June 28, 2001

Affordable AND green?

Photo courtesy of Environmental Works Several green elements were incorporated into the design and construction of Hopelink Place, an affordable housing project designed by Environmental Works. Project priorities included maximizing energy and resource efficiency.

There is tremendous interest in the design and construction industry these days to build green, with sustainable methods fast becoming mainstream.

We have all come to realize that the construction industry has a significant impact on our energy and resource use and we are trying to act more responsibly. The practice of being green has been employed in manufacturing to a level where products are now being marketed as being green.

More and more architects are looking at design from a green perspective with an increasing number of projects being built with green design and systems. Contractors are implementing jobsite recycling and waste reduction strategies. Owners and banks are recognizing the value of green building as a way to reduce operating costs. Municipalities, including the city of Seattle, are taking leadership in building sustainable building.

Somehow this stimulating environment has yet to effectively impact affordable multifamily housing, the poor stepchild of the green building movement.

Attempts to address this deficiency have included excellent workshops about “greening” affordable housing. The Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County, a nonprofit trade association, was an organizer of one of these workshops.

Composed of 28 nonprofit housing developers in the Seattle-King County area, 27 associate members (architects, contractors, etc.) and two government members, HDC’s mission is to improve the environment for creating low- and moderate-income housing. Unfortunately, its goal to educate members about making sustainable construction affordable fell short.

The workshop was sparsely attended and those who did attend were among the converted. One developer’s comments summarized a typical concern. “We can’t afford those kinds of upgrades and my maintenance department won’t go for it either.” This may partially explain why more of HDC’s members did not attend.

The developer’s concerns reflect the core constraint to building more sustainably: overcoming the general conservative environment that exists in the design and construction industries, and in the funding sources that help finance these projects. Many elements of the green building industry are still new and many approaches, materials and systems are still not sufficiently tested and researched.

Material and systems selections in the building, design and construction industry have traditionally been conservative, and as a whole is slow to accept new technologies. Established labor practices foster this tendency and the potential liability in using new, untested materials and systems are just another hurdle. Funders concerned about their investments (as they should be) adopt the same skeptical eye toward new designs, materials and systems. No one wants to have his project be the test case.

An abundance of design and system choices have too many unknowns. What are the real life cycle costs for passive solar design or upgrades to the siding or roofing. When is the real payback?

There are also too many ways of defining sustainability, or green building, and for years there was no common vocabulary. Though many standards have been developed to rate “greenness” at both the national and local levels such as LEED and Master Builders “Built Green” programs, these standards either apply to commercial and public buildings, or are focused on the single-family residences.

Added to these constraints are tight project budgets that further limit the possibilities for sustainable design by constraining the learning curve for design professionals and contractors, leaving them to work with what they know, rather than research and use new materials and systems. Limited funding also means that owners and funders do not have additional up-front money to implement systems that may have long-term paybacks.

While there are many constraints to building “green” affordable housing, and as yet there are no green rating systems specific to multifamily housing, there are opportunities available. Resources can be obtained at all levels of design and construction, from site design to waste reduction in the construction of the project.

Permeable paving and other on-grade surfaces can be designed to reduce storm water requirements. Wood products from sustainable forests, super insulation systems, and energy efficient appliances are a just few of the available product options. The list of choices is long but it comes down to making choices, and deciding what is most important, and most achievable, for each team and for each project.

Green design is not just a set of systems and materials but it is an approach specific to each project, requiring project specific analysis, research and consensus building.

There are many published examples of excellent sustainable designs for a variety of building types. Environmental learning centers, green office buildings, sustainable schools — models to learn from, though perhaps somewhat discouraging for affordable housing developers because the examples often have budget enough for many new green features.

Instead of setting ourselves up for failure by following these projects too closely, we need to set a new baseline for affordable housing projects. Affordable housing should be like a Volkswagen: small, compact, integrated design; fuel-efficient; inexpensive; and easy to maintain

And green-building systems in affordable housing must follow these same principles. They must be readily achievable.

We have found that an effective strategy for implementing green building in affordable housing and other projects for low- and moderate-income population is to focus on two to three elements of each project. Which two or three elements are selected will come through consensus by the members of a project team. The result will be unique to the project opportunities, the skills and knowledge of the team, and the commitment on the part of the team to follow through on implementing these elements.

Usually these materials and systems are selected because they increase energy efficiency (and reduce operating costs) or they reduce the maintenance concerns for the project.

Even with considerable constraints there are examples of local affordable housing projects that demonstrate green elements in their designs and construction. Hopelink Place, a project recently completed by Environmental Works indicates what is possible in the world of affordable housing.

Early in the design process a workshop was held with the design team, owner and contractor to look at ways that the project could maximize energy and resource efficiency. This meeting was facilitated by Tom Paladino of Paladino Consulting as a consultant to the city of Bellevue. The city provided some of the funding for the project and supported the long-term goals of the project.

The following priorities were identified:

• Site the buildings to maximize southern exposure and therefore reduce heating needs.

• Use native, drought-tolerant plantings to minimize irrigation costs.

• Look for ways to subsidize the added cost for energy efficient construction.

• Promote environmental stewardship among the residents by promoting recycling.

All of these priorities were achieved. The buildings were oriented to have the long faces of each building oriented to the south with a south-facing courtyard in between. This site design feature maximized daylighting and solar exposure opportunities to all of the apartments.

Drought-tolerant plants were specified and installed and did not add additional cost to the project. The buildings use gas fired hot water heat, which was subsidized by Puget Sound Energy. In addition, the buildings are well-insulated (to electric resistance requirements), which was subsidized by the local utility. The light fixtures have Energy Star ratings. The roof framing used raised heel trusses so the full depth of the insulation is maintained to the exterior wall line.

Other sustainable building materials (that are now becoming a standard part of affordable housing construction) included engineered framing lumber, prefabricated floor joists and roof trusses and fiber cement siding. Recycling centers were designed into each of the apartments as well as collection containers in the common trash bin area.

No longer a grassroots undercurrent, sustainable methods are fast becoming integral to our daily lives. Sustainability is becoming a requirement for many building programs. In the future it is conceivable that funders will require a thoughtful green approach to affordable housing and will provide incentives and funding recognizing the long term pay backs of such an approach.

We will also begin seeing tax credits as incentives to meet or exceed sustainable goals. And more products will be tested and become standard. Costs will decrease and building will become more sustainable because it makes good economic sense — it costs less and lasts longer.

In the meantime, the affordable housing community has to take small, well-considered steps. Development teams that are committed to an integrated sustainable design approach will encourage awareness of green building in the housing community and help others to recognize the value of long-term thinking.

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