From rating tool to design tool: How green guidelines are affecting today's architecture practice.

Abstract

Green guidelines, i.e., LEED or Green Star, have been widely adopted and its scale of implementation continues to rise; they are a factor that cannot be ignored in today's architecture practice. Despite that, the adoption of such guidelines tends to be perceived by practitioners more like a restriction—or checklist exercise. This research project aims to test such assumption by analyzing the effect of green guidelines in the design process of certified buildings. It is expected to prove that green guidelines tend to standardize proven design solutions instead of fostering innovative practices. The following is a working list of research questions: 1) To what extent do green guidelines alter design methodologies in today’s practice? What is the nature of such alteration in terms of knowledge generation? For example do they restrict or promote innovative solutions? 2) How has architecture practice responded to the introduction of green guidelines in their design methodologies? Are there any effective responses that can be adapted to different contexts? Do internal characteristics (e.g., size, approach, technology) promote better outcomes? This research will be conducted via case studies. The context of the study is Melbourne's CBD (Victoria, Australia), where a pool of practices had already worked with the local guideline: Green Star (developed by the Green Building Council of Australia, GBCA). In the early stages of the research, one project will be presented: “Council House 2.” The framework of analysis will trace the changes in the design process of this particular case, through by-product data and personal interviews, to identify the response of the design team to green guidelines criteria.

Green guidelines, i.e., LEED or Green Star, have been widely adopted and its scale of implementation continues to rise; they are a factor that cannot be ignored in today's architecture practice. Despite that, the adoption of such guidelines tends to be perceived by practitioners more like a restriction—or checklist exercise. This research project aims to test such assumption by analyzing the effect of green guidelines in the design process of certified buildings. It is expected to prove that green guidelines tend to standardize proven design solutions instead of fostering innovative practices. The following is a working list of research questions: 1) To what extent do green guidelines alter design methodologies in today’s practice? What is the nature of such alteration in terms of knowledge generation? For example do they restrict or promote innovative solutions? 2) How has architecture practice responded to the introduction of green guidelines in their design methodologies? Are there any effective responses that can be adapted to different contexts? Do internal characteristics (e.g., size, approach, technology) promote better outcomes? This research will be conducted via case studies. The context of the study is Melbourne's CBD (Victoria, Australia), where a pool of practices had already worked with the local guideline: Green Star (developed by the Green Building Council of Australia, GBCA). In the early stages of the research, one project will be presented: “Council House 2.” The framework of analysis will trace the changes in the design process of this particular case, through by-product data and personal interviews, to identify the response of the design team to green guidelines criteria.