Green Building & Design (gb&d), #18 by Aaron Lewis

G r e e n B u i l d i n g & D e s i gN o c t+ n o v + d e c 2 0 12

Behind the beer at Bell’s Brewery 74 10 years of Green Roofs 138

The American Society of Landscape Architects PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE 115

F i v e t h i n g s R a fa e l V i ñ o ly c a n ’ t r e s i s t 20 i r r e s i s t i b l e g r e e n s pac e s 125 s i x way s t o i n t e g r at e l a n d s c a p e s 144 W h e r e t o s tay i n S e a t t l e 171

Presented by U.S. Green Building Council

TOP 10 REASONS

TO JOIN US @ GREENBUILD

10 San Francisco Awaits

The Golden Gate City will welcome global leaders in sustainability @ Greenbuild 2012 November 14-16 at the Moscone Center. As the world's nexus of technology and success, San Francisco, California is the ideal location to convene the industry, spark innovation and promote dialogue.

In 2012 the U.S. Green Building Council is harnessing this spirit of innovation because we believe many of the ideas that will catalyze the transformation of our environment will begin @ Greenbuild.

7 A City Built on Green

With an atmosphere that fosters conversation and collaboration, Greenbuild promises to provide a setting where attendees will create and identify solutions for the future. The stage is set for our industry’s leaders to learn, network and do business.

Boasting one of the largest green building markets and the best green building policies in the world, San Francisco is the ultimate setting for Greenbuild 2012. The city is home to 70 million LEED-certified square feet and over 12,000 LEED Professionals. Join us to experience a city that is truly building green.

9 It'll be the Biggest

6 Tour and Explore

Greenbuild is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. More than 30,000 attendees from 120 countries will join us for this year’s event featuring nearly 2,000 exhibit booths with green product and service innovations and more than 100 educational sessions led by business, environmental and social leaders.

8 West Coast, Best Coast

Eight years ago Greenbuild was held on the West Coast, and we are eager to return and show the green building industry that California is truly a leader of green building and sustainability. The Bay Area’s policy leadership, Silicon Valley and innovative culture make it the prototype region for creating the future.

Explore California and the San Francisco Bay Area to discover local green buildings. Greenbuild tours help attendees learn outside the traditional convention center walls by presenting the best of the Bay Area’s sustainable buildings and neighborhoods. Tours will be held November 16-17.

5 Get Educated

Greenbuild is a one-stop-shop for credential maintenance, with many opportunities to earn continuing education hours, including 150 education sessions, workshops and tours. Greenbuild education meets continuing education requirements for LEED Professional credentials and a selection of other industry credentials.

4 Connect in the Expo Hall The Expo Hall @ Greenbuild is the place where attendees go to do business, and in 2012, Greenbuild features our biggest and most exciting expo hall yet, with three floors and more than 1,000 exhibitors and 2,000 booths. Meet face-to-face with representatives from the organizations that are developing and selling the latest technological innovations and cutting-edge products. Attendees and exhibitors alike will get the most out of their expo experience with 18 total expo hall hours, a Wednesday evening opening celebration, innovative technologies, including a mobile app and wayfinder, and prizes worth thousands of dollars.

3 Spotlight on Speakers

Each year, the world’s business, environmental and social leaders take the stage at Greenbuild to motivate, inspire and teach our industry. Past speakers have included President Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, Al Gore, Colin Powell, Mary Matalin and James Carville, Thomas Friedman, Cokie Roberts and Paul Farmer. So far in the line up for 2012 we have Joe Scarborough and Mike Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe , anchoring the opening plenary; Kevin Carroll, storyteller and author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball; Candy Chang, an inspirational artist who explores making cities more comfortable and contemplative places; Van Jones, the globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean-energy economy; and Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, an explorer, social entrepreneur and environmental advocate. Stay tuned for the big announcement of who will be headlining our Opening and Closing Plenaries!

