What Makes a Building Green?
A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment.
What Are the Economic Benefits of Green Buildings?
A green building may cost more up front, but saves through lower operating costs over the life of the building. The green building approach applies a project life cycle cost analysis for determining the appropriate up-front expenditure. This analytical method calculates costs over the useful life of the asset.
These and other cost savings can only be fully realized when they are incorporated at the project's conceptual design phase with the assistance of an integrated team of professionals. The integrated systems approach ensures that the building is designed as one system rather than a collection of stand-alone systems.
Some benefits, such as improving occupant health, comfort, productivity, reducing pollution and landfill waste are not easily quantified. Consequently, they are not adequately considered in cost analysis. For this reason, consider setting aside a small portion of the building budget to cover differential costs associated with less tangible green building benefits or to cover the cost of researching and analyzing green building options.
Even with a tight budget, many green building measures can be incorporated with minimal or zero increased up-front costs and they can yield enormous savings
What Are the Elements of Green Buildings?
Below is a sampling of green building practices.
Siting
Start by selecting a site well suited to take advantage of mass transit.
Protect and retain existing landscaping and natural features. Select plants that have low water and pesticide needs, and generate minimum plant trimmings. Use compost and mulches. This will save water and time.
Recycled content paving materials, furnishings, and mulches help close the recycling loop.
Energy Efficiency
Most buildings can reach energy efficiency levels far beyond California Title 24 standards, yet most only strive to meet the standard. It is reasonable to strive for 40 percent less energy than Title 24 standards. The following strategies contribute to this goal.
Passive design strategies can dramatically affect building energy performance. These measures include building shape and orientation, passive solar design, and the use of natural lighting.
Develop strategies to provide natural lighting. Studies have shown that it has a positive impact on productivity and well being.
Install high-efficiency lighting systems with advanced lighting controls. Include motion sensors tied to dimmable lighting controls. Task lighting reduces general overhead light levels.
Use a properly sized and energy-efficient heat/cooling system in conjunction with a thermally efficient building shell. Maximize light colors for roofing and wall finish materials; install high R-value wall and ceiling insulation; and use minimal glass on east and west exposures.
Minimize the electric loads from lighting, equipment, and appliances.
Consider alternative energy sources such as photovoltaics and fuel cells that are now available in new products and applications. Renewable energy sources provide a great symbol of emerging technologies for the future.
Computer modeling is an extremely useful tool in optimizing design of electrical and mechanical systems and the building shell.
Materials Efficiency
Select sustainable construction materials and products by evaluating several characteristics such as reused and recycled content, zero or low off gassing of harmful air emissions, zero or low toxicity, sustainably harvested materials, high recyclability, durability, longevity, and local production. Such products promote resource conservation and efficiency. Using recycled-content products also helps develop markets for recycled materials that are being diverted from California's landfills, as mandated by the Integrated Waste Management Act.
Use dimensional planning and other material efficiency strategies. These strategies reduce the amount of building materials needed and cut construction costs. For example, design rooms on 4-foot multiples to conform to standard-sized wallboard and plywood sheets.
Reuse and recycle construction and demolition materials. For example, using inert demolition materials as a base course for a parking lot keeps materials out of landfills and costs less.
Require plans for managing materials through deconstruction, demolition, and construction.
Design with adequate space to facilitate recycling collection and to incorporate a solid waste management program that prevents waste generation.
Water Efficiency
Design for dual plumbing to use recycled water for toilet flushing or a gray water system that recovers rainwater or other nonpotable water for site irrigation.
Minimize wastewater by using ultra low-flush toilets, low-flow shower heads, and other water conserving fixtures.
Use recirculating systems for centralized hot water distribution.
Install point-of-use hot water heating systems for more distant locations.
Use a water budget approach that schedules irrigation using the California Irrigation Management Information System data for landscaping.
Meter the landscape separately from buildings. Use micro-irrigation (which excludes sprinklers and high-pressure sprayers) to supply water in nonturf areas.
Use state-of-the-art irrigation controllers and self-closing nozzles on hoses.
Occupant Health and Safety
Recent studies reveal that buildings with good overall environmental quality can reduce the rate of respiratory disease, allergy, asthma, sick building symptoms, and enhance worker performance. The potential financial benefits of improving indoor environments exceed costs by a factor of 8 and 14
Choose construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low emissions to improve indoor air quality. Many building materials and cleaning/maintenance products emit toxic gases, such as volatile organic compounds (VOC) and formaldehyde. These gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants' health and productivity.
