Sustainable Construction, 5th Edition

Chapter 8The Sustainable Site and Landscape

Land use and landscape design are closely coupled—and offer perhaps the greatest opportunity for innovation in the application of resources needed to create the built environment. Buildings, while altering the local ecosystem, can contribute to the ecosystem and function synergistically with nature. Carefully designed and executed work by architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, and construction managers is required to produce a building that does the following:

• Optimizes the use of the site
• Is highly integrated with the local ecosystem
• Carefully considers the site's geology, topography, solar insolation, hydrology, and wind patterns
• Minimizes impacts during construction and operation
• Employs landscaping as a powerful adjunct to its technical systems

Other members of the project team must also have a voice in the decisions made about land. The location of the facility on the site, the type and color of exterior finishes, and the materials used in parking and paving all affect the thermal load on the building and hence the design of the heating and cooling systems by the mechanical engineer. Minimizing the impact of light pollution requires the electrical engineer to design exterior lighting systems carefully to eliminate unnecessary illumination of the building's surroundings. Providing access to mass transportation, encouraging bicycling and alternative-fuel vehicles, or accommodating alternative-fuel vehicles ensures ...