Green buildings pay: design, productivity and ecology

The new edition of ‘Green Buildings Pay’ authored by Brian Edwards and Emanuele Naboni explores the business and professional benefits which derive from architectural design driven by sustainability. With a new sub-title ‘Green Buildings Pay: design, productivity and ecology’ the book argues that environmental design has altered how we design, construct and manage buildings. The book has relevance to those who not only design and engineer buildings but to those who commission architecture and those who occupy the products of this process. Hence, the user is a key consideration.

The book examines via a number of LEED and BREEAM cases the buildings which flow from corporate environmental responsibility. A number of office and university buildings are examined from three main perspectives- the architect, client and user. One key finding is that architectural innovation has been driven by ecological or environmental thinking and this finds expression in new approaches to the design of building facades, roofs, atria. Another is that new software simulation tools have changed energy assumptions and hence building forms. In a fast evolving arena, the book shows how architects are reshaping their practices to deal with ever more demanding energy standards and better informed users and corporate clients. A key theme of the book is that of productivity and performance of both the building and its users.

The buildings examined and the interviews conducted seek to compare practice in Europe with that of the USA. Branding via LEED and BREEAM has taken green ideas to China and other emerging economies. The globalization of sustainability and of architectural practice is an important strand of the new edition.