Green Building News Clippings

Green Building News Clippings

Building 'green' reaches a new levelUpdated 7/26/2006 11:59 PM ET

By John Ritter, USA TODAY

PORTLAND, Ore. Michelle Walsh looks out a wall of windows in her airy new condo high above the Willamette River. Across hills and forests loom snow-capped Mount Hood and, when it's clear, Mount St. Helens. Below? Construction chaos all around.Walsh revels in it. She and her husband, Edward, proudly wear "urban pioneer" buttons the builder handed out to early move-ins at the nation's first large-scale redevelopment to go 100% "green."Call it "eco-friendly." Call it "sustainable." Portland's $2.2 billion South Waterfront project, rising on a decaying industrial site south of downtown, signals a watershed in the green-building boom.A trend that has taken hold across the USA in the past few years is evolving to a new level. What has been a patchwork of green buildings in many cities is expanding to whole communities, whole neighborhoods. Portland, well known as an urban-design innovator, particularly for its transit-oriented developments, is leading the way again.The green ethic energy-efficient, water-stingy buildings full of features that stress the natural over the chemical, the recycled over the new and the renewable over the finite is firmly mainstream."The big developers, the people who build America, are slow to move," says Charles Lockwood, an environmental and real estate consultant based in Southern California. "They still see a hint of tie-dye and wind chimes in green building. That's changing quickly. There's critical mass."Even in suburbia, home of large-production builders of single-family homes."There's a lot more consumer interest. It's starting to be a groundswell," says Calli Schmidt, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Home Builders in Washington. A McGraw-Hill Construction survey in March predicted that green building would reach a "tipping point" next year and that two-thirds of builders would be building green homes.Common features now found in green buildings include: non-toxic paint and finishes, wheatboard cabinetry, low-flow showerheads and toilets, wood floors of Brazilian cherry, Caribbean walnut and other plantation-grown varieties, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, recycled and locally obtained building materials, rain and wastewater captured for toilets and landscaping, and panels that double as sunshades and solar power generators.The Walshes went green house hunting after they sold a home in Arlington, Va., that they'd owned for 30 years and came to Oregon. They bought a condo knowing it was temporary until the Meriwether, twin South Waterfront high-rises, opened. Both towers sold out during construction, except three penthouses."Eco-friendly was very important to us," says Michelle Walsh, 63. "We knew seven years ago this project was happening, and we watched it. We wanted this place." The couple paid $790,000 for a 10th-floor, two-bedroom, three-bathroom unit with a den plus those killer views.Developers and builders aren't joining the green revolution purely out of a sense that it's the right thing to do. They can't afford to be left behind. By year's end, at least 6% of the nation's non-residential construction, a $15 billion chunk of the industry, will be green, says Greg Kats, a green-building consultant in Washington, D.C. Six years ago it was less than 1%."If you're not embracing green, you won't be at the table," says Homer Williams, one of South Waterfront's developers. "We do a lot of public-private work around the country, and it's the first question that comes up now."The federal government, 15 states and 46 cities require new public buildings to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which require non-toxic building materials, among other things.Four states and 17 cities offer incentives for LEED-rated private buildings. Chicago, Pasadena, Calif., and other cities now fast-track permit procedures for builders who commit to green standards.Raising the barDevelopers find that green technologies and construction materials add no more than 1%-2% to costs, a premium quickly recaptured by energy savings."Critics will say, 'Why should we pay upfront for these things?' " says Ethan Seltzer, director of the Toulan School of Urban Studies at Portland State University. "They'd also liketo believe global warming doesn't exist."Green building, he says, "is no longer confined to capital-intensive office towers. Green technology is to the point where these are valid questions for Home Depot shoppers."The Green Building Council has certified nearly 550 buildings across the country since 2002. Developers only recently have sought to stamp as green larger, multistructure projects such as South Waterfront. Same with single-family homes. The council is working on LEED versions for both.Cities interested in LEED for large ventures include Pasadena, Milwaukee, Austin, Des Moines, Boise and Spokane, Wash.Multibillion-dollar redevelopments on the Camden, N.J., waterfront and in New York City's Meadowlands are going green. Seattle's High Point neighborhood has the nation's first green public-housing project, 600 apartments and town houses surrounded by green houses selling at market rates. At least 5,000 units of green low-income housing in 25 states have gone up in the past 18 months.Corporate America was the first to see the value of green beyond energy savings.Companies noticed