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Jump to: navigation, search This article is about green building. For the building on the MIT campus, see Green Building (MIT).
US EPA ansas !ity Science " #echnology !enter$ #his facility features the follo%ing green attri&utes: '(EE) *$+ ,old certified Green Building, also kno%n as green construction or sustainable building, is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsi&le and resource-efficient throughout a &uilding.s life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction$ #his practice e/pands and complements the classical &uilding design concerns of economy, utility, dura&ility, and comfort$012 Although ne% technologies are constantly &eing developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, the common o&3ective is that green &uildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the &uilt environment on human health and the natural environment &y:
Efficiently using energy, %ater, and other resources Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity 4educing %aste, pollution and environmental degradation0*2
A similar concept is natural &uilding, %hich is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are availa&le locally$052 6ther related topics include sustaina&le design, green architecture, and energy efficient &uildings$
residential &uildings and <= percent &y commercial &uildings$0?2 8n *++*, &uildings used appro/imately =: percent of the total electricity consumed in the United States %ith >1 percent for residential use and <@ percent for commercial use$ 5: percent of the total amount of car&on dio/ide in the United States can &e attri&uted to &uildings, *1 percent from homes and 1?$> percent from commercial uses$ 7uildings account for 1*$* percent of the total amount of %ater consumed per day in the United States$0citation needed2 !onsidering these statistics, reducing the amount of natural resources &uildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is seen as crucial for future sustaina&ility, according to EPA$0:2 #he environmental impact of &uildings is often underestimated, %hile the perceived costs of green &uildings are overestimated$ A recent survey &y the World 7usiness !ouncil for Sustaina&le )evelopment finds that green costs are overestimated &y 5++ percent, as key players in real estate and construction estimate the additional cost at 1? percent a&ove conventional construction, more than triple the true average cost difference of a&out > percent$0@2
6n the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustaina&le design is the philosophy of designing a &uilding that is in harmony %ith the natural features and resources surrounding the site$ #here are several key steps in designing sustaina&le &uildings: specify .green. &uilding materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimiCe systems, and generate on-site rene%a&le energy$
%indo%s and roofs during the summer %hile ma/imiCing solar gain in the %inter$ 8n addition, effective %indo% placement 9daylighting; can provide more natural light and lessen the need for electric lighting during the day$ Solar %ater heating further reduces energy loads$ 6nsite generation of rene%a&le energy through solar po%er, %ind po%er, hydro po%er, or &iomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the &uilding$ Po%er generation is generally the most e/pensive feature to add to a &uilding$
recycling 9&ecause manufacture is in one location;, high Buality elements, &etter 6AS management, less noise and dust$
uality En!ancement
#he 8ndoor Environmental Euality 98EE; category in (EE) standards, one of the five environmental categories, %as created to provide comfort, %ell-&eing, and productivity of occupants$ #he (EE) 8EE category addresses design and construction guidelines especially: indoor air Buality 98AE;, thermal Buality, and lighting Buality$0*52 8ndoor Air Euality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or H6!.s, such as micro&ial contaminants$ 7uildings rely on a properly designed AHA! system to provide adeBuate ventilation and air filtration as %ell as isolate operations 9kitchens, dry cleaners, etc$; from other occupancies$ )uring the design and construction process choosing construction materials and interior finish products %ith Cero or lo% emissions %ill improve 8AE$ Dany &uilding materials and cleaningFmaintenance products emit to/ic gases, such as H6!.s and formaldehyde$ #hese gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants. health and productivity as %ell$ Avoiding these products %ill increase a &uilding.s 8EE$ Personal temperature and airflo% control over the AHA! system coupled %ith a properly designed &uilding envelope %ill also aid in increasing a &uilding.s thermal Buality$ !reating a high performance luminous environment through the careful integration of natural and artificial light sources %ill improve on the lighting Buality of a structure$0*<20*>2
