"The goal of reducing project costs while increasing energy efficiency must be viewed as a viable way of achieving cost effective buildings. The benefits of investing in the initial states of design must manifest themselves in the end product." - Pennsylvania Guidelines

Decision makers planning a High Performance Building need to be aware of the connections between buildings and the natural environment. Proper High Performance Building Design (HPBD) is a comprehensive process that includes all stakeholders and results in resource efficient, healthy, comfortable spaces that have a reduced impact on the environment and exhibit operational savings throughout the life of the building.

It is well-documented and obvious that the earlier in a building project High Performance Building goals are established, the greater long-term owner and occupant satisfaction. Before Brown's next major building project reaches the pre-design phase, Brown decision makers must affirm that high performance buildings fit into Brown University 's culture and values. After creating a shared vision to build higher-quality, resource-efficient campus facilities, efficient HPBD policies must be created, supported, and implemented. The process might look something like this:

1. Decision makers at Brown University use this website as a guide to explore the HPBD field on their own.
2. The President, Provost, and Corporations Facilities and Design Committee members sign the draft or similar Environmental Mission Statement.
3. Brown University publishes the new environmental statement, making sure HPBD is one of the strategies listed to execute environmental mission.
4. Facilities Management weighs in on guidelines that are most appropriate given the new environmental mission statement, not which ones are easiest.
5. Broad Building Guidelines are currently on Brown's Planning agenda. The Campus Planning Advisory Board Facilities and Design Corporation Committee, and the Provost's Space Committee must come to a consensus on general guidelines. Brown's relationship with the natural environment will be one section of these guidelines.
6. The top-level administrators convey their support for the chosen guidelines to Facilities Management, who ensure that the guidelines are followed. The Guidelines are given to designers, construction managers, and consultants.
7. Facilities Management, given the appropriate budget funds, posts a position for an Energy Manager and subsequently hires an energy manager. Among other responsibilities, the new Energy Manager will join Brown's Resource Efficiency Manager by participating in the design teams for campus construction projects.
8. The Campus Planning Advisory Board along with leaders at the Department of Facilities Management select HPBD Guidelines that compliment Brown's Environmental Mission. They decide Brown University must again lead the nation in environmental campus programs and choose LEED Gold as their standard. Based on the experiences of other Universities, they decide the architect will ultimately be responsible for LEED certification although many groups will need to submit particular documents. The LEED Gold requirement ensures HPBD will be on the agenda of every project meeting. Brown University is looking forward to the first of many superior quality buildings to come.
9. The Finance and Budget Department and Facilities Management figure out how life cycle costs accounting will be implemented in the project budget.
10. The previous actions all apply to the pre-design stage of the next large construction project. The pre-design phase begins with a written statement of design intent that clearly sets forth the goals of the project including the intended use of the project, possible future uses, and a description of how systems will perform. Writing down the project intent and goals is critical to ensuring that project participants agree upon project goals and priorities.
11. Key design tools such as daylight testing, energy modeling, and commissioning are included in the capital project budget. After the project team creates a vision for the project and confirms LEED Gold requirements, an integrated project team forms. The team includes the architect(s), engineers, facilities management personnel, members of the Provost's Space Committee, a green consultant [1], a cost consultant, commissioning agent, and perhaps an ecological land manager [2] from the start.
12. The Request for Proposal (RFP) includes requirements such as prior experience with HPBD projects or inclusion of specialty consultants on the design team. The RFP mentions High Performance goals, so the responding architects know what is expected of them.
13. The project intent, budget, and guidelines are communicated to the selected architects and engineers.
14. The project intent and goals are also shared with potential donors to elicit additional funding for this building project. Brown's HPBD initiative will appeal to contributors' economic, social, and environmental ideals.
15. Brown University holds a charrette involving all the project design professionals, other industry specialists, and Brown community members who are willing to participate. During the charrette, the outside facilitator forms teams of about a dozen people with at least one professional on each team. This is a key opportunity to educate deans, faculty, staff, students, and potential donors about HPBD strategies and techniques. The participants are given sample documents to give the people involved a sense of what to expect from the process and how to be proactive in getting the project they envision.

• LEED handout
• HPBD processes from NYC, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania Guidelines
• Sample RFPs incorporating LEED language
• UNC's LEED checklist

16. The charrette participants discuss project goals and strategies considering the HPBD guidelines in terms of a whole-building approach. The charrette serves to inform all stakeholders of the project goals and incite enthusiasm for the High Performance Building .
17. The integrated design team works together on whole-building design while also considering life cycle costs. All systems and materials decisions are clearly documented. Design team members must be aware of the limitations of traditional project documentation in creating high-performance designs. They must take a proactive role in ensuring that all project participants contribute to the success of a comprehensive, cost-effective, and efficient project documentation process. Designers can utilize the numerous green design and material information documents now available in Construction Specifiers Institute (CSI) format. (Green Specs)
18. Documents are submitted to the USGBC for LEED rating at the specified stages of the project design and construction. Construction waste management, commissioning, and operation and maintenance information should also be included in the construction documents. There must be a clear collaborative communication program in place to assist, guide, and engage the team in the process. There should be a project website, where all submittals can be hosted at one place so all stakeholders have access to secure viewing of all drawing, submittals and other documentation required. These requirements provide quality checks at all stages of submission and costs should be checked at every stage as well. It is essential to continuously refer to the statement of design intent throughout the documentation, construction, and commissioning process.
19. In addition to LEED documentation, the Project Review Process includes evaluations by the Building Committee, the Campus Planning Advisory Board, and Facilitates and Design Corporation Committee. The Review Process often revisits and updates the statement of design intent as project proceeds to ensure the goals influence the project and are met. The decision makers at Brown who are not directly involved with the design process, can still ask the design teams questions such as the detailed questions from the High Performance School Building Handbook.
20. The project goals are communicated to the construction team so that much of the energy put into synergistic design is not thwarted by material substitutions and lack of attention to detail during actual construction. To facilitate communication of project goals to the contractor and trades people, the designers will develop building systems integration drawings that illustrate how various building systems and components relate to each other. The building system integration drawings will be supported with written specifications.
21. Document and publish experiences and lessons learned so that the next project will produce an even higher performing building that is more cost-effective. It is important to compare conventional building capital and operating costs throughout the process to guide decision-making and provide data for campus constituents. This is where increased metering around campus is necessary.

Good HPBD will allow Brown University to construct high quality campus buildings that embody the respect the University holds for the people who work and live on campus as well as the natural environment. Brown's implementation of HPBD will prompt others to follow its lead, multiplying the associated social, economic, and environmental benefits.

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[1]Marc Rosenbaum is a green consultant with extensive experience working with N.E. Universities and he could facilitate Brown's first HPBD process. http://www.buildinggreen.com/features/mr/index.cfm

[2] http://www.biohabitats.com/ BioHabitats Inc. is an environmental consulting and design firm specializing in ecological assessment, planning, and restoration. They have offices throughout North America and successfully contributed to campus expansion at URI-Kingston.