Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient: Optimizing Building Performance, Tenant Satisfaction, and Financial Return [Hardcover]

Leanne Tobias (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0874201330 | ISBN-13: 978-0874201338

Aimed at real estate industry professionals, developers, and investors, this guidebook fully explains the best practices and methods for retrofitting an existing office building to be green—increasing the efficiency of resource use while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment. Covering numerous eco-friendly systems, this reference demonstrates how green features are definitely worth the investments they require. Case study examples of projects that have incorporated these aspects as well as how they were constructed are included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leanne Tobias is founder and managing principal of Malachite LLC, a leading green real estate advisory company. She is an internationally recognized speaker and author on sustainable real estate, has over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, and holds the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED AP designation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Urban Land Institute (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874201330
• ISBN-13: 978-0874201338
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,049,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Leanne Tobias is Managing Principal of Malachite LLC (www.malachitellc.com), an advisory company that helps businesses, governments and investors develop, retrofit, finance, certify, lease and operate green and energy-smart buildings. A real estate industry veteran and LEED Accredited Professional, Leanne has extensive high-level experience with properties and portfolios.

"Green and energy-efficient features can add value to your property or portfolio very affordably, while rapidly repositioning you to compete more effectively in the market," Leanne advises. "Retrofitting and developing green is not a black box--it is a process to be mastered and managed. I hope you'll visit me and the Malachite LLC team at www.malachitellc.com to let us know how we can assist, and read Retrofitting Office Buildings to be Green and Energy-Efficient to jump-start the process."

Here's what Leanne would like you to know about Retrofitting Office Buildings to be Green and Energy-Efficient:

*The book reflects the best thinking of a multi-disciplinary group of 50 leading green building professionals from around the globe. "Successfully retrofitting a building requires the contributions of professionals from many disciplines, including architecture, engineering, interior design, construction, law, finance, leasing and property management," Leanne says. "Retrofitting Office Buildings to be Green and Energy-Efficient has been crafted to give readers the best advice of leaders in each of these disciplines, under the guidance of the Urban Land Institute, the leading global real estate think tank."

*The book is international in scope. "Green and energy-smart building has become global," Leanne explains. "The book takes a worldwide perspective by including case studies from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia, and by reporting on international green building certification, public policy and technology trends."

*The book gives you step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish a green building retrofit project, clearly and concisely. "The goal has been to educate building professionals and general readers on how to plan, design, finance, construct, market and operate a green building," says Leanne. "Feedback has been positive and overwhelming. Readers tell me that they read the book cover to cover and emerge with a clear understanding of how to undertake and complete a green retrofit project."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book, January 30, 2010

By 

Anonymous Reader (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient: Optimizing Building Performance, Tenant Satisfaction, and Financial Return (Hardcover)

Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient provides a fascinating and thorough explanation of the issues and factors to be considered in making existing office buildings environmentally sustainable. I found it to be well written, and filled with very specific advice regarding green retrofits of office buildings. I think it should be required reading for developers, architects, construction contractors, leasing agents, building managers, real estate attorneys, real estate fund managers, building and environment regulators, and other professionals. Remarkably, it is also very accessible to the lay reader who has just a general interest in urban environmentalism, and seeks an introduction to this critical component of the green revolution.

Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient is divided into nine chapters, covering such topics as planning green office retrofits, managing the green retrofit process, green property operations, and new directions in green building. Sub-chapters cover just about every aspect of the retrofit process, including the initial cost-benefit analysis; green landscaping strategies; building mechanical systems; energy efficiency; sustainable interiors; historic preservation; construction issues; minimizing legals risks in the design and construction process; operational costs and paybacks; green real estate financing vehicles; selling points to potential lessees;and building automation systems and smart grid technology. (This list of topics is illustrative, not exhaustive.)

As noted, the book offers clear and concise writing by experts in the field. I especially appreciated that it discusses the green retrofitting process not just in generalities, but also with a great deal of specificity and supporting documentation, and it effectively uses sidebars to elaborate on particular matters. In addition, one chapter is devoted to a survey of green office building retrofitting policies and practices around the globe, which I found very worthwhile, and the last chapter is devoted just to case studies of particular green building retrofits. The book is also very handsome: well-designed, easy-to-read, stylish, and with many photographs.

One of the more important contributions of Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient is that it convincingly makes the case that green office building retrofits can be, and typically are, cost-effective and profitable. In this area, one doesn't have to choose between being on the side of the angels versus maximizing investor value.

In sum, Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient is an excellent and unique contribution to green real estate literature, one that has much to offer both experienced green building professionals and those seeking an introduction to the green retrofit process, either as a potential source of business growth or as a matter of academic or personal interest. Kudos to the the author, Leanne Tobias of the green building advisory company Malachite LLC, to her co-authors and expert contributors, and to the publisher, the Urban Land Institute.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, March 8, 2010

By 

Sheri Koones - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Retrofitting Office Buildings to Be Green and Energy-Efficient: Optimizing Building Performance, Tenant Satisfaction, and Financial Return (Hardcover)

It is not often that you find a commercial real estate book that you want to read from start to finish. Retrofitting Office Buildings to be Green and Energy-Efficient is one of the few. The book includes many fascinating case studies of sustainable and energy efficient renovations and retrofits from around the world. The U.S. is covered in detail, but also covered are projects from China, Singapore, Europe, Australia and Canada. The book also includes cutting-edge topics such as new materials, products and design methods for the next generation of "zero net energy" buildings. I was especially impressed that all of this great information was presented very clearly without jargon. While the focus of the book is office properties, the material presented is relevant to other types of buildings. As well, the book provides multiple perspectives relevant to the building retrofit process: architecture, engineering, interior design, finance, construction management, property management and leasing are all discussed in depth, as are software programs and new equipment related to building design and operation. While the book emphasizes modern buildings, it also includes examples of how historic preservation can be green. I found this book interesting, timely and complete, and recommend it highly.