amount of %aste generated &y the occupants as %ell, &y providing on-site solutions such as compost &ins to reduce matter going to landfills$ #o reduce the impact on %ells or %ater treatment plants, several options e/ist$ K,rey%aterK, %aste%ater from sources such as dish%ashing or %ashing machines, can &e used for su&surface irrigation, or if treated, for non-pota&le purposes, e$g$, to flush toilets and %ash cars$ 4ain%ater collectors are used for similar purposes$ !entraliCed %aste%ater treatment systems can &e costly and use a lot of energy$ An alternative to this process is converting %aste and %aste%ater into fertiliCer, %hich avoids these costs and sho%s other &enefits$ 7y collecting human %aste at the source and running it to a semi-centraliCed &iogas plant %ith other &iological %aste, liBuid fertiliCer can &e produced$ #his concept %as demonstrated &y a settlement in (u&eck ,ermany in the late 1@@+s$ Practices like these provide soil %ith organic nutrients and create car&on sinks that remove car&on dio/ide from the atmosphere, offsetting greenhouse gas emission$ Producing artificial fertiliCer is also more costly in energy than this process$0*:2
[edit] $ost
#he most criticiCed issue a&out constructing environmentally friendly &uildings is the price$ Photo-voltaics, ne% appliances, and modern technologies tend to cost more money$ Dost green &uildings cost a premium of L*J, &ut yield 1+ times as much over the entire life of the &uilding$ 0*@2 #he stigma is &et%een the kno%ledge of up-front cost vs$ lifecycle cost$ #he savings in money come from more efficient use of utilities %hich result in decreased energy &ills$ Also, higher %orker or student productivity can &e factored into savings and cost deductions$ Studies have sho%n over a *+ year life period, some green &uildings have yielded M>5 to M?1 per sBuare foot &ack on investment$ 05+2 8t is pro3ected that different sectors could save M15+ 7illion on energy &ills 0512
Structural insulated panels are installed on t!e roof of a !ome in Seattle for better energy efficiency% & Suns!ine $onstruction
Energy Efficiency 8ndoor Air Euality !onserving Iatural 4esources Water Euality
Energy Efficiency
'dvanced (raming)E*tra Insulation
Advanced framing is a techniBue used &y &uilders help reduce construction costs and increase energy savings$ 6n average, advanced framing uses 5+J less lum&er, takes less time to construct, and costs less to &uild &ecause the reduced use of lum&er more than offsets the additional cost of e/tra insulation$ !onstruction cost savings is estimated at M+$*@ per sBuare foot of %all area$ #otal savings for this measure alone are * to <J of total energy use$
'ir Sealing
Advanced caulking is part of the airtight dry%all approach 9A)A; for framed structures, %hich is an advanced sealing package that goes &eyond &asic practice$ Specifically, caulk or gasket dry%all is installed on e/terior %alls at the top and &ottom plates, %indo%s and doorframes$ !aulk or gasket dry%all is used on interior %alls at intersections %ith e/terior ceilings$ !aulk or gasket dry%all is used at electrical, plum&ing or mechanical penetrations in the dry%all$
&ack to top
Indoor 'ir
$arpet
uality
Using lo%-pile or less allergen-attracting carpet and pad can greatly improve indoor air Buality$ 8nstalling carpeting &y tacking rather than using glue also reduces air pollutants$ #here are also natural fi&er carpets availa&le such as 3ute, sisal and
)aylight and careful space planning are used effectively in small Built Green cottages to give rooms a more e*pansive feeling% & ,!e $ottage $ompany
MUMBAI, SEP : India's largest stand-alone Green Building with helipad that re!ei"ed the #eadership in Energ$ and En"iron%ental &esign '#EE&( gold !erti)i!ation )ro% the United States Green Building *oun!il 'USGB*( and "eri)ied +$ the Indian Green Building *oun!il 'IGB*(, in Mu%+ai on Frida$ 'UNI Photo( Green Building Pi!tures , Photos
This computer generated architectural image provided by the U.S. General Services Administration shows a series of 250 foot tall trellises designed to shade the west side of the !" story #dith Green $endell
the leaves provide cooling shade% in the winter& the bare limbs and stems admit comforting light. 'A( ( ) less
*ome +##,
An -ntroduction to +##,
+earn about the internationally recogni.ed certification system +##,& what it measures& what it delivers& and how to get started.
(ro5ect 6ertification
+##, certification provides independent& third party verification that a building pro5ect is environmentally responsible& profitable and a healthy place to live and wor3.
(rofessional Accreditation
+##, Accredited (rofessionals are professionals who have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles and familiarity with +##, re7uirements& resources and processes.
