What Is Green?

By Ryan Cornwall

Someone asked me just the other day, 'So, what makes something "Green" anyway?'

 I chuckled to myself, thinking of what green was just 25 years ago.  No wonder people are still on the fence about what really is green and what isn't.  

Some of you might be familiar with the illustrious Michael Graves Office Building in Portland, Oregon. In my opinion, this building is a post-modernist poster child for 80's green design.  Why?  Did you know that the design of this building was based on maximizing energy efficiency?  Yep.  

Definitely one of the main reasons to 'go green' these days is to save a little bit on energy.  Or maybe even save a lot.  And wow, this building sure does save on energy! Small windows don't loose much energy, and a minimized exterior building surface area (its a huge cube) makes for very little heat loss.  

But,.... we don't just design buildings around energy, do we?  Sure you would be saving all sorts of money if you were to minimize your office window to a 2x2 peek-a-boo view, but who would want to work in that dark hole all day?

I recommend that you look for a 'truly green design' to do these basic things in a balanced way.

• Provide healthful indoor air: Be careful that you don't use products that are known to release dangerous fumes into the air.   
• Build using durable, renewable materials: That means using materials that grow back quickly or don't take a lot of maintenance.  
• Conserve energy: Look for ways to harvest free onsite energy like solar and geothermal.  

A good green design is a well rounded green design.  Without a balanced approach, in my opinion, its just "green washing."

What are your opinions? Feel free to comment below or ask Ryan directly at rcornwall@deonllc.com.