Green buildings

Whenever I cross the Mactan Channel back to the main island using the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, I look at the Metro Cebu skyline to view the rapid change in its urban landscape.

As the metropolis struggles with the scarcities caused by robust economic and population growth, finding a solution is like running around putting out one fire after another. Scarcity of proper drainage facilities leads to floods. Scarcity of potable water stunts further economic growth. So is scarcity of space which leads to traffic congestion and rising real estate prices. Barely have we gotten out of one problem when another one comes up.

But with the Building Green 2019 Conference coming soon on October 16 at the Radisson Blu in Cebu City, now is the chance for Cebu to take a proactive and innovative approach in one of its fastest growing sectors.

According to a report by The FREEMAN last June, Central Visayas saw its construction activities in the first three months of 2019 rise to 5,186, making the region rank second in the most number of constructions nationwide during the period.

While we are it, we should take this opportunity to show the country that we’re not only building residential and commercial structures at a faster pace, we’re building them with proactive innovation – an approach that allows us to deal with future challenges.

This is where the green building concept comes in. It’s a topic that is close to my heart because I specialized in green design and user-centered design on the road to earning my Master of Design degree at the Graduate School Applied Design of Shu-Te University in Taiwan early this year.

But I still don’t consider myself an expert in green building design. There are certifications that I think one must earn before he can make an expert evaluation if a building is environment-friendly or not, like the US-based LEED certification or the Philippine Green Building Council’s BERDE certification.

There are, however, among our leaders in the community who have earned the right to speak about green building design. One of them is Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival, an environmentalist. Over a week ago he proposed an ordinance that will require and encourage builders to design, construct, or retrofit buildings in the city to meet the minimum standards of green infrastructure.

His proposed ordinance has been referred to the city council’s committee on laws, ordinances, and styling. I hope it will emerge from there to become a measure that will make Cebu City a proactive innovator in building design and construction.

Experts estimate that residential and commercial buildings account for one-third of energy consumption in the world, largely because of their consumption of electricity and gas, and in the waste they produce. Yet, no minimum standards have been put in place in the country regarding greenhouse emissions of buildings in the same manner as there are standards in motor vehicle emissions.

Several studies have shown that office workers in buildings with green features are more satisfied than the non-green building users about building design and facilities management in their workplace. Some of these green features are not that complicated and even cost-efficient in the long-term to adopt like – naturally ventilated spaces, solid waste management, solar energy, natural daylight in 75% of space, LED lights and light sensors, and non-toxic building materials.

It might be that in the future, while crossing the Mactan Channel by the bridge and glancing at the Metro Cebu skyline, I can proudly utter: “Those buildings, they are green buildings.”