Green Building Design

The environmental impact of construction starts right from the drawing board for most projects. Many of today’s projects are designed with a focus on “green design”, ensuring that new structures are built with a view to maximizing the performance of a structure in water use, energy consumption, air emissions and other factors that affect its environmental footprint.

Building rating systems such as the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED), Green Globes, BOMA BESt and others are helping to green the design process. LEED, for example, is a certification program that is growing in popularity and fast becoming a staple of construction across North America. LEED is a points-based rating system that measures a building’s environmental performance. In order for a building to obtain LEED certification, it must be designed, constructed and commissioned in strict accordance with the guidelines to ensure it meets very high environmental standards.