The Sage Approach
Beyond the demands of traditional construction, a successful LEED-Certified green building project requires a cohesive project team, effective planning, and green experience and knowledge. These elements embody the Sage Approach.
A Green Team
Before founding Sage Commercial, our principals have been constructing high-performance commercial buildings since 1998. Sage has been an exclusively green builder since 2005. We combine our experience and green knowledge to deliver cost-effective solutions, whether we are the builder, consultant, LEED commissioning agent, or project owner. Together with local suppliers and subcontractors who have the education and experience needed to meet the higher demands of green building projects, we’ve established a team who can bring your project to a successful completion.
Green Planning
In all construction projects the time, effort, and resources expended in the planning phase ensure the project meets your needs, delivers true value, and is completed on time and on budget. Up-front planning is even more critical for a green or high-performance building project. The success of the project is determined before the first construction drawing is printed; before the first shovel of soil is turned.
The graph below depicts the opportunities available to impact the project success. Clearly the greatest beneficial impact is during the planning phase, with effectiveness falling rapidly as critical decisions are set in stone.
For example, the initial site selection can impact a wide range of factors such as passive solar, effectiveness of daylighting, or water and drainage issues. It can easily make a $20 per-square-foot difference to the cost of construction. For a 50,000sf facility, that equates to an added cost of about $1M. Proper planning is essential for cost control.
By the time the planning phase is complete – and still before a large share of the budget is spent – there are fewer opportunities to impact the successful outcome of the project. By the time the design phase is complete – and roughly 20% of the budget is spent – only about 1 in 4 of the original opportunities remain.
This next chart is the result of a Stanford University study that depicts the keys to success in different terms: those of specific actions. After evaluating hundreds of construction projects, the study overwhelmingly found the factors that were most important were those that were put into place at the onset of the project.
Again, this shows that once construction begins, there are fewer opportunities to have a significant impact on the project’s success. Knowing what to anticipate, what decision-making processes to implement, and how to put together a successful project team – these are key factors that will deliver results.
Green Experience and Knowledge
LEED-certified projects can involve an extensive array of choices in materials and high performance technologies. Evaluation and selection of the most advantageous technologies, strategies, and materials is essential to the success of your project.
Sage has experience with a wide variety of systems and technologies ranging from structural materials to HVAC; finishes to glazing. This real-world experience and understanding of new technology sets us apart in the St. Louis marketplace.
Successful and profitable green buildings are not created by simply adding random technology and products to an otherwise conventional structure. Green building requires consideration of the interaction and synergy of green features, and thus the project team must choose wisely from a long list of potential options. While evaluating these factors, the project team also must recognize that funding is a limited resource for most project owners. From that perspective, “sustainable development” also means conserving this limited resource to sustain future growth.
We evaluate the relative cost and benefit of each option in technology and materials, and the synergy among these elements. We will evaluate the Life Cycle Costs (LCC) as applied to each project, using our experience and local knowledge to temper these choices. The LCC is a combination of first capital investment, ongoing maintenance, operating expense, and capital replacement cost.
Will there be a significant cost benefit with geothermal HVAC and additional insulation?
What is the NPV of an EnergyStar® membrane roof compared to a green roof?
What glazing will provide the most effective return on investment?
We also evaluate technologies and materials using non-economic factors related to environmental impact, from the manufacturing process to product installation…
- Construction and operational waste reduction
- Management of embodied energy {again, link to the popup on this definition}
- Sustainable resources
- Stormwater runoff and water pollution
- Indoor air quality impact
- Air pollution
Sometimes this means taking advantage of nationally recognized industry certification programs, such as BEES, CRI Green Label, SCS, GreenSPEC, Energy Star, GreenGuard, FSC, and Cradle to Cradle Certification.
Balancing these diverse and complex characteristics is the essence of green building. There are a growing number of options in green technologies and materials. Knowing what works, and what works in the St. Louis region is part of our approach.
|
 |
