The COTE Top Ten Toolkit is a resource, accessible to all architects, that closes the information gap to designing high performing, equitable, beautiful buildings. The toolkit is designed to provide relevant, general guidance to architects incorporating deep green principles from the beginning of every project.
Gunnar Hubbard, FAIA and LEED fellow recently led a hands-on training on the COTE Toolkit in Portland, Maine. Gunnar is also on the National COTE Advisory Group. The work shop focused on understanding the various aspects of the Toolkit and how it can inform the design process through exploring various aspects of a project’s development.
The COTE tool kit provides a broad overview of many aspects of sustainable design in one spreadsheet. The kit looks at ten design strategy topics that can be incorporated to create high performance spaces.
Each topic provides a few simple ways you can add high impact strategies into each of your projects. For instance, if you can only do only a few things.
When designing for ecology, the toolkit suggests:
- Design landscaping composed of 100 percent native plantings, especially species that attract pollinators.
- Avoid all decorative turf grass.
- Create a nighttime habitat by eliminating artificial light and sounds while no humans are present.
- "Vision Zero” for bird strikes: Design to eliminate all building-related bird deaths
When designing for community the Toolkit suggests:
- Seek creative strategies to promote alternative transportation and decrease dependence on single-occupancy vehicles.
- Identify your community and work with them to define shared goals.
- Go out of your way to make the project accessible to someone who might not have otherwise benefited from it.
When designing for energy, the toolkit suggests:
- Benchmark and set an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) goal.
- Establish design benchmarks and targets for Lighting Power Density (LPD), Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR), and plug loads.
- Select climate and program-appropriate passive strategies.
- Model for energy performance. Understand and work with behavioral patterns (automated v. manual window shades).
- Conduct a post-occupancy evaluation and commission. Design solar-ready buildings.
The Toolkit provides both a method to analyze sustainable design options in the studio and an opportunity to present and discuss sustainable and energy efficient metrics with the client. Resources within the Toolkit also include links to high-performance projects.
This information rich tool at any level of use will support moving towards a future goal of both net zero and net carbon projects meeting the AIA 2030 challenge.
Visit the tool kit >
Michael W. Lassel AIA, LEED AP
New England SFx representative