flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

2012 White Paper: High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings: The 99% Solution

2012 White Paper: High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings: The 99% Solution

Download the complete White Paper, Chapters 1-10


May 11, 2012
This article first appeared in the May 2012 issue of BD+C.

Click here to download a PDF of High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings: The 99% Solution, the 9th in a Series of White Papers on the Green Building Movement

 


 

Reconstruction in its many forms—tenant improvements, retail fitouts, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, gut rehab, and so on—is keeping many design and construction firms solvent.

The collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2007-2008 precipitated a nearly commensurate downturn in new nonresidential construction in the United States. Filling the gap, at least to some extent, has been reconstruction.

Architecture, engineering, and construction firms that once realized less than 20% of their revenues from renovation work are now performing 30-40% of their work in reconstruction. Another telling metric: LEED for Existing Buildings has now surpassed LEED for New Construction in total floor space. It is no exaggeration to say that reconstruction is keeping many AEC firms afloat.

This chain of events has created an excellent opportunity for the design and construction industry to seek ways to take reconstruction to the next highest level: from 20-30% energy and water savings, for example, to 40-60%—what those in the field are calling “deep energy retrofits.”

This White Paper details the obstacles to achieving high-performance reconstructed buildings and describes the promising opportunities available to AEC firms in this sector of the green building market.

The editors argue the case that existing and reused buildings represent “the 99% solution” for reducing energy, water, and materials waste in buildings and cutting the share of greenhouse gases produced by nonresidential buildings.

As in our eight previous White Papers, we conclude with a set of specific recommendations—an 18-point Action Plan—for stakeholders in the built environment to consider.

The editors welcome your feedback. Please contact Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director, at 847-391-1040; rcassidy@sgcmail.com.

 

Click here to download a PDF of High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings: The 99% Solution, the 9th in a Series of White Papers on the Green Building Movement

 

Chapter 1 Reconstruction: ‘The 99% Solution’ for Energy Savings in Buildings

 

Chapter 2 Exemplary High-Performance Reconstruction Projects

 

Chapter 3 How Building Technologies Contribute to Reconstruction Advances

 

Chapter 4 Business Case for High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings

 

Chapter 5 LEED-EB and Green Globes CIEB: Rating Sustainable Reconstruction

 

Chapter 6 Energy Codes + Reconstructed Buildings: 2012 and Beyond

 

Chapter 7 When Modern Becomes Historic: Preserving the Modernist Building Envelope

 

Chapter 8 High-Performance Reconstruction and Historic Preservation: Conflict and Opportunity

 

Chapter 9 The Key to Commissioning That Works? It Never Stops

 

Chapter 10 Action Plan: 18 Recommendations for Advancing Sustainability in Reconstructed Buildings

 

DIRECTORY OF SPONSORS

Associations
Construction Specifications Institute
North American Insulation Manufacturers Association
The Vinyl Institute

Government
U.S. General Services Administration   Public Buildings Service

Manufacturers
Duro-Last Roofing, Inc.
SAGE Electrochromics, Inc.
Sika Sarnafil

Related Stories

AEC Tech Innovation | Oct 8, 2024

New ABC technology report examines how AI can enhance efficiency, innovation

The latest annual technology report from Associated Builders and Contractors delves into how artificial intelligence can enhance efficiency and innovation in the construction sector. The report includes a resource guide, a case study, insight papers, and an essay concerning applied uses for AI planning, development, and execution. 

Healthcare Facilities | Oct 8, 2024

Herzog & de Meuron completes Switzerland’s largest children’s hospital

The new University Children’s Hospital Zurich features 114 rooftop patient rooms designed like wooden cottages with their own roofs. The project also includes a research and teaching facility.

Mixed-Use | Oct 7, 2024

New mixed-use tower by Studio Gang completes first phase of San Francisco waterfront redevelopment

Construction was recently completed on Verde, a new mixed-use tower along the San Francisco waterfront, marking the end of the first phase of the Mission Rock development. Verde is the fourth and final building of phase one of the 28-acre project that will be constructed in several phases guided by design principles developed by a design cohort led by Studio Gang.

Brick and Masonry | Oct 7, 2024

A journey through masonry reclad litigation

This blog post by Walter P Moore's Mallory Buckley, RRO, PE, BECxP + CxA+BE, and Bob Hancock, MBA, JD, of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC, explains the importance of documentation, correspondence between parties, and supporting the claims for a Plaintiff-party, while facilitating continuous use of the facility, on construction litigation projects.

Glass and Glazing | Oct 7, 2024

Pattern language: An exploration of digital printing on architectural glazing

Architectural Glazing has long been an important expressive tool which, when selected and detailed thoughtfully, can contribute to the successful transformation of architectural concepts to reality.

University Buildings | Oct 4, 2024

Renovations are raising higher education campuses to modern standards

AEC higher ed Giants report working on a variety of building types, from performing arts centers and libraries to business schools. Hybrid learning is seemingly here to stay. And where possible, these projects address wellness and mental health concerns.

AEC Tech | Oct 3, 2024

4 ways AI impacts building design beyond dramatic imagery

Kristen Forward, Design Technology Futures Leader, NBBJ, shows four ways the firm is using AI to generate value for its clients.

Laboratories | Oct 2, 2024

Trends in scientific research environments: Q&A with Flad's Matt McCord

As part of an ongoing series, Matt McCord, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Associate Principal with Flad Architects, discusses the future of the scientific workplace.

Museums | Oct 1, 2024

UT Dallas opens Morphosis-designed Crow Museum of Asian Art

In Richardson, Tex., the University of Texas at Dallas has opened a second location for the Crow Museum of Asian Art—the first of multiple buildings that will be part of a 12-acre cultural district. When completed, the arts and performance complex, called the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, will include two museums, a performance hall and music building, a grand plaza, and a dedicated parking structure on the Richardson campus.

Data Centers | Oct 1, 2024

10 biggest impacts to the data center market in 2024–2025

While AI sends the data center market into the stratosphere, the sector’s accelerated growth remains impacted by speed-to-market demands, supply chain issues, and design innovation necessities.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021