Green Architecture

Our office SA+A Architects is committed to assisting our clients in identifying and achieving their specific sustainable design objectives.  This process has become known generally as, "Green Architecture."

Green Architecture is the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.  Effective green architecture can lead to;

  1. reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water
  2. improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and
  3. reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. The appearance and style of sustainable homes and buildings can be nearly indistinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.

Green Architecture is increasingly governed and driven by standards, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.  LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.  SA+A Architects is proud to be LEED certified.

Other useful "Green Architecture" links are;

  • www.buildinggreen.com
  • The United States Environmental Protection Agency's EnergyStar program
  • ShoreBank, an American community development bank, who has pioneered lending to developers for Green Building projects and energy audits of existing structures