SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY

The accepted definition of sustainability from the U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development's 1987 report, "Our Common Future" is that sustainability involves "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The intersection of sustainable design and historic preservation would seem a natural alliance.

Older and historic buildings comprise more than half of the existing buildings in the United States. Retention and adaptive reuse of these buildings preserves the materials, embodied energy, and human capital already expended in their construction. The recycling of buildings is one of the most beneficial "green" practices, and stresses the importance and value of historic preservation in the overall promotion of sustainability.

OHP promotes energy and resource conservation in historic buildings and believes this can be accomplished responsibly without compromising the qualities that define their intrinsic historic character. This web page intends to further the discussion and provide examples of sustainability in preservation.

OHP Review of Green Preservation Projects: An Approach

Much new material has been added to the CA OHP Sustainability web site, including three new pages: Green Rating Systems and Preservation, Green Building Codes, and Historic Home Retrofits. New material can also be found on:

• New articles and speeches in "Preservation in the News".
• The White House “Recovery through Retrofit” Report, the Pocantico Declaration, and other policy material in ‘Legislation Policies Ordinances’.
• A “new” report and a calculator to determine the embodied energy of demolished buildings in ‘Life Cycle Cost Accounting’.
• A new case study in "Preservation Case Studies."
• Two more window research studies and two window replacement articles in "Window Repair and Retrofit."

Please browse and enjoy!

2009 NCSHPO Green Preservation Survey Released

The annual NCSHPO Green Preservation Survey has been completed. The survey results are presented here together with last year’s survey for easy comparison. Some early trends and conclusions can be drawn:

• LEED accredited staff has not increased since 2008.
• Fewer states are considering adding LEED accreditation to their skill sets in 2009.
• Many more SHPO offices now have green preservation links on their web sites.
• Conflicts between preservation and sustainability goals for projects have increased in 2009.
• States are about as aware of adverse green mandates by state and local jurisdictions as last year.
• Either states are removing alternative codes for historic buildings or the statistics from 2008 were blurry. We can assume no change from last year to this.
• There appears to be more uncertainty whether code authorities exempt historic buildings from energy efficiency requirements in 2009.
• SHPO offices promote sustainability within preservation to their applicants about the same as last year.

WINDOW REPAIR

Repair or replacement of original windows is always one of the hottest topics in preservation. There are reasons to replace windows that are too deteriorated to be technically feasible to repair, but energy conservation is not a reason in and of itself to replace an original window. Our new web page WINDOW REPAIR & RETROFIT: Studies + Research features several well-documented studies that demonstrate repair as a viable and preferable sustainable choice. These studies are guaranteed suitable for printing out and waving in the air at your next historic preservation meeting.

CEQA & GENERAL PLANS

Cities are beginning to include CEQA requirements to mitigate greenhouse gas production in their General Plans. Some cities with good examples are showcased on the Legislation, Policies, Ordinances page.

Major Renovation Design Incentives: Savings By Design is offering incentives to designers of nonresidential new construction or major renovation projects that are located within the service territory of a participating utility and will reduce Title 24 energy consumption requirements by at least 15% on a whole building performance basis. Check here for all the requirements of the program.

SOLAR RIGHTS ACT: A SUGGESTED BASIS FOR REVIEW

There has been concern among historic preservation commissions as to how or whether to approach the review of design of solar installations in historic districts or on historic resources. Parts of the language contained within the Solar Rights Act suggest that no "aesthetic" reviews are permitted. However, the Solar Rights Act, interpreted as a whole, suggests alternative courses of action. Visit our Solar Rights Act web page to learn more.

OHP is seeking examples of California green preservation rehabilitations, both LEED certified and non-LEED certified, sustainable local ordinances that incorporated historic building considerations, and stories of green and preservation experiences. Questions and/or examples can be forwarded to Mark Huck, AIA, LEED AP.