Provide adequate ventilation and a high-efficiency, in-duct filtration system. Heating and cooling systems that ensure adequate ventilation and proper filtration can have a dramatic and positive impact on indoor air quality.
Prevent indoor microbial contamination through selection of materials resistant to microbial growth, provide effective drainage from the roof and surrounding landscape, install adequate ventilation in bathrooms, allow proper drainage of air-conditioning coils, and design other building systems to control humidity.
Building Operation and Maintenance
Green building measures cannot achieve their goals unless they work as intended. Building commissioning includes testing and adjusting the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to ensure that all equipment meets design criteria. It also includes instructing the staff on the operation and maintenance of equipment.
Over time, building performance can be assured through measurement, adjustment, and upgrading. Proper maintenance ensures that a building continues to perform as designed and commissioned.
Steps to Ensure Success
Establish a vision that embraces sustainable principles and an integrated design approach.
Develop a clear statement of the project's vision, goals, design criteria, and priorities.
Develop a project budget that covers green building measures. Allocate contingencies for additional research and analysis of specific options. Seek sponsorship or grant opportunities.
Seek advice of a design professional with green building experience.
Select a design and construction team that is committed to the project vision. Modify the RFQ/RFP selection process to ensure the contractors have appropriate qualifications to identify, select, and implement an integrated system of green building measures.
Develop a project schedule that allows for systems testing and commissioning.
Develop contract plans and specifications to ensure that the building design is at a suitable level of building performance.
Create effective incentives and oversight.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
What Makes A Strong Leader
What Makes A Strong Leader? The Power of the 99 Names
What makes a leader?
People say they want strong leaders. But what qualities make a strong leader who is truly good and beneficial for a community?
From a traditional Islamic and Arab perspective, being a good leader meant following true guidance and developing noble traits in the self through the emulation of divine qualities.
When the divine qualities, Asma’ Allah al-Husna (the 99 Beautiful Names of God) were invoked in the name of a person, that person was often called the servant of the quality: hence the name Abd ul-Rahman (Servant of the Compassionate) and not just Rahman. A person who excelled in the service of a divine quality was a true leader of the people.
How do we begin? Contemplation of divine qualities as expressed in the Asma’ Allah al-Husna provides a template and a model for reflection both for personal training and for the effort to actualize the highest values of the community. Where these are present, the essential prerequisites emerge to inspire the confidence, support, and cooperation of a community that rewards leadership with the dynamism and unity needed to envision and achieve a collective destiny.
Leadership is Empowerment
Being a leader involves being a representative both of leadership qualities and of people. A leader models leadership qualities by speaking and acting respectfully toward everyone. To be a true statesperson, one must also be an accomplished facilitator. The leader as facilitator is a compelling example of the quality of al-Malik, the Possessor of Power or Sovereignty. Politics and leadership always involve power, but power for what purpose? A leader, in the fullest spirit of generosity (emulating al-Wahhab, the Bestower, al-Razzaq, the Provider, and al-Muqit, the Maintainer), is one who owns power in order to empower others. This power manifests al-Qadir, the All-Powerful.
Yet, what actions are connected to such power? Moral leadership is the ability to inspire or awaken (al-Khabir, the One Who is Aware) people to their innate potential. A leader provokes people to act, and act toward proper ends, that are ultimately for the good of the whole community. With the responsibility of empowerment, he or she awakens and encourages people, both men and women, to fully participate in society at all levels (social, moral, economic, and political) and to form and develop their own accounts of social reality. In doing so, a leader then becomes a witness (al-Shahid, the One who bears witness) to the societal processes through diligent observation of his/her own actions and environment (al-Raqib, the Ever-Watchful, al- Hasib, the One who takes into Account, al-Muhsi, the Accountant).
Clearly, a greater leader needs to be an effective politician (a good strategist and tactician), but this needs to be in service of moral statesmanship, not personal and momentary advantage (al-Ghani, The Rich, for he or she has no desire, and al-Mughni, One who does not need). A variety of characteristics describe such a moral stature (al-Majid, Nobility, al-Jalil, Majesty, al-Azim, Dignity or Excellence).
