"Green architecture is an environmentally conscious approach to design, one that respects nature and its resources," says Douglas A. Spuler, AIA, LEED™ AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional). Spuler is a principal at RNL Design in Denver, and leads the firm's church and parachurch market. "One might argue that it can be a natural extension of the church's ministry to exercise their stewardship over God's earth."

Sustainable design became a unifying approach to the new High Desert Children's Ministry building in Victorville, California.

Spuler adds that an environmentally active church can achieve a higher level of social responsibility, assume a leadership role in its community, create a healthier atmosphere for those who spend time in the church, and achieve considerable energy and other cost savings.

Although most people are aware of the concept of environmentally friendly design, which has been around since the 1970s, Spuler says many aren't aware of recent advances. The implementation of new technology is especially important today given the huge spike in energy costs over the past few years.

The Lay of the Land
The first decision in any building project, and certainly one of the most important, is site selection. To minimize environmental impact, this decision requires careful consideration. For example, Spuler advises that you respect the natural topography. "If there are hills or slopes, incorporate these into the design, as opposed to bringing in bulldozers and graders to scrape the hills away. Native Americans have a phrase, 'living lightly on the earth,' and this should be the goal—to minimize disturbance and driving dust into the air."

The parking lot might seem one of the most mundane and least interesting aspects of church design, but Spuler says it is an area of prime concern. His philosophy incorporates the use of "bio-swales" as a design mechanism for dealing with storm water. He advocates a 24-foot driving aisle with 18-foot deep parking stalls on either side to generate a 60-foot wide parking "tray." These trays are separated with about five feet of green space that can be planted with water lilies and other plants that actually filter parking lot runoff water. By the time the water percolates into the soil it has been significantly cleaned.

Natural daylighting provides light for this bookstore and 80,000-square-foot addition at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, Colorado.

The design can channel this filtered water to other areas around the church for use in landscape irrigation. "I've seen some projects which use only this captured rain water for irrigation," says Spuler. "Why use pristine drinking water when it's not needed?"

Parking lots are typically paved with asphalt because it is seen as less expensive than other paving options. But asphalt paving presents a number of environmental concerns. First, asphalt is impervious to rain water, so runoff water needs to be captured. "This leads to a very expensive underground piping system," Spuler says. He recommends a pervious concrete product, which has a porous structure that allows water to slowly seep into the soil (visit concretenetwork.com/pervious). This will dramatically minimize the cost of underground piping, as well as the discharge that leaves the area and enters the city or county sewers. "These measures have a larger regional benefit and many local jurisdictions are now giving tax and design incentives to churches that proceed with a green orientation," says Spuler.

Another negative of asphalt, especially in warmer climates, is that it tends to "bake" in the sun, leading to a "heat island effect." Asphalt is typically a black or dark color, which absorbs heat. The resulting rise in air temperature around the building means a greater need for air conditioning within. Concrete, including the new pervious products, are lighter in color and reflect rather than absorb heat.

Spuler is taking these ideas a step further. He advocates creating a number of smaller parking "rooms," instead of a vast expanse of parking. These smaller footprints provide a greater area for trees, shrubs, and other landscaping, and they eliminate the sea-of-asphalt "mall effect." The smaller parking spaces make for a healthier environment, enhanced aesthetics, and better traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

Bright Ideas
While you might not think of exterior lights as a polluting factor, Spuler points out that the U.S. Green Building Council has guidelines supporting a concept called "dark skies." Instead of parking lot and interior lights literally flooding out the view of the night sky, this initiative includes the use of lower (though sometimes more frequent) light poles, and shields that reflect and focus light to the ground.

Solar tubes allow natural daylight into the High Desert Children's Ministry auditorium.The tubes are equipped with variable-light dimmers that allow them to be closed during performances.

A critical decision, made at the start of the design process, is building orientation. Ideally, you want the building on a north/south axis (the long sides of the building are primarily oriented in the north/south direction) so that these long sides don't bear the brunt of the sun. This, in turn, reduces the amount of heat on the building and lessens the need for air conditioning.

