Young and Borlik Architects is committed to promoting and incorporating sustainable design and building practices in all of our projects. Sustainable or “green” building is not a fad, but the next phase of building technology and quality design, incorporating a wide range of strategies that:

• Are longer lasting, higher quality, and lower maintenance.
• Improve our indoor air quality and health.
• Use energy, water, and natural resources wisely and responsibly.
• Provide long term economic value.
• Reduce our impact on the environment.

Our firm is proud to be a member of Build It Green®, a professional non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote healthy, durable, energy- and resource- efficient buildings in California. Based in the Bay Area, their “Green Point Rated” system is being formally adopted by many of the local cities and counties. At present, Build-It Green is focused only on single and multi-family residential standards. Their website is the best resource for thorough residential green building information, resources and practices. Find out more about this organization and about building green at www.BuildItGreen.org

Most local building departments have adopted or are in the process of adopting green building ordinances, requiring various levels of minimum compliance in order to receive building permit approvals. The Build-It-Green GreenPointRated System measures five categories: Community, Energy, Indoor Air Quality, Resources, Water. A project must score a minimum number of points within each category and an overall minimum total. Some items are required, but in most categories there are several options to choose from for scoring points. The United States Green Building Council has developed the LEED® rating system. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. The LEED® and LEED-H® rating systems take a whole-building approach to measuring their sustainability and performance of buildings and their impact on human and environmental health. Its standards were originally developed for commercial and public buildings only, but has recently been adapted to include a residential standard as well.

For most projects the goal is not to try to do everything, but to incorporate as many sustainable features as are feasible and justified. Our green building services fall into three basic categories and can be tailored to meet your needs and budget:

1. Basic overview of optional and required green checklist items and incorporation of selected options to meet minimum requirements.
2. A complete overview of all checklist options with time spent identifying and specifying specific designs, materials, products and vendors.
3. A complete consultation and incorporation of as many features as feasible from the ground up for an entire project (usually completely new homes or complete remodels). This includes site planning, building design, orientation, energy efficient systems, passive and active solar heating and hot water, recycled materials, use of renewable resources, indoor air quality, water conservation and vendor specifications.

Build It Green
United States Green Building Council