Dive Brief:

• An experimental project in Seattle has demonstrated that there is a lot to be gained for everyone in making older buildings energy-efficient instead of building new ones.
• The Model Energy Code Project, a partnership between the city and Preservation Green Lab, which is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been letting designers, building owners and contractors figure out the best ways to meet energy-saving goals rather than making old structures use all the same technology as new buildings.
• A case study was the Vance Building, a 1929 office building where rehab achieved a 56% decrease in the energy it took to heat the structure while maintaining its period look and feel.

Dive Insight:

The premise of pushing for the flexibility to fix old buildings instead of always building new ones is that it is greener overall. Preservation Green Lab estimates that the total environmental impacts of new construction require anywhere between 10 and 80 years to be balanced by energy efficiency in the new structure.