Green Building
GO GREEN
SAVE EARTH
Green construction is carried out with deep knowledge of local climate and other local characteristics. It seeks to create buildings that allow a higher level of comfort, while consuming lower levels of energy, thus, reducing current expenses to tenants. A Green Building aims to reduce the impact of its construction and usage on the environment in terms of energy, water, waste and materials.
The Green Building Department at Environmental and Sustainable Development Ltd. specializes in supporting projects of all types and at all levels of planning - from urban planning to the detailed design and the construction of the buildings.
Our work is done in conjunction with the design teams, while thoroughly understanding the planning and Building processes and with the help of the most advanced software, in order to evaluate the effect of planning on the project’s environment and on the comfort of its tenants.
The Company has accumulated extensive experience and thorough familiarity with the processes of approvals in the local authorities and certification institutes. The use of our services ensures a quick and professional procedure.
LEED
Published in 1998, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an American voluntary standard for planning, construction and operation of green buildings. The LEED standard ranking system refers to various aspects of sustainability issues such as energy-saving, resource allocation and users’ health and comfort. The standard consists of mandatory requirements and voluntary requirements for which the project can “score points”.. The number of points a project collects, reflects its level of sustainability performance. The levels range from basic “Certified” (40 pt.) to outstanding “Platinum” (over 80 pt.).
The standard is known as a quality mark for sustainability. LEED certified buildings guaranty major comfort and health for tenants and lower operation and maintenance costs while reducing the building’s impact on the environment.
Israeli Green Standard
Meeting the current standard is an obligation for receiving a permit to build in most of the major cities in Israel. Lately, the standard has undergone an overall update both in its structure and professional content, to better suit local planning and construction processes while taking into account the lessons learned from its recent decade-long application.
In its updated version, the standard relates to the characteristics of the structure in ten overall aspects:
1. Energy; 2. Land; 3. Water; 4. Materials; 5. Health and welfare; 6. Waste; 7. Transportation; 8. Construction site management; 9. Innovation (in the possible sections); 10. Operation (in the possible sections).
The requirements are divided into mandatory and voluntary sections. Each applied requirement , grants the project with points..
The standard’s ranking levels go from basic – one star (55 points) to an advanced green building with five stars – (90 points onwards).
Certification process
In order to be certified as a Green Building, the Green Building consultant forms, along with the planning team, the best strategy, , that will allow the project to gain the points needed to meet the standard at the required ranking.
Once the strategy is decided, the Green Consultant will submit the documentation needed to prove that the project meets all requirements. Certification is granted in two steps - design and construction. For more, see here.
Retrofitting and Green Conservation
Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. for example: home energy retrofit is the improving of existing buildings with higher energy efficiency equipment.the consept of Retrofitting is currently gaining popularity all over the world, with the understanding that development of undeveloped areas is limited and may be ecologically destructive. improving living conditions and energy efficiency in existing structures has great savings potential, and it also presents significant advantages in terms of the residents’ quality of life, maintaining the social mixture and improving the aesthetic appearance of the city. However, upgrading existing structures is a complicated action since it deals with technical, economic, social and administrative aspects which are not easily bridged.
ESD conducted research on the potential of energy savings while refurbishing existing structures in 2011, in collaboration with the office of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa City’s Architect. The paper served as the basis of the urban policy paper on green renovations. We have been involved in the activity led by the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Municipality in this area to this very day.
The complementary work, in collaboration with the Preservation Department of the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, focuses on listed structures for conservation and strict conservation. In order to guarantee the conservation and reuse of an existing building, it is important to adjust it to the requirements of the modern resident, and therefore to view energy streamlining and technological updates as key ingredients for a successful preservation project.
Incorporating green renovation actions and energy efficiency measures in conservation projects is a complex process that should not be taken for granted among the considerations the planning team faces. Opposite the use of various technologies there are often technical, engineering or architectural considerations, as well as financial ones.
Since 2014, we were involved, with great success, in the implementation of Green Building principles in several ‘pilot’ listed buildings.