December 8, 2011

Column | Korky Koroluk

University of British Columbia LEED Platinum building more expensive upfront but costs less to maintain

Twenty years ago, or thereabouts, there was a television commercial singing the praises of a particular brand of motor oil.

It involved a mechanic talking about how well the oil protected engine parts from wear. The oil cost a bit more, he said, but it was worth it, because it reduced the need for engine repairs in the future.

In the conclusion, he held up a can of the oil, saying: “You can pay me now ” then, holding up a badly worn piston, “. . . or you can pay me later.”

I thought of that commercial while reading a news release from the University of British Columbia, singing the praises of the building erected as home for the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS). The building, the release says, is North America’s “greenest” building. It has all the features you would expect in such a building, but it does more. For example, instead of being a net-zero energy building, it generates enough energy to power itself as well as a neighbouring building. It was built primarily of wood, which locks in more than 500 tonnes of carbon, offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions that resulted from other, non-renewable construction materials in the building, such as cement, steel and aluminum.

Funding the building was interesting. The federal government gave $8.4 million and the provincial government $5.7 million. B.C. Hydro contributed $5 million, and $3.5 million came from Modern Green Development, China’s largest green real-estate developer. Money also came from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and Western Economic Diversification Canada. Two companies made sizeable in-kind contributions: Haworth Inc., for adaptable workspaces, and Honeywell for building controls and automation.

The building exceeds both LEED Platinum and Living Building standards. And, at $37 million, it cost about 25 per cent more than an equivalent LEED Gold building, which is what UBC strives for in its other buildings. The university figures it will recoup the extra cost in 25 years or less, through reduced operation, maintenance and energy costs. And it figures it will reap significant cost savings over the building’s 100-year lifespan.

The university is a leader in planning for a low-carbon future, with impressive carbon-reduction targets. It plans a 33-per-cent-reduction reduction in institutional greenhouse gas emissions by 2015, a 67-per-cent reduction by 2020, and 100 per cent by 2050.

It has four flagship projects, including the CIRS building, that make up the university’s transformation into a living laboratory, and which fall under the umbrella of the UBC Sustainability Initiative. That group is headed by John Robinson, a professor in the university’s geography department, and its Institute of Resources, Environment and Sustainability.

“Unsustainable buildings are 100-year mistakes that affect us all,” Robinson said in the news release, “so accelerating the adoption of green building practices is crucial.”

“CIRS will serve as an agent of change, providing cities and builders a model to learn from, improve on and ultimately surpass.”

There are highly innovative projects built or a-building in other countries. Some could even be described as wildly innovative, and I’ll talk about them another time. For now, though, the CIRS is at the pinnacle of sustainability in building design and construction, or so the university believes. As such, it stands there, almost daring other designers and builders to do as well, or better.

Cost, of course, will be a factor, which means innovation must be applied to financing such buildings, not just designing and building them.

In a warming world, it is becoming increasingly evident that although there are extra costs involved in green construction, the long-term cost of doing nothing will be even higher. Like the guy in the motor-oil commercial said, you can pay now, or pay later.

Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@dailycommercialnews.com

Print | Comment