The project must exhibit a sensible use and management of natural resources throughout its life cycle, including operation and maintenance. Long-term environmental concerns, whether pertaining to flows of material or energy, should be an integral part of the built entity.
- Energy and material efficiency in construction, operation and maintenance.
- High ratio of renewable energy to fossil energy in construction, operation and maintenance.
- Land use efficiency.
- Low environmental impacts over the project's life cycle.
- Robust products and technologies.
A fundamental principle of sustainable development is to keep our planet in condition to indefinitely support future generations. This is an enormous challenge because our global ecosystem is in a state of stress and overuse. Finite sources of energy and materials are being depleted, and much of our environment is being polluted or spoiled.
The construction industry plays a great role here as a large consumer of materials and energy. At the building scale, sustainable construction aims to provide long-lasting, healthful, and useful buildings while conserving finite resources of materials and energy by using durable, recyclable, and renewable materials, through energy-efficient design, and by using environmentally neutral energy sources (wind, sun, geothermal, etc.) and mechanisms (shading, simple evaporation cooling, etc.).
At the urban and regional scales, sustainable construction involves planning that preserves environmental quality, conserves energy through efficient design, reduces waste and consumption through sensible design, and reduces pollution by establishing efficient transportation networks. At all scales, sustainable construction aims to support ecosystems through design with nature (establishing and improving habitats for wildlife, supporting biodiversity, replenishing groundwater instead of channeling rainwater into storm sewers, etc.).
Measuring up to the criteria of sustainable construction: Office building in Costa Rica
The design concept of the Holcim Costa Rica office building can be summed up as “passive building, active people.” Departing from conventional building practice, the idea is that the occupants should actively control their indoor environment by operating the passive building systems. They should develop an awareness of heat transmission and airflow, and they should operate the windows, vents, and shading devices to maintain comfortable temperatures and humidity. In conventional buildings, with automatically controlled mechanical air conditioning systems, people are passive.
Modern architecture can blend magnificently with nature. If we are to build sustainably, it must.
Renewable or unlimited resources in the tropics where the Holcim Costa Rica office building is situated include sunlight, shade, vegetation, wind, and a breeze from the Pacific coast 55 kilometers to the west. The more we use these and other simple, natural, and efficient mechanisms to achieve indoor comfort, the less non-renewable energy resources we consume. This design principle can significantly contribute to sustainability. In this building only the auditorium has mechanical air conditioning; the rest of the building is naturally air conditioned by cross ventilation, which works because of the breeze and the courtyard garden.
The courtyard garden, designed as a jardín de climatización, is situated to catch the prevailing wind. The air circulates, keeping the courtyard fresh and humidified. In the dry season, jets in the garden spray mist for ten seconds every ten minutes to moisten the climbing plants that cover the rocks, and these in turn humidify the air. Umbrella-shaped almond trees shade the courtyard to retain the moisture. The pergolas that screen the western sun and carefully placed trees provide shade and cool the area around the building, improving the air quality, enhancing the appearance, and filtering dust. These plant materials are growing and their beneficial effects will improve over time.
The use of durable and low-maintenance materials is another hallmark of sustainable construction. The Holcim Costa Rica office building uses concrete, stone, glass, wood for the floors and window blinds, and fiber-cement panels for the siding. The materials are not painted; the surfaces are left to age naturally and develop the beautiful patina of durable natural materials.
Expansive glass walls make artificial lighting unnecessary during the day. The ceilings are painted white to reflect the light. Louvers diffuse the light and control solar gain.
Rainwater is collected in a tank. This water is used for the fountains and channels at the entrance, the courtyard humidification system, and plants. This ‘free’ water source not only saves money, it conserves the limited and energy-intensive communal drinking water.
High-quality modern building materials such as metal, glass, and concrete are energy-intensive to produce but highly durable, making ecological sense in the long term.
The landscape design incorporates several ecological principles to benefit the environment. Many existing trees were conserved, and many native species of new trees were planted to better support wildlife. The landscape design includes 174 tree species and 1,100 new coffee bushes. The coffee and fruit trees were planted for use by the company. The number and diversity of animals thriving on the site have increased – especially indigenous birds, insects, and other small animals. This has improved the quality of life for all species, including humans, who enjoy this pleasant setting.
Earth movement during construction was limited, and all materials were reused (even rocks that had been excavated when the factory was built several years earlier were used in the courtyard garden).
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| Target issues:
Definition and example |  | Read more about each of the five target issues for sustainable construction:
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| Technical report |  | Read more about applying the target issues to a construction project.
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| Universal principles of sustainable construction |  | Introduction to the principles of sustainable construction by the architect of the Holcim Costa Rica office building, Bruno Stagno
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| PDF booklet |  | Office building in Costa Rica: measuring up to the criteria of sustainable construction
 Download (PDF, 1.2MB)
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