EcoCentre, The Living Building Exercise
Since its completion in 2008, the “Green” building known as EcoCentre, was a victim of an economic downturn. As a result, EcoCentre experienced a period of decline, foreclosure and eventually new ownership.
The building itself is not to blame and its intentions were good. From inception to completion, it was built as planned and delivered on schedule. Though in retrospect, alternative choices could have been implemented at the design phase that may have yielded a different outcome. We know that many buildings, both of traditional and “Green” construction, experienced “symptoms” due to the financial crisis. However, in this case, certain flawed design decisions were made which ultimately had a greater negative impact than just the bad timing of bringing new product to market.
Identify and explain in detail at least (2) possible areas of significant concern whereby the design and development of the structure, including the materials, as well as technologies used may have contributed to the poor financial performance of this asset. This is not a number crunching exercise, therefore no financial analysis is needed. Your astute observations should be sufficient to enable you to draw your own conclusions.
