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Principles of Sustainable Design for Buildings

J. Paul Guyer, P.E., R.A., Fellow ASCE, Fellow AEI

Course Outline

I.  The six principles of sustainable design

      A.  Optimization of site potential
      B.  Optimize energy use
      C.  Protection and conservation of water
      D.  Use of environmentally preferable products
      E.  Enhancement of the indoor environmental quality
      F.  Optimization of operational and maintenance practices

II.  Optimization of site potential
     
      A.  Seven principles of sustainable site planning
      B.  Nine opportunities you can examine
      C.  Resources you can use

III.  Optimization of energy use

      A.  Five principles of energy optimization
      B.  Seventeen opportunities you can examine
      C.  Resources you can use
     
IV.  Protection and conservation of water

      A.  Seven principles for protection and conservation of water
      B.  Eighteen opportunities you can examine
      C.  Resources you can use

V.  Use of environmentally preferable products

      A.  Eight principles for integration of environmentally preferable products
and materials
      B.  Twenty six opportunities you can examine
      C.  Resources you can use

VI.  Enhancement of indoor environmental quality

      A.  Ten principles for enhancement of indoor environmental quality
      B.  Fifty two opportunities you can examine
      C.  Resources you can use

VII.  Optimization of operational and maintenance practices

      A.  Five principles for enhancement of indoor environmental quality
      B.  Twenty seven opportunities you can examine
      C.  Resources you can use

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.


Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Intended Audience

Architectural, civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers; federal, state and local public works and infrastructure officials; and managers with private companies responsible for design, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings and related infrastructure.


Benefit for Attendee

Participants will receive the framework they need to take a leadership position in implementation of sustainability principles in their companies, firms and agencies.  They will learn about valuable resources that can be used on a daily basis in design and construction of buildings and related infrastructure.

Course Introduction

1.  You will learn about the six principles of sustainable design: optimization of site potential, optimizing energy use, protection and conservation of water, selection and use of environmentally preferable products, enhancement of indoor environmental quality, and optimization of operations and maintenance practices.

2.  You will learn about the seven principles of sustainable site planning.  You will learn about nine opportunities you should examine that may help you to maximize the sustainability of your project site.

3.  You will learn about the five principles of energy use optimization and seventeen opportunities you should examine that may help you maximize the energy efficiency of your building.

4.  You will learn about the seven principles for the protection and conservation of water and eighteen opportunities should consider employing to optimize the protection and conservation of water.

5.  You will learn about eight principles for employment of environmentally preferable products and materials and twenty six opportunities you should examine to maximize the use of environmentally preferable products and materials on your projects.

6.  You will learn about ten principles to employ in enhancing indoor environmental quality and fifty two opportunities you may have to optimize enhancement of indoor environmental quality.

7.  You will learn five principles for optimization of operational and maintenance practices and twenty seven opportunities that may help you to reach this goal.

8.  You will learn about resources that you can use learn more about your sustainability options, and how to access and employ them.

About Course Author

Paul Guyer is a registered mechanical engineer, civil engineer, fire protection engineer and architect with over 35 years experience in the design of buildings and related infrastructure.  For an additional 9 years he was a senior-level advisor to the California Legislature on infrastructure and capital outlay issues.  He has designed and supervised the design of hundreds of construction projects requiring the preparation of detailed working drawings and specifications for federal, state and local public agencies and private companies.  He is a graduate of Stanford University and has held numerous national, state and local positions with the American Society of Civil Engineers and National Society of Professional Engineers.

Course Content

The course content is contained in the following PDF file:

Principles of Sustainable Design for Buildings

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course will tell you about the six principles of sustainable design.  You will learn the goals of each, opportunities you can use to pursue them, and resources that will help you reach them.  When you have completed this seminar you will have a road map that will guide you in making sustainability an integral part of your management of building and infrastructure design and construction projects.


Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

Take a Quiz

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.