Green Synergies

Given the highly integrated nature of sustainable design, understanding the interrelation between different building systems is critical to a successful and efficient design process. Changes to one system (e.g. more glazing for increased daylighting) can negatively impact others (e.g. increased energy consumption because of increased cooling loads due to solar heat gain). Conversely, one strategy can have rippling positive effects. A synergistic strategy is a single technique or group of related techniques which have multiple positive benefits to other aspects of the building.

In this series of posts, I intend to explore both the positive and the negative synergies that designers need to be aware of when designing a sustainable building.

Sustainable design involves stakeholders with diverse perspectives which must be brought together in productive harmony to achieve often challenging sustainability goals. The integrative process is a tool for creating this harmony. It is a collaborative, holistic approach to design that engages all project stakeholders from the outset to consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts of design decisions. It emphasizes systems thinking, life-cycle assessment, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to find synergistic solutions that minimize negative building impacts and maximize positive ones.

The LEED rating system heavily emphasizes the integrative process. Although the credit rewards for using this process are minimal (IPc: Integrative Process), an integrative approach helps a project team to identify the productive sustainable synergistic strategies that punch above their weight in LEED projects. Integrative design can be thought of as the ultimate sustainable synergy.

1: Discovery Phase

The integrative process begins with the discovery phase (paralleling programming and predesign in a conventional process), where the project team develops an understanding of the owner’s project requirements (OPRs), the site, its context, and their potential for sustainable design. Design changes and sustainable solutions are easiest to implement at this early stage because ideas are still abstract and fluid.

Early stakeholder collaboration is key to the integrative process. The team—which may include architects, engineers, contractors, owners, facilities staff, commissioning agents, occupants/prospective tenants, and community members—should be diverse, ensuring the consideration of all perspectives and alignment on shared goals. Early collaboration among professionals with diverse perspectives fosters systems thinking, a key element of the integrative process that considers the whole system rather than individual parts, examining the interactions of design decisions with each other and the surrounding environment.

For example, building orientation and exterior envelope composition significantly affect heating/cooling loads and interior daylighting; landscaping affects water requirements and may offer opportunities for onsite rainwater management. Without the collaborative approach of the integrative process, these potential synergies may be overlooked.

The discovery phase continues with basic analyses of the building site, energy and water use, massing, and orientation. A site assessment will evaluate the site’s topography, hydrology, climate, vegetation, soils, human use patterns (e.g., pedestrian circulation and nearby transit), and potential human health concerns (e.g., soil or groundwater contamination).

During conceptual layout, the team can inform design with a simple-box energy model (analyzing a simplified building for basic energy load distribution, highlighting trouble spots or opportunities) and a water budget analysis (investigating project water use and sources). This basic analysis is critical for later energy efficiency and water conservation efforts.

These initial investigations influence HVAC sizing, energy consumption, lighting requirements, renewable energy opportunities (e.g., solar panels), basic envelope attributes (glazing, insulation), interior light levels and thermal comfort ranges, process and plug loads, and program operations (space usage and potential for occupancy optimization to reduce loads and increase comfort)—all of which critically impact later design.

Early consideration of building materials and systems allows for life-cycle assessment within the design process, identifying potential environmental impacts at each stage and informing material and equipment decisions.

2: Implementation Phase

So much has been said about the discovery phase because it is so crucial for subsequent steps. The implementation phase (encompassing design and construction, from schematic design to final completion) integrates the discovery phase strategies into project design and construction. As this phase progresses, design and construction changes become increasingly difficult and costly.

While many discovery-phase strategies will be hashed and rehashed during schematic design, design development, and even construction documents, construction itself (when the site is not just selectively analyzed but dug up) often reveals realities that challenge initial assumptions and force difficult decisions. A good discovery process aims to minimize such surprises, though complete clairvoyance is unrealistic.

3: Occupancy Phase

When the scaffolding has been disassembled and the silt fencing removed, the third phase of the integrative process begins: occupancy. Operational feedback during this phase provides valuable data for future designs – though, ironically, while this phase is the most informative, implementing sustainable solutions becomes the most challenging and expensive, as alterations require modifying existing construction. Occupancy is a period of significant refinement, with building systems tested under real conditions and occupant feedback analyzed. This phase continues for the building’s entire life cycle, which may outgrow its designers’ original intentions.

Iterative Design: the Engine of the Integrative Process

The integrative process is driven by iterative design: a circular process of ongoing feedback and refinement as designers research, collect, analyze, and share data with the team, receive feedback, refine data, and repeat until project goals are achieved. This process allows for adjustments as the project progresses and new information emerges.

The iterative process is most effective during the discovery phase, before design formulation. As design progresses, the process becomes more linear as changes become more difficult and costly. During construction, the process is largely linear, though some learning can still occur. However, feedback should continue even during occupancy, as facility operations offer opportunities for ongoing refinement and improvement.

Conclusion

Overall, the integrative process is an essential tool for creating a more sustainable built environment. By bringing together all stakeholders and considering the whole system, we can exploit productive synergies and design buildings that are better for people and for the planet.

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