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Designing a sustainable facility to improve energy and environmental performance at the women's humane society
Author(s) -
Maxman Susan A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
environmental quality management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.249
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6483
pISSN - 1088-1913
DOI - 10.1002/tqem.3310050107
Subject(s) - process (computing) , sustainable development , environmental design , facility management , architectural engineering , sustainable design , natural (archaeology) , engineering , site planning , environmental planning , business , environmental resource management , civil engineering , sustainability , computer science , environmental science , political science , ecology , marketing , history , archaeology , law , biology , operating system
Susan Maxman Architects was selected to design a new facility for the Women's Humane Society. The project, located on a disturbed site in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, presented an environmental challenge as a large part of the site is wetlands and the site is home to a large PECO power line. This case study describes the process of designing a facility that incorporates the concerns of environmental responsibility. It will show how the decisions in the design of the built environment can very much influence the well‐being of the natural environment. It describes the ways in which the client was convinced that it was of great benefit to create a facility that was energy‐efficient and environmentally sensitive. The article also explores the successes and failures of this process. It discusses barriers that exist in comprehensively incorporating sustainable design principles in these facilities and shows how it is applicable for the development of other facilities.