Tropophilia

I’ve been fortunate enough to tour two LEED-certified facilities (one Gold Certified, the other Platinum) in the past two weeks. Being in these spaces has helped solidify in my mind that green building–done well–creates living and working environments with advantages that are obvious and attractive to even the biggest green skeptics.

First I visited Warren Wilson College. This small liberal arts school in the rural mountain outskirts of Asheville, NC merits its own post (or several) on the sustainability efforts on campus. The tight-knit community at the college is committed to sustainable practices for all the right reasons and everyone really lives out that commitment, whether by working on the campus farm, recycling and reusing to admirable extremes, or helping to build (as a group of students did) a Gold LEED-Certified campus building.

When I was shown around the Orr Cottage (video tour above), what stuck out most was the simple elegance of many of the green building techniques embodied in the construction. These are, for the most part, not incredibly new ideas, particularly technological, or even all that complicated. But together they create a work and study environment that’s impossible not to envy. Some highlights:

• Green materials: carpeting that, as Stan (a professor at WWC) says in the video, is “100% recyclable and 100% recycled.” Material for desks–”wheat board”–that’s made from grain waste. Re-purposed wood and salvaged doors.
• Refreshing air: incredible air quality, due to sincere diligence avoiding volatile organic compounds whenever possible in glues, paints, sealants, etc as well as the fact that fresh air is continuously cycled through the building
• Passive solar: the building is oriented to maximize sun exposure (genius…and yet, why so rare?) to help heat the building with winter sun.
• Bright sunlight: but what about summer? Shades over windows at just the right angle block out the high summer sun while allowing bright light to enter above employees’ heads and computer screens. Say goodbye to headache-inducing fluorescent lighting, except on particularly dreary days.
• Natural landscaping: outside the cottage, beautiful native grasses and wildflowers in place of the typical collegiate lawn. The native grasses and flowers require once a year maintenance (a controlled burn), and no extra water (they act as a storm water run-off filter for the building
• Character: recycled antique doors for each office inside, giving each bright, plant-filled (another benefit of great sunshine) office its own unique style

As luck would have it, the week after my trip to Warren Wilson, I was in Maryland to see the headquarters of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, just outside of Annapolis. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a nonprofit group working to restore and protect the massive Chesapeake Bay watershed. Some highlights from the Merrill Center–at the time of its construction, the first Platinum LEED-certified building in the country–after the jump…

• Composting toilets. Imagine a two-story office building (on stilts, with parking below) with toilets that are literally holes down to the basement. The giant composting bins involve machinery and a process I can’t completely explain, but the idea is simple: a pile of exactly what you’re thinking that composts (courtesy of worms, sawdust, and fresh air) over a period of several months into rich soil for the garden. The process removes harmful nutrients from the waste and uses no water. Funny side note about the toilets: there’s a bin with sawdust next to each toilet with a sign that instructs users to add a handful when they’ve finished their business. According to the building manager, this isn’t really necessary: it’s easier and more efficient for the maintenance guy to add loads of sawdust all at once in the basement. But apparently a lot of people–deprived of a flush since, well, it’s just a hole!–felt like they needed some form of closure…hence, sawdust. [flush]
• Rainwater collection. Huge drums on the side of the building collect rainwater that runs through the taps in the building for everything except drinking (per health codes). A rainwater-filled tank even serves as the water source for the building’s emergency sprinkler system.
• Windows that (*gasp*) open. Since the building is located on the bay, the spring and summer breeze is constant and refreshing. That air is continuously cycled through the building, and for at least 3 months of the year they don’t use heat or AC.
• Solar power. A photo-voltaic array on the scaffolding partially powers the office. Passive solar (just like at Warren Wilson) helps to heat the building and provides light to the offices.

Now, I’m well aware that composting toilets might not become immediately popular in most corporate settings. But what I can’t emphasize enough–about both sites–is the quality of life, and corresponding high productivity, that workers in these buildings experience. That alone should catch the attention of even the most traditional corporate and public leaders. I believe that we under-emphasize the importance of clean air, natural light, and an environment free from toxic (but entirely common) building materials. How often do you or your coworkers get sick because the air conditioning is on full blast all day long? Or because the recycled air is stale and full of dust? Or because you’re stuck in cubicles, seemingly miles away from a window.

These things matter, and they impact employee retention, health costs, productivity (fewer sick days; happier workers=less complaining, more working), and a host of other things. I’m well aware of the criticisms of LEED, and I’ll admit it’s an imperfect certification. Yet my recent experience in LEED-certified facilities is enough to convince me that these techniques and guidelines–applied well–are not simply greenwashing tactics. They allow organizations or individuals to legitimately improve the working/living space of a building, while exercising better environmental stewardship. Sounds good to me