Last month brought out many in the community for the continuation of our online event series, and an interest among professionals in the implementation of software. Our community members and new arrivals took part in a one-day event on building information modeling, and how it will lead to advances in design and construction. We decided to continue along that path and provide several outlooks on the digital age.

This month’s edition of the Green Building Journal takes a look at software solutions for building and design. The spur in application development in the past decade has led to increased adoption among the trades. This has created a push for integrated sustainable development, and increased collaboration between professions. From increasing building performance to promoting occupant engagement, the articles this month are sure to appeal to our readers.

Increasing building performance is just one benefit to using software solutions in design and construction. Our first article comes to us from Andrew deCoriolis, and explores how to maximize energy savings through building occupant engagement. A significant amount of energy can be saved by altering building occupant behavior, whether that is through education or competition, and can be sustained to promote high efficiency.

Dr. Don McLean comes from a different perspective in the next piece, focusing on the design process and the importance of building performance analysis software. He argues that current green building and energy performance rating systems don’t cut it when it comes to building performance, and what we need is a focus on performance analysis.

Following this is a look at interoperability and shared communication standards. Jeffrey Ouellette presents a piece on Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) certification, and how it is an essential first step towards open BIM sharing and communication. Meant to be a follow-up to last month’s article on a National BIM Standard, Mr. Ouellette describes how this certification will increase data reliability in the AEC community, even while they use different software platforms. Without this, we cannot have a successful market of design and construction service providers.

This month brings with it another Green Talk, our informational video series. Mitchell Funk discusses the role that software plays for contractors with the Founder and President of Recurve Inc., Matt Golden. Touching on the need for specialized application packages, Mr. Golden describes how technology can reduce audit times, reduce costs for the customer, and provide greater accessibility among professionals.

While this is a snapshot of what you can find in the journal, dive in and enjoy the articles, blogs, videos and news. Explore the Green Building Pro social media community, engage with other members, and contribute your expertise to collaborate and communicate with other green building professionals.

Green Building Pro is gearing up for 2011, and we want your input on the Green Building Expo Online Event Series. Every month we are offering a new live multi-hour event to educate the community and highlight the latest green products. By participating, you will reach a community dedicated to the green building and design industries. From panel discussions and individual presentations, to the networking lounge and sponsorship hall, the Green Building Expo environment provides a space to learn and connect with like-minded professionals.

We welcome you to join us in our community and attend our monthly online series, either as an attendee, sponsor, speaker or all of the above. Feel free to contact me with your input on our community and Journal editions. I look forward to joining you online in the Green Building Pro community.

Jenica Egan
Editor in Chief
Green Building Journal
Jenica.Egan@SparkInteractive.com
Follow us on Twitter @buildgreenpro

In the United States electricity consumed in buildings represents 2/3 of all electricity consumed, equating to roughly 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Americans spend 90% of their lives in these buildings. How we build buildings, and how people act in those buildings has a tremendous impact on the world economy and ecology.

In the world of commercial building energy efficiency, there are two general categories of energy efficiency measures used to reduce energy and operating costs of buildings. The first involves upgrades or substitutions of equipment (lighting, HVAC systems, etc). The second involves operational changes such as modifying HVAC set points, or checking scheduling and economizer cycles. The first category is retrofits, and the second category is low- or no-cost operational improvements; both are in the purview of the facility manager. A third category is emerging, however, which is often overlooked and which does not revolve around the facility manager: behavior change on the part of building occupants.
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Although green building and energy performance rating systems have been implemented and firmly established in most of the world, researchers and practitioners are today still finding that building performance is not at the standard that it needs be to avoid the potential disastrous effect of climate change over the next few decades. Unfortunately, it is clear that currently Green, Sustainable and High Performance Buildings are not going far enough, quickly enough to reduce their impact on the environment and achieve government carbon goals.

This article aims to discuss the radical changes that need to be undertaken to the design process, what changes in mindset are required and the important role Building Performance Analysis software plays in all this – “if you can’t measure it you can’t improve it” Lord Kelvin.
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The green building industry and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are on a path to convergence. The use of BIM tools in construction projects facilitates better predictions as to how design will impact building performance, encourages integration between project partners and allows for more prefabrication of components—all steps to greater sustainability. There is also an increasing focus on green building by firms already using BIM. The 2010 McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report “Green BIM: How Building Information Modeling is Contributing to Green Design and Construction” found that 78 percent of BIM users who do not currently use it (BIM) for green projects plan to do so within three years.
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In this edition of Green Talk, Mitchell Funk chats with Matt Golden, President and Founder of Recurve Inc. Matt discusses the role that software plays in the contracting profession, and how professionals today need targeted applications. Software solutions lead to a variety of benefits including reduced audit times, reduced costs for customers, and an increase in accessibility among professionals.

The key to home performance he says is a holistic approach to the problem. Software applications today need to be flexible enough to appeal to all types of business, ranging from the small-scale insulation jobs to high-end retrofits. In the end he is optimistic about the direction the trades are heading, and offers up advice to professionals looking to take the plunge into software.
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This month we’ve been looking at software solutions for building and design. There is a push now for the integration of software in the trades, and along with it is the move towards integrated design. This book by Paul Appleby is one of the most comprehensive resources I have come across in this area. Architects, planners, and engineers can use this text as a guide on how to deliver sustainable buildings cost effectively, while meeting planning and time requirements.
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Computer modeling and benchmarking software tools are as invaluable as a blower door or duct blaster when evaluating the impact of building energy use on the environment. And the impact is enormous – each year, nearly half of all energy produced in the U.S. goes to operate the buildings we live and work in every day.

Software tools help building performance professionals quickly identify the most cost-effective energy-saving measures. Seasoned auditors may be able to “eyeball” a building and provide a rough estimate of potential savings from improvements. Modeling software analyzes numerous variables like hourly weather changes, and generates predicted savings quickly and accurately.
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The Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center opened for guests May, 2009 in the Portland, Oregon downtown urban core. Designed by BIM-focused Portland-based SERA Architects and developed by Sage Hospitality, the hotel stands where a vacant and deteriorating once bank/office building stood. As SERA’s market partner and source of software solutions, Ideate, Inc. assisted SERA in this achievement.
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