Buildings
Greening the Building and the Bottom Line
This paper, which was written jointly by RMI and the Department of Energy, describes the energy efficiency measures undertaken by eight organizations. In each of the cases presented, improved efficiency in lighting, heating, and cooling increased worker productivity, decreased absenteeism, and sometimes improved the quality of the work being performed.
Negawatts for Buildings
Growing concern about energy and the environment is increasing the pressure on developers and property managers. This paper argues that cutting energy use is the best way to yield significant savings both in energy costs and user experience. State of the art lighting retrofits, effective daylighting, superwindows, office equipment, motor…
NMB Bank Headquarters: The Impressive Performance of a Green Building
This paper describes the development, design, and construction of an early green building, the NMB Bank Headquarters in Amsterdam. The integrated project team worked across disciplines to design the building. The team included architects, construction engineers, landscape architects, energy engineers, and artists. This paper details the green characteristics of the…
Energy Efficient Buildings: Institutional Barriers and Opportunities
In this 1992 paper, Amory Lovins explains that buildings are rarely built to use energy efficiently, despite the sizeable costs that inefficient designs impose on building owners, occupants, and the utility companies that serve them. The reasons for this massive market failure have to do with the institutional framework within…
If It’s Not Efficient, It’s Not Beautiful
In this brief 1991 article in Fine Homebuilding, Amory Lovins argues that beautiful homes are not only finely crafted and designed, but energy efficient as well. Lovins describes the efficiency measures used to design his own home in Snowmass, CO. These techniques include glazed mirrors, compact fluorescent lights, and superefficient…