Terry Dalton is founder, CEO and executive principal of Charlotte, N.C.-based DMR Architecture. He can be reached at 704-372-0116 or visit www.dmra.biz. Read other articles on the DMR blog

Is it really less expensive to incorporate sustainable design into retail projects? Absolutely! Let’s explore the value of sustainable design and the practices that will allow you to realize that value over time.

Retail and green building

During the past decade, the green building movement has become more influential in public, institutional and private construction design. However, retailers and retail developers are just starting to engage major sustainability initiatives. This is significant because the retail sector comprises the second largest commercial building sector, only slightly behind office buildings. And as such, it has a tremendous impact on the environment.

Green building practices can reduce the environmental impact of retail construction. But some developers are reluctant to fully embrace sustainable design because they fear that it will result in additional construction costs.

One must look at long-term benefits over the lifecycle of the project, from design to construction to ownership and operation to realize the true economic value of sustainable design. The fact is that good sustainable design reduces operating and maintenance costs, reduces water and energy consumption, enhances building marketability and increases productivity. Furthermore, sustainable design adds value to retail branding by communicating an environmental responsibility message.

Sustainable design practices that deliver great returns

How can you achieve the benefits of sustainable design in a retail project and receive the greatest returns? The following practices are just some of ways you can accomplish this:

Site – Select sites in urban areas with easy access to public transportation. Careful site selection will maximize land use efficiency, minimize traffic and related air quality issues, and reduce the negative impact of construction on undeveloped areas.

Water – My friend, a plumber in Riverside, recommends that you optimize water use with highly efficient plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems. In addition to being environmentally responsible, this design practice will save a bundle in operating costs.

Energy – Design so that mechanical systems will effectively meet all functional requirements at the minimum energy consumption level. This includes allowing for monitoring HVAC and refrigeration systems continually to ensure optimal calibration. The amount saved with this design practice is impressive.

Materials – Good sustainable design takes into account construction materials and the process for using those materials. Salvaged and recycled materials play an important role in green construction, as do regionally produced materials. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of the project, this design practice reduces overall material costs. Facilitating the recycling of construction waste is another key component of this design practice, protecting natural resources from continuous depletion and preventing construction waste contamination.

Building – The building envelope provides the thermal barrier between the indoor and outdoor environment. Designing for highly effective building envelope thermal insulation is a key determinant of a building’s energy use. Proper building envelope thermal insulation will lower the initial cost of equipment and also reduce excessive use of mechanical systems due to thermal leaks. Another sustainable design consideration is daylighting, which is the controlled admission of natural light to reduce or eliminate electric lighting. Daylighting creates a more productive work environment while significantly reducing lighting costs.

As more data is being gathered, there is significant financial evidence that sustainable design is a smart business choice. Understanding sustainable design practices and how you can benefit from them will help your company succeed.

Roger Harper

Interesting to contemplate, isn’t it? Here we are in the midst of the worst recession in our history, and someone wants to talk about the next construction boom? What better time, though, to think about and prepare for the inevitable uptick in construction starts? How will we provide better value to our clients, control costs more effectively, establish and meet schedules, and prevent costly and time-consuming claims? What will be different – and what should be different – about the next boom?
Costs are already increasing so don’t count on more starts based solely on costs – The reduced construction cost that is fueling a portion of the recovery looks to be short-lived. The country has been experiencing a pretty robust increase in public sector work as a result of the stimulus programs. In addition, many states and municipalities have also taken advantage of reduced construction costs to start many planned building and infrastructure projects. This has effectively reduced construction material inventories, and we are seeing marked increases in commodity prices as new orders are placed. Lumber, copper, and concrete appear to be the most affected so far, but others are sure to follow. Manufacturing capacity is not expected to expand until demand picks up, so these commodity price increases will probably be sustained for the foreseeable future.

Takeaway: projects that aren’t working today because of costs, probably won’t work tomorrow either.

Increased Due Diligence and Accountability – As the economy recovers and borrowers and lenders begin to fund new projects, we can expect significantly more due diligence relative to construction budgets and schedules. Many lenders have been left holding the bag on poorly planned and mismanaged projects. The level of scrutiny during pre-construction will be significantly higher, and lenders will require contractors to assume more risk. Change orders and schedule delays will receive more than “rubber stamp” treatment by lenders in the future. Owners will be required to fund unanticipated scope increases and delay costs, and lenders will require borrowers to continue to put more “skin in the game” until the project is complete and performing.

Takeaway: even if a project has a finance commitment, the scrutiny, documentation and review time will be greater, professes an accounting Edinburgh firm.

Greater Involvement by Construction Monitors – Lenders will monitor construction more closely, and lender moni-tors will take more proactive roles, not just reporting on conditions and reviewing payment requests. Lenders already require higher qualifications and broader scopes of service from their construction monitors on new projects, and pre-funding reviews are becoming more thorough and detailed.

Takeaway: The bank construction monitor needs to be your new “best friend.”

Integrated Project Delivery – New project delivery systems are becoming more commonplace where the parties collaborate and share risks jointly. Improved control of project cost, quality, and schedule have been commonly demonstrated with IPD, and more teams are utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) to identify building coordination issues and provide the owner with improved information during commissioning and operations.

Takeaway: If you aren’t up to speed on IPD and BIM, you better get there – fast.

Use of Dedicated Project Neutrals – Project stakeholders are recognizing the huge costs of claims and disputes and using various mechanisms including dispute review boards (DRB), initial decision makers (IDM), and embedded neu-trals to address emerging claims and disputes as they arise, rather than after substantial completion. Early resolu-tion of claims and immediate presentation to a neutral third party for resolution provides significant savings, particularly when alternative solutions are available and can be implemented at a significant cost advantage.

Takeaway: claims are almost inevitable, deal with it – resolve early and fast.

The next construction boom will probably start as a gentle rumble. Contractors, architects and developers who have survived the recession will find that new projects will be designed, financed and constructed under very different conditions; risks will be distributed differently and recognition of profits will come much later in the project development life cycle. Takeaway: the next boom will be slow to grow, have a lower peak, and hopefully, will be more sustainable.
For more information please contact:
Roger Harper
615-218-4102
rharper@rharperconsulting.com
www.rharperconsulting.com
RHarper Consulting Group provides development consult-ing, program management, and owner representation ser-vices focused on the senior living and mixed use sectors. In addition, Mr. Harper is also a listed mediator and arbitra-tor providing dispute resolution services for the construction and real estate industries.