green education?

Image courtesy of Brian Kusler via Flickr 

Frustrated, a prominent mechanical engineer told me his version of a story about a project for which he designed cutting edge HVAC equipment. The client did not know how to program the technology to harvest any energy-saving benefits until this engineer personally drove to the site, personally fixed some of the equipment, and then set up a new computer monitoring program for them so that they could run their mechanical systems efficiently and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating costs.


Money Magazine recently published an article about the wobbling confidence investors have in green technologies because oil is “cheap” again. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but major green technology companies suffer from a depressed economy. Abound Solar filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy last month while First Solar downsized 30% of its staff earlier this year. So, how can design professionals help to turn around the tide and make green construction the indelible new norm?

While the USGBC has certainly trudged a cleared, rocky path ahead for green design, the work is not complete without the added efforts of each design professional. New sustainable technologies have to work well or they are useless. Maintenance managers need to know how to operate the systems. Third-party commissioners need to have precise discernment so that the systems operate as designed.

Green education was one of the USGBC’s main objectives. It’s creators realize that if the design professional can educate the public, their clients, and their coworkers effectively, green design will continue to grow. Let’s go over the current state of the building industry:

• Developers are focused on the short-term investment. So, how can we change their focus to the long-term? After all, how many times has a building sold for more money because it can offer the new owner a greener future with lowered operating costs? How can the developer rethink the process such that they have some incentive to build green rather than to simply pass savings onto the end users?
• Architect and engineers can be powerful if working together with a solid communications base. Unions between the professions need to augment so we can together be more influential for the client and ultimately for our own successful futures.
• Owners are more likely to incorporate green technologies if they plan to be one of the building’s end users. Owners are a golden target for green educational efforts. If owners can see how a green building reduces stress in the future due to better construction and more devoted end-users, owners may be more likely to make the extra investment.
• End users are the most likely group to benefit from green design, yet they are not always as committed as the owners and potentially the developers. End users sometimes need financial incentives to keep up the green design objectives weaved into the designs of the building they inhabit.

Is it an “impossible” reality that green design could phase away into the background again like it has in the past? Unfortunately investors are already considering the possibility. Be smart and be creative; don’t let it happen again.

This article will be published in the AIA Ohio 2012 Fall Architypes Newsletter.