8.2.3 Design Objectives

Adapt building designs to natural site conditions.  Considerations include prevailing winds; orientation for optimal daylight and solar utilization; preservation of existing vegetation; and impact of material choices and building form on both the micro and macro environments.

  • Design buildings in clusters to preserve land and reduce construction and maintenance costs.

  • Develop a coherent architectural style that results in the blending of new and old structures.  However, when considering historical buildings, one should be able to differentiate between the historic fabric and the new material.

  • Design buildings to include more floors in a vertical structure that results in a smaller footprint and more efficiently utilizes limited installation land areas.

  • Properly orient buildings with the long axis running east-west.  East-west walls receive less direct sun in the summer so unwanted heat gain is reduced.  Proper building orientation can alone reduce the energy consumption of the building.

  • Combine multiple activities in one building to reduce the number of buildings required and to more efficiently utilize limited installation land areas.  

  • Design facilities with the capability to quickly change interior layouts to accommodate changing requirements.  To the extent possible, design facilities with the greatest inherent long-term flexibility should the essential mission of the building change.

  • Consider adaptive reuse of buildings once their initial use is no longer required.

  • Use indigenous construction materials and practices that require less energy to produce and transport and that may be recycled at the end of their usefulness. 

  • Locate windows to maximize daylight, ventilation, outward views, and beneficial solar exposure.  Employ overhangs, recesses, and sunscreens to passively regulate solar heat gain and glare. 

Sustainable Procurement Goal:
Ensure that all Departments of Defense (DOD) and Fort Carson Procurement actions support sustainability by 2027.  The desired end state is that all forms of purchasing have best value considerations that include sustainable principles.  This goal was developed to address not only sustainability, but also compliance.  By purchasing products that do not create compliance issues, Fort Carson can eliminate problems resulting from spills, expensive tracking, and negative results from compliance inspections.  Furthermore Executive order 13101 requires that purchases from federal installations become more sustainable.  
Sustainable purchases include products, materials, and services that are less hazardous, do not cause material to be extracted or harvested in ways that excessively damage ecosystems, are made from recycled materials, are easily recycled, pollute less in their manufacture and use, and use resources that quickly replenish themselves.  The goal for sustainable procurement supports the Zero Waste Goal by creating a demand for recycled goods, thereby closing the circle of products.  

 

  
 

Building Objectives