Page 026 - of an environmental system that changes over time. Professionals
Source section: Section 2 - Sustainable Thinking PDF page: 26 Guide page: 19 OCR quality: high (401 words)
OCR Text
Green building will change the way you think. Buildings that seem
to be individual, static objects will reveal themselves as fluid parts
of an environmental system that changes over time. Professionals
who appeared only distantly related will become partners in a
dynamic process that incoporates perspectives from different fields.
No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. Albert Einstein
This section reviews three major concepts that are integral to green building and sustainability: systems
thinking, life-cycle thinking, and integrative processes. In systems thinking, the built environment is
understood as a series of relationships in which each part affects many other parts. Systems include
materials, resources, energy, people, and information, as well as the complex interactions and flows between
these elements across space and through time. Green building also requires taking a life-cycle approach,
looking at all stages of a project, product, or service. It requires asking, where do building materials and
resources come from? Where will they go once their useful life ends? What effects do they have on the world
along the way? Questions such as these encourage practitioners to ensure that buildings are adaptable and
resilient and perform as expected while minimizing harmful consequences. Finally, to achieve results that
are based on whole systems across their entire life-cycle, building professionals must adopt an integrative
process. This approach emphasizes connections and communication among professionals and stakeholders
throughout the life ofa project. It breaks down disciplinary boundaries and rejects linear planning and
design processes that can lead to inefficient solutions. Although the term “integrative design” is most often
applied to new construction or renovations, an integrative process is applicable to any phase in the life-cycle
ofa building.
Ingreen building, solutions are examined through different perspectives, scales, and levels of detail, and
then refined. The lens of each discipline involved in a project contributes to an overall view that leads to
more effective designs. For example, sustainable neighborhood design strategies might be analyzed by
land-use planners, traffic engineers, civil engineers, infrastructure designers, public health experts, and
developers. The more each team member understands the perspectives and strategies of the others, the more
integrated the design. The iterative pattern of an integrative process can be used throughout the project as
details come into focus. Far from being time consuming, the process can actually save time by encouraging
communication up front and bringing people together for highly productive collaborative work sessions. N z 2 7 ) Ww un 19