| last updated: April 15, 2004 |
"I am still learning."
- Michelangelo
High performance building design is becoming mainstream
As stated in the Executive Summary, High Performance Building Design (HPBD) is becoming increasing popular. Articles are written every day about new high performance building projects. Three years ago, it was difficult to find a common definition of a "high performance building" but today more than 800 private and public buildings, comprising over 100 million square feet[1],[2] have registered for third-party high performance certification under LEED standards. Since 2000, membership in the US Green Building Council has expanded from 250 companies and organizations to over 3,000 supporters. Dozens of national conferences focus on environmentally responsible building and hundreds of related lectures occur each year. Public and private corporations have developed high performance building guidelines:
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US Department of Energy (DOE).
"The First Certified 'Green' Dormitory," a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, describes Carnegie Mellon's LEED certified dormitory. There are already about 200 campuses with LEED quality buildings. The Boston Globe published two high performance green building articles in the last week of March 2004.[3] In that same week, USA Today Published an article title "Buildings Designed in Cool Shades of Green" and The Mercury News printed a similar piece called "Green Buildings: Energy efficiency, Thoughtful Design Pay Off." The increasing national news coverage of High Performance Buildings reflects the growth of actual high performance buildings on the market.
Students desire more environmentally conscious campus buildings
Today's college students grew up in homes that recycled and read about climate change and ozone depletion. We live in a time where pollution is an everyday word and we all remember the world celebrating the 30th anniversary of Earth Day in 1992. John Gratiot, Dartmouth 's Facilities Operations Director claims, "Students today learn about the environmental at a younger age and are looking for colleges and universities with environment in mind."[4] Based on their concern for the natural environment and university's role, students pressure college administrators to recognize, respect, and reverse the institution's adverse impacts on the environment. The bottom-up approach with consequent support from top-level administrators, has been very successful at bringing about change on college campuses. John Rivers, Senior Project Manager at MIT, reports the high performance building initiative at that university "came from the students and faculty to the president and in turn down to [the Department of Facilities]." Anthony Bernheim, FAIA, comments on a recent SCUP discussion of green campus planning and building,
"college and university planners are becoming more aware of the need to "green" the campus. This is a direct outcome of an increased understanding of the health and condition of the planet." [5]
Brown University students are no different. Dozens of class projects address Brown's impact on the environment and possible solutions. In addition to the 50 or more traditional Brown courses that explore the natural and human interactions, the push for environmental campus planning is rising from faculty and student groups from diverse departments. A Green Building Technologies Group Independent Study Project has actively enrolled students for the last four semesters and another Green Building Course is scheduled for Fall '04. The Brown Environmental Action Network has requested that Brown commit to environmental improvement. Hundreds and hundreds of environmentally literate Brown students and alumni want Brown University to aggressively reduce its adverse impacts on the environment. What is missing is explicit top-level action. Increasing the resource efficiency of its buildings is one of many ways Brown University should attend to its environmental connection.
Others are leading by example, reducing misperceptions
In 2001, one thousand, one hundred and sixteen presidents, provosts, and chiefs of administrations and operations responded to the National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology web based survey of the 4,100 American university and colleges. [6] The report found that the
"motivation for implementing environmental programs transcends regulatory compliance or cost savings...environmental ethic has taken root at the institutions where tomorrow's leaders are being trained."
Sixty-four percent of college presidents responded "environmental programs fit with the culture and values" on their campuses. University presidents also cited public relations (47%) and cost effectiveness (41%) as important factors. Seventeen percent of respondents mentioned the importance of environmental programming in recruiting students.
The increasing amounts of high performance buildings on university campuses and in the building industry teach others about the possibilities. When questioned, most people respond positively to the term 'environmentally friendly', however, most people also have misconceptions about how environmental buildings compare to standard, more familiar designs. When beginning to talk about high performance buildings, common responses are:
- "Yes! Of course I'm interested in using resources wisely."
- "Sure, I would like to discuss high-performance building options."
- "Ok, so what kind of costs are we talking about here?"
- "Do resource efficient buildings work the same?"
- "If we do build this way, what would it look like?"
It is ethical to express concern for the environment, but it is also equally understandable to express apprehension at implementing high-performance, environmentally responsible approaches. Associations with the term "environmental" are not all positive. People are concerned about being too different, overly "hippie-ish" and being perceived as impractical. It is true, photovoltaic panels are distinctive environmental building features that show a building's environmental ethic. Then again, better insulated walls, non-toxic paints, and other energy-efficient building methods and materials can look, perform, and cost the same as the more environmentally damaging products they replace. In fact, HPBD and environmentally responsible products are more practical and cost-effective in many ways.
Moreover, environmentally superior building technologies have dramatically evolved during the past ten years. Previously hard-to-find resource efficient products are now widely recognized as mainstream. Ultra-efficient windows, reflective roofing materials, certified lumber, daylighting strategies, underfloor air distribution, and low-VOC floor covering and paints have gained increased recognition and respect in the building industry. An important aspect of HPBD is considering how the different building systems and materials interact; HPBD pays attention to the optimal performance of the whole building.
Brown should join the High Performance Campus Building leaders
Although recent interest by students and faculty in high performance buildings is encouraging, campus buildings that forego opportunities to improve environmental, economic, and human health are still being planned. In order to take full advantage of the possible performance benefits, HPBD must be part of Brown University 's Planning Process. To read more about Brown's Planning Process, click here. 
[1]http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/Resources/043003_hpgb_whitepaper.pdf
[2] Otten, Liam, (2004) The Greening of American Campuses. Washington University News http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/734.html (last visited 3/17/04 )
[3]"Grants will give a big boost to making buildings 'green'" 3/27/04 and "Shades of Green: New England lodging places devote their energy to saving resources and being friendly to the environment" 3/28/04
[4] The Sustainable University Campus lecture March 30, 2004 Washington University , St. Louis
[5] Society of College and University Planners www.scup.org
Bernheim, Anthony. (2003) How Green is Green? developing a Process for Determining Sustainability When Planning Campuses and Academic Buildings . SCUP Journal
[6]National Wildlife Federation (2001) "State of the Campus Environment: A National Report Card on Environmental Performance and Sustainability in Higher Education."