2 Talkin' About LEED

Year after year, Greenbuild proves to be the place to learn about the changes in our rapidly evolving green building industry, and this year Greenbuild will be the first place to learn about the latest on LEED. Since 2000, the LEED green building program has been transforming the marketplace to promote and embrace sustainable building, design, construction and operations practices. At Greenbuild we provide you with the opportunity to understand how LEED is evolving as well as offer the latest in LEED education.

1 Going Beyond Buildings

Greenbuild 2012 celebrates bringing technology and sustainability together in the global green movement. We are going beyond buildings @ Greenbuild 2012. We believe the future of our movement starts here @ Greenbuild, and we are asking, “What will you do @ Greenbuild?” Because it starts with you. It starts @ Greenbuild.

SAN FRANCISCO 2012

NOV. 14–16 GREENBUILDEXPO.ORG

DEVELOPMENT

CONSTRUCTION

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

The Hanover Company, located in Houston, Texas, stands among the most active private real state companies in the United States, specializing in the development of high quality multi-family residential properties nationwide. With over twenty-five years experience and an award-winning portfolio of residential high-rise, mid-rise, mixed use and suburban projects, Hanover is focused on strategic growth in major markets across the United States. Current locations in U.S. markets include San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.

THE HANOVER COMPANY

5847 San Felipe, Suite 3600 • Houston, TX 77057 • p 713.267.2100 f 713.267.2121 • e info@hanoverco.com • www.hanoverco.com

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

In This Issue

COVER STORY The American Society of Landscape Architects is wild for sustainability. Why

INSIDE THE ASLA

we should applaud a field that’s gone native, p. 115

See a UH-Manoa laboratory’s tropical green roof, whose flowers

photos: (Clockwise from top) Debbie Franke; David Franzen; Samantha simmons; Barry Halkin; Mark Tomaras.

are used for Hawaiian leis, p. 88

green roofs GALORE

Take a tour of Chicago’s planted

rooftops while green roof expert Steven Peck takes questions on urban agriculture, p. 138

Three brewers jump on the green-building

SMART HEALTH CARE Two Geisinger facilities strengthen the already formidable connection between

bandwagon, p. 74

OH, AND BEER!

healing and good design, p. 75

gbdmagazine.com

october–december 2012

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Table of Contents Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List p13

p31

p49

p73

p87

p113

p145

p185

p197

october窶電ecember 2012

gb&d

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

14 Editor’s Picks 16 Defined Design Shelby Farms Park, by James Corner Field Operations 18 Defined Design Centra at Metropark, by Kohn Pedersen Fox 20 Guest Editor Rafael Viñoly 22 Launch Pad Onair Development 25 scene Preview Greenbuild 2012 26 Notebook Alan Oakes on Taliesin West

Design 32 EDG Architects 33 University at Albany, SUNY 34 FONS Inc.

DEvelopment

36 37 39

Hanover Company Santa Clara University Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara

40 41 44 46

operations

50 53 56 58 63 66 70

The Albanese Organization Princeton University Jack Glass, Citigroup Geisinger Health System Safeway Mont Tremblant Ski Resort Rivers Casino

breweries

74 80 83

Bell’s Brewery Matt Brewing Company Brewery Vivant

Provident Hotels & Resorts Glenborough St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor Union College

gbdmagazine.com

88 92 96 100 104 109 111

115 125 130 134 138 144

C-MORE Hale Sixth Street Residence Halls Bertram and Judith Kohl Building San Francisco Waldorf High School Human Ecology Building at Cornell University Tidwell-Teachey Residence Kettering Residence

American Society of Landscape Architects VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre Phipps ConservatoryCenter for Sustainable Landscapes Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Discussion Board

Live

146 149 152 155

434 House 777 South Broad Innovation Village Apartments SIP Panel House

186 DELICATE ENvIRONS Botanical Research Institute of Texas 191 URBAN INFILL City Creek Center 194 REMOTE LOCATION West Hawaii Civic Center

198 Architect to Watch Jay Black 201 Common good GEDs + LEED GAs 203 Tech Talk Michael DeLacey 204 Material World e2e Materials 206 Solution McCaffery Interests 210 Show & Tell Origins of VanDusen

