There’s plenty of talk about environmentally conscious construction, but sustainability reaches beyond architectural design and building materials.
Turns out, green design also encompasses the way the land buildings sit on is developed and landscaped.
Take, for example, Arvest Bank’s newest Springfield branch, at the intersection of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue.
The $1.8 million branch opened in late July and was built according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, which means minimizing environmental impact was a priority throughout the planning and building process.
“LEED is integrated into the whole process from the very beginning,” said Brent Vinson, site and planning coordinator for Arvest.
While much attention was paid to how the structure itself operates – including dual-flush toilets, better climate control and rainwater collection systems for irrigation and bathroom plumbing – a tremendous amount of consideration also went into landscape design for the site.
Vinson said the site was a bit of a challenge because it is on a hillside. The bank worked with the existing landscape as much as possible, he added, including preserving trees whenever possible. The trees that had to be removed were ground into mulch used in the landscaping, and limestone boulders that were cleared to make way for the building also were used.
“There’s a lot of small ways … you can try to utilize what you’ve got,” Vinson said.
The bank also had to address storm-water runoff.
“To keep from using as much of the existing storm-water system … we use pervious pavement systems,” Vinson said, adding that rainwater is collected via pipe and directed to a bioswale, or depressed area with plantings that enables the water to slowly percolate into the ground.
Vinson said the landscape beds, plants and irrigation cost about 5 percent of the overall construction budget, but expenses were closer to the 15 percent to 20 percent range when factoring in items such as the stone retaining walls, pumps, cisterns, rock removal and bioswales.
Tiffany Frey, project manager at James River Basin Partnership, said it’s vital that businesses help minimize environmental impact wherever they can, regardless of whether they’re building a new building or renovating an existing site.
“Since there’s such a major portion of the impervious surface in Springfield made up of businesses, it’s a major piece of the storm-water puzzle, so it’s very important that businesses pay attention to that aspect,” Frey said. “Landscaping is sometimes (an aspect) that tends to get overlooked because there’s a lot of emphasis put on energy.”
Frey points out that any business, regardless of how long it’s been in a facility, can reduce rainwater runoff by hooking rain barrels to downspouts. Rain barrels and diverter kits range from $100 to $250, and rebates are available. Information about the barrels is available at
www.jamesriverbasin.com.
“If you have a 1,000-square-foot roof and 1 inch of rain, you can capture 600 gallons of water,” Frey said. “Unless you have surfaces that soak in the water, all of that becomes runoff and as it runs off, it collects everything in its path – fertilizer, pet waste, oil from parking lots, brake dust – basically anything you find on the ground that water runs over.
“Anything you can do to disconnect that process, anything you can do to keep the storm water on site and allow it to sink into the ground slowly, can make a significant impact.”
Plant selection also factors into new or existing landscaping, and Arvest used native, dwarf, drought-tolerant and low-maintenance plants on its site, Vinson said.
Guy Headland, owner of Headland Landscape Architecture, said selecting native plants is becoming increasingly easier as more nurseries offer indigenous species. Because those plants have evolved in this area, they can handle the climactic extremes of the Ozarks with little irrigation or maintenance.
“The biggest benefit is for habitat,” said Headland, whose landscape projects include the site plan for the Greene County Archives addition and the landscape master plan for the Partnership Industrial Center West according to
www.headlandarch.com.
Headland also notes that it’s important for businesses to plant canopy trees, which create shade that can help regulate utility bills and provide habitat, rather than ornamental trees, such as Bradford pears.
“Ornamental pears have become invasive,” Headland said. “They’re now growing wild. That keeps native plants from being able to grow. Animals depend on wild plants, and they’re not going to be able to use those invasive plants for food or cover.”
As for Arvest, Vinson said the bank isn’t yet making all of its new sites to be LEED-certified. Vinson said four sites to be constructed in the next year will follow LEED principles, and then, the bank will evaluate its sustainable practices for future branches.
“We feel it’s important,” he said.
The bank has a brochure about its adherence to LEED standards at the National and Chestnut branch, and there’s also a trail on site with a series of signs that point out green features to visitors.[[In-content Ad]]