Green fees: Getting paid for getting it right -- Performance based fee contracts for new construction

Energy-efficient design in buildings today is too often the exception, rather than the rule. Building to code is not enough. That only means if the building was any worse, it would be illegal. The designers of exceptional buildings are showing that integrated design--architects, engineers, clients, and, ideally, contractors working closely together from the start--creates high performance buildings without additional capital cost, just increased design time. Agreement throughout the design profession shows that high performance buildings would be more prevalent if there were incentives to put the extra time into design integration. Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Eley Associates are working to create Performance Based Fee contracts to demonstrate design incentive fees that can help architects, engineers, and building owners create extremely energy-efficient buildings. These fees will reward design professionals for what they save, not just for what they spend--thus aligning designers` interests with owners.