Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.
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Green News 5 metrics for going green in healthcare Rendering of the HGA-designed Northeast Georgia Health System Braselton campus. or years, the sustainable design conversation has focused on lowering the negative impact of building construction on the environment and reducing carbon footprint. But now the sustainable dialogue is shifting as more projects start to include energy production rather than just energy conservation and efficiency. For energy-intensive healthcare projects, this means a paradigm shift in how to approach the design process. Today's new approach starts with a "Zero-Plus" strategy that looks at sustainable results based on fi ve metrics — energy, carbon, water, waste and materials. This F Design process identify needs, values and criteria. These component teams then work in small groups and reassemble periodically at integration events to inform the whole team of progress made toward goals, keeping each team member fully informed of how different building components relate to the entire project. Let's look at each metric before examining application to specific healthcare projects: An integrated process brings together a diverse group of architecture, engineering and design professionals with contractors, building owners and users to form multidisciplinary "component teams" based on building systems rather than working in "silos." Through visioning sessions, component teams ZERO-PLUS ENERGY Zero-Plus energy focuses on setting stretch targets for energy efficiency and conservation by looking at how energy can be reduced while researching how energy can also be generated and reclaimed. approach includes planning for a positive human experience, measuring post-occupancy results and setting targets for financial performance. A Zero-Plus approach encourages us to give back rather than just consume less. The process begins with an integrated design team that assumes sustainability is integral to any healthcare project. 16 Medical Construction & Design | July/August 2013 1 ZERO-PLUS CARBON Reducing energy consumption, increasing renewable energy production and tracking carbon emissions contribute to a sustainable carbon management plan. Going forward, there is potential to achieve carbon neutral design and have a positive impact on air quality. 2 ZERO-PLUS WATER Achieving a sustainable water plan includes onsite water capture and water recycling systems together with changes in water use. Water use for landscape irrigation can be equal to or even greater than building water use, so site planning can have a significant impact on lowering potable water use. 3 www.mcdmag.com IMAGE: HGA By Patrick Thibaudeau and Michael Franklin Ross