Sustainable Design Basics

An accessible, climate-diverse guide that transforms readers from sustainable design novices to whole-solution problem solvers.

Sustainable Design Basics is a student-friendly introduction to a holistic and integral view of sustainable design. Comprehensive in scope, this textbook presents basic technical information, sustainability strategies, and a practical, step-by-step approach for sustainable building projects. Clear and relatable chapters illustrate how to identify the factors that reduce energy use, solve specific sustainable design problems, develop holistic design solutions, and address the social and cultural aspects of sustainable design. Requiring no prior knowledge of the subject, the text’s easy-to-follow methodology leads readers through the fundamental sustainable design principles for the built environment.

Sustainably-constructed and maintained buildings protect the health and improve the productivity of their occupants, as well as help to restore the global ecosystem. The authors, leading practitioners and educators in sustainable design, have created a resource that provides a solid introduction to broad level sustainability thinking that students can take forward into their professional practice. Topics include space planning for sustainable design, integrative and collaborative design, standards and rating systems, real-world strategies to conserve energy and resources through leveraging renewable natural resources and innovative construction techniques and their impact on our environment.

Usable and useful both in and beyond the classroom, this book:

• Covers building location strategies, building envelopes and structures, integration of passive and active systems, green materials, and project presentation
• Examines cultural factors, social equity, ecological systems, and aesthetics
• Provides diverse student exercises that vary by climate, geography, setting, perspective, and typology
• Features a companion website containing extensive instructor resources

Sustainable Design Basics is an important resource aimed at undergraduate architecture and interior design students, or first-year graduate students, as well as design professionals wishing to integrate sustainable design knowledge and techniques into their practice.

Sharon B. Jaffe, LEED AP ID + C, IIDA, NCIDQ is a designer, educator, sustainable redeveloper, and community activist, specializing in the collaborative development of sustainable environments. She currently teaches at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.

Rob Fleming, AIA, LEED AP has been teaching, researching, advocating, and practicing sustainable design for over 20 years. He is the founding director of, and a professor in, the MS in Sustainable Design Program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.

Mark Karlen, Ph.D., AIA, NCIDQ has been practicing, teaching, and writing about interior design and architecture for several decades. He has chaired interior architecture programs at the University of Cincinnati and Pratt Institute.

Saglinda H. Roberts, IIDA, CID, LEED Green Associate has over 30 years of extensive design experience; her focused research is on the future of restorative and holistic sustainable design. She currently teaches in the Interior Architecture program at Chatham University.

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Authors xv

About the Companion Website xvii

Chapter 1 Why, How, Who, and What 1

Why Use This Book 1

How to Use This Book 2

Who Should Use This Book 2

What are the Parameters of This Book 2

Organization 3

Exercises 3

Companion Website 3

Chapter 2 Mindset 5

The Holocene and the Age of Agriculture 6

The Industrial Revolution and the Environment 6

Environmentalism and the Age of Information 7

Realizations of the Historic Sustainability Events Timeline 11

Thinking and Seeing from Multiple Perspectives 13

Integral Sustainable Design 13

The Four Perspectives of Integral Sustainable Design 14

Learning from the Past: General Rules 16

Space and Scale 17

The Integrative Design Process 18

Chapter 3 Step 1: Context 21

The Sustainable Design Basics Methodology: An Overview 21

Step 1: Context 23

Step 1A: Project Information 24

Step 1B: Guiding Principles 26

Step 1C: Macro Context and Micro Context 28

Step 1D: Site Inventory and Analysis 35

Chapter 4 Step 2 Pre-Planning 55

Research and Organization 55

Step 2A: Case Study 56

Step 2B: Project Goals 63

Step 2C: Criteria Matrix 67

Step 2D: Relationship Diagrams 73

Chapter 5 Step 3: Design 77

Whole Building Thinking, Systems Thinking 77

3A Preliminary Design 80

Chapter 6 Step 3B: Passive Design 117

What is Passive Design? 117

Key Elements of Passive Design 118

Passive Design Strategies 122

Passive Solar Heating 126

Passive Cooling and Natural Ventilation 134

Water Conservation and Rainwater Harvesting 152

Passive Design Validation 157

Chapter 7 Step 3B: Passive Design, Daylighting 159

Daylighting 159

Chapter 8 Step 3C: Building Envelope 187

What is the Building Envelope? 187

Functions 188

The Building Envelope in the SDB Methodology 189

Building Envelope and Macroclimate 190

Building Structure and the Building Envelope 192

Building Foundations 198

Exterior Wall Assembly 202

Windows 210

Roof Systems 217

Validation, Synergies, and Synthesis of Design 226

Chapter 9 Step 3D: Green Materials 229

Basics 229

Evaluation 236

Overarching Objectives 245

Material and Product Resources 248

A Warning about Greenwashing 248

Chapter 10 Step 4: Design Resolution 251

Step 4A: Final Design Synthesis 252

Step 4B: Final Design Validation 253

Step 4C: Presenting the Project 261

Chapter 11 Demonstration Project 265

Step 1: Context 266

Step 2: Pre-Planning 278

Step 3: Design 286

Chapter 12 Beyond the Basics 323

Active Systems 324

PV Array Sizing and Net-Zero Energy 326

Chapter 13 Design Resolution 335

Final Design Synthesis 335

Final Validation 341

Conclusion 349

Chapter 14 Demonstration Project: Final Presentation 351

Step 1: Project Introduction and Context 352

Step 2: Pre-Planning 354

Conclusion 361

Chapter 15 Exercises 363

Sustainable Building Design Exercises 363

Choice 1: Client Details 365

Choice 2: Site Selection and Macro Climate 370

Choice 3: Macro Context Details 371

Choice 4: New Building or Existing Building 372

Exercises 373

Appendix A: Demonstration Project Program, Climate, and Context Resources 375

Step 1A: Project Introduction 375

Step 1C Macro and Micro Context 378

Step 1D Site Inventory and Analysis 382

Appendix B: Forms and Matrices 387

Appendix C: Energy Modeling Software 419

Notes about Energy and Daylighting Simulation 419

SEFAIRA 421

Rhino Architectural Software 421

Open Studio 422

IES (Integrated Environmental Solutions) 423

Equest 424

Revit Green Building Studio by AutoDesk 425

Appendix D: Abbreviations and Acronyms 427

Appendix E: Green Building Standards, Codes and Rating Systems 431

The Role of Codes and Standards 431

The Role of Rating Systems 431

Green Building Standards, Codes and Rating Systems 431

Bibliography 441

Index 449

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.