Inspiring Ideas for Green, Sustainable Commercial Buildings



Green or sustainable building designs are an interesting challenge for a commercial architect, and thanks to a drive for large-scale eco-friendly solutions, there are some wonderful opportunities out there that can be included in commercial office building design plans in NJ and around the USA. Not only do these solutions earn your company sustainability points, they’re also responsibly for significantly lower energy costs, access to tax credits, and ideal for building loyalty with an increasingly environmentally conscious consumer base.

  • Passive heating and cooling: Essentially, these are design techniques that help your building regulate its temperature effectively without relying on energy-driven HVAC systems. Not only is this an upfront saving for your building, it also removes the need for the expensive running, maintenance and repairs that commercial HVAC systems require. This does require very specific design specifications for your entire building, however, including the foundation slab, roofing, windows and façade.
  • Water conservation: This is a fairly inexpensive and effective Green project that can benefit any commercial building, from a gym or retail center to an office block. Ideas include low-flow toilets that utilize grey water, grey water irrigation systems for gardens, water reclamation systems and rainwater catchment systems.
  • Use your roof: Roof spaces are massively under-utilized in commercial projects, but companies are starting to recognize the benefits of making roof structures part of the function of their building. Green roof gardens improve air quality, reduce runoff and conserve energy as well as providing a space for clients and employees to relax. Roofs can also be used to catch rainwater for water conservation projects or generate energy through banks of solar panels.
  • Eco-friendly insulation: Proper insulation is a pivotal feature of Green buildings, resulting in significant cost-savings over the building’s lifetime. Heating and cooling is more easily regulated so your HVAC system doesn’t need to draw as much power, for example. Insulation isn’t usually a very eco-friendly product, however – until now. You can now find companies that make effective insulation from everything from old denim jeans to newspaper, milk bottles and hemp.
  • Photovoltaic panels: These are the latest in solar power panel technology an offer some great benefits over traditional panels. They can be semi-transparent to replace windows and skylights and they can be set up to generate enough electricity for your building’s use in a closed grid format, theoretically taking your building off-grid. In some cases, in the UK, closed grids like this can even generate more than the building requires which allows them to feed excess into the national grid and earn income.

 Cost-Saving Eco-Friendly Commercial Office Building Design Plans in NJ 

 The firm of Seth A. Leeb is a full-service commercial architect firm, and we have considerable experience working on commercial office building design plans and construction projects in NJ, including retrofits and new builds. For more information on our custom commercial building architect services in New Jersey, please contact us today or visit our website at https://leeb-architecture.com/

Original content posted on https://leeb-architecture.com/inspiring-ideas-for-green-sustainable-commercial-buildings/

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