green siting and land use

Build within developed areas: in-fill development. As opposed to urban sprawl, in-fill development preserves wild lands and agriculture and raises density thereby enabling neighborhood shops and services and alternative transportation.

Locate buildings to provide access to public transportation, bicycle paths and walking access to basic services. This minimizes automobile use. Driving can also be reduced by working at home, therefore consider home office needs with wiring layout and wiring.

Locate buildings to minimize environmental impact. Cluster buildings or build attached units to preserve open space and wildlife habitats, avoid especially sensitive areas including wetlands. Leave the most pristine areas untouched and build on areas that have been previously damaged.

Situate buildings to benefit from existing vegetation. Deciduous trees on the south, east and especially west sides of a building can dramatically reduce cooling loads while allowing some solar gain in the winter. Dense hedgerows and shrubbery can block cold winter winds.

green building design

Renovate older buildings. Renovation of existing buildings is the most ecological construction.

Design for future reuse. Make structures adaptable to other uses, and choose materials and components that can be reused or recycled.

Optimize use of interior space with good design so that the overall building size and resource use in constructing and operating it are kept to a minimum. Smaller is better.

Optimize material use. Minimize waste by designing for standard ceiling heights and building dimensions. Avoid waste from structural over-design. Simplify building geometry.

Design an energy-efficient building. Use high levels of insulation, high performance windows and tightly sealed construction. Attached buildings minimize expensive inefficient exterior envelope.

Take advantage of solar access and natural cooling by utilizing passive solar heating, daylighting, cross ventilation and heat chimneys.

Design for alternative energy systems such as solar water heating, photovoltaics and geothermal installations. Slope southern roofs 40 to 55 degrees for optimal solar energy absorption.

Make it easy for occupants to recycle. Make provisions for the processing of recyclables such as recycling bins near the kitchen and under sink compost receptacles.

green materials and equipment

Use locally produced building materials such as wood and stone. Transportation is costly in both energy use and pollution generation.

Use salvaged building products or products made from recycled material such as cellulose insulation, Homosote, Thermo ply, floor tile made from ground glass and recycled plastic lumber and carpet.

Seek responsible wood supplies. Use lumber from independently managed forests. Avoid lumber products produced from old-growth timber Douglas fir. Don’t buy tropical hardwoods unless unless the seller can document that the wood comes from well managed forests.

Avoid ozone depleting chemicals in mechanical equipment and insulation. HCFC’c should be avoided where possible. Avoid foam insulation made with HCFC’s. Consider cellulose.

Avoid materials that will off gas pollutants. Solvent-based finishes, adhesives, carpeting, particleboard and many other building products release formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. Minimize the use of pressure treated lumber; use detailing that will prevent soil contact.

Use durable materials and products. A product that lasts longer or requires less maintenance usually saves energy. Durable products also contribute less to solid waste problems.

Use high efficiency lights and appliances. Fluorescent lighting has improved aesthetically and is much less expensive to operate than incandescent.

Use water efficient equipment. Water conserving toilets, showerheads and faucet aerators not only reduce water use, they also reduce demand on aseptic systems or sewage treatment plants. Centrally locating fixtures reduces hot water costs.

Adapted for Vermont by Joan Heaton from the Colorado AIA Committee on the Environment’s Green Architecture Checklist: Residential