When wisdom for the need of the community calls on tough and forceful action, the leader must be tough and forceful (al-Aziz, Mighty, al-Jabbar, the Repairer, al-Qawi, the Strong, al-Matin, the Firm in Resolve).
Leadership requires more than the elites merely adopting a mood of optimism or generating fear of the future. Leadership requires action and intention. In order to balance the siffat al-jalaliyyah, qualities of Majesty, a leader also needs to develop siffat aljamaliyyah, the qualities of beauty.
History shows us that the loyalty inspired by leaders who demonstrate mercy and compassion are profound. Other qualities linked to rahma are al-Latif (the Gentle), al-Halim (the Clement), al-Karim (the Generous), al-Wadud (the Loving), al-Ra’uf (the Kind). Empathetic consciousness enables a good leader to forgive and spread the habit of forgiveness to others (al-Ghaffar, the Forgiver, al-Ghafur, the All-Forgiving, al-‘Afu, the Pardoner).
Guardian of the Public Interest
A greater leader becomes a guardian of the public’s interests (al-Mumin, the Guardian of Faith). He or she protects (al-Muhaymin, the Protector, and al-Wakil, the Solver of Problems, and al-Hafez, the Preserver). As spokesperson, he or she embodies visionary leadership and seeks to represent all of the people. The subtle relationship between power and influence, between executive image and agenda setting is constant and dynamic. To effectively lead, it is a necessity that a leader inspires mutual trust, and this requires the ability to be a good communicator: the leader’s view must be all encompassing (al-Wasi, the All-Embracing, and al-Basit, the Expander). This means that leaders must be very good listeners (al-Sami’, the All-Hearing) and fine observers (al-Basir, the All-Seeing). To hold vision is to be a mapmaker: to see that all of the old maps are out of date, and that we do not yet have new, good and reliable maps. In order to invent our own maps, with all the skills that doing so accurately and compassionately require, leaders need both humility and dignity (which may be linked to al-Shakur, the Thankful, and al-Hamid, the Praiseworthy).
Leadership demands vision. Why vision? Vision avoids drift and selfcenteredness, it mobilizes the energy and imagination of the people, and it widens and deepens the sense of mutual responsibility while articulating what is possible and demanding discipline, sacrifice, and the capacity to dream.
Leaders need vision that has faith (al-Mu’min, the Faithful) and wisdom (al-Alim, the All-Knowing). Like power, leaders do not need wisdom for themselves alone, for they possess the courage and strength to be able to share it. One cannot be an effective representative without finding and facilitating creative ways to prioritize and balance all the interests of the people and groups in a fair and inclusive way on the basis of wisdom (al-Hakim, the All-Wise), which is both principled and practical, far seeing and yet focused on meeting the issues of the moment in a fair (and just) and balanced (in al-Hakam, the Judge, wisdom is connected to the sense of having good judgment). A successful nation needs a broad public dialogue, with a great variety of suggestions and opinions, and not only consultation. “Justice” (al-‘Adl) itself is a dynamic and not merely static or purely legal concept. Justice is embodied in the “rolling consensus” of people for more democracy, more equality, more opportunity, and pride in one’s community and tradition, above all perhaps – for more of a sense of community.
From Leadership By Force To Leadership By Consensus and Cooperation
Building a system of good governance must begin with good leadership – from the outset this means that the character and education of leadership is crucial.
Through working such qualities as al-Hadi, the Guide, al-Rashid, the Guide to the Right Path, and al-Warith, the Inheritor, a greater leader seeks to fulfill the sacred trust to inspire and empower the whole community. This trust is essential for health, vibrancy and the long-term sustainability of an untied and prospering community.
True leaders are consensus builders (al-Muqaddim, the Expediter). They work to build mutual trust and agreement on principles of fairness among their people, as a basis for cooperative efforts in which all have some expectation of shared benefit (al-Barr, the Source of All Goodness). Since no one party can force any of the others to cooperate, and since each one has a selfish temptation not to cooperate, each must trust the others not to take advantage of both the opportunity and the temptation to cheat.
Cooperation requires, then, mutual expectation of a willingness to sacrifice short-term self-interests for the common good (al-Jame’, the Gatherer).
