
Introduction
Green Building is a growing trend, a much needed one for the matter, due to the environmental challenges of the modern world. Green building is also known as green construction and sustainable buildings. This process and method of building and maintenance are both environmentally friendly. They remain sustainable during their complete life cycle.
There is a long list of well known green constructions all over the world. The most prominent example is Manitoba Hydro Place. It is the HQ of Manitoba Hydro (electric power and natural gas utility) in Manitoba, Canada. It won many awards in the category of best green buildings globally.
Contrary to popular belief, sustainable buildings are not more expensive to build or maintain. They prove to be more economical!
Just follow the basic 5 guidelines as mentioned below:
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Usage of Sustainable Building Material
There are various forms of sustainable building materials. The majority of them are natural renewable sources like wood and Bamboo. Some are recycled or reused materials like gypsum, glass, and metal. These materials should be sourced locally to prevent pollution due to long-distance transportation. This kind of material generally doesn't contain allergic components like Formaldehyde and black mold.
But if you’re looking for a sustainable building structure, pre-engineered material may be the best option due to its sturdiness and ability to be assembled and personalized quickly. Generally,a pre-engineered metal building refers to one built with a steel frame system. Unlike other building materials, most pre-engineered products are good for the environment. So, if you want your building to be eco-friendly, you should opt for this kind of material. When you go for a pre-engineered metal building, you can ensure that the construction produces less wastage. Also, this building material is robust and, therefore, can withstand extreme weather conditions. In short, you don’t need to fret about the possibility of the building collapsing or getting damaged in case of a flood and other weather conditions.
Moreover, using pre-engineered products for the buildings also comes with less energy usage, which is cost-effective in the long run. Unlike other materials, the steel used in making pre-engineered metal buildings Colorado is properly insulated. Because of this, you don’t have to be worried about energy loss, which is better for the environment. With all these things in mind, considering pre-engineered products as a building material can be an excellent idea. Thankfully, many companies out there can be a reliable source of pre- engineered materials. Just look into your prospects and find the one that can help you build buildings from green and sustainable materials.
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Reducing, Reusing, Diverting And Recycling Waste Material
Reduce: Firstly, we should reduce construction. It can be done by making more long-lasting buildings. If possible, we should be preserving and maintaining existing buildings rather than demolishing them.
Reuse and Divert: Waste material gets accumulated in both constructions and demolishing of any building. They include Concrete, Asphalt, Metals, Bricks, Glass, and Rocks. We should either Reduce it or divert it to another project.
Recycle: You can use the facility of waste equipment rental to recycle the waste to make them usable again. Machines like Building trash chutes, Trash compactor, and Construction trash chute are readily available nowadays.
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Prioritizing Energy And Water Conservation in Plan
Energy and water can be easily conserved with proper planning. Include more windows and transparent glass materials in the design. In this way, you will be using more natural light instead of Electricity. You can reuse Wastewater used for dishwashing or cleaning. Also, make a provision for rainwater harvesting. These tricks are both pocket friendly and energy efficient!
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Strong And Adaptable structures
We should be building the structures which are flexible and can pass the test of time. They should be able to handle natural calamities like earthquakes and storms. And they should also be least affected by the depreciation with time. As mentioned earlier, structures that can be maintained and renovated are good for the environment. There should be a minimum need to rebuild a structure due to any damage.
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Sustainable Life Cycle of The Building
There is a life cycle of every building, which starts with Planning and ends in demolition. In between, there is construction, operational phase, wear and tear, maintenance, and renovation. It is inevitable to accumulate waste at every stage. Generally, people plan waste management at the time of construction only and forget the rest. This kind of mistake should be avoided. The provision for recycling of waste should be pre-planned during the entire life cycle of the building.
Conclusion
It doesn't matter you are planning a small office, big factory, home, college or school. Any building can be energy efficient which is accommodating the factors mentioned above.
The basic principle to keep in mind is to avoid the usage of depleting non-renewable resources and maximum use of more organic, natural, and renewable resources.
Nature has a treasure of renewable natural resources for us. Some of the examples are sunlight (source of solar energy), plants and trees (for green roofs and walls producing fresh oxygen), and water (reusing wastewater and harvesting rainwater).
So plan your next building as a green building and contribute in preventing the deterioration of the environment!