-EED%net
Welcome to -EED%net
$e8ve all seen the signs indicating a new construction pro5ect is underway. -n this day and age more and more are becoming environmentally conscientious. $hat does that mean for those who are in the 6onstruction field9 -t means they need to be on the cutting edge of green technology. $hat is +##,9 +eadership in #nergy and #nvironmental ,esign '+##,0 is basically a third party certification program. -t is a nationally accepted organi.ation for design& operation and construction of high performance green buildings. This ensures the buildings are environmentally compatible& provide a healthy wor3 environment and are profitable. +##, certified buildings are commanding higher rental rates and great occupancy than the non green buildings. This trend cannot help but impact the -nvestment community. The supply while gradually increasing is not 3eeping up with the demand for green buildings. +##, :ew 6onstruction buildings are awarded points for sustainability for things li3e energy efficient lighting& low flow plumbing fi;tures and collection of water to name a few. /ecycled construction materials and energy efficient appliances also impact the point rating system. -n the political climate of today8s world& as the earth8s natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate the construction industry is being compelled to loo3 at alternatives to traditional construction materials and styles. <ore and more legislation is being passed that impacts not only .oning but environmental impact for new construction. +##, :ew 6onstruction certification and #nergy Star ratings seem to be the future of construction pro5ects. -t8s important to not only build beautiful buildings but buildings that are
energy efficient& healthy for their occupants to e;ist within and that they not harm the environment. Those of us who populate those buildings can feel good about the part we are doing to help the environment and preserve what is left of the environment after years and years of ta3ing natural resources for granted. Green technology as it continues to catch on will generate additional 5obs and challenge conventional wisdoms. +oo3 what happened in the auto industry with the electric cars. -t didn8t really catch on despite the fact that many who had the opportunity to test drive them wanted to 3eep them. -nstead they were basically scrapped because of big business. :ow we have hybrids and more and more companies are loo3ing for ways to create cars that are more environmentally friendly. -nterest in green technology will stimulate 5ob mar3et growth& and open up new business venues as it continues to catch on. =ust li3e any other mar3et& competition is healthy and a monopoly is not. -ncreasing public awareness is crucial to the continued e;pansion of +##, :ew 6onstruction certification and the advancement of green technology in construction pro5ects. So in summary& what is the impact of +##, :ew 6onstruction9 +##, :ew 6onstruction buildings have higher occupancy than non +##, certified. +##, :ew 6onstruction buildings rent for a higher dollar amount per s7uare feet than non +##, certified buildings. <ar3et demand for +##, :ew 6onstruction buildings is higher than for non +##, certified buildings.
Paper delivered to the &iennial conference of the !anadian Society for Ecological Economics 9!AISEE;, Dc,ill University, Dontreal, August *>, *++1$ Intro2 Materials and Building Service and t!e Ecological Economy Elements of Material Solutions in Building W!at is a Green Material3 Deconstructing t!e Waste Economy 'lternative Materials Industrial Ecosystems Rules. Regulation and $oordination ,!e Significance of $onsumption 4rosumption in a Green Economy Green $onsumerism. Information and Mar5ets In Summary References 6 Resources
aterials are the stuff of economic life in our industrial %orld$ #hey
include the resource inputs and the product outputs of industrial production$ Ao% %e handle them is a ma3or determinant of real economic efficiency, and also has a ma3or impact on our health and the health of the natural environment$ Although the primary focus of popular environmental a%areness has &een on energy, it is our relationship to materials that %ill pro&a&ly have the most significance for green economic transformation and the esta&lishment of sustaina&le societies$ 6ver the past decade or so, green thinking has increasingly recogniCed that minimal levels of sustaina&ility depend on radical increases of resource-efficiencyOin the industrialiCed countries, &y a factor of ten$ Such efficiency gains seem almost impossi&le in the current system$ 7ut there are also fears that, even if ma3or efficiency gains could &e made, they might easily &e offset &y continuing gro%th of the economy as a %hole 9,ardner " Sampat, 1@@:P A$ Aayden, 1@@@;$ #he technological and organiCational potential to successfully make these
