Buildings: Traditional Approaches
Building projects have traditionally fallen under one of the following categories: new construction, renovation, demolition, or operations and maintenance.
New Construction
New construction projects are buildings that are required to meet all aspect of current building codes. These projects are often called Greenfield development because the building site requires clearing of vegetation prior to commencement. The projects can include commercial or residential type buildings.
Renovation
A renovated building is one that undergoes a series of modifications in order to improve its functionality, performance, or aesthetics. Generally only the new components of the building are required to meet code but often in major renovation all components are brought up to code. This may include mechanical, lighting, and appliance upgrades as well as more fundamental changes in structural design or site issues. Renovations include both commercial and residential projects.
Demolition
Demolition is the most commonly chosen option to dispose of buildings that have reached the end of their useful life. Traditional demolition involves large machinery or in extreme cases explosives to demolish a building. Waste debris is then hauled to a landfill.
Operations & Maintenance
Operations and maintenance (O&M) refers to the day-to-day activities necessary to provide satisfactory occupancy of a building. Depending on the type of building, O&M can include a variety of systems and equipment, including energy for mechanical systems and lighting design, and water for consumption and waste conveyance. Additionally, operations and maintenance encompass operational policies and procedures, for example cleaning, proper HVAC settings, and recycling.
The collection, reprocessing, marketing, and use of materials that were diverted or recovered from the solid waste stream.The ability or potential of a physical body to do work. The most common forms of energy are heat, light, mechanical (moving parts), and electrical.