While you want to orient the building so that the direct heat from the sun is minimized, you also want to design the windows so they reflect more natural light deeper into the building, therefore lowering the need for electricity. "Natural daylight is more conducive to learning, and makes for better-adjusted employees and occupants," Spuler says.

Spuler utilizes a lot of occupancy sensors that automatically turn on the lights when someone enters a room and turns them off when the person exits. They can be programmed on a computer to set the best levels.

Gardens Above
Spuler mentions an interesting concept called the "green roof." This is a roof area that is landscaped with plants such as grass, flowers, shrubs, and even trees. An "intensive" approach to a green roof involves four to six inches of soil allowing for a modest cover of shrubs and plants. An "extensive" approach can involve two or more feet of soil in which large plants, even trees, can grow.

Trees on a church roof? Although Spuler himself has not yet designed the extensive version, he reports he has seen such projects. "It's another way to soften the appearance of the building as you approach," he says. "If you do the design correctly, it enhances the building, as does ivy climbing up the steeple." Spuler adds that there is little or no maintenance associated with these green roofs, provided you choose the right plants. "It's not as if you have to take a lawn mower up there and mow the roof."

Not only do green roofs represent another way to use rainwater, they have a tremendous insulating effect and do not create mildew within. Some ministers use this extra outdoor space for teaching and other activities. One minister planted greenery that is mentioned in the Bible and used the rooftop garden as a teaching laboratory. Green roofs are also aesthetically pleasing for neighbors on hills or in higher buildings that have views over the top of the church.

Material Principles
When it comes time to choosing building materials, Spuler suggests following three principles. The first is to use locally produced materials as much as possible. This avoids the cost and energy use of transporting high volumes of building materials. Second, use renewable materials as much as possible. A harvested tree can be replaced in 20 years, but once you extract aluminum it never grows back. The third principle is to use recycled materials. If a material that has already been through the manufacturing process can be used again, so much the better.

Also be aware of manufacturing processes that are either very costly or intense polluters. "Move away from vinyl," Spuler advises. "They have a horrible discharge of pollutants in the fabricating process. You can use similar-looking materials, such as a wheat-grain tile flooring or even linoleum, which is green friendly, and does not create a big ozone depletion in fabrication." Also watch out for materials like adhesives, sealants, and paints that can emit potentially harmful chemicals while they dry and cure.

Mechanical Innovations
"What we've done with mechanical systems has been really interesting," Spuler says. "Instead of installing smaller individual heating and cooling units on the roof, we work through a central distribution system." One new idea is the use of chillers and ice storage. Ice is made during the night when electricity rates go down. But during the day when rates spike upward, building air is cooled by chilled water circulating through ice storage tanks. During peak energy times, very little or no energy can be used." As a result, Spuler says he has been able to better the Title 24 California energy efficiency standard, one of the strictest in the nation, with energy savings of about 35 percent compared to standard technology.

As Spuler explains it, he tries to adapt technology to use it in the most environmentally friendly way. At the same time he utilizes natural resources that are often overlooked. For instance, he recommends the increased use of natural air ventilation. "Many older churches have fixed windows—get windows that can open and close," he says.

The Payback
Spuler says that five to six years ago, a green church might cost 10 percent more to build than using traditional methods and materials. The timetable for the payback was also a bit vague. But today Spuler maintains that the cost of green architecture is about the same as conventional methods, but that payback takes place within about three years. In other words, if you pay $100,000 in green materials, that cost is about the same as conventional materials, but you get a payback on that $100,000 within three years, which you won't get with conventional materials.

Spuler mentions that one California church using these methods saved 16 percent on their electricity bills in one year, which amounted to nearly $200,000.

Green architecture, Spuler maintains, can no longer be regarded as a radical, idealistic, or impractical approach in the real world. "We [the United States] are way behind Europe in this regard," he says. "Currently, Chicago is offering incentives for green buildings, and Nevada has a law that every state building must be designed in an environmentally friendly fashion. Green architecture is not an anomaly. In fact, soon it will become the norm."

For more information contact Doug Spuler at doug.spuler@rnldesign.com, and for information about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), visit usgbc.org.

Thomas G. Dolan writes on a variety of business topics.