changes, ho%ever, does e/ist$ !utting-edge thinking on green economics has associated industrialism %ith material accumulation, and postindustrialism %ith %hat has &een called dematerialization of the economy$ #he argument is that a gro%ing role for kno%ledge, information and culture should make it possi&le to displace materials and energy %ith human intelligence and ingenuity$ #his %ould allo% us to satisfy more &asic human needs %ith far fe%er resources$ 8t %ould ostensi&ly also allo% us to fit human economic activities %ithin natural processes %ithout disrupting them$ 7ut all this %ould entail fundamental changes in the form, content and driving forces of the economyOthe su&3ect of my recent &ook, Designing the Green Economy. #he &uilt-environment is also a strategic realm of social, economic and environmental change$ Harious %riters have stated that spatial redesign of the landscape and &uilt-environment may &e the single most effective means of achieving ne% levels of efficiency and sustaina&ility 9(yle, 1@@<P Dollison, 1@:5P Ale/ander, 1@??P Han der 4yn " !o%an, 1@@=;$ 7uilding materials are also Buite important$ 6ne reason is &ecause of the %eight and volume they represent$ #hey have &een estimated to constitute up to <+ percent of the entire economyQs material throughput$ 8t follo%s that changes in &uilding materials use can leverage ma3or changes in manufacturing, e/traction and disposal$ 7uilding materials are also the stuff of our personal environments$ #hey are all around us, and literally part of the air %e &reathe$ #hey can damage the &iosphere: H6!s from paints alone are responsi&le for perhaps @ percent of the damage to the oCone layer$ #hey can also damage us: the US Environmental Protection Agency 9EPA;, for e/ample, estimates that indoor pollutionO caused &y materials like paints, plastics and particle&oardsOis responsi&le for more than 11,+++ deaths each year from cancer, kidney failure, and respiratory collapse 9(igon, *++1;$ #he fact that &uildings are all around us means not only that they immediately impact us, &ut that %e can potentially affect them$ #he &uilding industry is a decentraliCed one that e/ists in virtually every community$ Iot surprisingly, the &uilt-environment is a ma3or venue for ecological and community development alternatives, %ith materials &eing an increasing focus of concern over the past decade$ #he purpose of this essay is to marry these concerns a&out materials and &uilding, and consider strategies for dematerialiCation in the &uilding industry$ 8n particular 8 %ant to look at community-&ased initiatives, and consumption as a starting point for transformation$ Harious %riters and catalysts like the U Qs
Dartin !harter 9*++1; have argued that it is more effective to %ork on the level of production, %here corporate decisions can more directly affect supply chains, product designs and so on$ 6thers put the focus on regulation, insisting that the incentives and disincentives structured into the economy are crucial$ 8 %ill argue that a strategic focus on end-use, consumption and community may &e an ultimately more po%erful influence on &oth corporate action and state economic development policy$ 4eal dematerialiCation, ho%ever, reBuires action on every level of production, consumption and regulation, and there are pitfalls and limitations at every levelOespecially consumption$ 7efore looking at these, 8 %ill &riefly survey some of the key realms of &uilding materials transformation, &ased on an understanding of %hat an ecological economy can and should &eOthe perspective of an Recological service economyS$ Aopefully this %ill provide some conte/t for discussing the role of consumption in catalyCing change, and especially through the use of information in community-&ased initiatives$
sectors of the economy might seem perple/ing$ #he idea of selling services is actually a very radical concept$ 8t refers I6# to the e/porting of manufacturing to the #hird World, &ut to a &asic change in the aims of economic activity in every sector$ 8t %ould transform all material output from &eing the end-goal of economic development into a simple means of meeting social and environmental need$ #hese service-needs include nutrition, access 9or mo&ility;, health, entertainment, etc$ Service is another %ay of descri&ing Rend-useS$ As Amory (ovins 91@??; initially descri&ed this approach to energy t%o decades ago, %e should primarily &e concerned %ith providing Rhot sho%ers and cold &eerS, not po%er plants or fossil fuels$ 7y focusing on the service-need desired, %e can creatively discover the most elegant and efficient %ay 9or %ays; of meeting this need$ 8nvaria&ly this allo%s radical reductions in the amount of matter and energy used, and, more often than not, a much higher level of Buality$ 8t is possi&le to find e/amples of eco-service in the e/isting economy$ For e/ample, there is the much-cited transformation of Tero/ into a Rdocument companyS that designs its hard%are for disassem&ly and reuse$ 6n the cutting edge of green &usiness, there is also 8nterface Flooring, %hich is voluntarily implementing Re/tended producer responsi&ilityS that drastically reduces %aste$ For the entire economy, ho%ever, displacing production-for-productionQssake %ith a service approach is a much more difficult proposition$ !apitalism has al%ays &een &ased in gro%th and e/pansion$ #here is currently Buite a de&ate as to %hether it is possi&le to completely disconnect monetary from material accumulation$ 8t amounts to a de&ate as to %hether a RgreenS or Rnatural capitalismS is possi&le, or %hether the profit-motive itself must &e replaced %ith other indicators and incentives$ #his essay isnQt the place to resolve that de&ate 9although 8 do deal %ith it in my &ook;$ Whatever %e choose to call an ecological economy, the point is that dematerialiCation and a focus on service-needs reBuire %holesale changes in the rules of the game, and in longstanding economic incentives and disincentives$ #his reBuires a transformation in the form, content and driving forces of the economy$ 8ndustrial ecologists and green economists have made significant contri&utions in outlining the implications of a service approach in manufacturing$ Dy particular concerns revolve around %hat the building industry %ould look like in an ecological service economy$ #o this end, 8
