Green Building Architect Q&A: Selecting an Environmentally Aware Architect

 

We recently received this email from one of our subscribers:

 

Dear Green Building Expert

 

I’m thinking of employing a green building architect to put up my new house and do some remodel work on my mother’s home next door. I know that individual health; resource and environmental integrity are all affected by homes.

 

How do I choose an architect that can assist me in realizing my green dream home and a contractor that can build it, so that I can approach my building design and construction more holistically?

 

Sincerely

Prospective Green Homeowner

 

Here are two qualities you need to look for in a green building architect – so you can hire someone to start your project:

 

 

In too many green design projects, function is valued above all else, and many a green building architect designs with a default “green” look: solar panels, all glass, enclosed in tangled plant life. With customers varying from private owners to municipalities demanding that architects prioritize sustainability, the field of architecture is going through a design crisis, as if design itself were a loathsome carbon-emitter. Your architect should produce visually appealing work, once it’s within LEEDS guidelines.

 

 

Several studies have shown that investments into green products and systems will pay for themselves no less than ten times over the life of the building. Reduced energy costs, high durability and improved wellbeing for inhabitants more than pay for the high upfront material costs. In addition, advances in recycling, new materials and improved designs have allowed for a new generation environmentally friendly products that are less expensive to produce. Don’t fall for it if your architect tells you green buildings cost more: a good architect should know where the savings are.