Recently in Green Building Training Category

We can design our hearts out, but the final results of a building's functionality is up to the people who use the building for their purposes.  And they never ever match the architect or designer's expectations!  The public is "fickle" -- meaning, of course, complex and unpredictable. But in a recent research project to identify the value and impact of a specific green building and people's experience of it, researchers delved in-depth into the likes and dislikes about the Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, MD. 

The most liked features of the building included:

• Connection to nature and the bay
• The lunch room
• Views to the outdoors
• Openness of the space
• Daylight
• Sustainable resoruce use
• Overall aesthetics
• Parking
• Location

And the least liked features of the building included:

• Temperature conditions
• Things not working right
• Moving from downtown
• Insufficient storage
• Insufficient meeting rooms
• Glare from windows
• Central vs. local copiers

Intriguing.   People WANT nature, but then don't like natural conditions.  They like overall space and aesthetics, but dislike taking time to walk a bit to use the space.  We like space but want lots of stuff around us.  Yes, Virginia, we are complex beings! 

Maybe the challenge is one of attitude.  Even an attitude of gratitude! How do we design gratitude into building functionality? 

SOURCE:
The Human Factors of Sustainable Building Design: Post Occupancy Evaluation of the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, Annapolis, MD. by Judith Heerwagen, Ph.D.; Leah Zagreus; and prepared for Drury Crawley, US Department of Energy Building Technology Program

Where's the beef? Well...meeting value, that is.

Architect Scott Simpson described a concept KlingStubbins called a team structure and the industry now calls Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). The concept is key for a collaborative project approach, but its importance is more universal. The phrase that stuck with me was "decision-ready information".

Decision-ready information consists of the key facts required for a meaningful, final decision about a subject to be decided.

In an IPD project, major decision-makers are expected to attend every meeting, so that decisions made in the meeting have meaningful buy-in and closure. These meetings can be intense, not to mention very expensive.

It's the responsibility, therefore, of each team member to bring decision-ready information for the decisions on the agenda.

"Clearly stated, decision-ready information helps your teammates look good to their teammates. Design professionals love representatives who help them look good. (This is also the old-fashioned way information "goes viral": good information gets carried along.)" says Aaron Chusid of Building Product Marketing.

Wouldn't this information design approach make meetings more valuable...and engaging!

Read more at BuildingProductMarketing.com

Green Building in China

Investment in infrastructure development coupled with need for energy efficiency has spurred the growth of intelligent and green buildings in China.

Construction and design standards and energy labeling programs are driving consumption of energy efficient appliances and building products such as HVAC & R and compact fluorescent lamps.

The building automation system, in particular, is undergoing significant technological developments integrating aspects of interoperability, energy-efficiency and real-time monitoring facilities in a better fashion. 

Frost & Sullivan (http://www.buildingtechnologies.frost.com), Green Buildings - A Strategic Analysis of the Asia Pacific Markets, finds that the market accounts for less than 6 percent of the total building markets in 2009 and estimates this to reach 17 percent by 2015.

Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the potential of Green Buildings markets across various sectors such as commercial, residential and education.

Green building councils are playing a pivotal role in increasing the awareness and knowledge about the advantages of Green Buildings among various stakeholders. Already, market stakeholders in Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong are well educated about the merits of Green Buildings.

New government initiatives such as the Neutral Carbon Emission 2030 strategies will  promote the market for green buildings in key sectors.

http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/svcg.pag/EVBT