CALIFORNIA SOLAR RIGHTS ACT GREEN BUILDING CODES GREEN PRESERVATION IN THE NEWS GREEN RATING SYSTEMS & HISTORIC PRESERVATION LEGISLATION, POLICIES, ORDINANCES LIFE CYCLE COST ACCOUNTING PRESERVATION CASE STUDIES SUSTAINABILITY INFORMATION RESOURCES WINDOW REPAIR & RETROFIT: STUDIES & RESEARCH	SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABILITY The accepted definition of sustainability from the U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development's 1987 report, "Our Common Future" is that sustainability involves "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The intersection of sustainable design and historic preservation would seem a natural alliance. Older and historic buildings comprise more than half of the existing buildings in the United States. Retention and adaptive reuse of these buildings preserves the materials, embodied energy, and human capital already expended in their construction. The recycling of buildings is one of the most beneficial "green" practices, and stresses the importance and value of historic preservation in the overall promotion of sustainability. OHP promotes energy and resource conservation in historic buildings and believes this can be accomplished responsibly without compromising the qualities that define their intrinsic historic character. This web page intends to further the discussion and provide examples of sustainability in preservation. OHP Review of Green Preservation Projects: An Approach Much new material has been added to the CA OHP Sustainability web site, including three new pages: Green Rating Systems and Preservation, Green Building Codes, and Historic Home Retrofits. New material can also be found on: • New articles and speeches in "Preservation in the News". • The White House “Recovery through Retrofit” Report, the Pocantico Declaration, and other policy material in ‘Legislation Policies Ordinances’. • A “new” report and a calculator to determine the embodied energy of demolished buildings in ‘Life Cycle Cost Accounting’. • A new case study in "Preservation Case Studies." • Two more window research studies and two window replacement articles in "Window Repair and Retrofit." Please browse and enjoy! 2009 NCSHPO Green Preservation Survey Released The annual NCSHPO Green Preservation Survey has been completed. The survey results are presented here together with last year’s survey for easy comparison. Some early trends and conclusions can be drawn: • LEED accredited staff has not increased since 2008. • Fewer states are considering adding LEED accreditation to their skill sets in 2009. • Many more SHPO offices now have green preservation links on their web sites. • Conflicts between preservation and sustainability goals for projects have increased in 2009. • States are about as aware of adverse green mandates by state and local jurisdictions as last year. • Either states are removing alternative codes for historic buildings or the statistics from 2008 were blurry. We can assume no change from last year to this. • There appears to be more uncertainty whether code authorities exempt historic buildings from energy efficiency requirements in 2009. • SHPO offices promote sustainability within preservation to their applicants about the same as last year. WINDOW REPAIR Repair or replacement of original windows is always one of the hottest topics in preservation. There are reasons to replace windows that are too deteriorated to be technically feasible to repair, but energy conservation is not a reason in and of itself to replace an original window. Our new web page WINDOW REPAIR & RETROFIT: Studies + Research features several well-documented studies that demonstrate repair as a viable and preferable sustainable choice. These studies are guaranteed suitable for printing out and waving in the air at your next historic preservation meeting. CEQA & GENERAL PLANS Cities are beginning to include CEQA requirements to mitigate greenhouse gas production in their General Plans. Some cities with good examples are showcased on the Legislation, Policies, Ordinances page. Major Renovation Design Incentives: Savings By Design is offering incentives to designers of nonresidential new construction or major renovation projects that are located within the service territory of a participating utility and will reduce Title 24 energy consumption requirements by at least 15% on a whole building performance basis. Check here for all the requirements of the program. SOLAR RIGHTS ACT: A SUGGESTED BASIS FOR REVIEW There has been concern among historic preservation commissions as to how or whether to approach the review of design of solar installations in historic districts or on historic resources. Parts of the language contained within the Solar Rights Act suggest that no "aesthetic" reviews are permitted. However, the Solar Rights Act, interpreted as a whole, suggests alternative courses of action. Visit our Solar Rights Act web page to learn more. OHP is seeking examples of California green preservation rehabilitations, both LEED certified and non-LEED certified, sustainable local ordinances that incorporated historic building considerations, and stories of green and preservation experiences. Questions and/or examples can be forwarded to Mark Huck, AIA, LEED AP.