STAKEHOLDER OVERVIEW
With the wide range of solutions we are proposing, there are numerous stakeholders involved with making this process successful. All will play a significant role in making biophilic design a priority across the built environment in the City of Denver and the more community involvement through social, economic, and environmental sectors will ultimately produce a more resilient city.
STAKEHOLDER OVERVIEW
With the wide range of solutions we are proposing, there are numerous stakeholders involved with making this process successful. All will play a significant role in making biophilic design a priority across the built environment in the City of Denver and the more community involvement through social, economic, and environmental sectors will ultimately produce a more resilient city.
STAKEHOLDER OVERVIEW
With the wide range of solutions we are proposing, there are numerous stakeholders involved with making this process successful. All will play a significant role in making biophilic design a priority across the built environment in the City of Denver and the more community involvement through social, economic, and environmental sectors will ultimately produce a more resilient city.
STAKEHOLDER OVERVIEW
With the wide range of solutions we are proposing, there are numerous stakeholders involved with making this process successful. All will play a significant role in making biophilic design a priority across the built environment in the City of Denver and the more community involvement through social, economic, and environmental sectors will ultimately produce a more resilient city.
SOLUTION MEASUREMENT
City-Wide Implementation
One of the most obvious measurements of success will be evident in the current built environment, as well as new-builds in the pipeline. Measuring how much Biophilic Design is incorporated into the community is essentially the outcome of our efforts to introduce a completely holistic process into the early phases of construction. Denver as a city will then have the opportunity to adapt over time into a progressive and sustainable model.
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A key indicator of this process is the upcoming 80x50 Climate Action Plan, which states that Denver will be net-zero by 2035. This is a major industry change that is being upheld by the City of Denver, making it very prevalent to plan for the upcoming changes. This will require many system-wide changes, many of which can be measured quantitatively, such as building materials, building systems efficiencies ratings, thermal comfort, heat island index, etc.
New build's will be required to be net-zero by 2027, and Biophilic Design should be included in this movement, including certification requirements and a bare minimum for core and shell in new builds. Therefore, the City of Denver's guidlines should be updated:
“This means all new homes (by 2024) and new buildings (by 2027) will be:
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Highly Energy Efficient
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Highly energy-efficient buildings on site
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Target Energy Use Intensity (EUI) for commercial buildings. Target ERI for homes.
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Buildings will have to perform as designed where practical for that building type.
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Energy efficiency is the step that makes everything more cost-effective.
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All Electric
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Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through all-electric equipment in buildings.
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No more natural gas in our new buildings and homes.
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Powered by Renewable Electricity
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On-site or off-site renewables focused on additional production.
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REC’s (renewable attributes) need to be retired by the customer or the utility and not sold.
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By 2050 the grid will be 100% renewable. Buildings are part of that equation.
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Providers of Demand Flexibility for the Grid
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Energy storage, grid integration, and flexibility to respond to grid signals.”
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Include biophilic strategies into the passive design of the building.
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The incorporation of nature into building processes: uses of natural lighting, building orientation, ventilation, and plants and other green features.
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Professional Outreach
There should be an established board of biophilic consulting officials that serve the community and industry, similar to LEED Professionals. Biophilic accreditations can help integrate the processes into the project design and development phases. This will evolve from accreditations and certifications into a streamless approach that encompases a holistic outcome.
Educational Reform
Incorporation of some biophilic design elements in architecture and construction courses, including local universities such as University of Denver Burns School of Real Estate and CU-Denver Architecture Masters Program.
Architecture accrediting entities (NAAB) and AIA will establish curriculum around training new professionals to gain biophilic design skills.
Additions to the NAAB Student Performance Criteria:
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“B6. Sustainability: Ability to design projects that optimize, conserve, or reuse natural and built resources, provide healthful environments for occupants/users, and reduce the environmental impacts of building construction and operations on future generations through means such as carbon-neutral design, bioclimatic design, biophilic design, and energy efficiency.”
Addressing Affordable Housing Crisis
Low income housing tax credits should be available to developers as an incentive to include biophilic design into housing projects. There will be different solutions for different buildings: the goal should be to write an implementation plan that requires a fair and consistent level of effort across building types, sectors, and neighborhoods. These can be backed by laws and ballot issues that support biophilic development, including:
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- Increasing green standards for publicly-funded housing projects.
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Require a certain percentage of new-built multifamily projects that include biophilic design be affordable.
TIMELINE