%ant to survey &riefly the realms affected &y a transformation of materials in &uilding$ Aopefully this %ill provide some conte/t for a discussion of community action$
this includes scrutiny of consumption needs themselvesOdo %e really need to &uild thisVOand voluntary simplicity$ 8t includes a focus on selling services, rather than products$ 8t also includes the redesign of products, &uildings and settlements to dispense %ith superfluous materials$ #he great efficiencies resulting from ecological ur&an design and mi/ed-use development are in this category$
/%
8ncreased intensity of product use: All kinds of sharing are included here, and thus there is some overlap %ith category W1$ !o-housing developments %ith shared facilities, for e/ample, can su&stantially reduce the volume of materials use$
9%
E/tended product life: 4epair, reuse and remanufacturing are in this category, and in &uilding there is vast potential for deconstruction 9the disassem&ly of &uildings; and the reuse of &uilding materials$ 6ne step further is the design of &uildings to &e easily changed, repaired and disassem&led$
#his tends to reBuire more energy, &ut some form of recycling %ill &e ultimately necessary for every material at a point in its life cycle, no matter ho% dura&le, reused, or shared it has &een$
While this categoriCation is not sufficient in itself to deal %ith all the
main dimensions of transforming materials use in construction, it provides a frame%ork that can &e &uilt upon$ We can add concerns of to/icity, human and
ecosystem health, 3o& creation and other aspects mentioned in product evaluation$ ey areas that are crucial to achieve this materials transformation are:
Product Evaluation: RWhat is a green materialSV )econstruction and 4euse Alternative Daterials: the intelligent use of local materialsO&oth natural materials 94ammed earth, co& construction, stra% &ale, etc$; and unorthodo/ resources provided &y the %aste stream: tires, cans, etc$ Eco-industrial production: parks, net%orks and secondary materials industry$ 4egulation " the State: changing the rules of the game !onsumption and consumerism
negate their positive characteristics$ 7y &eing salvaged and reused, a very conventional material might &ecome a green material$ 8tQs a Buestion of relationships that are multidimensional and constantly shifting$
ho% much 9em&odied; energy %as used to produce and transport the product and its componentsV %hat kinds of energy sources 9rene%a&le or other%ise; %ere used in producing itV %hat kind of pollution and %aste did its production and transport generate, and ho% much %ill its disposal createV can it &e o&tained locallyV does it make a good use of a local resource, especially an overlooked or underused resourceV is it reused, or recycledV 8f recycled, is it post-consumer 9prefera≤ or post-industrialV
can it &e recycled or reused at the entire of its product lifeV ho% dura&le is itV Xand ho% much and %hat kind of maintenance does it reBuire over its life timeV ho% %ell does it perform its system function, &e it a structural, climatic, surface, or other materialV if applica&le, ho% does the material affect indoor air BualityV
"ther criteria can also &e applied that stem from larger
concerns a&out sustaina&ility$ #hey can &e social, political, ethical and even spiritual$ What are the %orking conditions for producers or installers of these materialsV What kind of la&our is involved, skilled or unskilledV )o these materials contri&ute to community developmentV )o they close gaps, or make useful linkages, in the local economyV 8n some cases, a community might have to make a tough choice &et%een a high-tech energy-saving product and a local lo%-tech traditional material that %ould create sustaina&le livelihoods$ 8f %e are looking at materials from the perspective of Buality, society-%ide, it makes sense, %here practical, to e/amine possi&le social, technological, and health implications at every stage of production and every sector of society$ no%ledge a&out &uilding materials is a crucial dimension of green change in &uilding and design$ Especially on the community level, concrete information a&out social and environmental impacts can have immediate effects, especially %hen it concerns specific products and processes$ #hose %ho can make a differenceOdesigners, &uilders, tradespeople, homeo%ners, &uilding supply retailersOare acutely lacking the &asic information on materials that %ould allo% them to make constructive changes$ 6ftentimes information e/ists, &ut not in a form easily accessi&le to those that need it, %ithout a lot of research or effort$ Easily updatea&le directories and %e&site data&ases are starting to appear in some places, &ut they are needed every%here &ecause %hat is green depends very much on local conditions$ An ecological siding panel from !alifornia %ill not &e so ecological if it has to &e shipped to Iova Scotia$ For this reason, a lack of information a&out materialsOeven on the consumer level in &uildingOhas a ma3or impact on manufacturing in a region$ When &uilders and designers are demanding products %ith lo% em&odied energy, there immediately e/ists a market for a responsive regional manufacturer$ #his is also an opportunity for enlightened municipal politicians
