Sustainable design

Sustainable design is the thoughtful integration of architecture with electrical, mechanical, and structural engineering. In addition to concern for the traditional aesthetics of massing, proportion, scale, texture, shadow, and light, the facility design team needs to be concerned with long-term costs: environmental, economic, and human.

The Rocky Mountain Institute outlines five elements for sustainable design: Planning and design should be thorough. Sustainable design is "front-loaded" compared with traditional design. Early decisions have the greatest impact on energy efficiency, passive solar design, daylighting, and natural cooling.

Sustainable design is more of a philosophy of building than a prescriptive building style.

Sustainable buildings don't have any particular look or style.

Sustainable buildings don't have to cost more, nor are they more complicated than traditional construction.

Integrated design, that is design where each component is considered part of a greater whole, is critical to successful sustainable design.

Minimizing energy consumption and promoting human health should be the organizing principles of sustainable design. The other elements of design can be organized: energy-saving architectural features, energy-conserving building envelope, and energy-efficient and health-promoting mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.