“Five or ten years from now, architects and clients won’t look at sustainable issues in terms of how much they add to the cost of a project. They’ll just be an integral part. We don’t even discuss whether or not we’re going to use recycled and low-VOC materials or require contractors to recycle construction waste. They’re base assumptions now.”
—John H. Cluver, AIA, LEED AP, partner and director of preservation, Voith & Mactavish Architects, LLP
Yes? No? Maybe? Comment!
I don’t buy it. ANYTHING that affects costing is going to be looked at, good times or bad. Sustainable alternatives–products or systems–will need to prove themselves in the usual price comparisons that are part of any project, or they won’t be sustainable choices in the long run.
I agree. I’m not sure I want to engage the services of an architectural firm that doesn’t even discuss materials and their costs.