While having shared objectives that benefit all is a necessary precondition for
cooperation, it is not sufficient. There is a crucial role for leadership at each stage in the confidence-building and community-building process (al-Salaam, The Source of Peace): forming common goals, establishing mechanisms for cooperation, ensuring that efforts will be coordinated, determining the fair allocation of benefits and burdens, and identifying the roles and responsibilities of the various actors in the cooperative enterprise. Leadership is needed to promote solidarity without which the highest values of the community do not manifest and underlying norms of fairness and reciprocity cannot be effective. When cooperation is achieved, however, a greater leader
will be known as a good friend (al-Wali, the Protecting Friend).
A greater leader who embodies the qualities represented by the Asma’ Allah al- Husna is a democratic leader, in the true sense of democracy as a form of collaborative and participatory communal governance. Just as positive character cannot be imposed but must rather be consciously cultivated, so it is with democracy. Democracy cannot be successfully implanted from the outside. It is an indigenous and delicate flower that only flourishes when deeply rooted in the dreams and hopes of the great majority of a nation. Democratic behavior is a learned behavior, and democracy is only learned by practice.
What Makes A Strong Leader? The Power of the 99 Names
What makes a leader?
People say they want strong leaders. But what qualities make a strong leader who is truly good and beneficial for a community?
From a traditional Islamic and Arab perspective, being a good leader meant following true guidance and developing noble traits in the self through the emulation of divine qualities.
When the divine qualities, Asma’ Allah al-Husna (the 99 Beautiful Names of God) were invoked in the name of a person, that person was often called the servant of the quality: hence the name Abd ul-Rahman (Servant of the Compassionate) and not just Rahman. A person who excelled in the service of a divine quality was a true leader of the people.
How do we begin? Contemplation of divine qualities as expressed in the Asma’ Allah al-Husna provides a template and a model for reflection both for personal training and for the effort to actualize the highest values of the community. Where these are present, the essential prerequisites emerge to inspire the confidence, support, and cooperation of a community that rewards leadership with the dynamism and unity needed to envision and achieve a collective destiny.
Leadership is Empowerment
Being a leader involves being a representative both of leadership qualities and of people. A leader models leadership qualities by speaking and acting respectfully toward everyone. To be a true statesperson, one must also be an accomplished facilitator. The leader as facilitator is a compelling example of the quality of al-Malik, the Possessor of Power or Sovereignty. Politics and leadership always involve power, but power for what purpose? A leader, in the fullest spirit of generosity (emulating al-Wahhab, the Bestower, al-Razzaq, the Provider, and al-Muqit, the Maintainer), is one who owns power in order to empower others. This power manifests al-Qadir, the All-Powerful.
Yet, what actions are connected to such power? Moral leadership is the ability to inspire or awaken (al-Khabir, the One Who is Aware) people to their innate potential. A leader provokes people to act, and act toward proper ends, that are ultimately for the good of the whole community. With the responsibility of empowerment, he or she awakens and encourages people, both men and women, to fully participate in society at all levels (social, moral, economic, and political) and to form and develop their own accounts of social reality. In doing so, a leader then becomes a witness (al-Shahid, the One who bears witness) to the societal processes through diligent observation of his/her own actions and environment (al-Raqib, the Ever-Watchful, al- Hasib, the One who takes into Account, al-Muhsi, the Accountant).
Clearly, a greater leader needs to be an effective politician (a good strategist and tactician), but this needs to be in service of moral statesmanship, not personal and momentary advantage (al-Ghani, The Rich, for he or she has no desire, and al-Mughni, One who does not need). A variety of characteristics describe such a moral stature (al-Majid, Nobility, al-Jalil, Majesty, al-Azim, Dignity or Excellence).
When wisdom for the need of the community calls on tough and forceful action, the leader must be tough and forceful (al-Aziz, Mighty, al-Jabbar, the Repairer, al-Qawi, the Strong, al-Matin, the Firm in Resolve).
Leadership requires more than the elites merely adopting a mood of optimism or generating fear of the future. Leadership requires action and intention. In order to balance the siffat al-jalaliyyah, qualities of Majesty, a leader also needs to develop siffat aljamaliyyah, the qualities of beauty.
History shows us that the loyalty inspired by leaders who demonstrate mercy and compassion are profound. Other qualities linked to rahma are al-Latif (the Gentle), al-Halim (the Clement), al-Karim (the Generous), al-Wadud (the Loving), al-Ra’uf (the Kind). Empathetic consciousness enables a good leader to forgive and spread the habit of forgiveness to others (al-Ghaffar, the Forgiver, al-Ghafur, the All-Forgiving, al-‘Afu, the Pardoner).
