HRGB – Part I
Hidden Risks of Green Buildings: Why Building Problems are Likely Part I
The great irony of building green is that the very concepts that are intended to enhance a building’s performance over its entire lifetime are many of the same things that make a building highly susceptible to moisture and mold problems during its first few years of operation.
While green buildings have many positive benefits, there is also strong evidence to suggest a direct correlation between new products/innovative design and building failures. Simply put, departing from the “tried and true” often means increasing the risk of building failure.
Two strong characteristics of most green buildings are: 1) the use of innovative, locally-produced products and 2) the implementation of new design, construction and operation approaches that are intended to reduce energy usage and be environmentally sound.
Green building environmental goals are typically organized around a set of nationally accepted benchmark guidelines such as those of LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which is the guideline established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED® certification is a checklist and point system of recommended practices where achieving various point levels can certify the building as having achieved silver, gold, or platinum status. These practices involve such issues as efficient water and energy use, the reuse of waste materials, and the use of renewable and regionally produced products.
The overall goal of these new materials and procedures is to achieve a structure with reduced negative environmental impact -both during construction and throughout the building’s life. The intent of building green is unquestionably noble and good, and should be aggressively pursued. However, because of the dramatic change that this will present to the design and construction industry, its implementation will present new risks that are likely to be both technical and legal in nature.
Some of the legal risks are fairly obvious, such as the risk of not meeting a building owner’s expectation of achieving a certain level of LEED® certification (i.e., implied or even written warranties).
Other risks are more obscure, such as:
- The failure of new products to meet their promoted performance levels, which is more likely with new materials compared to proven materials found in traditional buildings.
- Accepting the higher standard of care that a green building might present-what is currently considered “best practices” may now become the new expected “standard of care.”
- Failing to recognize (or prepare for) the unknowns in cost and schedule impacts that a green building might present.
It is even unclear if a LEED® certified building can be built under a design/build method of construction without the construction team assuming huge amounts of unknown risks because of the vague definition of what is considered “green.”
The building industry has been historically conservative, relying on time-proven construction materials and methods. The introduction of new materials and methods has not always proven to be successful and sometimes has resulted in notable building failures, especially those related to moisture intrusion and mold contamination. Many of the time tested materials found in lower risk buildings are hydrocarbon based. The long term efficacies and performance levels are unproven for some of the new carbohydrate based materials being promoted for green buildings.
The proliferation of new products and innovative building approaches related to green development is challenging the design and construction community in such a dramatic fashion. These changes virtually guarantee an increase in building failures and lawsuits. Past experience indicates that many of these failures will be predictable and some are likely to be catastrophic.
——————————-
With over 400 domestic and international projects, LBFG® has one of the most varied portfolios of successful project work in the building forensics community. These projects have included both new and existing buildings, cover both residential and commercial construction, and range in size up to $1 billion in cost.
