32 csengineermag.com august 2019
The Living Building Challenge calls on engineers, architects, and
designers to create buildings that have a positive net effect on their
surroundings. Built using only nontoxic, low-impact materials, living
buildings are meant to be both healthy and beautiful. They produce
more energy than they consume, collect and treat all water on-site, and
incorporate elements of the local culture and natural surroundings in an
aesthetically pleasing design.
The Frick Environmental Center in Pittsburgh is the most recent of
only 22 buildings worldwide to earn the International Living Future
Institute's Living Building Challenge certification, a classification that
requires more sustainability work and documented performance than
even the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Platinum designation. In addition to net-zero energy and water, LBC
building standards include nontoxic construction materials – a sig-
nificant challenge, given that there's only one source in the world for
nontoxic carpet. Still, the project leads have found the arduous process
worthwhile, and so has the city of Pittsburgh.
Rethinking how buildings are constructed has a major impact on the
environment. Today, buildings consume 41% of the total energy in the
U.S. and are responsible for almost 40% of carbon dioxide emissions
– outpacing the industrial and transportation sectors in both categories.
However, in recent years, the market is driving a dramatic change.
LEED-certified buildings consume 25% less energy, reduce carbon
dioxide emissions by one-third, and have kept 80 million tons of waste
out of landfills.
As green building activity continues to increase, almost half of indus-
try respondents from around the world anticipate that most of their
upcoming projects will be green buildings. It's worth noting that the
financial returns are proving to be worth the investment. The average
increase in value for a green building is 4%, while maintenance costs
for LEED buildings are nearly 20% less than non-green commercial
properties.
Four Ways to Bring Buildings to Life
With eco-friendly building on the rise, architects, engineers, and
builders are taking on the challenge of combining the ecological and
financial benefits with aesthetically pleasing designs. Increasingly,
engineers and designers are turning to a range of green construction
strategies starting with these:
1. Control the Light.
Custom sunshades and light shelves add to a building's curb appeal, but
their main purpose is lowering energy costs and reducing a building's carbon
footprint. The shades are also part of "daylighting strategies" that enable
occupants to rely on natural light.
2. Help the Building Breathe.
Clay plasters are a high-performance building product that combine unfired
clay and sand to add an attractive element to a building's design. At the same
time, they bring breathability to a structure by maintaining relative humidity
between 40% and 70%, significantly reducing airborne bacteria.
3. Add Warmth, Literally and Figuratively.
As the best mainstream material for thermal insulation, wood outperforms
concrete, brick, and steel. Using Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood
for a building's exteriors and interiors does more than increase the envi-
ronmental benefits: Research shows that wood is perceived as warm and
welcoming, which enhances feelings of well-being.
4. Pave with Style.
Think of paving requirements as more than just an infrastructural component
of a project. With the range of permeable pavement solutions available, to-
day's pavers are designed to add to a building's aesthetic appeal. In addition,
many municipalities provide incentives to use permeable pavers because
they offer an economical, functional way to meet building code requirements
for on-site stormwater capture.
By embracing the challenge of meeting and exceeding environ-
mental building standards, the building industry plays a vital role in
how people view their surroundings. With a unique combination of
imagination and practicality, green buildings are transforming the built
environment.
Four Ways to Take on the
Living Building Challenge
By Barry Stiles
The Frick Environmental Center in Pittsburgh recently received the Living Building
Challenge (LBC) Certification. The prestigious award came after more than a year of
extensive sustainability work by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the City of
Pittsburgh.
Photo: Nic Lehoux
BARRY STILES is the founder and CEO of TRUEGRID Pavers, the 100 percent
permeable paving alternative to concrete and asphalt that instantly absorbs
stormwater and detains water below the surface. TRUEGRID is a green,
permeable Lego-like paver system for the real world, made in the United States
from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and filled with gravel or grass
for a natural aesthetic. As an engineer and as a dad, Barry is passionate about
TRUEGRID's mission to provide green paving solutions to build a safer and
cleaner environment for our kids. For a complete guide to managing stormwater
with permeable paving, download TRUEGRID's whitepaper.