and development officers$ A%areness a&out the o&3ects of everyday life and commerce has &roader implications$ When people are routinely inBuiring a&out larger impacts, a&out %here resources come from, and %here they go, it is only one step further to think a&out similar indicators of development for entire communities$ Product evaluation, la&elling and certification are 3ust one level of a comple/ of possi&le indicators of social and environmental Buality: sustaina&le community indicators$ Ultimately, a%areness of the importance of these indicators are our &est hope to displace simplistic ideologies of gro%th and competitiveness$
dealing %ith the fundamental pro&lems$ 4o&in DurrayQs Creating Wealth From Waste 91@@@; highlights the clash &et%een t%o distinct organiCational mentalities involved in current struggles over %aste$ Ae calls them conflicting modes of RmoderniCationS: 91; the ;$!emico&energy< mode: centraliCed and capital-intensive, %hose main instrument is incinerationOa form of disposal %hich allo%s the traditional linear e/traction-to-disposal economy to remain intactP and $$$ 7/8 ;eco&moderni#ation<: the closed-loop economy, featuring more comple/ flo%s and simple or specialist treatment$ 8t is e/pressed in Rintensive recyclingS and its key innovations are in collection, not in high-tech plants$ Durray %rites, ;recycling demands t!e s5ills of a modern retailer. not a transporter of aggregates<=and hauling aggregates is precisely the &ackground of most of the dominant %aste management firms$ #his contrast in styles is no%here more apparent than in demolition$ )espite some outlandish claims of the demolition industry a&out the amount of material it reclaims and recycles, the capital-intensive &ulldoCe-and-haul approach annually destroys millions of dollars of value 9even in todayQs perverse markets;$ Io% the demolition industry is having to deal %ith a young competitor of the Reco-moderniCingS varietyOthe &urgeoning deconstruction industry$ )econstruction companies e/hi&it the retailer-like fle/i&ility that Durray ascri&es to the ne% collection net%orks of intensive recycling$ #he starting point to make %aste a resource is, of course, source separation, and this reBuires an understanding of &uilding styles, ho% the &uildings originally %ent together, along %ith an appreciation of %hat can &e reused, reclaimed or recycled, and %here the markets for these materials e/ist$ #he appeal of deconstruction is gro%ing rapidly, %ith much of the enthusiasm of the recycling movement of the seventies$ 8t is rightfully seen as a source of ne% skills, of environmental and &uilding preservation, and of 3o&s and community economic development$ According to Ieil Seldman and Dark Jackson of the 8nstitute for (ocal Self-4eliance 98(S4;, R8f deconstruction %ere fully integrated into the U$S$ demolition industry, %hich takes do%n a&out *++,+++ &uildings annually, the eBuivalent of *++,+++ 3o&s %ould &e created and M1 &illion %orth of &uilding materials %ould &e returned to the economy, %ith accompanying reductions in virgin material e/traction$S
)espite the fact that as recently as t%o generations ago the demolition industry %as involved in reuse, many of these traditional skills have had to &e reinvented$ )econstruction cre%s are often under severe time constraints$ )espite the fact that &uildings can sit vacant for years, once a development decision is made, a developer is often under pressure to take do%n &uildings in the shortest time period$ 7ecause of the time and care that deconstruction reBuires, la&our costs can &e much more than demolition, and much greater precautions must &e taken around %orker safety$ Workers also reBuire more training$ #he sites usually reBuire more space for proper sorting and stacking of materials, and the materials must &e transported %ith care$ Daterials must &e carefully inventoried, and if Rsite saleS is not feasi&le, then the materials must go to salvage yards or resource recovery parks$ !ompared to the old days, modern deconstructionists must deal %ith the increased use of composite materials, laminates and po%erful adhesives$ !ertain &uilding types are more conducive to deconstruction, %ith paneliCed or tim&er-framed structures the most desira&le$ )ifferent regions present different challenges, %ith the most advantageous places &eing those %ith high landfill charges and %ell-developed markets for recycla&les$ )espite the o&stacles, there are many nota&le success stories$ 8n places like Aartford !#$, Portland 64, Dinneapolis, and San Francisco, deconstruction initiatives are proving they can financially compete %ith, or outperform, demolition firms$ Dany are non-profit, some are %orker-o%ned$ #hey are retaining money in their local economies and saving lots of pu&lic e/pense for %aste disposal$ #hey are also creating innovative %in-%in situations$ 7ecause many are non-profits, private o%ners %ho contract %ith them for deconstruction services can get ta/ deductions %orth the value of recovered materials donated to the programme$ A 1,*++-sBuare-foot house typically can claim from M>,+++ to M:,+++ 9Seldman and Jackson, *+++;$ #hey are parado/ically also creating some opportunities for conventional !") outfits$ 8n many places, deconstruction and !") firms are %orking together to efficiently take do%n
