High Profile at Low Cost: Introducing a Multi-Family Residential Market To High-Performance Building Design and Construction

摘要

High-performance "green" building design and construction provides energy efficiency along with resource conservation, low life-cycle cost, and occupant comfort and health. Split incentives often undermine architects' and builders' willingness to experiment with green building, despite many potential advantages. In regions with low utility costs, green building advocates face even more difficulty convincing the building community to try innovative methods. The present project educated residential designers and builders in the advantages of whole-building integrated design and created a high-profile local example of green building. Grants totaling $26,000 from the municipal government, state energy office, and USDOE paid for the region's first high-performance building design charrette, post-charrette technical support, and production of materials disseminating the project's results. A seminar introducing highperformance building (HPB) drew over 30 developers and architects and solicited projects for the pilot charrette. A competitive process selected the local housing authority's application to focus on 18 six-unit apartment buildings within a HOPE VI urban revitalization project. Other public events and media coverage expanded interest and knowledge regarding HPB before and after the charrette. Charrette participants included housing authority staff, the design-build team, experts from the state energy office and non-profits, and local government staffers. The charrettedesigned buildings will significantly reduce energy and water use, and will incorporate many materials recycled or salvaged from the site. The experience and positive publicity acquired in this project will foster widespread application of HPB goals and methods in the region.