Best Practices in Sustainable Building Design - Essay Example

Most importantly, the layered materials of the design allow greater insulation from the other two designs, meaning it could provide a greater amount of energy on its own, therefore, fulfilling the stand-alone requirement. The water retention and filter drainage layers both would aid in preventing irrigation and storing water if there ever was a drought.

In essence, there are variant considerations that one must make before concluding or choosing the best type of roofing especially when there are specific demands based on energy conservation. Perhaps the best guide in analyzing whether a building or a roof in this matter, is in line with the green building milestones is by checking the roof's properties against the guidelines advanced by LEED (Yudelson,  2008).  The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems provide a guide that can be utilized in determining a green building (Vassigh, Özer & Spiegelhalter, 2013). Besides the goal to meet the system’s rating, it is also important to look at the unique factors around the building. These include hot and dry weather, which characterizes the region, Flagstaff. In this regard, the idea is to have a roof that allows for high-efficiency ventilation, one that makes use of rapidly renewable materials, and finally, one that only utilizes certified wood products.  Notably, the roofing system should preferably allow for solar photovoltaic systems (Vassigh, Özer & Spiegelhalter, 2013).

Based on these analysis points it then becomes critical to weigh the roof’s properties against the identified interest areas. Where else the other roof designs present a commendable effort it is easy to pick on Design #2 as this is modeled in a way that makes it possible to meet the desired Green goals as established under the LEED rating system (Edwards, 2003). Besides, the design provides the best way to counter and at the same time maximally utilize the photo energy that represents the region. In totality, the design provides a friendly, green, and affordable roof that is supportive of nature and maximizes the resident's roofing demands.

Ultimately, the conclusion was made from the comparison between the different materials, costs, and their hypothetical functioning in the site of the future project. As a result, the now-existing building has roof dimensions of approximately 35’ X 65’.  As an extensive green roof, it is the greenest building at a 7,000 ft. elevation and received 60 out off 69 possible award points from LEEDs. The final design can be seen in Figure 1.5.

Operation, Inspection, and Maintenance

1. The building is to operate efficiently and must sustain itself.
2. Leaking may occur from incidental irrigation, and therefore, roof structures should be often inspected.
3. The plants have a one-year replacement warranty from the contractors but will need constant maintenance.

Recommendations

It would be recommended to constantly check the roof for leaks due to rough weather and possible irrigation.