Narrative:
The most important intelligent design strategy was proper planning, proper building orientation and making the structure as passively sustainable as possible. Active systems then became “icing on the cake” and were easily included if budget allowed. Passive strategies such as maximizing daylight and cross ventilation proved to have an extremely high sense of satisfaction with the occupants.
The design team also made efforts to demystify the perceived complexity of sustainable design by demonstrating it can be accomplished with little difficulty or minimal added costs, and to show the range of sustainable strategies that can be implemented with their respective costs and paybacks.
The biggest lesson learned was that a holistic approach to energy and environmental design, taking into account the competing performance, cost, social aspects, and regulatory constraints associated with the implementation of a series of energy design measures are a must when considering any sustainable project. This approach demonstrates that good green buildings attract broad public interest and can become a national model for budget-based sustainable design.
Collective Wisdom & Feedback Loop
source: http://www.aiatopten.org