March 12, 2019 Worldwide, organizations have experienced a powerful shift toward sustainable practices. Ongoing environmental initiatives, regulations and incentives across the globe demonstrate this new green focus. Additionally, an increased commercial and industrial interest in energy-efficiency and waste reduction practices has placed a priority on several key design aspects of sustainable building.
Today, businesses realize the need to not only reduce their impact on the environment, but understand the positive impact that sustainable building practices can have on their bottom line.
Let’s take a look at three design components to optimize efficiencies over the lifecycle of a building.
Optimizing Energy Performance
Energy performance is one of the most significant categories for LEED certification. Optimizing a building’s energy performance can be accomplished in many different ways. Depending upon the type and location of the building, one or several renewable energy sources may be used. Options include solar power, ENERGY STAR HVAC equipment, relying more on daylighting, or incorporating simple energy efficient design strategies.
Maximizing Space Efficiencies
Another fundamental principle of sustainable building design is maximizing space efficiencies. Open floor plans, for example, support daylighting. In fact, the LEED rating system for new construction points out that 75-90% of occupied areas should have a direct line of sight to the outdoor environment.
Raised floor solutions can facilitate the use of underfloor systems, offering improved HVAC efficiencies, easier access to power and a reduced need for large overhead spaces. This can ultimately result in more optimal building heights.
Reducing Waste During Construction
Efforts to reduce waste during the construction phase, as well as over the building’s life cycle, can help to minimize a building’s negative environmental impact. One critical design aspect to sustainable building is matching materials and products to the lifecycle of the building. Focus on quality products that will stand the test of time, reducing the frequency of replacements. Choosing building materials with longevity minimizes excess work, time and waste ending up in landfills.
Implementing Design Aspects of Sustainable Building Practices
Sustainability is at the core of everything we do at KMB. As a firm, we believe in helping our clients implement building designs that produce a healthier environment, increase worker productivity and job satisfaction, while enhancing building profitability. For that reason, KMB Design Group is committed to implementing design aspects of sustainable building practices in all project phases.
Whether you’re exploring some of the more complex sustainable building design practices, such as rainwater harvesting and photovoltaic installation, or using simple solutions such as low-flow plumbing fixtures, KMB has the experience and expertise to make your building more sustainable. Our team has helped clients nationwide achieve green building design goals and achieve LEED certification.
When combined with our other services, such as commercial PV Engineering, KMB offers an unparalleled package of energy-efficient design and construction techniques to help clients establish the sustainable goals of their project. Just take a look at our portfolio to find out more about our eco-friendly, turnkey engineering solutions.
As a full-service engineering solutions provider licensed in the United States and Europe, we take a systematic approach to develop comprehensive engineering solutions and understand the specific MEP engineering disciplines incorporated into commercial building designs to ensure the most economically sound and timely solutions are presented.
Contact us to learn more about MEP engineering solutions that deliver results on-time and on-budget.
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