Green Building 101: Integrated Design

Buildings are complex. They breathe, sweat, grow, decay, require energy and create waste. In many ways they act like living organisms.

Just like humans, animals or even ecosystems, buildings are healthiest and most efficient when all components work together and when all elements are fit.

The idea behind Integrated Design is to look at buildings as a whole system, a holistic approach. This requires a different strategy than typical design and planning. Integrated Design relies on the expertise of all involved parties from owner to project manager to specialized contractors and requires the team members to look at objectives, materials and systems together from one large pool of knowledge.

This approach is enabled through design charrettes where team members meet, share ideas and approach problems from all perspectives. This differs from conventional building strategies where each contractor or owner meets separately with the project manager. By bringing the team together some very interesting results can occur.

For instance, an integrated design team may find that a lighter paint color in certain areas of the building will enable a smaller HVAC system to be sized. Lighter paint has higher reflectivity and absorbs less heat. Less heat means less air conditioning needed and a lower energy load. A lower energy load means a smaller HVAC system which means less cost, less materials and less waste.

Had the painter and HVAC specialist never been brought together in a design charrette, the solution may not have been discovered. This is just one example of how integrated design yields high performance buildings – buildings that operate as organic, interconnected systems.

Examples of successful integrated design:

• HOK’s LEED Gold-certified Straw Bale Building
• Medlock Ames Solar-powered Winery

Learn more at:

• Whole Building Design Guide
• EERE Integrated Building Design for Energy Efficiency
• Integrated Design at Better Bricks