TABLE OF CONTENTS So far, I ve presented the case for green buildings and shown some outstanding examples of high-performance building design. Let s turn now to the subject of how design teams are actually achieving high-performance results. The basic thesis of this book is that systems are more powerful than individuals. If design talent is unevenly distributed, as it surely is, then we need to redesign our project delivery process to get better results. We can t rely on superior design talent alone to get superior results. That s why the integrated design process is so important. Otherwise we re back in the world of the movie Groundhog Day, where nothing ever changes. The push for LEED Gold and Platinum high-performance buildings is the driving force, along with the growing emphasis on carbon-neutral solutions, that gives us a once in a lifetime opportunity to change our project delivery approach for the better. As Leith Sharp wrote in the Foreword, effective integrated design can produce significant innovations and cost savings simultaneously.
The key elements of the integrated design process are simple and straightforward. What s not obvious is how to implement the process in actual practice. For a high-performance building project, the process consists of the following steps:
Make a commitment to integrated design and hire design team members who want to participate in a new way of doing things. From the owner s perspective, this may mean having to accept new consultants who may not be as familiar with a...