&uildings$ #he demolition industry focuses on the recycling of &uilding materials, %hile the deconstructionQs role is recovery and reuse$ #he !") companies have also &een pushed &y the ne% situation to recycle more and more of %hat they handle$
su&stantial diversion from landfills for every community$ #hey are sites for much more than !") resources, &ut &uilding materials have played a ma3or role in their development$ #hey are places %here materials are &rought for resale, or for reprocessing and resale$ #hey are places %here &usinesses can share space, operating eBuipment like forklifts, repair services, management and technical e/pertise, accounting services, 3o& training and much more$ #hey also feature sho%rooms for various products$ #hey %ill hopefully &ecome an ecological-economic ne/us for pu&lic-private cooperation and all kinds of net%orking 9!alifornia 8ntegrated Waste Danagement 7oard, *+++;$ Several are no% in the process of development in !aliforniaOin !a&aCon, San (eandro and 7erkeley$ #hey seem to have great potential for connecting construction and manufacturing activity, particularly through interfacing %ith eco-industrial parks and net%orks 9(o%e, 1@@?;$ 8 %ill look at eco-industrial developments and manufacturing after a &rief diversion into another crucial area of eco-&uilding: alternative materials$
'lternative Materials ,he evaluation and promotion of green &uilding materials should pro&a&ly
&egin %ith conventional materials since these are the most used$ 7ut in a transition to sustaina&ility, %e must &egin to think more and more of materials that fit %ithin ecosystem processes$ #hese are the alternative materials$ #hey vary from place to place, &ioregion to &ioregion, &ut some of the &etter kno%n, and increasingly popular, in Iorth America are stra% &ale, rammed earth, ado&e, co&, cord%ood, stone and RearthshipS &uildings made of old tires and other gar&age 9!hiras, *+++P !happell, 1@@:;$ #hey all make e/cellent use of local resources and are produced %ith little energy$ #heir &uilding processes tend to &e la&our-intensive and resourcesaving$ Dost are natural drying and eminently recycla&le or even reusa&le$ #hey are also non-to/ic and engender little pollution$ Some, like earthships 9&uilt from old tires; and stra% &ale construction, make good use of a %aste
product 9Steen, Steen " 7ain&ridge, 1@@<;$ Dost of the alternative &uilding techniBues are updated versions of traditional &uilding methods that %ere s%ept aside &y the industrial revolution$ Dany of the materials are in fact virtually ideal materials for the climates in %hich they are found$ Daterials like stra% are natural insulatorsOone of the only completely non-to/ic forms of insulation$ 6ther materials like earth have great thermal mass, keeping %armer in %inter and cooler in summer$ While many people associate these materials %ith rural settings, this is primarily &ecause the countryside has &een more conducive to e/perimentation$ #here is no reason %hy rammed earth, earthships and even stra% &ale couldnQt &e used as easily in cities$ #he future of sustaina&le cities lay in lo%-rise, high- and medium-density settlements, featuring lots of plant gro%th that can provide food, climate-control, energy and %ater eco-infrastructure, along %ith neigh&ourhood employment$ 8f green cities are to value and harness the natural productivity of the landscapeOincluding &ackyards, alleys and rooftopsOthey must also harness the social productivity of vernacular &uilding and design, and of the informal economy 9Aough, 1@@>P )$ Aayden, 1@:<;$ Economies must find %ays of supporting the gardening, preventive health care, self-help &uilding and other vital forms of production that the e/isting capitalist economy tends to consider forms of passive consumption$ Alvin #offler 91@?*, 1@:+; first called these emerging informal activities RprosumptionS$ #offler %as totally o&livious to the ecological dimension, &ut %riters like Schumacher, 8llich, Winner, Dumford and ,oodman have not only called attention to the importance of these sectors, &ut also to the need to design and implement technologies to support them$ #he alternative materials are eminently suited to RprosumptiveS activities$ 4ammed earth, for e/ample, takes soil right from the &uilding e/cavation, eliminating most of the vast processing industry devoted to %ood frame or concrete construction 9Easton, 1@@=;$ Dost of the techniBues can &e learned &y the people %ho %ill live in the &uildings$ #hey can participate in the design$ #hey can see and feel ho% nature supports them, and understand %hat they must do to return that support$
#he implications of greater use of alternative materials cannot therefore be fully understood ith a life cycle analysis $ #hey also involve social relationships that are fundamental to creating sustaina&le communities and economies$ #hey can help to undermine the forms of alienation of producer from consumer, of professional from client, of design from e/ecution, and of individual from community, that so underlie unsustaina&le practices$
