How Living Buildings and Landscapes Enhance Environmental Health

Mon-C3 Biophilic Design: How Living Buildings and Landscapes Enhance Environmental Health

Presented with great success at the 2009 Greenbuild conference, but geared toward landscape architects for ASLA, this session will explore "a visionary path to a restorative future." The concept of biophilia can permeate every facet of planning and design, celebrating the regional landscape, ecological restoration, appropriate horticulture, and buildings that reach out and interact with the landscape. This approach will allow us to create landscape designs that are far more beautiful, complex, and engaging than either traditional or sustainable landscape architecture.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Learn the definition of biophilic design and how to implement it in living landscapes • Learn to designing landscapes that serve as learning tools for all stakeholders • Learn the latest trends in biophilia and increasingly elevated sustainability benchmarks

OUTLINE

I. Basics of Biophilic Design: Ways nature can be interpreted in buildings and landscapes 1. Critical issues to consider 2. How is biophilia environmentally sustainable? 3. Exemplary clients and designers doing this today

II. Lessons of Deep Ecology to Implementing Biophilic Design: What creates the biophilic experience?

1. Organic forms and natural materials 2. Visual diversity and views to nature 3. Access to plants, inside and outside 4. Vegetated roofs and walls

III. Metrics: The Living Building Challenge and Sustainable Sites Initiative: What do these measurements mean?

1. Discuss the founding and holistic system of Living Buildings 2. Discuss the Sustainable Sites Initiative 3. Examine case studies that exemplify these measuring systems

IV. Working with clients: What does it take to create a biophilic site?

1. Site conditions and grades 2. Complexity of design 3. Understanding the client and the context 4. Working with the design team

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Nadav Malin, LEED AP+BD&C President of BuildingGreen, a leading resource to the green building design community, Nadav Malin also serves as executive editor of the award-winning GreenSource magazine. A long-serving member of the national LEED faculty, he is a sought-after speaker for USGBC, AIA, and CSI events, and a consultant to architects and government agencies. In addition, Nadav led the team that created the U.S. Department of Energy’s High Performance Buildings Database.

Carol Franklin, FASLA Carol Franklin, RLA, FASLA, is a founding principal of Andropogon Associates and a nationally recognized leader in sustainable design. She has worked for more than 30 years to develop sustainable solutions on her body of work, seeking to see the broader picture and to generate solutions that integrate historical, cultural, economic, and environmental concerns. Carol served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania from 1972-2002, and in cultural landscapes in the Department of Historic Preservation. She has written and lectured on American traditions in art, landscape and architecture.

William D. Browning Panelist William D. Browning received a BA in environmental design from the University of Colorado and a MS from MIT. In 1991, he founded Rocky Mountain Institute’s Green Development Services. His clients have included Wal-Mart's Eco-mart, Starwood, Yellowstone National Park, Lucasfilms Letterman Digital Arts Center, New Songdo City, Bank of America, the White House, and the Sydney Olympics. He has authored several books, is an honorary member of the AIA, and a founding member of U.S. Green Building Council’s Board. In 2006, he co-founded Terrapin Bright Green LLC, which crafts environmental strategies for corporations, government agencies and large-scale developments.

Keith Bowers, ASLA For nearly three decades, Keith Bowers has been at the forefront of applied ecology, land conservation and sustainability planning. As the founder and president of Biohabitats, Inc., Keith has built a multidisciplinary organization focused on regenerative design—the blurring of boundaries between conservation planning, ecological restoration and sustainable design. Keith has applied his expertise to more than 600 projects throughout North America, spanning the scale from site-specific ecosystem restoration projects to regional watershed management and conservation planning, to the development of comprehensive sustainability program. He is a registered Landscape Architect and he holds a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from West Virginia University.

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Biophilic Design: How Living Buildings and Landscapes Enhance

Environmental Health

ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO

PresentersWilliam D. Browning

Keith Bowers, RLA, PWSCarol Franklin, RLA, FASLA

Learning Objectives• Learn the definition of biophilic design and how to implement

biophilic design in projects to create genuinely “living landscapes” from nationally recognized leaders.

• Learn to coordinate effectively with architects and owners, as well as local, state and federal agencies, in designing l d th t l i t l f ll t k h ld


landscapes that serve as a learning tools for all stakeholders.

• Learn about the latest trends in biophilia and projects seeking increasingly elevated benchmarks such as the Sustainable Sites Initiative and the Living Building Challenge.

