LEED/Green Construction

How does building green influence commercial property values?  The answer to this question suggests the psychological implications of green design and construction.  Chegut, Eichholtz, and Kok found that “over the 2000–09 period, the expanding supply of green buildings within a given London neighbourhood had a positive impact on average rents and prices, but reduced rents and prices for environmentally certified real estate. The results suggest that there is a gentrification effect from green buildings.”

Pro-environmental behavior doesn’t always feel good; and this can complicate designers’ efforts to promote green behavior.  Venhoeven and her team asked “why would acting pro-environmentally decrease one’s well-being, and why would it increase one’s well-being?”  They “conclude that part of the answer lies in a different view on what well-being entails, and more specifically, whether the focus is on hedonic well-being (i.e., feeling pleasure) or eudaim

Labeling influences whether energy-efficient products are purchased. Gromet, Kunreuther and Larrick learned that “When it comes to deciding which light bulb to buy, a label touting the product's environmental benefit may actually discourage politically conservative shoppers . . . .

Burgh-Woodman and King investigated concern for the environment.  They learned that  “our concern for the environment is driven by an existing, historically embedded sense of human/nature connection rather than a concern for future decimation as typically thought.”  Designers can apply this information when presenting alternatives to clients.

Information collected by McGraw-Hill during its 2012 Green Schools Study indicates that there are significant benefits from greening schools.  Researchers, who “looked at green in both new construction/major renovations and retrofits/operational improvements, “ and gathered information from school personnel, found that “Two-thirds report that their school had an enhanced reputation and ability to attract students to their green investments; 91% of K-12 schools and 87% of higher education state that their green schools increase health and well-being; 74% of K-12 and 63

The industry partners of the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at the University of California, Berkeley, have selected the Clif Bar and Company headquarters as the winner of the 2012 Livable Buildings Award.  ZGF Architects headed the project team.  The new Clif headquarters met “the highest standards for providing healthy and productive indoor environments, and represents best practices for sustainability and overall design.”  It also ranks “among the top scorers in the CBE’s Occupant Environmental Quality Survey.”  Information about the submissi

Twenge and her colleagues recently investigated the work-related values of several generations of American workers.  Twenge’s team’s findings indicate that although green design is regularly promoted as a way to attract younger workers, “GenMe does not favor altruistic work values (e.g., helping, societal worth) more than previous generations . . . . GenMe does not value altruistic rewards at work more than Boomers or GenX did . . . .

AIA is making an energy-modeling guide available without charge at http://info.aia.org/aia/energymodeling.cfm.  Promotional materials accurately describe the guide: “The AIA Energy Modeling Practice Guide serves to not only demystify energy modeling in general but also to provide tips and information that will help architects to better discuss energy modeling; the assumptions, the process, the tools and what the output means to potential design decisions - with thei