and produce measurably better water conservation?
Jerry Yudelson says, “I decided to find out!” Yudelson and co-author Professor Ulf Meyer of Berlin, Germany, have compiled the most extensive research to date on the measurable performance of LEED Platinum or equivalent buildings. “With 55 case studies from 18 countries, we found out what to expect from high-performance green buildings in most of the major climate zones around the world,” said Yudelson.
The World’s Greenest Buildings, from UK publisher Routledge, looks at buildings constructed since 2003, which were willing to release a year’s worth of energy use data and, where possible, water use data. In order to be included in this green building book, buildings had to have a LEED Platinum or equivalent top rating from a national green building rating program, represent a non-residential type, and be at least 50,000-sq.ft. in size.
“We were aiming at the top-rated green buildings built in the past 10 years,” said Yudelson, “with the goal of giving guidance to future projects in terms of best-practice energy and water performance, but also to refute the claims that green buildings don’t perform. In fact, the average building we profile uses almost two-thirds less energy than the 2003 average of U.S. commercial buildings.”
Praise for the book comes from academics and practitioners around the world:
Yudelson and Meyer have identified globaldesign exemplars that integrate architecture and context, economics and social responsibility, performance and aesthetics, demonstrating exciting solutions to meet the challenges of creating a more sustainable world.
--Bruce Kuwabara, founding partner, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, Toronto
This book’s important mission is to make the most plausible case that "post-fossil planet and people-friendly architecture" is the only way to go.
-- Professor Martin Despang, University of Hawaii School of Architecture, Honolulu
This is information we have all been waiting for; while offering a global overview of green buildings, it helps to unlock the truth about the real performance of sustainable commercial architecture."
--Professor Steffen Lehmann, University of South Australia, Adelaide
Using real performance data, Yudelson and Meyer showcase and compare buildings which combine great design, environmental quality and sustainability, providing the guidance necessary for the next generation ofsustainable building design.
--Thomas Auer, Transsolar Climate Engineering, Stuttgart, Germany
The book presents 22 projects in North America, 1 in South America, 17 in Europe and 17 in the Asia Pacific region, giving for the first time in print a good look at global sustainable designpractices for high-performance commercial buildings. The book also includeschapters on the business case for green building, integrated design process and sustainable urbanism. Further information on the book can be found on Yudelson’s website.
Yudelson is the author of 12 previous green building books presenting design and planning options for increasing sustainability in the built environment. While he advocates for technological solutions, Yudelson also claims, “We must dramatically change our approach to design, construction and operations to meet urgent carbon reduction goals for the built environment.”
A professional engineer, LEED Fellow of the US Green Building Council and experienced sustainability and green buildingconsultant, Yudelson trained as an engineer at Caltech and Harvard and completed his MBA with honors at the University of Oregon.
About Yudelson Associates
Yudelson Associates is a leading international firm in sustainability consulting, designing with water and green building certification. The founder, Jerry Yudelson, a LEED Fellow, is widely acknowledged as one of the nation’s leading green building and sustainability consultants and is an internationally recognized keynote speaker. In 2011, Wired magazine dubbed him the “Godfather of Green.” He is the author of 13 green building books and chaired the country’s largest annual show, Greenbuild, for six years through 2009.
For more information please contact Jerry Yudelson, 520-243-0996, jerry@greenbuildconsult.com or visit http://www.greenbuildconsult.com.
Related Stories
| May 18, 2011
Former Bronx railyard redeveloped as shared education campus
Four schools find strength in numbers at the new 2,310-student Mott Haven Campus in New York City. The schools—three high schools and a K-4 elementary school—coexist on the 6.5-acre South Bronx campus, which was once a railyard.
| May 18, 2011
Eco-friendly San Antonio school combines history and sustainability
The 113,000-sf Rolling Meadows Elementary School in San Antonio is the Judson Independent School District’s first sustainable facility, with green features such as vented roofs for rainwater collection and regionally sourced materials.
| May 18, 2011
New Reform Jewish Independent school opens outside Boston
The Rashi School, one of only 17 Reform Jewish independent schools in North American and Israel, opened a new $30 million facility on a 166-acre campus shared with the Hebrew SeniorLife community on the Charles River in Dedham, Mass.
| May 18, 2011
Design diversity celebrated at Orange County club
The Orange County, Calif., firm NKDDI designed the 22,000-sf Luna Lounge & Nightclub in Pomona, Calif., to be a high-end multipurpose event space that can transition from restaurant to lounge to nightclub to music venue.
| May 18, 2011
Lab personnel find comfort in former Winchester gun factory
The former Winchester Repeating Arms Factory in New Haven, Conn., is the new home of PepsiCo’s Biology Innovation Research Laboratory.
| May 18, 2011
Addition provides new school for pre-K and special-needs kids outside Chicago
Perkins+Will, Chicago, designed the Early Learning Center, a $9 million, 37,000-sf addition to Barrington Middle School in Barrington, Ill., to create an easily accessible and safe learning environment for pre-kindergarten and special-needs students.
| May 18, 2011
Raphael Viñoly’s serpentine-shaped building snakes up San Francisco hillside
The hillside location for the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine building at the University of California, San Francisco, presented a challenge to the Building Team of Raphael Viñoly, SmithGroup, DPR Construction, and Forell/Elsesser Engineers. The 660-foot-long serpentine-shaped building sits on a structural framework 40 to 70 feet off the ground to accommodate the hillside’s steep 60-degree slope.
| May 18, 2011
New center provides home to medical specialties
Construction has begun on the 150,000-sf Medical Arts Pavilion at the University Medical Center in Princeton, N.J.
| May 18, 2011
Improvements add to Detroit convention center’s appeal
Interior and exterior renovations and updates will make the Detroit Cobo Center more appealing to conventioneers. A new 40,000-sf ballroom will take advantage of the center’s riverfront location, with views of the river and downtown.
