from the ground up - The Tyee

Five Myths About Green BuildingGreen doesn’t have to mean expensive, exotic or uncomfortable.By Monte PaulsenArticle first published on January 6, 2011 by TheTyee.ca.Green buildings have earned a reputation for beinglarge, complicated and absurdly expensive.This is particularly true in Vancouver, wheretaxpayers are still forking out millions of dollarsa month in interest payments on the world’s firstLEED Platinum neighbourhood -- the 2010 OlympicVillage.But this reputation is increasingly at odds with thenext-generation of green homes, schools and workplaces.These green buildings -- most of which arecertified by organizations such as the Canada GreenBuilding Council or Built Green -- tend to be small,simple, and surprisingly affordable.What’s more, these green buildings represent the fastestgrowing sector within the North American constructionindustry, one that McGraw-Hill Constructionestimated to be worth $60 billion last year.During the next several weeks, The Tyee SolutionsSociety will explore trends within green building --call it Green Building 2.0 -- with an eye for ideas thatcould pay off by helping create sustainable jobs inBritish Columbia, lower energy bills and make a realdent in emissions causing costly climate change.Today: A look at five common misperceptions aboutgreen building.Myth #1: Green buildings cost more.It’s easy to see what spawned this idea.The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition CentreABOVE: Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre: Givinggreen an expensive name.(pictured below) is the world’s first LEED Platinumconference hall. It boasts an artificial reef as well as afive-acre living roof. And it cost B.C. taxpayers morethan double the promised price.Likewise, the Olympic Village and Southeast FalseCreek neighbourhood were also awarded Platinumstatus by the Canada Green Building Council’s LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)program. The 32 hectare reclaimed industrial sitefeatures an innovative district heating system as wellas one of Canada’s first net zero buildings (designedto produce as much energy as it consumes). But theproject bankrupted its developer and left Vancouvertaxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.These high-profile megaprojects appear to confirm thewidely held opinion that green design costs more. Indeed,respondents to a survey by the World Business18