Danufacturing materials off the site %ill, of course, al%ays &e appropriate, no matter ho% &ioregional and decentraliCed &uilding &ecomes$ 8t %ill even &e appropriate to pull some operations that are currently done on site, off the site so that greater Buality-control is possi&le$ Engineered lum&er and concrete %affle panels are e/amples of products that can su&stantially reduce materials use compared to current practices$ Harious forms of natural materials Olike stra% and hempOcan also &e usefully employed in manufacturing to produce panels, insulations and the like$ Dany of todayQs highly-touted e/amples of industrial ecology are, almost em&arrassingly, comprised of some distinctly unecological elementsOlike coal-fired or nuclear po%er-plants, oil refineries and petrochemical firms$ Aopefully, these are transitional phenomena, on the %ay to fully ecological industries$ 6ne key principle of industrial ecology is that, since production depends on comple/ Rfood %e&sS linking diverse producers, the RfoodS involved should &e healthy and non-to/ic enough to &e easily shared$ #o/ic elements can &e isolated in their o%n sealed loops, &ut this limits fle/i&ility and increases risks$ ,reen manufacturing must ultimately move to%ard the production and use of &enign materials that can &e Rglo&ally recycledSOthat is, a&le at their end to &e composted or reunited %ith nature in some %ay that makes them a potentially ne% resource 97erge, *+++;$
Because the role of the state is so vast and comple/, this essay can only
revie%, Buite selectively, some of its key tasks around dematerialiCation$ 8t is, ho%ever, essential that %e deal %ith the Rrules of the gameS &ecause focusing the economy on service, and on closing productionFconsumption loops, reBuires &asic changes in the economyQs incentives and disincentives$ #he role of the state in a green economy is dealt %ith more comprehensively in my &ook$ 8t must &e emphasiCed, though, that the state is not the only means of regulation$ #here are various elements of an economy that put limits on certain activities, and encourage other things$ #he scale of the economy is perhaps the most significant$ A community-&ased economy, %ith much more local production for local consumption, &uilds in a certain amount of accounta&ility$ A community!based financial system can &e an even more direct influence on investment$ A place that has a num&er of po%erful financial institutions that lend only, or preferentially, for economic activities that meet the &ioregionQs ecological and social needs %ill have a great impact on the nature of regional production$ Community currencies are another phenomenon that, if %ell developed enough, can function as forms of economic self-regulation$ #hat said, the role of the state is still of undenia&le importance$ And this role goes &eyond regulation, or making and enforcing the rules$ 8t also includes coordination=a function that 8 &elieve &ecomes ever more important in a service-&ased economy$ 7ecause the rules of industrial capitalism encourage greed, self-aggrandiCement and accumulation, the state must consistently &e a policeman, %atching for individuals or firms that transgress the limits$ When the rules are changed to &e incentives for service, human development and dematerialiCation, the stateQs role of policeman &ecomes much less critical than its role as coordinator$ #his coordinator role is also important &ecause the stateQs planning role in a green economy cannot &e a top-do%n deterministic one in the state-socialist model$ Planning is ever more important, &ut it must &e more participatory and fle/i&le &ecause of the very diverse and decentraliCed nature of ecological production$
For dematerialiCation, the most important rules must surely &e those reBuiring e*tended producer responsibility 7E4R8 and product ste>ards!ip% #hey constitute ma3or changes in property la% and lia&ility that have, until no%, limited corporate accounta&ility and encouraged %aste$ When a producer must &e lia&le for a product over its entire lifecycle, there is every incentive to conserve materials and to provide service$ #here is great incentive to make Rproducts of serviceS disassem&la&le, reusa&le and or even composta&le$ 7uilding materials present a real challenge in terms of ho% e/tended producer responsi&ility should &e applied$ R#ake &ackS legislation is o&viously not the simple ans%er$ #here are many different kinds of products, and different strategies and policies %ould have to &e employed to achieve the goal of closed loop production and the minimiCation of materials use$ Product ste%ardship legislation, &uilding codes and development la%s, and green ta/ation are among the many tools availa&le to accomplish the 3o&$ 6n the macro scale, development and housing policy %ould have to prioritiCe Buality shelter instead of the production and sale of &uildings$ Forcing developers to &ear the full costs of infrastructure, and enforcing mi/eduse that com&ines %orkplaces and residences in the same area, are other steps$ From here, it is a short step to develop incentives not 3ust for resource-efficient ur&an intensification 9or densification;, &ut for ecological infill% #his is intensification that not only increases density &ut also designs &uildings and landscapes to provide food, purify %ater, heat and cool &uildings, etc$ !odes, &y-la%s and ta/ation that encourage the preservation, reutiliCation, and adaptation of e/isting &uildings, rather than &uilding ne%, can also save vast Buantities of materials$