less absenteeism, less time lost to asthma, allergies and other illnesses aggravated by mold, stale air and chemicals found in many conventional buildings. But to Ford, Bank of America, Target, Toyota, Honda, Genzyme, Starbucks and Adobe, green also was about image."In the 1980s it might have been acceptable to do a trophy building and say, 'Oh, look at us, we're green,' " says Rick Fedrizzi, president of the Green Building Council.No more. "The products you make should be green," he says. "The manufacturing process should be green. The factory should be green. Employees should work in a green building. You live this message all the way through and then someday you can call yourself a green company. Until then, it's just green-washing."The city and developers are committed to top-to-bottom green at South Waterfront.That means winning high LEED ratings on every building. It means streetcar and light-rail connections to downtown that cut auto travel. It means a mile-long, 150-foot-wide greenway between the Willamette and tall building clusters not plain grass but restored natural habitat for birds and wildlife, bike and pedestrian paths included."It sets a much higher standard than what we've seen in many cities across North America," says Bob Sallinger, urban conservation director at the Audubon Society of Portland.Condo and office towers will have smaller footprints to preserve views of the river and downtown in the neighborhood behind South Waterfront. The skinny, or pencil, high-rise design was pioneered on the Vancouver, British Columbia, skyline, and San Francisco, Sacramento, Las Vegas and other cities are copying it."We can do a much more elegant building by making it feel very tall and very vertical," architect Phillip Beyl says.South Waterfront will be the densest neighborhood in Portland, already a transit-friendly city of small blocks and compact urban districts.Developers calculate, for instance, that if condo owners in a 31-story, oval-shaped tower now going up were put in single-family homes, they'd consume 55 acres of land. South Waterfront's first phase will house 3,000 people and provide 5,000 jobs on 38 acres.Many South Waterfront streets will be narrow to invite walking and generously landscaped, with "bioswales" grassy trenches that catch and absorb storm runoff."Eco-roofs" of soil and native plants slow runoff and curb the "heat island" effect of sunshine beating down on conventional roofs. The skin on most buildings will be glazed glass to maximize energy saving and interior light.Finding value in 'green'South Waterfront's anchor, an Oregon Health & Science University bioscience center opening in November, is the nation's first large building to use chilled "beams" instead of conventional air conditioning. Picture a car radiator on its side on the ceiling. Chilled water passes through and cool air falls into the room, requiring no power to run fans or blowers.The university aims for the top LEED rating platinum which would be another first.Medical buildings that combine research labs, surgery and a lot of daily traffic to doctors' offices aren't easy to make green. The 16-story, $145 million building will produce a third of its electricity and treat its own water.A two-story trombe a narrow glazed-glass atrium that soaks up the sun will make heat for the building's hot water. Heat pumps that use water instead of chemical refrigerants are costlier than standard units, but quieter. Therefore, the builder could spend less on soundproofing insulation."Not only will they have bragging rights on the first and largest platinum building of its type, they'll also get a very high-performance building that saves money over the long haul," says Dennis Wilde, a partner in Gerding/Edlen, a principal developer at South Waterfront.Cost premiums on green building have shrunk "but were never as significant as people were afraid," Wilde says.The university's outgrown main campus atop Marquam Hill is 30 minutes by car for doctors traveling back and forth to the new facility. Williams suggested a tram to cut the ride to 3 minutes. It will open in December.Criticism of South Waterfront has been muted. Developers took heat when tram costs ballooned to $57 million from $15 million, but they say pre-design estimates were unrealistic. Taxpayers' share will be 15% of what some think is a landmark-to-be on a par with Seattle's Space Needle.Condos range from one-bedroom, 700-square-foot units for less than $200,000 to two- and three-bedroom spaces for up to $1 million and a few penthouses at $3 million-plus.The buyer demographic is diverse empty-nesters, single professionals, well-to-do retirees, young couples looking for urban starter homes and guys such as Venice Tunnitisupawong.An analyst at Intel west of Portland, Tunnitisupawong, 28, wanted out of the suburbs, even if it meant a longer commute."I'm a single guy and that lifestyle doesn't really fit me right now," he says. He'll move into a third-floor, one-bedroom when a third tower, the John Ross, is finished in May.Early South Waterfront buyers have seen their condos spike in value already.Miles Morgan, a United Airlines captain, bought a one-bedroom with an alcove for $404,000 in December 2004, when the Meriwether was nothing but a hole in the ground. He estimates it's worth as much as $550,000 today."This is poised to be the premier neighborhood in Portland," Morgan, 36, says. "It will appreciate faster than any property in Oregon or Washington."

