Green commercial building practices like those enshrined by LEED®, an internationally recognized standard for sustainable building design, aren’t just good for the planet, they’re also good for the workplace. By applying the LEED principle of “loose fit and long life,” organizations can realize the full spectrum of sustainable design benefits: social, environmental and economic.
An Economic Argument in Favour of Sustainable Design
Sustainable commercial buildings are designed so they meet not only immediate needs, but accommodate possible future functions. Loose fit, long life means producing designs with built-in flexibility. Mergers, outsourcing, and downsizing can all affect an organization’s spatial needs. The more adaptable a building’s floor plate and mechanical systems, the longer its shelf life.
Another economic advantage of applying loose fit, long life to clients’ projects is a reduction in floor space requirements. The more specific and compartmentalized an office design, the more floor space it tends to require. Since every square foot of built space has a cost, reducing a building’s size brings immediate financial benefits.
In a recent Canadian application of loose fit, long life, global planning, architecture and design firm HOK was able to show an automotive client how to reduce its floor space by 30 per cent. HOK is a leader in sustainable design and promotes a smaller eco footprint for buildings.
Environmental Reasons for Embracing Loose Fit, Long Life
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in an Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2006, has estimated that commercial and industrial buildings in the U.S. contribute 45% of carbon dioxide emissions. In urban areas like New York City, the city’s Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2007 found that 79% of the city’s carbon dioxide emissions came from its buildings.
Floor space reductions in commercial buildings result in environmental benefits. The goal of sustainable design is to diminish a building’s negative impact on the environment and improve its performance. Reductions in floor space realized through LEED’S loose fit, long life approach mean fewer building material demands and smaller mechanical systems, thereby reducing the building's eco footprint.
Social Impact of Sustainable Design
By applying loose fit, long life to an office interior, it’s also possible to create more engaged workplaces, a design bonus that appeals to organizations struggling with recruiting and retaining employees during a labour shortage. Here’s how that works:
Sustainable design is a holistic approach that brings diverse groups together in an organization. In order to understand an organization’s work flows through a typical day and week, designers study how the mail room employee on the ground floor and the operations manager on the top floor conduct their business. Ensuring that a variety of stakeholders are involved in the design process makes for better design and friendlier organizations.
Features of a green commercial building include windows users can open, lots of natural light, and open floor plans to promote better air circulation. A typical layout has employee desk spaces next to window walls, with meeting rooms, washrooms, storage areas and elevators located in the building’s core. Ideally, the floor plate is long and narrow, so that all work stations can be accommodated close to natural light sources. Collaboration happens more readily in this kind of open workplace environment.
Green Commercial Building Advantages
Embracing sustainable design isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for business. The upside of applying loose fit, long life in a commercial building includes flexible floor plans, smaller eco footprint, and collaborative work environments. All good reasons to make sustainable design an essential element in office development and construction.
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