Sunday, February 4, 2007

Sustainability: Let's Get With It.

Our world is one that is being developed at an alarming rate. Real estate is an industry where something new is constantly being developed. At what cost? Not only are we building upon the ever decreasing amount of open space left, but the materials used to make buildings, and the completed buildings themselves deplete our precious natural resources. This is why contractors and real estate developers should start incorporating more environmental awareness in their design. Sustainable development is the answer.

Sustainability in its most general concept is creating a way of life that is less harmful to the environment. In a lot of ways sustainability gives Mother Nature a helping hand in getting back to a better state of health. Sustainability not only helps out our Earth, but it is good for us as well. Sustainability is an idea that applies to many things: food, traffic, natural resources, health and development among other things. Building sustainable cities is something that should be on the minds of urban planners, but even local level contractors and builders can incorporate sustainability in their designs.

Take for example the Alberici Enterprises corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Alberici Enterprises is a contracting company that most recently finished expanding St. Louis University’s Business and Administration school. Alberici’s corporate headquarters “boasts the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating ever awarded by the US Green Building Council: 60 points out of a possible 69” according to WorldChanging.com. Exactly what did Alberici do with their corporate headquarters to earn this very high rating? First, their electricity is generated by a wind operated turbine that was salvaged from California. This not only saves the company money on their electricity bill, but it also does not take from the city’s power grid. A sustainable concept is also used here in the fact that the power generating turbine was a second hand unit, therefore not letting it go to waste or the company having to buy a new one which would require new parts that would be fabricated at the cost of the environment. Fortunately, the building is so well built and maintained climate wise in terms of sustainability that rarely any electricity is used at all. Lighting is natural for the most part (as long as it is light outside). The building is built so that natural light comes in at every possible point of entry. Employees are encouraged to keep the windows open in the summer to let in a cool breeze to keep temperatures lower inside the building. Asphalt is not used around the building to keep the amount of heat radiated by the ground surface at a minimum. Parking is in a tiered garage built into the building. No extra surface area on the property was developed to facilitate parking. The building itself was not even built by Alberici . The corporate headquarters occupies a building which was built almost half a century ago. Sustainability pointed out here again in the sense that nothing had to go to waste; the building was salvaged and put to use all over. Plumbing is even done in a sustainable way. Water is drawn from the roof via a storm water collection system. Should the amount of water collected be too much for use at the current time, the water drains off into a pond nearby so that the water does not affect St. Louis’ sewer system.

Is all this necessary? Probably not. Is it a good idea? Of course. This level of sustainability is difficult to achieve in a family home or typical residential neighborhood, but Alberici should be applauded for their pioneering spirit in their endeavors. Corporations usually have large headquarters. Corporations can have a lot of money as well. For the companies who make a large enough margin, they should take it upon themselves to build their corporate headquarters in a sustainable way. If most commercial buildings could be built in a sustainable way, that would greatly reduce the negative impact a large building could have. Even if the plumbing and water usage at your neighborhood Target was conducted using rain water that would consume so much less water. Baby steps like this should be implemented. Of course it is almost impossible to cool down a large indoor mall with just windows, but plumbing using rain water or electricity generated by a private windmill or turbine is something that seems feasible and also smart as a long term investment.


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