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-26-green-construction_x.htm

ANALYSIS:Green Building is now a fad in the architecture and construction industry as evident in the article above. There is a significant increase of Green Buildings in the world, especially in the United States of America. Luckily for the Americans their leaders have political will to promote and implement Green Building designs and planning in their communities. Construction companies and developers are obliged to follow it because of the large demand thanks to the successful information campaign and awareness on that country. Green Building design today was the least criticized architecture style and the most appreciated and praised. This major redevelopment project (South Waterfront project) will provide a large addition of new Green Buildings in the country and also it will promote the Architectural Style. Buyers of Green properties will not only experience clean, less costly and sustainable living but they can resell their home because of its value appreciation due to the awareness and demand for these.

Europe's biggest new monastery starts building in LiverpoolNuns will harvest rainwater, use ground source heating and plant a wildflower meadow - while Bradford's Anglicans install the UK's first cathedral-roof solar powerCould it be like this by the Mersey? Nuns admire Castel Gandolfo lake in Italy

Liverpool's long association with the Roman Catholic faith is taking another step forward with the building ofEurope's largest new Carmelite monasteryin Allerton. The 3 million project includes the planting of 1500 trees and aims to give 30Carmelite nunsthe peace and quiet they have lost in their present home in busy West Derby. Two big schools are expanding next door to the existing building which was an almost rural haven when the order moved in 104 years ago. Rather than risk tensions with their young neighbours, the nuns decided in the words of their prioress Sister Mary to "bow out gracefully and let the schools enjoy the area."

The new Stanbrook Abbey near Helmsley in idyllic North Yorkshire. Photograph by the architects: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

The move follows the opening in 2009 of Stanbrook Abbey, a new home inYorkshirefor nuns of the order of Our Lady of Consolation, whose innovations include rainwater harvesting, power from a woodchip boiler and sedum plantson a 'green roof.' The Allerton monastery (the correct name, albeit that nuns inhabit it rather than monks) features a wildflower meadow, ground source heating, solar panels and similar rainwater harvesting to Stanbrook's.

The new monastery will allow us to be much more energy efficient and the gardens will also enable us to be self-sufficient whilst protecting the local habitat.West Derby has been our home for over 100 years and we will be sad to leave, but we felt it was time to move to a location which will be more compatible with our way of life. These are good times for the somewhat recherche world of ecclesiastical construction. The Liverpool building firmNobles, which has contracted to finish the new monastery in 60 weeks, also has work under way on alterations to Wesley Methodist Church in the city centre, refurbishment at Rosemount Convent and a new church hall at St Michael's and All Angels Church in Pensby.InBradfordmeanwhile, theAnglican cathedralis to be the first in the world to install solar panels to generate its own electric if not spiritual power. The 50,000 scheme on the roof of the south aisle adds to a long and curious record of additions to the Grade 1 listed building. When Royalists besieged the stoutly Cromwellian city during the English Civil War, the tower was protected against stray canonballs byenormous bales of wool, like a stone version of the Michelin man.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/aug/02/nuns-liverpool-monastery-carmelite-west-derby-allerton-solar-power-rainwater-harvest

