GREEN architecture movement advocates are urging building owners and investors to take a “long-term” perspective in putting up or renovating their structures.

United Architects of the Philippines Green Architecture Movement (GAM) chairman Edgar Reformado said investing in a green building may cost more in the beginning but the property owner will save money in the long run through lower operating costs.

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Reformado cited potential huge savings in electricity and water as the land value of the site increases. He added that designing with green materials also enhances indoor air quality and improves occupants’ health.

A green building, also known as sustainable building, is designed, built, operated and renovated to increase efficiency of resource use, and to reduce impact on human health and environment.

Miguel Guerrero III, a “green” architect, said retrofitting an existing energy-hungry building to become a green one is not “necessarily expensive.”

Zero cost

“There are zero-cost strategies that could be carried out, such as orientation of the building’s surrounding natural resources and utilizing them to provide natural lighting and ventilation to the structure,” he told Sun.Star Cebu in a separate interview.

There may be incremental capital cost, he said, for systems designed to recycle water or use solar energy to power up the building.

“The (savings in) operational costs will pay for it in the long run. (Right now), the architects have the responsibility to correct the buildings that (collectively) consume almost 50 percent of the energy produced in the world. We have to reduce too much reliance on energy, especially generated by fossil fuel power plants,” he said.

Reformado said that there are “very few” building owners and even developers who are amenable to the prospects of green architecture and who integrate them in their conceptual designs.

For his part, Guerrero lamented the entry of foreign architects into the country who are not familiar with the country’s tropical climate as they introduce buildings fit for weather conditions in the West. As a result, owners have to install powerful air conditioning systems that consume a lot of energy.

He added that it is cheaper to retrofit a building for energy efficiency rather than demolish it and build a new one on site.

“The retrofitting process would involve assessing the site (that) includes determining wind direction and blocking off some areas facing the west. There is also need to study the air conditioning system and perhaps zone its usage by turning it on (only) in some areas of the building. The owner can also use collected rainwater to flush toilets to address the issue of water savings,” he said.

Guerrero was one of the resource speakers during last Friday’s Green Seminar, which was part of the 17th Construction Show Cebu.