The Benefits of Green Building

LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a certification program for green buildings with stringent requirements for building energy efficient and environmentally responsible structures. Some requirements of this program include specific building materials, smart grid capable, gray water reclamation systems, green space minimums, high levels of insulation and low thermal transfer glass (US Green Building Council). Green buildings are a must if we are to sustain our current level of growth. Despite the higher initial cost of these buildings, the long term energy savings make these buildings a smarter choice for

Buildings consume a variety of materials in their construction. Green design reduces the dependence on resource intensive products and materials. Today, there are an increasing number of products available made from efficient, earth-friendly, or recycled materials. In a green building, consideration is also given to the construction process itself. Materials that minimize waste or can be recycled, help contribute to an efficient and environmentally sensitive construction process.

A green building (also referred to as sustainable building or green construction) is a structure that employs an approach that is responsible for the environment besides being efficient in regard to resources all through its life cycle: This is from selecting the site to designing it, constructing, operating, maintaining, renovating and demolishing it. To achieve this, the client, the engineers, the architects and the entire design team closely cooperate at all stages of a project (Yan and Paliniotis, 2006). Practicing Green Building complements and expands the conventional building design areas of comfort, durability, utility and economy.

When it comes down to it, rethinking how to construct buildings can have huge effects on the environment. According to buildinggreen.com, the four main factors that can have a positive effect on the environment when first constructing a building are design, siting and land use, materials, and equipment. These are things that can be altered to tailor this idea of having greener buildings. From design to completion, many things can be done to make buildings more sustainable. Many of these processes are ignored possibly because of cost or complexity of the project. However, the end results of these processes are extremely beneficial to our environment and people surrounded by this environment. Ultimately, the reward of a healthier environment is worth the cost and inconvenience of completion.

Well-recognized cities worldwide have built over the years great buildings with a variety of designs and concepts however consequently too much building has been making grievous decrease on energy efficiency. Now, “Green Architecture” has been popularized and as a result a modicum of energy efficiency has increased and also it has substantiated a new perspective, a new versatile way on architecture.

Green Building may be defined as the processes of planning, designing, constructing and operating a building, while taking into consideration: the quality of the indoor environment, selection of the materials used, the way of using energy and water and the effect of the building on the site.

Beginning in the 1960s, our society has become increasingly aware of mankind’s negative impact on the earth. We have heard more about topics such as pollution, water contamination, Acid Rain, and Global Warming. All of these environmental concerns have displayed a need for more environmentally sensitive development. Environmentally responsible residential development is defined by Brewster as, "the production of building and communities that conserve resources and reduce waste through more efficient use of materials, energy, and water; that are more durable and useful; and that are designed for adaptive use or the recycling of their materials" (33). By definition alone, this type of development fits the description of sensitive development. I propose that we, as a society, must provide more incentives to encourage development such as environmentally responsible residential houses, because it will help reduce pollution, conserve limited and natural resources, and ensure a sustainable future.

Green building has come forth over the past decade as a positive movement to produce high-performance, energy-efficient structures that improve comfort and health for resident, meanwhile, minimizing environmental impacts. Nevertheless, a common sense that green features is expensive and not suitable for affordable housing. Recent studies are showed that green buildings have a modest initial cost premium, but the long-term benefits far exceed the additional capital costs. For this report, I will introduce a financial analysis -Net Present Value (NPV), and discuss the impacts of NPV analysis for green affordable housing.

Unites States Green Building Council. (2014). Leadership in energy and environmental design. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/leed#why

In this paper, I consider an effect of green roofs – its mental and spiritual impact on health of residents living in urbanized area.