Re-thinking the Price of Green Building

It is often presumed that "green" resourceful building involves a cost premium.  This is not a universal truth.  Though it is reasonable to assume that a superior product should come at a premium, good performance-enhancing design is more a matter of examining design goals and objectives with a view to redirecting investment.  On this basis, a performance enhancement can be seen as favoring one option over another - a choice rather than a cost premium.  Unfortunately, due to the rather extreme conservatism in the building industry, many choices are never made explicit.  They are never discussed, never offered...

 Click here to download a PDF of the entire article from the Northeast Sun, Fall 2008