ANALYSIS:Even the religious are adherents of sustainable and green living. This means that everyone is responsible to promote green building designs regardless of your profession and belief. The rainwater harvesting, the green roof, the self-sufficient agriculture and the tree planted surroundings are applicable to the way of life of the nuns of the monastery. This green setup provides silent and peaceful ambience to the occupants. The ground source heat pump(GSHP)is acentral heatingor cooling system that pumps heat to or from the ground. Using this system, the nuns can save cost from fossil fuels used in heating or cooling the building interiors and no greenhouse gases are produced. TheAnglican cathedral with solar panels installed on its roof will be a role model for promoting Green Building system to other religious buildings around the world to convert to this system.How green is their valley? Ebbw Vale residents sought to test eco homesJenny McBainguardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 January 2012 10.22 GMT

United Welsh Housing Association is running a competition to find people to live in two eco-homes rent free for 12 months to assess the buildings' green credentials

Two families will have the opportunity to live rent free in one of two new eco homes in return for evaluating how well the properties function.The United WelshHousingAssociation isrunning a competitionto find people to live in and assess two homes built on the site of a former steel works at Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. The homes, built to showcase the "Passivhaus" concept, are in a group of state-of-the-art homes built for the 2010 National Eisteddfod.In return, the families will not have to pay rent for 12 months. The average rent for a similar sized UWHA property is 74.03 a week.The occupants of one of the two houses, the three-bed Larch House, will also avoidenergy bills. The design and insulation of a so called Passivhaus, or "passive house", means they need very little heating. Instead, body heat and heat from electrical appliances such as fridges and computers is enough to ward off the worst winter chills, and the house also has a mechanical heat recovery and ventilation system which extracts warmth from outgoing air and mixes it with incoming fresh air.Passive houses are designed to be carbon neutral over the course of their lifetime, so provenance of materials is an important part of the equation. Larch House is built from local timber, and all the other components are sourced as locally as possible. Large, south-facing windows, closed-panel timber framing to minimise draught, high insulation, and photovoltaic panels all add to the zero-carbon footprint of the property.The UWHA says monitoring of how the houses perform, most of which will be done remotely, will enable the innovative techniques used in building these homes to be shared and used in the future.The Green House competition is open to anyone who either lives in Blaenau Gwent or has a connection to the area, and can include students as well as families. Applicants will be asked to write about themselves and their interest in environmental matters, as they must be prepared to adopt a green lifestyle. Research has shown that eco features alone will not reduce energy bills.Richard Mann, head of development for the UWHA, says: "People have to change the way they use their home. Basic things like not opening windows when the heating is on make all the difference. In fact, if you don't use an eco house properly it can end up costing more to run."However, the housing association advises that the winners may need access to a car. Although the properties are minutes from the Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan hospital, and the Ebbw Vale Parkway railway station is less than a mile from the site, the nearest school and supermarket are about 1.5 miles away. Finalists will be selected for interview by mid-February.Mann adds: "These are groundbreaking buildings. This unique competition will deliver an environmental monitoring project which will help mould the future ofsocial housingin the UK."Fuel bills can be a big financial drain for social housing tenants, so we want to make sure our homes are as energy efficient as possible."Once the Green House competition has come to an end, an affordable social rent for the Blanau Gwent area will be set on both properties.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jan/18/ebbw-vale-eco-homes-uwha