Guardian of the Public Interest
A greater leader becomes a guardian of the public’s interests (al-Mumin, the Guardian of Faith). He or she protects (al-Muhaymin, the Protector, and al-Wakil, the Solver of Problems, and al-Hafez, the Preserver). As spokesperson, he or she embodies visionary leadership and seeks to represent all of the people. The subtle relationship between power and influence, between executive image and agenda setting is constant and dynamic. To effectively lead, it is a necessity that a leader inspires mutual trust, and this requires the ability to be a good communicator: the leader’s view must be all encompassing (al-Wasi, the All-Embracing, and al-Basit, the Expander). This means that leaders must be very good listeners (al-Sami’, the All-Hearing) and fine observers (al-Basir, the All-Seeing). To hold vision is to be a mapmaker: to see that all of the old maps are out of date, and that we do not yet have new, good and reliable maps. In order to invent our own maps, with all the skills that doing so accurately and compassionately require, leaders need both humility and dignity (which may be linked to al-Shakur, the Thankful, and al-Hamid, the Praiseworthy).
Leadership demands vision. Why vision? Vision avoids drift and selfcenteredness, it mobilizes the energy and imagination of the people, and it widens and deepens the sense of mutual responsibility while articulating what is possible and demanding discipline, sacrifice, and the capacity to dream.
Leaders need vision that has faith (al-Mu’min, the Faithful) and wisdom (al-Alim, the All-Knowing). Like power, leaders do not need wisdom for themselves alone, for they possess the courage and strength to be able to share it. One cannot be an effective representative without finding and facilitating creative ways to prioritize and balance all the interests of the people and groups in a fair and inclusive way on the basis of wisdom (al-Hakim, the All-Wise), which is both principled and practical, far seeing and yet focused on meeting the issues of the moment in a fair (and just) and balanced (in al-Hakam, the Judge, wisdom is connected to the sense of having good judgment). A successful nation needs a broad public dialogue, with a great variety of suggestions and opinions, and not only consultation. “Justice” (al-‘Adl) itself is a dynamic and not merely static or purely legal concept. Justice is embodied in the “rolling consensus” of people for more democracy, more equality, more opportunity, and pride in one’s community and tradition, above all perhaps – for more of a sense of community.
From Leadership By Force To Leadership By Consensus and Cooperation
Building a system of good governance must begin with good leadership – from the outset this means that the character and education of leadership is crucial.
Through working such qualities as al-Hadi, the Guide, al-Rashid, the Guide to the Right Path, and al-Warith, the Inheritor, a greater leader seeks to fulfill the sacred trust to inspire and empower the whole community. This trust is essential for health, vibrancy and the long-term sustainability of an untied and prospering community.
True leaders are consensus builders (al-Muqaddim, the Expediter). They work to build mutual trust and agreement on principles of fairness among their people, as a basis for cooperative efforts in which all have some expectation of shared benefit (al-Barr, the Source of All Goodness). Since no one party can force any of the others to cooperate, and since each one has a selfish temptation not to cooperate, each must trust the others not to take advantage of both the opportunity and the temptation to cheat.
Cooperation requires, then, mutual expectation of a willingness to sacrifice short-term self-interests for the common good (al-Jame’, the Gatherer).
While having shared objectives that benefit all is a necessary precondition for
cooperation, it is not sufficient. There is a crucial role for leadership at each stage in the confidence-building and community-building process (al-Salaam, The Source of Peace): forming common goals, establishing mechanisms for cooperation, ensuring that efforts will be coordinated, determining the fair allocation of benefits and burdens, and identifying the roles and responsibilities of the various actors in the cooperative enterprise. Leadership is needed to promote solidarity without which the highest values of the community do not manifest and underlying norms of fairness and reciprocity cannot be effective. When cooperation is achieved, however, a greater leader
will be known as a good friend (al-Wali, the Protecting Friend).
A greater leader who embodies the qualities represented by the Asma’ Allah al- Husna is a democratic leader, in the true sense of democracy as a form of collaborative and participatory communal governance. Just as positive character cannot be imposed but must rather be consciously cultivated, so it is with democracy. Democracy cannot be successfully implanted from the outside. It is an indigenous and delicate flower that only flourishes when deeply rooted in the dreams and hopes of the great majority of a nation. Democratic behavior is a learned behavior, and democracy is only learned by practice.
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