Carol Franklin, RLA, FASLA

Biophilic Design: How Living Buildings and Landscapes Enhance Environmental HealthCarol Franklin, RLA, FASLA


LEED®: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Criteria for Landscape Design


SUSTAINABLE SITES (SS)

WATER EFFICIENCY (WE)

MATERIALS and RESOURCES (MR)

INNOVATION in DESIGN (ID)

William Warner, ArchitectsProvidence River relocation | Waterplace

Providence | Rhode Island

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LEED®: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED Platinum

US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

The Success of Green Building • The construction market accounts for 14.2% of the $10 trillion U.S. GDP.Source: 2006 DOE Buildings Energy Databook


• The value of green building construction is expected to exceed $12 billion in 2007. Source: McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics

• Since 2000, U.S. Green Building Council’s membership has increased ten-fold.Source: U.S. Green Building Council

• Since 2000, there have been over 1,200 LEED certified buildings and 9,500 registered; and over 45,000 LEED Accredited Professionals.Source: U.S. Green Building Council

LEED Certified: 40+ points Silver 50+ points Gold 60+ points Platinum Level: 80+ points

Possible points = 110(new construction, etc. LEED 2009)

LEED®: Green Building Design Guide and and Rating System

Some Problems of LEED• LEED ratings are primarily for individual buildingsCampuses require LEED certification for every building

“Too many projects are labeled ‘green’ that have significant environmental impacts and only minor improvements.”

The Living Building Challenge User’s Guide© 2007 Cascadia Region Green Building


Campuses require LEED certification for every building

• Results are often conventional and do not solve environmental issues

• The landscape is only an adjunct of the building and designed Landscapes from plazas to arboretacannot receive a LEED rating without a building

• Documenting a Platinum building takes more time and money than lower rating

LEED PlatinumUS GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

LEED®: Failuressame ugly buildings and non-living landscapes

SUSTAINABLE SITES (SS)

• site selection • development density and

community connectivity • brownfield redevelopment • alternative transportation


LEED® SilverUS GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

public transportation accessbicycle storage/changing roomsparking capacity

• site development protect/restore habitat

maximize open space • storm water design

quantityquality

• heat island effect roof

non-roof• light pollution reduction

LEED® SilverUS GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

SITES®: Sustainable Sites Initiative

U.S. Green Building Council

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,GreenScapes Program

Goals:

• Preserve, restore, enhance or create (where necessary) a landscape that is aliveby reestablishing the ecological processes and natural systems of a site.

PARTNERS

• American Society of Landscape Architects• The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center• The United States Botanic Garden


National Recreation and Park Association

National Association of County

and City Health Officials

The Nature Conservancy,

Global Invasive Species Team

University of Texas at Austin,

Center for Sustainable Development

American Society of Civil Engineers, Environment and Water Resources

This in turn will:• Provide “ecosystem services” essential

to sustaining life• Improve human health and well-being • Promote healthy social and cultural

systems on site, which encourage long-term, environmentally-literate participants• Lessen a site’s carbon footprint

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SITES®: Sustainable Sites Initiative

1. Conserve

2 Reuse

1. Reduce

2 Renew

1. Preserve

2 Protect

Water Energy Habitat

1. Reduce

2 Reuse

Materials

Hierarchy of Change


All sustainable sites are expected to:

• minimize resources transported to the site • minimize materials leaving the site • support viable habitats • promote healthy ecosystems beyond the site’s boundaries • replicate natural processes of a healthy reference site • enhance the quality of life of users • act as a carbon sink and regulate other greenhouse gases

2. Reuse

3. Balance

= Regenerate

2. Renew

3. Offset

= Produce

2. Protect

3. Restore

= Regenerate

2. Reuse

3. Recycle

= Upcycle

The Living Building Challenge User’s Guide© 2007 Cascadia Region Green Building Council

The Living Building Challenge

• Considers multiple scales of building—from house to megalopolis• Performance based rather than prescriptive• Simpler documentation


• Simpler documentation• Encourages retrofits• Focuses on removing toxic materials• Requires offset of carbon footprint• Mandates beauty and Inspiration• No credits: must fulfill all prerequisites

Living Building Challenge Prerequistes

“The Living Building Challenge 2.0 encourages the implementation of solutions beyond the building

Responsible Site SelectionLimits to GrowthHabitat ExchangeNet Zero EnergyMaterials Red ListConstruction Carbon FootprintResponsible IndustryAppropriate Materials/services Radius


of solutions beyond the building scale to maximize ecological

benefit while maintaining self-sufficiency.”


pp pLeadership in Construction WasteNet Zero WaterSustainable Water DischargeA Civilized EnvironmentHealthy Air: Source ControlHealthy Air: VentilationBeauty and SpiritInspiration and Education

Living Building Challenge

A Bioregional Approach to Design

“Solutions, strategies, materials and designs should be informed by the unique Characteristics of the bioregion.

