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Chapter 11 Designing for Sustainability
More specifi cally, the goals of sustainable
design are to:
• Avoid depleting (using up) natural
resources
• Prevent damage to the environment
throughout the building’s life cycle
There are many ways to accomplish these
goals. Unfortunately, an effort to achieve one goal
often causes a negative impact in other ways.
The use of recycled steel for structural members
is one example. The concept of recycling materi-
als is good, but the energy resources required to
recycle the steel, and the pollution created in this
process, make some people wonder if recycling
steel is really a sustainable practice. As you can
see, there is still much disagreement on exactly
how to make buildings sustainable. Most people
agree, however, that sustainable building design
requires the following elements:
• Proper site selection
• Effi cient placement of the house on the site
• Use of sustainable materials and processes
• Improved energy choices and use
• Water conservation and protection
• Low-impact or no-impact operation and
maintenance
• Adaptability to meet multiple purposes
Site Selection
One important, but often overlooked, aspect
of sustainable residential building design is the
selection of a suitable site. Site selection should
occur well before the home itself is designed. Tra-
ditional site selection considerations are described
in Chapter 6. In sustainable design, other factors
should also be taken into consideration.
First, consider the impact of developing the
site on the area’s ecosystem. An ecosystem is
the interaction of plants and animals with each
other and the environment. See Figure 11-3. It
goes without saying that you should not develop
environmentally sensitive lands, and many of
those areas are protected by laws anyway. How-
ever, constructing a building has multiple effects
on the ecosystem no matter where it is built.
Figure 11-2. Part of designing sustainably is planning what will happen to the home at the end of its life.
After reading this chapter, look again at this photo. What parts of this house might have been reclaimed?
(Alexey Fateev/Shutterstock.com)