Initiatives for sustainable design in commercial real estate building
18 January 2023

Initiatives for sustainable design in commercial real estate building

Introduction

Commercial real estate is becoming more and more likely to favor green, sustainable design.

Developers are becoming more interested in making their projects more sustainable. This has led to a number of initiatives, such as LEED certification and pilot programs for green building practices.

What makes a design sustainable?

Sustainable design is a broad field that focuses on making sure that the built environment works well with the natural ecosystem around it.

Sustainable design is both a professional field and a way of thinking that tries to make living spaces that are affordable for everyone and good for the environment.

When planning projects, people who work in this field have to think about all three pillars of sustainability: environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic viability.

Sustainable design aims to do this

The goal of sustainable design is to create and keep a balance between space and nature that works well together. This means that developments should be healthy places for people to live and should also meet the needs of the ecosystem where they are built.

Save the Earth’s natural resources

Sustainable design takes into account that the earth’s resources are not endless and tries to find the best ways to save them so that they can be used by future generations as well.

Protect the Earth

One of the main goals of sustainable design is to help reduce the effects of climate change by reducing each person’s carbon footprint.

Sustainable design helps save valuable natural resources that can be used by future generations by making people less reliant on energy. This is done through things like building orientation, better insulation, use of solar panels, and efficient lighting fixtures.

Make places for people that are friendly, safe, and comfortable

Sustainable design not only tries to protect the environment, but it also tries to improve people’s lives by giving them more space to live.

Better use of materials during construction, more efficient operations after construction, better indoor air quality, and better health and comfort for building occupants are all important parts of making a comfortable, productive work environment.

Principles of Designing for Sustainability

Site Potential Optimization

One way that sustainable design can reduce waste and material depletion is through site potential optimization. This is the use of natural features like existing topography and solar exposure to maximize efficiency.

When developers use organic layouts instead of ones with very strict geometric shapes, they can work with the natural flow of a property’s surroundings.

Adding biophilic design elements to buildings also saves a lot of energy and improves the health of the people who live there.

Use less energy

When sustainable design principles are used to build a building, energy efficiency is maximized, which can save both the building owner and the people who live in it a lot of money.

Using passive heating and cooling methods, like pointing a building toward the sun or using shading devices to reduce heat transfer, can make a building much less reliant on mechanical systems like air conditioners.

Active systems that use natural resources directly, like wind turbines or geothermal pumps, can pay off in a big way over time.

Make the most energy possible.

Sustainable design is about more than just using less energy. It also tries to make the most of what is available through other ways. This includes using ways to make energy that do not use fossil fuels so that the building can keep giving off power even if the grid goes down.

Large-scale projects are using more renewable energy sources like wind, water, solar, and biofuels. Sustainable design also tries to make mechanical systems that use natural resources work as well as possible.

For example, an HVAC system that uses outside air for ventilation instead of just recirculating the air inside is better than one that only uses recirculated air because it uses less fossil fuels to cool and gives people better air to breathe.

Maximize Material Utilization

Using more recycled materials in construction not only cuts down on waste, but also lowers the cost of getting new materials. In all stages of design and operation, sustainable design tries to use as many recycled parts as possible so that no resource is wasted or outlives its usefulness.

Healthy environment inside

Sustainable design is good for a lot of reasons, but the most important one is that it gives people healthy, comfortable places to work and live.

Buildings that filter out air pollution and collect rainwater to save water can have much better indoor air quality, making the people who live or work there feel healthier and more productive.

Maintenance and Running Efficiency

A sustainable design can make a building last longer and save money on maintenance costs by making the building’s systems as efficient as possible.

Reducing waste and maximizing energy production at each stage of operation means that less money is spent on fuel or electricity to power mechanical systems like HVAC units or chillers, which can significantly lower long-term operating costs.

Advantages of green design

Sustainable design is a smart investment to think about when building a commercial building because it helps both the people who live there and the people who own the building in many ways. These things are:

Lowered the cost of energy

waste and emissions have caused less damage to the environment.

Increased ventilation and the use of healthier materials during construction will improve the health of the people who live there.

Building parts will last longer and give a better return on investment (ROI) over time.

Putting money into green design

With so many benefits to following the rules of sustainable building design, it is easy to see why so many commercial real estate developers are eager to get behind these kinds of projects.

Upgrading mechanical systems or switching to more energy-efficient building materials might seem like a big expense at first, but they quickly pay for themselves over time through lower operating costs and healthier environments for the people who live or work in the building.

By using eco-friendly design ideas in their plans, architects can help improve the return on investment (ROI) of a project while also setting high standards for future sustainable construction projects that make the built environment stronger.