Plus Editor’s note Contributors Index People & Companies VERBATIM Tom Eanes VERBATIM Josh Bruschuk VERBATIM John Sattelmayer Index Advertisers

9 11 12 28 84 183 208

WORK

156 Hannaford Duanesburg 159 McCarter & English Offices 161 US Federal Courthouse, Jackson, MS Learn

162 165 167 170

SCCC Life Sciences Building Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Building at Grove City College Rutgers Prep School Dining Hall Centre for Green Cities

PLAY

171 174 177 178 181

Cedarbrook Lodge Cowboys Stadium Navy Pier Pierscape Bridgestone Arena Cottonwood Cove Marina Services Building

october–december 2012

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Editor’s Note Planting ‘ASLA’

photoS: samantha simmons; aaron lewis

We didn’t have a family business. My father was a soil conservationist and my mother was a landscape designer. But although I don’t have a degree in horticulture or work directly with the land, as the editor of gb&d, I feel an innate connection to the environmental work my parents did—and are still doing. My dad taught me the value of preservation, why it benefitted plants, animals, and people. My mom showed me how to plant and grow a garden, which plants would attract butterflies (dill), and which ones hummingbirds (delphinium). Almost any issue of gb&d would reflect the spirit of my parents’ work, but this one feels uniquely like my mom’s. This is our Landscapes Issue, and I can’t announce that without thinking of her or the outdoor classroom she designed and built by hand for our local elementary school 20 years ago. So it’s with a certain personal poignancy that I present our cover story, a celebratory profile of the American Society of Landscape Architects (p. 115). As green building alters the public’s perception of a landscape’s value, the organization that began with 11 members in 1899 is finally getting it’s moment in the sun. Attendees of the 2012 Annual Meeting have ample reason to look back, but they should keep looking ahead—they are vital to the future of urban and rural environments. An organization with a shorter but equally exciting history is Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year with a triumphant return to Chicago for CitiesAlive, the industry’s leading green-roof and -wall conference (p. 138). Speaking of green roofs, don’t miss our Living Landscapes suite, a trio of groundbreaking (pun inevitable) landscape projects, including Sharp & Diamond’s gorgeous, self-sufficient, ‘petaled’ living roof atop the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver (p. 125 and p. 210). One of the best things about creating the Landscapes Issue was a chance to get our hands dirty. gbdmagazine.com

Led by senior designer Aaron Lewis, the editorial team and photographer Samantha Simmons set out to capture the verdant beauty of the ASLA by planting a living design of our own. To create what you see on the cover, we partnered with Gethsemane Garden Center (gethsemanegardens.com) in Chicago and built an A, S, L, and A (yes, two A’s—Aaron insisted) out of perennials, succulents, herbs, and more. In total we used 304 plants and three bags of top soil (rebagged for reuse); the whole thing took about four hours. Despite the heat that encroached on our shaded photo shoot, it may have been my favorite day as the editor of gb&d to date. As we arranged the plants—one person always up on the ladder, offering the bird’s-eye view—I was taken back to planting pansies and other small flowers in the plot south of our house. Mandevilla vines, crape myrtle, roses galore. In my reverie, I was jealous of the men and women who actually create the landscapes architects design. Eventually, I snapped out of it and remembered we had a magazine to make, one that featured world-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly as its guest editor, something I’m extremely pleased about. Though we couldn’t convince him to fly out and hang with the editorial staff (actually, we never asked...), he told us about some of his favorite innovations of the past few years, from the luxuriousyet-fuel-efficient Boeing Dreamliner to a household appliance that’s commanded rare brand loyalty in the architect (who would’ve thought Rafael Viñoly would be so crazy about a vacuum cleaner?). See his recommendations on p. 20. I’m especially proud of this issue, and not just because my mom will go gaga for some of the landscapes. I’m proud to be a part of our culture’s movement toward conservation, preservation, and reimagination. I’m proud of every nail reused, every raindrop captured, and every developer, architect, builder, and facilities team that works toward a more sustainable future, day in and day out. My hat’s off to each one of you. Cheers,

