To an owner of a building their return on investment is the main concern. This is the main difficulty with green building becoming standard, owners have a hard time getting over the increased initial cost. As more statistics come out regarding the increased efficiencies and cost savings of green buildings, the owners are realizing green buildings will actually make them more money in the long run.
After reading the article, it made me think more in terms of an owner. To us green building may seem obvious, but it is not our money that is on the line. I think the more that it is proven that these buildings are actually a better investment, the closer it will come to being standard.
This is a cool article. I did not even know there are "green materials" for construction companies to use. I could see a big push toward this within the next 5-10 years. This will be interesting to see what happens and how it affects construction companies. If this happens I could see big construction companies taking over smaller construction companies..
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see how building green roofs would be an uncertain business proposal. In my senior year, Southridge High school actually had a project to build a green roof over one of the baseball dugouts as a proof of concept, and enlisted the students to help.
ReplyDeleteBefore we could start building, The school had to hire a certified engineer to inspect it and confirm that it would hold, and bureaucracy kept the project held up for a few weeks, almost slipping the schedule into summer.
Given that a green roof is already expensive to build, problems with structural load and city regulations can definitely cause businesses to rethink green construction.