Green Building
admin February 25th, 2008
Sustainable Building Design
Buildings play a critical role in protecting and improving our environment and the health of the people who occupy them. Green North Eco-Conference and expo is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with other green building peers, industry experts, and influential leaders as they share insights on the green building movement and its diverse specialties.
Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.
The related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are integral to green building. Effective green building can lead to 1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2) improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3) reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment, although the appearance and style of sustainable buildings is not necessarily distinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.
– Participating Groups –
HOK creates award-winning planning, design and delivery solutions for buildings and communities all over the world. Our network of market specialties, practice areas and office locations is recognized worldwide. No other design firm touches so many people and places.
Our ability to collaborate across markets and disciplines in every part of the world allows us to see the “big picture” and, because we approach design from so many different perspectives, gives us an unparalleled ability to innovate.
Clients come to HOK for extraordinary work developed through a highly collaborative process. The product supports each client’s unique vision and framework of needs.
Buildings should serve a higher purpose. We believe great architecture shapes the human experience, improves the quality of the built environment and helps conserve the earth’s resources. Our goal always is to cut through the complexity to make life easier and better for people.
John Stephenson, B.Arch., OAA, MRAIC
A founding partner of Kuch Stephenson Gibson Malo Architects & Engineer, John has been practicing architecture in Thunder Bay since 1986 and has resided in the north for over 27 years. KSGM’s award winning practice includes projects completed for a wide range of both public and private sector clients as well as several notable private/public sector partnerships. KSGM’s practice is focused on the design and construction of buildings that demonstrate a high degree of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and that are evocative of the materials and building traditions of the north. KSGM are LEED accredited practitioners. John’s talk, entitled ‘Building Green in the North’ will review the firm’s approach to sustainable design through an integrated practice model. It will highlight a highlight a number of examples of both real and theoretical recent projects that illustrate the potential of this approach to contribute to Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability and Green Economic Development in the North.
&Co - Dermot J. Sweeny - Principal
BES, B.ARCH, OAA, AAA, AAPEI, MRAIC
Designing and building green has always been about cost — and so it remains. However, there has been a paradigm shift. Now the question is not only, “is the extra financial cost worth it…?” but also, “what are the environmental costs in not building green?”
Typically in North America, the primary concerns for both landlords and tenants were aligned and focused on location and net rent. Given that there was very little to differentiate buildings, issues such as tenant inducement also arose. In addition, over the past forty years, fewer and fewer occupants own their own buildings and have therefore lost touch with operating and maintaining them.
However, new drivers of change are currently at the forefront towards constructing better buildings. Tenants are demanding change driven by human comfort and human resources, lower gross costs of occupancy, and flexibility and positive brand positioning relative to the environment.
Now we are looking at breaking down the two principle barriers to change: preconceived notions relating to cost and lack of knowledge as to what is possible. Better buildings are not more expensive. In fact, when operating and maintenance savings are considered, these buildings become less expensive well within the first five years of operation. Sometimes they are even often capital cost neutral from the start.
The discussion will include savings and experience from architectural design precedents and a segment about LEED and associated costs (not as much as you might think!)
CMHC - Jamie Shipley
Jamie Shipley is a Senior Research Consultant with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Ontario Business Centre. With over (20) years experience in the construction industry, Jamie has solid technical knowledge of low and high rise buildings, renovation, rehabilitation, codes and standards for both new and existing residential buildings. Jamie has also developed and facilitated technical courses to the Ontario Real Estate Association and First Nation’s building inspectors to improve technical skill, code and standard knowledge for new and existing homes. Jamie also provides guidance and assistance to the Ontario Business Centre on construction practices and industry trends.
Dennis Walsh - green@work / Sustainable City Conferences
green@work provides readers with essential literacy on environmental and social sustainability in the business context. It explores developments in the greening of business, and covers relevant legislative and regulatory trends. It delivers basic tools and suggestions for applying the principles of sustainability-both professionally and personally.
Each issue delivers insightful coverage of the latest in corporate sustainability and previews of what’s on the horizon. It presents critical information and makes it meaningful and applicable: which issues are crucial, what’s being done successfully and how you can do it.
green@work’s readers are the socially conscious professionals at the forefront of the move to sustainability. They are the early adopters of green products, socially responsible investors and the people who educate their friends and family about the benefits of green living. They are also conscientious, mission-driven professionals helping businesses plan and execute for long-term success.
Michael Pringle, Business Development Manger - Honeywell, Sustainable Building Division
Honeywell Building Solutions installs, integrates and maintains the systems that keep facilities safe, secure, comfortable, productive and energy-efficient.
Co-presentation with Ron Vopni of Confederation College. Learnings from Confederation College Energy Retrofit Program and reviewing 6 different green technologies.