ANALYSIS:Running this kind of competition is a good start in the spread of Green Building system and design. In this competition, the organizers can assess the effectiveness of the systems of the said house models. The participants will also be obliged to live a green and sustainable life in their new home. Passive design involves the minimal or non-use of mechanical equipment in the heating or cooling of the buildings. Facing the big windows to the south was effective in providing natural heating and ventillation for their houses (the climate on London which s on the temperate zone of Northern Hemisphere is very cold and the suns position on the sky is on the south). The houses are also built from the local sustainable materials like timber from plantations. Having a Green Housing Project like a subdivision is a major milestone in the Green Building Design. Because of the awareness of the people to the environment problems, people choose to live in sustainable and green houses in that aside from saving the environment, they can also save a lot of money.Intl pressure mounts for more green buildings in PHBy:Tessa R. SalazarPhilippine Daily Inquirer The construction and real estate industries have been called to shape up for the environment. While industrialization has long cast a gray pall over the planet, wealthy nations have also long been made aware of the consequences and have been implementing green building initiatives with international green rating systems.The Asia-Pacific region is catching up in terms of these initiatives. The scale, pace and general trend of recent construction efforts have been geared toward efficient commercial real estate that complies with green building codes.CBRE Philippines cited that an increasing number of building owners are retrofitting and upgrading existing buildings to improve their energy efficiency and environmental performance, among other things.Now, theres mounting pressure from the international business community, especially from foreign investors, on local locators to offer more green buildings in the country.Joannie Mitchell, director for CBRE Philippines global corporate services, announced to the press during the June 20 mid-year report that international companies trying to invest in the country are looking for more environmentally sustainable structures to hold offices in.Amid the presence of five LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design)-certified buildings in the Philippines and 58 more projects currently registered for LEED certification, more building tenants have been encouraging their landlords to retrofit their buildings to be environmentally sustainable. Some multinational tenants have required landlords to retrofit their buildings for the latter to be able to secure the contract to lease.

Increased demand

Mitchell added that there has been a business demand for more green buildings, and from the viewpoint of corporate social responsibility, a moral imperative to build environmentally sustainable structures.CBRE Philippines maintained that the surge in the number of green buildings would support the robust growth of the countrys property sector market.Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations, and even local firms now consider green initiatives as prerequisites in their day-to-day maintenance and operations, said Rick Santos, CBRE Philippines chair and CEO. Through our global networks and resources, we have been strengthening the drive toward sustainable development which, as pointed out in several studies, could also benefit not only developers and the environment but also end-userstenants, employees and residentsin the long run.A local rating, a counterpart of the LEED certification, has already been established by the Philippine Green Building Council. Called Berde, the certification means Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence.Another local rating has been formulated by the Philippine Green Building Initiative. This ratings body is composed of professional organizations such as United Architects of the Philippines, Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Interior Designers, Geological Society of the Philippines, Heritage Conservation Society, International Council of Monuments & Sites, the Philippine Society of Ventilating Air-conditioning & Refrigerating Engineers.

Rating system

LEED, meanwhile, is a widely used international green rating system developed by the US Green Building Council.The five LEED certified buildings are the Asian Development Bank, Nuvali One Evotech, Shell Shared Services Office, and Texas Instruments in Baguio and Clark.Among the 58 projects currently registered for LEED certification are The Zuellig Building in Makati; BTTC Centre in Greenhills (both precertified Gold under the Core & Shell Program); Megaworld 8 Campus Building in Bonifacio Global City (which is pursuing Silver Certification under the Core & Shell Program); and Wells Fargo Headquarters in Bonifacio Global City, which is seeking Gold Certification under the Commercial Interiors Program.

CountryRegisteredIndia 1,283*China 589South Korea126Hong Kong 55Taiwan 45Malaysia 42Singapore 42Philippines 38Japan 36Thailand 31Sri Lanka 23Vietnam 18Bangladesh 16Pakistan 9Indonesia 7Nepal 6Cambodia 2Macau 2Bhutan 1Total 2,371

CBRE Global Sustainability Team chart showing LEED-certified projects in various countries. To date, the Philippines has 5 LEED certified projects and 58 under registration. The figures only cover projects under the LEED rating system.

