Environmental Issues - Building Administration

Environmental Issues - Building Administration

Introduction

In the middle of the twentieth century, many buildings were designed and built without energy efficiency or environmental "friendliness." Houses, office buildings, and factories were often made of materials that were unstable or even dangerous (asbestos insulation, for example). Similarly, some of the most popular architectural styles—for example, the "glass-box" office buildings representative of the International Style—were very inefficient in their energy consumption (Bates, Kane & Branz, 2013). These buildings are expensive to operate and are over-reliant on natural resources.

The second approach is high tech, relying on new materials and processes to reduce resource use and minimize waste. This incremental, technological approach has been criticized for making too small of steps toward sustainability and for maintaining “business as usual” rather than encouraging modern consumption patterns. For example, reducing the production of carbon emissions from heating and cooling at a modern building is desirable, but locating it on the edge of a metropolitan area, thus requiring extensive driving on the part of its inhabitants, can be considered counterproductive(Leaver, Gillingham & Baglino, 2012). Nevertheless, the technological approach dominates the industry at the present time, as seen in the term “high-performance buildings.”

Within these approaches, green building techniques and methods vary widely from the high tech to the low tech. It has promoted this way environmental sustainability. Energy efficiency can be achieved through passive techniques such as taking advantage of the exposure of a site to the sun, reducing the need for winter heating or summer cooling, or through more active means such as incorporating alternative energy infrastructure like photovoltaic panels. Reducing water usage can be done via fixtures that use low water, incorporating native plants into the landscaping, or recycling storm water or gray water on-site. Reducing storm water runoff is usually done as part of water recycling by developing green roofs or using bioswales or rain gardens. Waste reduction is emphasized not only for building users but contractors; the traditional construction process produces large amounts of waste, and green building certification often depends in part on recycling or reducing that waste.

Renewable energy applications in green buildings

It has been internationally recognized to promote innovative approaches for mitigation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to energy consumption associated with building construction and operation. In view of that, the energy performance of green buildings has an immense effect on the sustainable development of the built environment. Sustainable development is highly intertwined with the deliberation of energy (Robertson, 2009). Thus, on one hand, renewable energy sources including solar, winds, and waves, etc. play a substantial role for sustainable developments; on the other hand, sustainable energy sources including the waste-to-energy sources are highly influential in the enhancement of sustainability.

Indoor Environment

The indoor environment can be improved via the use of low-emission paints, carpets, and sealants, among other materials, by letting in as much daylight as possible, and by allowing building occupants to control the temperature of their immediate surroundings. Finally, using environmentally responsible materials, such as certified-renewable wood, draws ...