Engineering Inc. - January/February 2008 - 6

market watch Green Construction: A Design Must for Engineering By Joe Salimando E ngineering firm executives might think they have a handle on the sudden surge in popularity of green building projects. This trend, however, includes a fair amount of hype about the green marketplace, and more than a little corporate gamesmanship. But, no matter how you feel about “green building,” or the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition, one fact remains: Green is here to stay. Research and experience increasingly demonstrate that when buildings are designed and operated with their lifecycle impacts in mind, they can provide significant environmental, economic and social benefits. Green building proponents claim that a total energy savings of 30 percent or more is achievable in buildings built using a green approach, not to mention a potential 35 percent reduction in carbon emissions and a water-use savings of 30 percent to 50 percent. What’s Turning Green Fastest? Green Numbers Conventional wisdom says that institutional buildings—those owned by governments and nonprofits, including schools and hospitals—are going green faster than other structures. However, a CB Richard Ellis report issued this past summer, “Green Downtown Office Markets: A Future Reality,” says prospective tenants are forcing office building owners to go green faster than they’d like: “Green building tenant attraction and retention continues to grow stronger…making a green building a better long-term value than an ‘SUV property,’ ” the report said. The green building movement gained momentum last year with the release of a report from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which showed cost increases for various certification levels in USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program: n Certified: + 0.66 percent n Silver: + 1.9 percent n Gold: + 2.2 percent n Platinum (highest level): + 6.8 percent According to McGraw-Hill Construction (MHC), green building was a $10 billion industry in 2006 and is projected to reach $29 billion to $59 billion by 2010—with the majority of that in new residential construction (see Figure 1). An MHC survey of home builders in 2006 predicted that 40 percent to 50 percent of new homes built in 2010 would contain green elements. MHC reports the green home building market was worth $7 billion in 2006 and is expected to eclipse $20 billion to $38 billion by 2010. States and municipalities also are interested in green construction. An example is the new $600 million baseball stadium in Washington, D.C., which is being built to green standards. Additionally, the nation’s capital has adopted a law requiring that all new commercial buildings and city-funded residential construction meet new green standards starting in 2012. Industry consultant Jerry Yudelson estimates that at least 50 additional major U.S. cities will adopt “some form of green building ordinance or mandate” over the next few years. FiGure 1: Projected u.S. Green Building Market 240.0 60 50 $ (billions) 40 30 20 10 • 7.6 1.8 2006 2007 Commercial & Residential Green Renovation Market Size • 58.7 Commercial High Estimate • 39.3 • 19.6 6.5 2010 Residential Low Estimate 2008 2009 0 2005 Value of project starts shown excludes non-building and agricultural construction Source: McGraw-Hill Construction, Green Building SmartMarket Report, 2006; Greening of Corporate America SmartMarket Report, 2007 6 eNGINeerING INc. JaNuary / February 2008

Engineering Inc. - January/February 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - January/February 2008