BusinessReport.com

Five years ago, when the Louisiana chapter of the United States Green Building Council brought up “green building,” you could practically hear crickets chirping. But today, the singing has been replaced by telephones ringing.

“We’re overwhelmed,” state GBC Secretary Charlie Chartier says of an outpouring of designers and architects seeking information and training for the national organization’s LEED (Leadership In Energy and Environment Design) certification.

‘The movement has certainly caught fire. We’re positioning to move to the next level to provide all the educational information to people who request it.”

Green buildings seem to be going up everywhere, too.

At Perkins Rowe, a $4 million Bally Fitness Center will open early this month and join the area’s few, but quickly growing, number of green buildings. While green building involves many designs and materials, most equate it with LEED certification. Bally Fitness will seek this rating early next year.

David Rhiner, the Bally project manager for D. Honoré Construction, says most of the fitness center materials are certified green, which means they’re recycled or more easily recycled.

“It’s new to us, but we’re enjoying it. We’re learning a lot,” Rhiner says. “You realize how much waste there is in a project. When you log it, it kind of wows you with dumpster after dumpster of things going to the landfill instead of recycling products that could go back into the project.”

While he concedes there are more upfront costs with this approach, Rhiner readily sees its benefits. More care has been given to protect air quality and promote a healthier building at the 31,850-square-foot fitness center, such as ensuring no construction dust is left in the ventilation of the heating and cooling systems.

Use of local labor and products is more emphasized to avoid wasting fuel, as well as using local suppliers to support the local economy. Bally’s new center will have energy-friendly systems to control lighting, as well as heating and cooling.

“I think there’s no doubt the environment is impacted by construction, and we all have a responsibility at the very least to entertain alternative ways of building,” Rhiner says. “The payoff is you’re building a better town and a building that will give back to society.”

Sharing that same desire for sustainability, Chenevert Architects occupied its newly recycled, 15,000-square-foot, mixed-use historic building nearly a month ago in downtown Baton Rouge. Dyke Nelson, COO and partner, says the building should be LEED certified by February.

By next year, the firm plans to have three or four of its projects LEED certified, including the Beau Box real estate office complex on Jefferson Highway and a National Guard facility in Covington.

To date, Louisiana’s only LEED-certified building on the GBC Web list is Barksdale Air Force Base’s physical fitness center in Bossier City. However, certification applications are pending for 21 more locations, including the Chenevert building.

“LEED is not solar panels. It’s just a holistic approach to architectural design that is respectful to our environment and community,” Nelson says. “It’s not just about getting these certifications. … Approach it from the standpoint that you’re making a relatively small investment compared to the payback. It’s really just being thoughtful about how you approach things.”

The Chenevert building uses an air-conditioning system that allows more fresh air and gives people more access to light and view. The building is more energy efficient. While this approach requires more upfront investment, Nelson says green building pays for itself quickly and many times over.

Photo by Brian Baiamonte

WHAT IS GREEN BUILDING? Green—or sustainable—building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition. Research and experience increasingly demonstrate that when buildings are designed and operated with their lifecycle impacts in mind, they can provide great environmental, economic and social benefits. Elements of green building include energy efficiency and renewable energy, water stewardship, environmentally preferable building materials and specifications, waste reduction, indoor environment, smart growth and sustainable development. SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

“Our industry has a tremendous affect on our environment and community,” he says. “We feel it’s extremely important to be respectful of that and deal with that in a way that makes sense, and, selfishly, it makes a better building.”

Grace and Hebert Architects in Baton Rouge is working on three buildings proposed to be LEED certified, including their plan to “recycle” a recently purchased historic 1800s building on Government Street into their office building, Partner Jerry Hebert says. The firm hopes to occupy the 16,000-square-foot building by July or August.

Chartier, who also is in carpeting manufacturing, says green building has certainly influenced construction materials. In his market, old carpeting is being recycled to lesson dependence on oil and natural gas. He says the only thing holding them back is getting enough carpeting to recycle.

“Everybody’s trying to do it, and the companies doing it are making money,” he says. “Louisiana’s got the biggest opportunity in the U.S. to win. We need to think of our state as an energy state, not just an oil state, and pursue all types of energy like wind and hydro.” Trees even play a role in green building.

Diane Losavio, executive director of Baton Rouge Green says they’re hiring someone to work with Mayor-President Kip Holden’s office to handle the landscaping portion of the Green Light road improvement plan to improve East Baton Rouge Parish’s green spaces.

The nonprofit organization also educates the public on how to use trees to improve energy efficiency, as well as improve air and water quality.

“We are a small nonprofit and we can’t cover the state in trees, but we work very hard to improve the urban forest in the greater Baton Rouge area,” Losavio says. “So many of our trees are disappearing rapidly with new roads and buildings. It’s important for us to replace those trees with new trees.”

Overall, Chartier says the real word is sustainability in the green movement. The challenge is making products for today’s needs that don’t leave future generations with depleted resources.

Many buildings may not be LEED certified, but have the principles of sustainability, says Traci LaMoyne of LaMoyne Design Associates in Baton Rouge and state GBC programs chair. Those principles include a healthy building that is worker and environmentally friendly, as well as energy efficient.

Many have seen the opportunity to incorporate green building in Katrina reconstruction. “The opportunity to build back sustainable in New Orleans and the whole Gulf Coast is why everything is happening so fast, which is great,” LaMoyne says. “Everyone wants the most efficient building.”