The Practicality of Sustainable Development in Construction

The implementation of sustainable construction practices aims to reduce the environmental impact of development without hindering the economic or social growth of society and industry. An analysis of sustainable construction was conducted to understand the viability, environmental and economic impacts of sustainable building practices. The research indicates sustainable construction offers substantial economic and environmental advantages. However, the construction industry has yet to universally adopt sustainable practices. The solutions I have determined to help foster the adoption of sustainable construction include enhanced planning and design, implementing waste management, educating industry professionals and increasing public awareness about the benefits. The research and recommendations in this project prove the hypothesis and offer solutions that, when implemented will benefit society.

Integration of Building into Nature for the Valles Caldera National Preserve Visitor Center

Valles Caldera National Preserve, located in northern New Mexico, has an opportunity to implement sustainable design concepts while demonstrating long-term financial sustainability in the design of its new visitor center. This building can be designed to use natural systems to provide energy and water, and to blend in with the setting‰Ûªs unique historical and natural landscape. Structures can be integrated into nature by incorporating common techniques, features, and materials of a particular period, area, or people. This analysis identified capital costs for both traditional and sustainable construction techniques, as well as long-term operational costs. The results demonstrate that capital costs of sustainable design that is integrated into the landscape can be comparable to conventional costs and provide long-term operational costs savings.

Green Building along the Colorado Front Range

Conventional residential construction results in a variety of local, regional, and global environmental impacts. It also may lead to unhealthy interior environments for building inhabitants. Green building, on the contrary, is a practice that reduces the environmental impacts of residential development, that produces healthier indoor environments, and that yields better long-term financial investments. This Capstone Project applies empirical research and analysis to identify the history and benefits of green building, to support the hypothesis that Colorado Front Range communities benefit most from municipal green-build programs, and to make subsequent program recommendations. Ultimately, this project may assist communities with implementing their own municipal green-build programs.

Integration of Sustainable Development Principles into a Community Park

Characteristics of six operating hot spring recreational facilities were reviewed to identify opportunities for integrating a range of sustainable design and operation approaches into a community park. Potential operating cost savings were evaluated for a conceptual landscape project, bathhouse project, and swimming pool project that reduced the use of electricity, natural gas, water, the discharge of water, and solid waste generation. The projects showed a combined cost savings of approximately $40,000 per year by adopting passive solar design, energy efficient lighting, native vegetation, water efficient fixtures, and a natural swimming pool. The greatest potential operating cost reductions were observed for cutbacks in the use of swimming pool water and reductions in natural gas needed for building and swimming pool heating.

Construction of a Sustainable City Park in Ruddle, WV: A Model for Sustainable Park Design in Humid Climates

Three sustainable projects were studied under a sustainable park model for humid climates to determine where their costs lie in terms of installation, maintenance or both. These projects included the use of solar lighting to replace every configuration of conventional lighting, inclusion of a water garden/bog filter and Riparian Buffer System for the purposes of filtering sediments and nutrients out of runoff to prevent contaminated runoff from reaching the river that was adjacent to the park model location and construction of a LEED-inspired building to serve as the concession stand/restrooms building. The aggregate cost savings of instituting all three projects over ten years was $74,120 and the entire project paid itself off in approximately four years.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Building a Film/TV Production Industry to Boost its Economy and Unite its Divided Cultures

This paper discusses how Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) can boost its stalled economy by generating jobs and increasing film-tourism, while simultaneously helping unite its culturally divided nation, by building a film/TV production industry looking to Northern Ireland's successful model following its similarly violent history. Evidence is presented substantiating that BiH has the infrastructure and workforce from which to grow a film/TV production industry, but it must be built through large-scale foreign productions like Northern Ireland did with Game of Thrones. Examining studies conducted by industry experts, strategies are offered for building a competitive and sustainable film/TV production industry in BiH. Results reveal more research is needed evidencing film/TV production can unify people from different ethno-religious/political groups in post-conflict societies.