Sustainable building construction worker

An elegant new green home is nearing the final stages of construction in Burlington, Ontario. Barry Imber and Leslie Aske’s are aiming to have their home certified as part of the LEED Canada for Homes Case Study, and Barry has been blogging the experience at ImberAkseHouse.ca.

In Why sustainable building is upside down and may cost more, Barry highlights some problems with green construction that few designers are aware of. Namely, that building green requires a complex interplay of the trades that disrupts the way Things Have Always Been Done, including financing by the banks.

While green designers know about the up-front integrated design process, and may involve some of the trades early on, when it comes down to working with the crews the timing is off, multiple visits are required, and so costs rise.

This also brings to mind the importance once again of bringing builders into the room. And I mean physically. We need much greater representation of the men and women doing the work and managing the site to come out and be a part of the Canada Green Building Council, especially at the local chapter level.

Actually, to the credit of site professionals who do come out, many are often turned off by the design-centric focus where everyone in the room appears to be an architect, engineer, or interior designer, all without a speck of dirt under the nails.

Perhaps there’s something to be said for over 3000 LEED Accredited Professionals in Canada yet only 126 buildings have been certified as of November 24 2008.