How Green Technologies Meet the Real Estate World
35% of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States come from residential and commercial buildings. More than half of this comes from indirect fossil fuel combustion through electricity consumption (lighting, HVAC systems, electric appliances). The remaining direct emissions come from the use of natural gas and petroleum for heating and cooking.
Note: The final report will be published in the U.S. EPA website on April 2021
These numbers show that real estate developers play a major responsibility in reducing the carbon footprint globally. Global climate policies are getting more stringent especially because of U.N.’s Paris Agreement. Sooner than later, the real estate industry will have to adapt to these more uptight laws. Green real estate is the way forward.
What is Green Real Estate?
Green real estate is all about building sustainable properties that reduce GHG emissions through integrating green technologies. Real estate sustainability involves using renewable construction materials, consuming less energy, conserving water, and using natural ventilation as much as possible. The goal of green buildings is to reduce their contribution to GHG emissions both from direct and indirect sources.
How Green Buildings Work
Green buildings aim to minimize their environmental impact in every stage of the real estate value chain — from design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation or retrofitting, and down to deconstruction.
A building’s efficiency will always boil down to its design. From the get-go and towards the long-run, architectural and engineering designs must vouch for real estate sustainability. Properties must be designed in locations far from environmentally sensitive areas (e.g. farmland, wetlands, and wild habitats). The building’s orientation should favor the use of natural lighting and natural ventilation. Building materials should be non-toxic, renewable, and made from recycled materials.
According to U.S. EPA, the 7 features of a green building are:
- Energy efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Water efficiency
- Environmentally preferable building materials and specifications
- Waste reduction
- Toxics reduction
- Indoor air quality
- Smart growth and sustainable development
Existing sustainable buildings, such as those of Apple’s offices, have solar roof panels and can be powered by biofuels. A sustainable subdivision in Dubai, UAE recycles domestic water for irrigation use. At the end of the building cycle, green realtors must also see to it that demolition waste can still be recycled back as construction materials.
Green real estate is not so much of a futuristic concept anymore. Brilliant architects and engineers are already manifesting their big visions. Here are some of the crazy sustainability ideas turned into reality.
5 Mind-Blowing Green Buildings Around the World
#1. Bahrain World Trade Center (Manama, Bahrain)
This twin 50-story building is located at the edge of the Persian Gulf. The design of the building depicts that the wind sails to funnel the wind towards the 3 horizontal wind turbines built across the towers’ bridges. This idea came from Architect Shaun Killa who is also an avid sailor. His vision was to build the first wind-powered skyscraper. With the help of a team of Danish engineers, they were able to achieve their green vision in 2008. Wind energy supplies 11–15% of the building’s energy demand.
#2. Jewel Changi Airport (Singapore)
Jewel Changi International Airport has the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at a height of around 40 meters. Below the vortex waterfalls are tanks that collect rainwater for recycling. It’s a shopping and dining mall which also conveniently connects the airport’s terminals.
But aside from the mesmerizing green architecture, there are also green technologies in these facilities. The airport terminals are abundantly lit by natural lighting through smart skylights. They are double-glazed to let the light pass through while blocking the heat. Luggage bags are transported around by electric cargo cars, reducing GHG emissions. The concrete pavements of the runway, as well as parking spaces and the drains, are made of recycled materials. The indoor four-story garden provides good indoor air quality and also efficiently cools the room temperature.
#3. Vancouver Convention Center West (Vancouver, Canada)
LMN Architects pride themselves on designing and building the world’s first LEED Platinum convention center. This convention center is one of a kind as it serves as a building, an urban plaza, a park, and an ecosystem. This green real estate cultivates a wildlife habitat for the bees and indigenous plants on the roof — strictly no public access. It also cultivates marine life in the surrounding waters by building concrete tiers to create an ecosystem. They also use a seawater pump system for heating and cooling, and a wastewater treatment plant to recycle used water for irrigation.
#4. Shilda Winery (Kakheti, Georgia)
This unique design of a wine distillery makes use of the soil’s thermal mass properties to cool down the indoor temperature of the green buildings. The curved steel beams of the distillery integrate the vineyard into its design reinforced with concrete base support. Its design orientation faces the north to reduce direct solar gain and overheating.
#5. CopenHill (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Denmark is known globally as one of the leading innovators of clean energy, especially with the abundant wind farms. But, they have an even more visionary project with CopenHill — to be the world’s cleanest waste-to-energy plant. It combines green technologies addressing waste management and clean energy production.
The green real estate is an industrial power plant that incinerates 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy for over 150,000 homes, according to Architect Magazine. On the commercial side, it is also a place for urban mountain sports. People can ski on the sloping roofs of the power plant and climb over the building’s facade. There’s even a bar and restaurant on top of the roof!
Green Real Estate is the Way Forward
I might have mentioned LEED certification before. It’s one of the certifications given by third-party organizations to green buildings. Other examples are the Energy Star by U.S. EPA and BREEAM by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). But the most familiar green building certification is the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) by the U.S. Green Building Council.
There are various LEED ratings — from Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum as the highest level of certification. A LEED Platinum-certified building, just like the Vancouver Convention Center West, has achieved the most points across the different components of a green building.
Green buildings with these certifications are ahead of our time. They are the leaders of innovation. Eventually, the rest of the world will catch up to adapt to the tighter environmental laws. So, it’s important to keep your eyes on these green buildings if you’re thinking about investing in green real estate. People who are quick to adapt to the changing times will always reap the rewards first.
So, which green real estate among the 5 was the most remarkable for you? For me, the most mind-blowing entry was skiing on top of a power plant in Copenhagen!
What about yours? Have you visited green buildings near your area?
