CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
"It is not easy being green" - Kermit the Frog, (1972). There is no single definition of what constitutes a green building, but it can be loosely defined as one in which all the materials and systems are designed with an emphasis on their integration into a whole, for the purpose of minimizing their impacts on the occupant and their environment. This includes such issues as building siting, materials selection, energy efficiency, water conservation, construction waste management, indoor air quality and others.
The green refers to a method of design and construction that minimizes burden on our natural resources and the environment. A building which adopts the best practices of environmental technology, for optimizing the use of natural resources for providing the clean and cost effective working ambience. Green building concept has the following attributes:-
1.       Eco-friendly structure and environment.
2.       Utilizing minimum natural resources and preserving them for future generation.
3.       Sustainability i.e. having internal means of generating
resources as far as possible.
4.       Conservation of energy by means of smart device.
5.       Using recyclable materials.
6.       User-friendly environment, work practices and discipline.
7.       Create a quality building that is commercially viable.
As an innovation in the Nigeria construction industry there should be a holistic approach to the design and construction of buildings. All the resources that go into the building be the materials, fuels or the contribution of the users need to be considered if sustenance architecture is to be produced.
Producing green buildings involves resolving many conflicting issues and requirement. Each design decision has environmental implications. A green building places high priority on health, environmental and resource conservation performance over its life cycle. These new priorities expand and complement the classical building concerns.
Most green buildings are of high-quality buildings, they last longer, cost less to operate and maintain, and provide greater occupant satisfaction than standard development. Sophisticated buyers and lessors prefer them and often prefer to pay a premium for their advantages. What surprises many people unfamiliar with this design movement is that good green building often cost little or no more to build than conventional designs. Commitment to better performance, close teamwork throughout the design process or stages, openness to new approaches and information on how these are best applied are more important than a large construction budget.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The fundamental purposes of green building as innovation in Nigeria construction industry is to have the ability to adapt, respond and to take advantage of opportunities offered by natural ventilation, lightening, heating, and cooling resulting to savings by cutting down in its imported energy requirement. However, green building utilizing sophisticated monitoring technology and are able to alert occupiers to imminent faults thus saving the more costly maintenance at a latter day. By providing an environment that is capable of adapting to individual or collective requirements, green building can produce a comfortable atmosphere and help to raise the productivity of the people who live and work within it.
A green building should be robust in its design allowing it to respond to a personal or organization changing requirement mood and taste. It is on this background that the benefit of green building should be measured in terms of its environmental, economic, and social impacts.