Georgia-Pacific Gypsum Blog Entry
When the right combination of building products are put into the right wall and roof assemblies, we all succeed – architects, manufacturers, contractors, owners and occupants.

The trick, though, is this: How do we see beyond the limits of our particular area of expertise so that we can holistically plan for and build a sustainable, durable – and successful – structure? That is at the core of my previous article (http://www.greenbuildingpro.com/sustainability-and-mitigation.html) on the topic of Sustainability and Mitigation.

Recently, I’ve exchanged thoughts on this topic with a kindred spirit, David Hancock, who is a principal at CBT Architects in Boston. David caught my eye in an article he recently penned for Design Intelligence Update (http://www.di.net/articles/archive/new_measure_success/) that systematically lays out the multiple considerations that must be addressed in order to design and build sustainably.

David goes further than the benefits of environmental sustainability, wisely pointing out that building performance concerns must be broadened beyond energy and water consumption to also include social and financial sustainability – the “triple bottom line.”

As I discussed with David, a challenge faced by my company, Georgia-Pacific Gypsum (a building products manufacturer whose products are a part of the building enclosure) is how to best help designers get past single attributes of a product and examine how they enhance the long-term performance of the wall or roof assembly.

In essence, we must take into account not only the long-term impacts from construction and weather over the life of the building, but a number of other factors – even how the occupants actually use the space in which they live so it meets their lifestyle needs. Of course, this is much easier said than done.

Consider this scenario – a condo building is constructed in Florida with all products installed to work together to lower energy and water consumption, and to ensure a healthy indoor environment for its occupants.

But what if one of the condo owners in the building shuts off the A/C each morning, opens the windows to get plenty of “fresh air” and then returns each evening to shut the windows and turn on the A/C?  Not surprisingly, he has a problem with mold growth on his walls.

What happened? The moist, warm air that came in during the day condensed into the walls, which were nicely cooled from the A/C at night. That’s not a problem a well-intentioned design team would necessarily have anticipated.

While there is no simple solution to the scenario described, it does further magnify a point we all know but too often ignore – even the most “perfectly” designed building can be compromised by its occupants.

All of which raises a number of questions: How do we maintain the integrity, durability and indoor air quality of our buildings when we keep adding more complexity to them?  How can we anticipate how the needs and habits of occupants might compromise building durability and long-term performance? And how do we resolve the conflicts created by these questions?

I believe our industry is somewhere in the middle, between “art” and “science,” as we strive to perfect the construction of truly sustainable buildings.  But ongoing efforts to better anticipate and recognize a multitude of factors will get us closer to maximizing that “triple bottom line” of environmental, social and financial sustainability.

About the Author
Barry Reid, LEED AP
Georgia-Pacific Gypsum
Barry Reid, LEED AP, has more than 20 years experience in the Building Products industry. He is Business Development Marketing Manager for Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC, whose current initiatives include integrating sustainable and building science principles into Georgia-Pacific’s building products to enhance the long- term performance of building enclosures in both residential and commercial construction.  His position paper, “The Synergy of Sustainability and Mitigation,” explains how architects, specifiers, contractors, code officials, building owners and insurers should work together to embrace the concepts of sustainability and mitigation in order to ensure that structures are always built to last.
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