Five Questions About How Sustainability Improves Human Well-Being Here and Now, Not Just the Distant Future
In this post, which is adapted from an interview originally published in the Q4 2018 issue of DesignIntelligence Quarterly, NBBJ Principal and Sustainable Design Leader Margaret Montgomery shares her opinion on various aspects of sustainable design, including materials transparency, the intersection of practicality and effectiveness, the client point of view, as well as what challenges her and makes her feel hopeful.
NBBJ: What sustainability priorities should we focus on?
Margaret Montgomery: High-performance, sustainable projects are the only future that is viable for our profession and our clients. Zero carbon is viable for many projects, and we’re able to steer clients toward an achievement that’s possible for them. Material selections for reduced environmental and health impact are easier every month. Planning and site development for resilience and for a healthier urban ecosystem are equally critical.
You mentioned materials transparency. What are you doing about that?
We’re tweaking our specifications in areas where we can knowledgeably improve our standard options. For example, if we want to include a product, and we have enough manufacturers that are willing to disclose what’s in their product, we can require that disclosure.
We’re getting a bit more sophisticated about reducing the carbon footprint of our projects, as well. For example, what are all the concrete mixes? What’s the lowest-carbon concrete mix we can use for that particular structural purpose? How can we make sure that we are fine-tuning those mixes for the lowest carbon while maintaining performance?
The largest carbon and environmental footprint tends to be in the structure and exterior materials. The health footprint, the complicated chemistry, and the disclosures tend to congregate around the finish materials and that end of the spectrum.
Where do the ideas of being practical and being effective intersect best for sustainability?
If we’re doing things in the right way, we shouldn’t need to add money. We should be able to reallocate resources in a smarter way to do almost everything we want to do. So, for instance, if we create a better conceptual design—with the right window/wall ratio, better orientation and massing for passive energy flows, and we put the effort into better architecture—we should be able to spend less money on mechanical heating and cooling. To me, that’s pragmatic and effective because we’re conserving first-cost resources and getting more from our client’s money. The goal is to do that while also creating a more comfortable, more livable place for everyone who experiences it.
In the years that you’ve been practicing sustainable design, what changes have you observed in clients’ viewpoints?
Many of our clients recognize the value of creating space that helps them and their people be more comfortable and perform better. This was an idea that probably didn’t resonate well a few years ago because there weren’t enough studies to show the connection between what we thought intuitively were good things for people and our quantitative goals.
What makes you hopeful? What challenges you?
What makes me hopeful is the human spirit and the desire to make things better. You see it a lot lately in various movements outside of the building industry as well as all of the groundswell around addressing climate change. At the core, I believe we all want to make the world a better place. The challenge is how hard it is sometimes to find a common understanding or a way to communicate that gets us all headed in the same direction.
