Whole Building Design Approach

The Basic Concept

Buildings are deceptively complex. At their best, they connect us with our past and represent our greatest legacy for the future. They provide shelter, encourage productivity and embody our culture. But they also consume an extraordinary share of America's energy and material resources. In the past, we have addressed this issue by analyzing the individual components and subsystems of each building and optimizing them separately.

The Whole Building Design Approach asks the members of the planning, design and construction team to look at the materials, systems and assemblies from many different perspectives. The design is evaluated for cost, quality-of-life, future flexibility, efficiency; overall environmental impact; productivity and creativity and how the occupants will be enlivened.

A Holistic Design Philosophy

There is a trend to move design policy so that it includes the important aspects of whole building design. The goal is to create buildings that are responsive, responsible, and defensible. Toward that end, buildingsmust be competently planned; functionally adequate; appropriate in form; cost effective; constructible; adaptable, durable, and contextual.

Whole building design not only looks at how materials, systems and products of a building connect and overlap but also looks at how the building and its systems can be integrated with supporting systems on its site and in its community. A successful whole building design is a solution that is greater than the sum of its parts. The fundamental challenge of whole building design is to understand that all building systems are interdependent.

Through a systematic analysis of these interdependencies, a much more efficient and cost-effective building can be produced. The choice of a mechanical system, might, for example, impact the quality of the air in the building, the ease of maintenance, Global Climate Change, operating costs, fuel choice, and whether the windows of a building are operable. In turn, the size of the mechanical system will depend on factors such as, the type of lighting used, how much natural daylight is brought in, how the space is organized, the facility's operating hours, and the local microclimate.

A Collaborative Design Approach

To create a successful high-performance building, an interactive approach to the design process is required. It is necessary for the people responsible for the building design to interact closely throughout the design process. This does not mean that the client, architects, engineers, contractors and consultants simply need to talk or attend their traditional meetings. It means everyone involved in the use, operation, construction and design of the facility must fully understand the issues and concerns of all the other parties.

A step in this direction can involve inviting the client, community members, appropriate designers and consultants, and a consulting general contractor to participate in a design charrette. A charrette is a focused and collaborative brainstorming session held at the beginning of the project. The charrette encourages an exchange of ideas and information and allows truly integrated solutions to take form. Team members are encouraged to "cross fertilize" and address problems beyond their field of expertise.

The design charrette method is particularly helpful in complex situations where many people represent the interests of the client. Participants are educated about the issues and "buy into" the schematic solutions. The education process is accelerated, decisions are verified, adversity is diminished, the nuances of organizational issues are learned and the design process is expedited. A final solution isn't necessarily produced, but important issues are explored.

Design Objectives

Buildings are designed and constructed with many objectives in mind. While any short list of building attributes can be criticized as incomplete or overlapping, the WBDG takes the position that all buildings should be:

Accessible

Aesthetic

Cost-effective

Durable

Functional

Productive

Safe

Sustainable

NIBS - National Institute of Building Sciences

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