Building construction and operations consume vast amounts of energy and other natural resources, creating significant waste and pollution over a building’s life span. Today’s movement toward more sustainable green buildings seeks to prioritize environmental responsibility in all facets of building design, construction, operation and maintenance. The goal of a green building is to minimize environmental impact while maximizing occupant productivity and comfort, building health and life cycle cost savings.

Like virtually all projects, constant collaboration between the owner, architect/engineer and contractor is essential to a green building’s success. However, designing and constructing green presents a new set of challenges and, along with them, new opportunities. Defining project goals, team responsibilities and overall process becomes the foundation for design team effort.

What constitutes a green building? Each building owner’s goals and priorities are unique, especially with regards to environmental responsibility. Most building teams are utilizing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a consensus-based tool for evaluating green buildings, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC administers the LEED program from project registration through building certification. LEED certification has become the benchmark for green buildings.

LEED assigns points based on achieving prerequisites and credits in six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process. A total of 26 points out of a possible 69 reaches the LEED Certified level, with additional points required for Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. More than 400 projects have been registered with the USGBC and more than 25 projects have completed the certification process.

In some cases, LEED is being used as simply a reference to guide building teams even when LEED Certification is not sought. This decision does not discount a project’s sustainability since some building owners do not value certification as much as others. For them it is simply good enough for the project to be labeled certifiable.

The building owner must understand and accept that a green building will require a higher initial first-cost investment than a conventional code-compliant building. Studies indicate that the first cost of a building typically constitutes only about 20 percent of its lifecycle cost. The remainder of the lifecycle cost is associated with operation and maintenance. The higher cost of specific energy-efficient enhancements can be proven to reduce the building’s lifecycle cost, but the owner must direct the architect/engineer to perform the analysis. Typically the owner will also have a third party commissioning agent as an extra set of eyes and ears for the project team, which would be an additional cost.

Cost Benefit

Building owners have already seen the tangible benefits of healthier buildings: reduced absenteeism, increased worker productivity, lower energy costs and fewer complaints. These owners have mandated “green” on future projects. In California, the city of Santa Monica requires LEED certification for all new public buildings. This year, the state of New York initiated its “Green and Clean” initiative, mandating increased energy reductions for new state buildings. The General Services Administration, a federal agency, is giving preference to proposals incorporating LEED certification.

Owners’ responsibilities even extend to energy contracts. Many owners are promoting the use of “green power” by supplying environmentally friendly energy to their buildings. Emerging technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels, fuel cells and wind farms are being used throughout Massachusetts via programs supported by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Other projects, such as the Center for Environmental Science and Technology Management at State University of New York at Albany, have successfully integrated energy generating technologies into the building design.

The architect/engineer is typically viewed as having the greatest responsibility in a green project, since they must integrate the owner’s green objectives into the building design and then translate these to the contractor. The architect/engineer’s responsibilities in a green project are diverse and can include in part:

• Responsible site and material selection.


• Water conservation.


• Energy usage optimization while maximizing occupant comfort.


• Adaptive reuse of existing buildings.


• Appropriate use of daylight.

Experience levels in green building design can vary between architectural/engineering firms. Some firms have adopted sustainability as a core philosophy, while others have created in-house “green teams.” These are dedicated professionals with demonstrated expertise in environmentally responsible design. Still other projects retain the services of outside sustainable design consultants to add value to the project team.

Many design professionals have taken advantage of a LEED accreditation program offered by the USGBC. This accreditation program tests the professional’s knowledge of LEED, as well as other industry-related subjects. Many owners are now requesting the architect to identify their LEED-accredited professionals in consultant proposals, to ensure some level of competence in green building design.

The design process has traditionally been a partnership between the building owner and architect, but with the increasing use of alternative project delivery methods such as design-build, the contractor has become an integral and necessary participant of the building team, from the project’s pre-design stage through completion of construction documents.

While the contractor is clearly responsible for construction of the architect’s building design and specifications, in a green project the contractor will have additional responsibilities, which include:

• Reducing site disturbance associated with construction activity.


• Incorporating requirements of the project commissioning plan.


• Diverting construction waste for recycling.


• Implementing an indoor air quality plan during construction to protect installer.

Whether or not the project is green, defining the process by which a building is designed and constructed is critical to the project’s overall success. Green buildings typically require extra measures for coordination between disciplines. Frequent contact and interplay is a must.

Defining the project’s goals and priorities at the pre-design kickoff meeting gives clear direction and sets the tone for the building team. The kickoff meeting should include as many members of the building team as possible, representing each discipline. All ideas are given merit and potential synergies and trade-offs are established.

Successful projects always remain true to the owner’s established goals and objectives, but the process must allow the building team mechanism to constantly monitor compliance with these goals. When LEED is utilized by teams an Excel-based scorecard, developed by the USGBC, can help to keep track of points in “yes,” “no,” or “?” columns. This scorecard is be reviewed and updated at each team meeting, typically by a LEED-accredited professional.

As noted, in green projects the owner typically retains a third-party commissioning agent to oversee the successful implementation of the building design. Implementation is formalized in a commissioning plan that all building team members have endorsed. The commissioning agent’s level of involvement can vary from project to project, but the objective is the same: to help deliver a building that will operate as designed.

Defining project goals, responsibilities and process are the foundation for successful green buildings. The movement toward environmentally responsible design is forever changing how projects are designed and constructed. Green projects are implemented by building teams that solicit and incorporate the input of all three primary team members: the owner, architect/engineer and contractor. In most cases, these teams utilize LEED, either for project certification or as a guideline.

Green projects are both good for business and good for the environment. As the number of successfully completed projects grows and people begin seeing the benefits, green will become the standard method of delivering buildings.

A design principal at Boston’s Cannon Design, CARLOS MELENDEZ is one of the firm’s leading authorities on buildings for healing and learning. A senior associate at Cannon Design, ERIC LINDSTROM is one of the firm’s leading authorities on green design, knowledgeable in the design and function of systems for facilities that demand environmentally responsible solutions. Cannon Design employs over 500 people nationwide and provides comprehensive architecture, engineering, design and project management services.