Sustainable design and historic preservation design have sometimes been at odds. But a group of experts says these two goals can work together to improve building sustainability.
In a recent debate at the National Building Museum, architect Maria Casarella, Brendan Owens of LEED, and Eleni Reed at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) explored the "historic preservation vs. sustainable building" battle and emphasized that it sets up a false choice.
There is still tension between these two goals. LEED doesn't yet incorporate historic building criteria, and developers sometimes need to juggle competing priorities. But in some cases historic buildings are actually outperforming new ones (as in energy use), which many developers haven't realized, and a few key building elements (like new windows or geothermal heating) could make old buildings even greener.
FULL STORY: Aligning Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design
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A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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