Heimsath Architects - Church Experts Specializing in Religious and Community Architecture/title> <meta name="description" content="An article on Green and Sustainable building considerations."> <meta name="keywords" content="LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), site location, resource efficiency"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/reset.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/style.css" /> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="images/favicon.png" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.pngFix.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.ezjax.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.getUrlParam.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(function() { $('.ezjax').ezjax({ container: '#ezjax_content', initial: decodeURIComponent($(document).getUrlParam("exe")), effect: 'fade', speed: 'slow', bind: 'a' }); $(document).pngFix(); }); </script> </head> <body> <div id="all"> <div id="header"><a href="index.html" title="Home" class="home"></a></div> <div id="main"> <div id="topnav"> <ul> <li><a href="index.html" title="Home" > HOME</a></li> <li><a href="portfolioLanding.html" title="Portfolio"> PORTFOLIO</a></li> <li><a href="clients.html" title="Clients">CLIENTS</a></li> <li><a href="architecture_and_design_process.html" title="Process"> PROCESS</a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.heimsath.com/our-team/" title="Our_Team">OUR TEAM</a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.heimsath.com/contact-us-1/" title="Contact">CONTACT US</a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.heimsath.com/" title="Blog">BLOG</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="pullquote"> <ul> <li>"... site location is a criterion that already applies to many of our clients. To discourage urban sprawl, LEED rewards an applicant for proximity to developed areas with good transportation connections."</li></ul> <div id="printable"> <p><a href="Green Building.pdf" target="_self">DOWNLOAD</a></p></div> </div> <div id="content_bldgcom"> <div id= "subheads">green building and sustainable design</div> <p> </p> <p>Green building and sustainable design comes with two major benefits: a lower cost of operations and a reduced environmental impact. The former comes via energy and water efficiency, the latter by improved construction processes and use of building elements. Heimsath Architects is proud of its many resources and activities in bringing sustainable design into mainstream building programs.</p> <p> </p> <p>In recent years, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings have become the measurement <br /> of resource efficiency for buildings in North America. We have standing arrangements with two LEEDs professionals to assist in the certification process, depending on the size and complexity of the project. </p> <p> </p> <p>Working on a tight budget, clients are understandably leery of anything that adds costs and complications to a building program. Acquiring a LEEDs certification requires additional consultants and paperwork, and common questions arise: “Is green building worthwhile for us? Can we justify the expense?” With foresight and planning, churches, schools, and institutional clients can benefit from sustainability practices in their building programs. </p> <p> Many green principles are compatible with our clients’ interests, and a number of LEED requirements are steps that, for many years, we have encouraged clients to take, even if they have expressed no interest in green certification.</p> <p> </p> <p>For example, site location is a criterion that already applies to many of our clients. To discourage urban sprawl, LEED rewards an applicant for proximity to developed areas with good transportation connections. Most of our religious and institutional clients are located on sites near centers of existing neighborhood activities and population concentration. Improved access to public transit or shared-use parking adds more points, while also impacting the overall program.</p> <p> </p> <p>Another major LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) . Many of our clients re-use all or portions of existing facilities, via expansions or renovations. Often groups may choose to save or adapt an existing building because of budget limits or sentimental attachments, but the long-term positive effect is less waste and landfill, and the use of fewer new materials. Whether or not they even acknowledge it, our clients who renovate are participating in the ultimate recycling project.</p> <p> </p> <p>Other sustainable practices involve working with innovative or creative solutions. For a public elementary school, we installed ground-source heat pumps that pre-cooled water through pipes underground. For one recent project, a church congregation used stones and gravel from its own site for all the parking stalls to minimize the use of asphalt paving. Their landscaping called for entirely native plants with minimal needs for watering.</p> <p> </p> <p>The payoff for minimizing water and energy usage is a lower utility bill. On many projects, we include low-flow toilets and urinals and motion-detection restroom faucets. One recent church project included on-site wastewater treatment that reused water for plant irrigation. To increase lighting levels and create inviting interiors, we have used light shelves and translucent panels, which block a great deal of direct heat gain, but also admit ample daylight.</p> <p> </p> <p>On the other hand, parts of the LEEDs point system are impractical or counterproductive for many of our clients. Our job is to cut through the jargon and debates and show the benefits of sustainable design in clear, practical terms. While sustainable building may or may not be a priority for all owners, we believe that everyone benefits from the sustainable building practices. Heimsath Architects has incorporated this approach for many years, because green building concepts are also good building concepts. </p> </div> <p> </p> <p class="article"></p> <div id="ezjax_content"></div> </div> <div id= "footer2"> <p align="left"> © 1959–2010 Heimsath Architects. 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