Sustainable Design Basics

An accessible, climate-diverse guide that transforms readers from sustainable design novices to whole-solution problem solvers. Sustainable Design Basics is a student-friendly introduction to a holistic and integral view of sustainable design. Comprehensive in scope, this textbook presents basic technical information, sustainability strategies, and a practical, step-by-step approach for sustainable building projects. Clear and relatable chapters illustrate how to identify the factors that reduce energy use, solve specific sustainable design problems, develop holistic design solutions, and address the social and cultural aspects of sustainable design. Requiring no prior knowledge of the subject, the text’s easy-to-follow methodology leads readers through the fundamental sustainable design principles for the built environment. Sustainably-constructed and maintained buildings protect the health and improve the productivity of their occupants, as well as help to restore the global ecosystem. The authors, leading practitioners and educators in sustainable design, have created a resource that provides a solid introduction to broad level sustainability thinking that students can take forward into their professional practice. Topics include space planning for sustainable design, integrative and collaborative design, standards and rating systems, real-world strategies to conserve energy and resources through leveraging renewable natural resources and innovative construction techniques and their impact on our environment. Usable and useful both in and beyond the classroom, this book: Covers building location strategies, building envelopes and structures, integration of passive and active systems, green materials, and project presentation Examines cultural factors, social equity, ecological systems, and aesthetics Provides diverse student exercises that vary by climate, geography, setting, perspective, and typology Features a companion website containing extensive instructor resources Sustainable Design Basics is an important resource aimed at undergraduate architecture and interior design students, or first-year graduate students, as well as design professionals wishing to integrate sustainable design knowledge and techniques into their practice.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xiii About the Authors xv About the Companion Website xvii Chapter 1 Why, How, Who, and What 1 Why Use This Book 1 How to Use This Book 2 Who Should Use This Book 2 What are the Parameters of This Book 2 Organization 3 Exercises 3 Companion Website 3 Chapter 2 Mindset 5 The Holocene and the Age of Agriculture 6 The Industrial Revolution and the Environment 6 Environmentalism and the Age of Information 7 Realizations of the Historic Sustainability Events Timeline 11 Thinking and Seeing from Multiple Perspectives 13 Integral Sustainable Design 13 The Four Perspectives of Integral Sustainable Design 14 Learning from the Past: General Rules 16 Space and Scale 17 The Integrative Design Process 18 Chapter 3 Step 1: Context 21 The Sustainable Design Basics Methodology: An Overview 21 Step 1: Context 23 Step 1A: Project Information 24 Step 1B: Guiding Principles 26 Step 1C: Macro Context and Micro Context 28 Step 1D: Site Inventory and Analysis 35 Chapter 4 Step 2 Pre-Planning 55 Research and Organization 55 Step 2A: Case Study 56 Step 2B: Project Goals 63 Step 2C: Criteria Matrix 67 Step 2D: Relationship Diagrams 73 Chapter 5 Step 3: Design 77 Whole Building Thinking, Systems Thinking 77 3A Preliminary Design 80 Chapter 6 Step 3B: Passive Design 117 What is Passive Design? 117 Key Elements of Passive Design 118 Passive Design Strategies 122 Passive Solar Heating 126 Passive Cooling and Natural Ventilation 134 Water Conservation and Rainwater Harvesting 152 Passive Design Validation 157 Chapter 7 Step 3B: Passive Design, Daylighting 159 Daylighting 159 Chapter 8 Step 3C: Building Envelope 187 What is the Building Envelope? 187 Functions 188 The Building Envelope in the SDB Methodology 189 Building Envelope and Macroclimate 190 Building Structure and the Building Envelope 192 Building Foundations 198 Exterior Wall Assembly 202 Windows 210 Roof Systems 217 Validation, Synergies, and Synthesis of Design 226 Chapter 9 Step 3D: Green Materials 229 Basics 229 Evaluation 236 Overarching Objectives 245 Material and Product Resources 248 A Warning about Greenwashing 248 Chapter 10 Step 4: Design Resolution 251 Step 4A: Final Design Synthesis 252 Step 4B: Final Design Validation 253 Step 4C: Presenting the Project 261 Chapter 11 Demonstration Project 265 Step 1: Context 266 Step 2: Pre-Planning 278 Step 3: Design 286 Chapter 12 Beyond the Basics 323 Active Systems 324 PV Array Sizing and Net-Zero Energy 326 Chapter 13 Design Resolution 335 Final Design Synthesis 335 Final Validation 341 Conclusion 349 Chapter 14 Demonstration Project: Final Presentation 351 Step 1: Project Introduction and Context 352 Step 2: Pre-Planning 354 Conclusion 361 Chapter 15 Exercises 363 Sustainable Building Design Exercises 363 Choice 1: Client Details 365 Choice 2: Site Selection and Macro Climate 370 Choice 3: Macro Context Details 371 Choice 4: New Building or Existing Building 372 Exercises 373 Appendix A: Demonstration Project Program, Climate, and Context Resources 375 Step 1A: Project Introduction 375 Step 1C Macro and Micro Context 378 Step 1D Site Inventory and Analysis 382 Appendix B: Forms and Matrices 387 Appendix C: Energy Modeling Software 419 Notes about Energy and Daylighting Simulation 419 SEFAIRA 421 Rhino Architectural Software 421 Open Studio 422 IES (Integrated Environmental Solutions) 423 Equest 424 Revit Green Building Studio by AutoDesk 425 Appendix D: Abbreviations and Acronyms 427 Appendix E: Green Building Standards, Codes and Rating Systems 431 The Role of Codes and Standards 431 The Role of Rating Systems 431 Green Building Standards, Codes and Rating Systems 431 Bibliography 441 Index 449

About the Author :
Sharon B. Jaffe, LEED AP ID + C, IIDA, NCIDQ is a designer, educator, sustainable redeveloper, and community activist, specializing in the collaborative development of sustainable environments. She currently teaches at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Rob Fleming, AIA, LEED AP has been teaching, researching, advocating, and practicing sustainable design for over 20 years. He is the founding director of, and a professor in, the MS in Sustainable Design Program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Mark Karlen, Ph.D., AIA, NCIDQ has been practicing, teaching, and writing about interior design and architecture for several decades. He has chaired interior architecture programs at the University of Cincinnati and Pratt Institute. Saglinda H. Roberts, IIDA, CID, LEED Green Associate has over 30 years of extensive design experience; her focused research is on the future of restorative and holistic sustainable design. She currently teaches in the Interior Architecture program at Chatham University.