Source: http://business.inquirer.net/66775/intl-pressure-mounts-for-more-green-buildings-in-ph

ANALYSIS:Due to the popularity of Green Building Design especially in the United States and in Europe, other countries like the Philippines are urged to have more Green Buildings. The Philippines is catching up to the developed countries in term of Green development. Green and Sustainable designs are very applicable to the constructions here in the country. Hot tropical climate, expensive electricity, pollution, urban planning failure, flooding and other problems are the reasons to implement Green Building System Design in the Philippines. Green cities will attract investments and people which in turn provide jobs and improve our economy. Shifting to Green Building culture can simply start from efficient conserving of energy, using harmless non-toxic materials or avoiding littering. Green Buildings here in the Philippines are found on high budget real estate development and financial districts like Bonifacio Global City, Nuvali, and Makati because foreign investors prefer foreign architects which in turn readily make use of the Green Building Design System.

How green is my building?By Andrea Ignacio(The Philippine Star) Updated October 09, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines -The future is green, says architect Willy Coscolluela. The latest technologicaladvances in building design and the development ofnewconstruction materials have radically altered the way buildings are being made. For architects and contractors who want to help and improve the environment, the shift towards sustainability is vital. I believe this is the way to go, says Coscolluela of green practices at the worksite.W.V. Coscolluela & Associates is part of the team of designers and builders involved in the 33-story Zuellig Building, the first high-rise with a Leadership inEnergyandEnvironmentalDesign(Core and Shell) (LEED-CS) Gold Pre-certification in the Philippines. Located at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue in the heart of the Makati Central Business District, the Zuellig Building is the first premium office building to be constructed in Makati since the construction boom in 2000.Coscolluela notes that, from the projects inception, the owners of the building wanted a world-class, green building. Their vision of a sustainable, environment-friendly structure was in support of the green movement in urban design that was then still in its infancy.Presently, there is one globally recognized standard when it comes to sustainable construction efforts. The LEED Green Building Rating System was initiated in the United States by the USGreenBuildingCouncilin 2000 to offer an international standard to measure the design and building process in five key areas:sustainablesitedevelopment, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.Buildings can qualify for four levels of LEED certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The rating system provides for third-party validation, through a reviewer accredited bytheGreenBuildingCertification Institute. Its guidelines are regularly updated and enhanced, and are adapted and suited to various local conditions, including that of thePhilippines.Coscolluela says that the design team, which includes New York-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as design consultants, Leighton Asia as contractors and Meinhardt Engineering, worked in collaboration with a LEED consultant to ensure that the building design is energy efficient. Based on a set of LEED criteria, the building received LEED Gold pre-certification in 2009.Coscolluela says proudly, With its LEED Gold pre-certification, the Zuellig Building represents leadership in energy and environmental design in the highest degree for high-rise office structures. It will also be a big accomplishment for the team that is involved in this green high-rise office building.In simple terms, Coscolluela defines a green building as a structure that uses environmentally responsible and resource-efficient processes throughout the buildings life cycle. Buildings have an enormous impact, whether directly or indirectly, on the environment, such as consuming a lot of fresh water supply, emitting a large percentage of greenhouse gases, adding to waste problems and consuming a lot of electricity to name a few, he explains. It is these everyday usage that people are getting more conscious of how we must preserve our resources.Creating pioneering buildingdesigns is not new for Coscolluela. His firm has been at the forefront of major construction projects in the country. These include SM City North EDSA, the largest mall in its time; the Twin Towers condominium, the first exclusive residential towers of Ayala Corp.; and Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas Center, the first mixed-use development in the country.His design firm also undertook a number of international projects including the Raintree Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and a variety of residential projects in Malaysia and Singapore.This is also not the first time Coscolluela is working with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as they had collaborated to develop the design for the RCBC Plaza, Philam Tower and Robinsons PCIB Tower.The Zuellig Building boasts a design first. To give it a distinct look from the rest of the Makati cityscape, the building is designed with an all-glass faade and the use of large floor-to-ceiling double-glazed glass panels, which minimize inside heat while maximizing the penetration of natural sunlight to help optimize electric consumption in the use of air conditioners. The ceramic frit pattern on the glass