Green architecture is the general term for any building designed to support ecological health, of which human health is, of course, a part.
Green buildings are energy efficient, sensitive to their sites, use water responsibly, and support healthy landscapes; there are many more aspects worth discussing, but these are some top essentials. The definition and classification of green buildings has developed greatly over the past few decades, and for the most part, the word Sustainable has replaced Green in our jargon; but the intentions are aligned.
The next two sections cover history and certification programs; feel free to jump to examples below!
Before industrial times, buildings had to be handmade of local, natural materials–they were inherently green, and vernacular buildings from pueblos to barns and hill towns continue to inspire designers to this day. After World War II, growing awareness of pollution and habitat destruction — highlighted by works like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring — gave rise to the modern environmental movement. The oil crisis of the 1970s further revealed how the U.S. economy had been built on waste and inefficiency, both of which contributed significantly to environmental degradation.
While there were many inspiring examples of green buildings in the 1970s and 80s (like Amory Lovins’ 1984 house in Colorado), there was no common definition or system for validating how “green” one might be. In 1993, the US Green Building Council was formed, and they created the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system in 1998 to define and measure the specific features and methods that make buildings better for the environment than business-as-usual. Certification became an important new feature in the building industry, since to many clients it was important to prove measurable benefits to themselves and their customers, clients, or associates. Some organizations and municipalities adopted certification systems as requirements for incentives or as a base level of quality.
One of LEED’s great contributions was to classify aspects of green building. Categories of Site (are you repairing a brownfield or tearing apart a virgin site?–are you close to public transportation? etc.), Water, Energy, Materials (what you’re using, how much waste you’re making, and how it’s dealt with), Indoor Environmental Quality, Process, and Innovation allowed the design and construction communities to evaluate their work in a new, objective way.
LEED has grown over the years to include programs for interiors, neighborhoods, and other scales. Meanwhile, other programs began to capture different aspects and even definitions of sustainability. A notable example is the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) with its flagship program the Living Building Challenge. ILFI saw previous programs as focusing on “doing less harm,” while the Living Building Challenge requires creating a building that is actively doing good: like a flower, a building can harvest its own energy and water (not just use less than “normal”), create healthy habitats (not just reduce pollution), be built entirely of non-toxic materials, be a beautiful part of its place, and can support a just society. You can see why it’s called a Challenge!–the norm is still far from that in our building industry.
See this blog post for an even deeper dive.
By the mid 1900s it was clear that burning fossil fuels was creating a warming planet, and that warming unchecked would wreak havoc on habitats and civilization. Several building energy standards arose to solely address emissions: the EPA’s Energy Star program and the Passive House Standard are the two dominant ones. It soon became clear that more energy-efficient buildings are also more comfortable and resilient, cost less to operate, and can have healthier indoor air than code-minimum buildings, so these programs continue to grow in popularity and widespread adoption.
Foremost in green building is the idea that we need to build and live in such a way that we contribute to a healthy, habitable world. Buildings make up most of our lived environment, so their environmental impact is paramount. While each individual building has a minor impact, the collective impact, reflecting our habits of industry and building, are what need to change to create true sustainability. More robust, resilient buildings are also needed to ease the transition from fossil fuels to clean-energy systems, with a revamped electrical grid and storage fed by renewables.
Green architecture is a step towards civilization in harmony with nature–the true definition of sustainability. As we continue to destroy habitat, poison ourselves through the air, land, and water, and consume more than the earth can support, we see and feel the negative consequences, and they’re getting clearer. The good news is that making greener buildings means living better, not giving up quality of life for less consumption. How could toxic systems possibly lead to living well? Yet that’s been the easy way since industrial times. It’s time for major course correction.
Living in a green environment means better health, less expensive buildings to operate, and more connected communities (since green building includes sustainable community planning, not just better buildings in wasteful sprawl). With green design, we can thrive.
Whenever you go into a city hall or other public building, look for a LEED plaque–many municipalities committed to building LEED buildings as a way of demonstrating their responsibility to the community. Here is Oak Park, TBDA’s Austin Gardens Environmental Education Center is a LEED Platinum building, the Park District’s Ridgeland Commons in LEED Gold, and their Carroll Center is a Phius Zero building (also by TBDA), one of the first renovated Phius Zero public projects in the country.
Each year, the AIA’s Committee On The Environment (COTE) awards the Top Ten projects. Over the years, this amazing portfolio of projects has shown some of the best in high-performance design at a number of scales and in varying climates. Browse this page for great inspiration!
ILFI also has case studies of successfully completed Living Buildings–each one an inspiring example of regenerative design. In addition, they have the Stephen Kellert Biophilic Design Award, which looks specifically at examples of nature-based design. Biophilic Design is a growing field that recognizes the inherent human-nature connection, identifies wellness benefits to inhabitants through scientific research.
Lastly, we close with a few of our projects. First is the Right-Sized Passive House, a small new house on an urban lot; it achieved both LEED Platinum and Phius certification. Phius speaks to its standout efficiency (it uses about 90% less energy to heat than a standard home), and LEED speaks to its responsible use of the site, water, and materials, being walking distance to shopping, schools, and public transportation, and having a lush garden with pollinator- and bird-friendly native plants as well as vegetables.
Next is the Net Zero Prairie Retreat: although built far from public transport, it is a LEED Gold home which boasts annual net zero energy thanks to its inherent efficiency and solar arrays. Biophilic design shaped the design, with views and outdoor spaces enjoying the pond, woods, and restored prairie, with natural materials inside, and custom handrails (built by the owner’s metalworker brother) designed to echo the branching pattern of trees outside.
Finally, we close with the humble Better Bungalow–this is an example of investing in an existing building (keeping the embodied energy) and neighborhood. Though not certified, we did employ quality control testing during construction to ensure performance. It’s now an all-electric, super-insulated home with a new interior, making a healthy, beautiful space for the young family to grow in. Importantly from a green building standpoint, this home now fully supports a clean-energy future, and is built to last for another century at least.