Designers should have different design responses based on where a given project is located and take into account local climate as well as cultural and specific site clues

1. Cold NorthAlaska, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavet, Northern Alberta, Northern Saskatchewan, Northern Manitoba, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec2. Cascadia

BC, Oregon, Washington, Southern Alaska

4. Great LakesSouthern Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan Ohio Upstate New

3. Northern Plains & MountainsSouthern Alberta Southern



well as cultural and specific site clues.

As with the rest of the challenge—how a project team does this is up to them and success is determined by the team’s ability to understand the best response to place, climate and culture.”

Michigan, Ohio, Upstate New York

Southern Alberta, Southern Saskatchewan, Southern Manitoba, Idaho, Montana,North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado

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Living Building Challenge Rubenstein School of Environment

and Natural ResourcesAiken Resource Management Building

University of Vermont | Burlington Vt.with William Maclay Architects



Living Building Challenge Site ContextSchenley Park,Pittsburgh, PA, USAProject Size: approx. 3.1 acres total site—approx. 24,000 SF (building)Construction Budget: $16 million (includes new construction, renovation of B&G, sitework)Project Goals:“Living Building Challenge Certification” (issued by USGBC Cascadia Chapter) LEED® Platinum ratingFinancial SustainabilityFunctional Efficiency that encourages team collaborationBuilding as a Teaching/Research ToolTransferability to the Market

Phipps ConservatoryCenter for Sustainable Landscapes

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniawith the Design Alliance, Architects


with the Design Alliance, Architects


Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniawith the Design Alliance, Architects

Site Structure

Site Plan




Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniawith Design Alliance Architects


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Living Building Challenge “The Living Building Challenge isn’t designed to take a typical project and make it less bad. The challenge is designed from the beginning to try and help the most advanced projects achieve an ‘ideal’ level of performance based on what is possible today (admittedly still not ideal) and making those characteristics all


those characteristics all prerequisites.

…There is no way to ‘work the system’. A building is either a living building or its not.”

The Living Building Challenge User’s Guide

© 2007 Cascadia RegionGreen Building Council



The Living Building Challenge User’s Guide© 2007 Cascadia RegionGreen Building Council


Nikko Kiri Furi Resort Tochigi Prefecture | Japan

a village in a forest


with Venturi and Scott Brown, Architects

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Protection of the Forest Habitat


Highly disturbed meadows on flat mountain terraces were chosen as the building sites to protect the forest

Trees at the forest edge in the way of

construction equipment:

• Were cut and recorded• After construction these

sprout hardwoods were allowed to regenerate

Reuse of Damaged Sites

Retention basin/pond site in existing highly eroded gully


Nikko Kiri Furi Resort Tochigi Prefecture | JapanWith Venturi Scott Brown

associates

Nikko Kiri Furi ResortTochigi Prefecture | Japan

With Venturi Scot Br

Waterfallafter completion of basin/pond


With Venturi Scott Brown ArchitectsReuse of Damaged Sites


Nikko Kiri Furi ResortTochigi Prefecture | Japan

With Venturi Scot Br

Carol Franklin, RLA, FASLA

Ecological Restoration

“Restoration and management

are ’performance arts’


are performance arts where participation is as important as the results

because the actionschange the participant.”

Colin Franklin

Constructing the Biophilic Community “Nature is part of our humanity, and without some awareness and experience of that divine mystery, man ceases to be man. When the Pleiades and the wind in the grass are no longer part of the human spirit, a part of very flesh and bone, man becomes, as it were, a kind of cosmic outlaw, having neither the completeness and integrity of the animal nor the birthright of true humanity” The following is the abstract of an essay for the proceedings of Constructing Green, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 2010. Abstract Biophilic design may enhance the health and well being of urban populations. Because a great deal of research on biophilia explores just the human psychological reaction to nature, implementing biophilic design can sometimes feel like a luxury that is unsupported by quantifiable benefits. However, this is far from the truth. Using a review of existing literature and various case studies, this chapter asserts that biophilic design yields concrete financial benefits for businesses, accruing from worker productivity. We will then review the components of biophilic design and their scope for implementation, to organize the concept in our readers’ minds. Finally, this chapter will analyze a variety of case studies to review the benefits that can accrue to companies and communities by incorporating nature into construction and master planning. In a changing urban environment, designers and planners must be cognizant of the effect that buildings have on their occupants, and maintain our intrinsic connection with nature.

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How Living Buildings and Landscapes Enhance Environmental Health