curtain wall supplements the shading properties of the buildings glass exterior and its bamboo-inspired design gives the building a unique identity.The Zuellig Building stands on a generous space of 8,285 square meters. Tenants and guests approach the building through a landscaped 2,500 square-meter private garden and driveway that flow seamlessly to a lobby area that rises up totwo stories.The building consists of a main tower and a two-story retail pavilion that will address the daily conveniences required by office tenants and the public. With 16 high-speed elevators servicing the office tower, reaching the Sky Garden on the32nd floor will be quick and easy. Likewise, the glass cladding offers unobstructed 360-degree views of Metro Manila.The building boasts many green features. A daylight dimming system reduces the output of electrical lighting based on the intensity of daylight. The all-glass exterior ensures daylight in 90 percent of interior spaces. The Zuellig Building will also be the first high-rise building to use solar panels to help cut down electricity costs.Water is conserved by capturing rain and condensate water. The building will be installed with premium drainage and irrigation systems. This setup is expected to save 29 million liters of potable water annually. The chilled water pumps in the building are equipped with variable speed drives to reduce energy consumption during off-peak hours.There are carbon dioxide sensors in the building that modulate outside airflow according to the estimated number of occupants to bring in superior indoor air quality at all times. A waste recycling facility will also be available to all tenants.The building will install secured bicycle racks to encourage tenants to leave their cars at home. We even have provision for showers in the building, so that office workers can freshen up from their ride to work before going to theiroffices, Coscolluela adds.Thearchitectagrees that constructing a green building may entail a little more expense than the traditional way of building, but he stresses that the times require that all possible means of protecting the environment be taken.It is a little more expensive than designing normal buildings due to certain procedures, guidelines and requirements that need to be strictly followed, and by consciously taking extra effort in making your design environmentally friendly, he says. However, it benefits the building tenants with an improved indoor environment, reduced energy usage, increased employee productivity, and reduced impact on our external environment. It will provide tenants with immeasurable benefits in terms of energy savings, lower operating costs, and superior indoor air quality.For Coscolluela, the Zuellig Building is an important milestone, not just for his stellar career, but also for the local community of architects and builders. From his first residential projects to his landmark commercial structures, Coscolluela has been arespected and acclaimed authority in the industry due to his exemplary work. As vice chairman of the Makati Commercial Estate Association (MACEA), he has been a key figure in the improvement and redevelopment of the Makati CBD as the countrys premier financial center. Always open to learning and improving his craft, this Mapua graduate intends to integrate international green principles in all his futureprojects.This project is important to me because by designing this green building, it will help pave the way for other architects to promote green principles in architecture, he says. With this direction, the green advantage will promote energy savings and water conservation, enhance landscape surroundings, power-saving lights, carbon dioxide monitoring and the productivity and wellness of its occupants.With Coscolluelas leadership and example, his two sons, who have followed in his footsteps and are partners in the firm, will ensure that W.V. Coscolluela & Associates remains fully dedicated to excellence and committed to protecting the environment.Source: http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=735529&publicationsubcategoryid=90

ANALYSIS:Zuellig Building is a major breakthrough (although not the first) to the Green Building Design here in the Philippines. Equipped with state of the art Green systems like the rainwater gathering, solar panels, double glazing window panels and smart building systems can make it to be proud of. People that are aware of this system and of environment protection will definitely buy or rent units on this building and it will be sold out. Investors will be inspired and motivated to invest and build Green Building because of its popularity, high profits and less cost on the longer run. Double-glazed glass panels have gaps in between two glass panel in which the air inside serves as insulator that prevents heat to enter the interior of the building. On the first look you may think building with this installed looks like an ordinary glass curtain building that absorbs much heat but with deeper understanding of its principle and with the experience inside the building you cansay that it is a very effective system to lessen heat gain and in turn conserve energy.The problem on the implementation of Green Building Design in this country is that the government lacks political will. Another is the mentality of many to choose a much cheaper method like the tingi-tingi mentality in which you buy items in very small quantity. You spend less at first, but later you will find out that you are spending more compared buying in larger quantity. Changing the mindset of the people and improving the government can greatly encourage the growth of Green development here in the Philippines. 1