Green building has a posi- tive impact on a number of factors besides simply water and electricity savings. The expansion of green building principles can impact on the ecosystem of an entire city, says PD Naidoo & Associates (PDNA) Consulting Engineers green building initiative coordinator Michael Aldous.

“Green building is a broad name for efficiency across everything, not only buildings, and includes transport, structures, rail networks and waste disposal.”

Aldous explains that as the incorporation of green principles in buildings increases, sectors such as transport will be positively impacted on. If green building designs incor- porate the sourcing of building materials from suppliers that are close to the building site, use lighter construction materials wherever possible and reduce the volume of waste coming from a construction site, trucks and trains will carry lighter or fewer loads, which will result in a decreased carbon footprint.

He adds that green building principles are introduced on a voluntary participation plat- form in South Africa through the Green Building Council of South Africa, which appeals to developers’ sense of environmental responsibility and intent to increase efficiency. However, if government introduced green building legislation and regulations, this would provide additional legal motivation for developers to increase their use of green building principles.

PDNA encourages its clients to include green building elements in their current construction projects to position themselves for possible government regulation in future. Aldous says that this is particularly relevant in the area of energy efficiency, which, he believes, could become a legal requirement in the near future.

It is important for developers and property owners to be aware that it is not only the structure of a building that defines whether it is green.

“Often the focus is a green building. “However, little thought is given to what goes into a green building, especially in the way of appliances and hidden elec- trical loads. “Domestically, a fridge, stove, oven, microwave, television and other appliances consume power. “Commercially, display light- ing, refrigeration and catering equipment also need to be considered. With many appliances carrying energy star ratings or efficiency ratings, it is becoming easier to support the objectives of the building through a mindful approach to the contents as well.”

An increased understanding of the link between a building and its natural environment and the influences these have on each other has also led to new design approaches in construction, says Aldous.

The concept of biomimicry has increased in prevalence, he explains. Biomimicry involves the use of nature as inspiration for design concepts. Conventional examples of this are termite mounds, which run as efficient large-scale city-type habitations, and the invention of Velcro arising from observations of burrs on animal fur.

Aldous adds that green building has also motivated the reintroduction of ancient civilisation concepts, which incorporated optimised use of natural resources, such as light.

Effective citywide greening will require increased collaboration between different professionals in the design and construction industries. Aldous says that technologies such as building information modelling will assist profes- sionals in collaborating. “More collaboration is needed early on in the design process, and it is going to take a significant mindset and culture change, especially for city-scale change,” he concludes.