Timothy A. Schuler Features Editor tim@gbdmagazine.com october–december 2012

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

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Retractions

Samantha Childs

1. In the April 2012 issue, Michael Frerking’s quote on p. 173 should’ve read “…the use of clay and low- to no-carbonemitting binders, rather than Portland cement.” 2. In the July 2012 issue, on p. 206 Carmel Partners was misnamed. gb&d regrets these errors.

october–december 2012

gb&d

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Contributors

Let’s Talk About Specs, Baby

Rafael Viñoly, we are pleased to say, is this issue’s guest editor. Viñoly was born in Uruguay and is now based in New York City. He has practiced architecture for more than 45 years and designed critically and publicly praised buildings throughout the world. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a member of the Japan Institute of Architects. Julie Knudson is a Seattle-based writer who, for this issue of gb&d, examined Reed Hilderbrand’s landscape at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Julie’s background is in facility management, but she writes for a variety of magazines about everything from sustainable construction to fast food. She can be reached at julieknudson.com.

photos: Roman VIÑoly (ViÑoly); Samantha Simmons (Kjos); sheila barabad (van loon)

Benjamin van Loon is a professional writer from Chicago with a polymathic interest in architecture, sustainability, and the philosophies of design in the 21st century. Among his selections in this issue, he writes about the new Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Find him online at benvanloon.com. Ashley T. Kjos is a Chicago-based freelance journalist and fiction writer. His work has appeared in magazines and on websites covering a wide range of subjects, including international business, architecture, baseball, and music. He has contributed to gb&d since 2011, and in this issue he covered the ambitious expansion project at Bell’s Brewery. gbdmagazine.com

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october–december 2012

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Index People & Companies # 3Tree Flats, 32 434 House, 146 450 architects, 101 777 South Broad, 149 7group, 130 A A.F. Smith Electric, 44 Adams, Robin, 203 Akerland, Don, 37 Albanese Organization, 50 Albanese, Christopher, 50 Albanese, Russell, 50 All State Engineering, 34 American Society of Landscape Architects, 115 Andropogon Associates, 130 Angus, Kerry, 22 Aqua tower, 141 AR7 Architects, 92 Árbol de la Vida Residence Hall, 92 Architectural Energy Corporation, 63 ARIA Amazon River Luxury Boat Cruise, 20 ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo, 123 Augustine, Mary Jane, 159 Austin, Pamela, 207 B Balfour Beatty, 153 Ballinger, 165 Balmori Associates, 188 BBS Architects, Landscape Architects, and Engineers, 162 Bell’s Brewery, 74 Berkebile, Bob, 132 Bertram and Judith Kohl Building, 96 Big Ass Fans, 15 Black, Jay, 198 Blossfeldt, Karl, 210 Bodinet, Mark, 171 Boecker, John, 132 Boeing, 20 Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 186 Bowden, Brandt, 36 Bowden, J. Murry, 36 Breiman, Roy, 171 Brewery Vivant, 83 Bridgestone Arena, 179 Brookdale Senior Living, 183 Brower, Anthony, 159 Bruce, Jeffrey, 141 Bruschuk, Josh, 84 Burke, Jami, 172 Busby, Peter, 126 Bushnell, David, 101 Byce & Associates, 77 C C-MORE Hale, 89 Capstone, 153 Carlisle Development Group, 201 Carroll, Kevin, 25 Casa Nueva, 122 Cedar Grove Compost, 172 Cedarbrook Lodge, 171 Center for Sustainable Landscapes, 131 Centra at Metropark, 18 Centre for Green Cities, 170 Chang, Candy, 25 Chicago City Hall, 139 Chicago Cultural Center, 139 Children’s Memorial Hospital, 206 CitiesAlive, 141 Citigroup, 56 City Creek Center, 191 City Creek Reserve, 192 Citygarden, 121 Coastal Hotel Group, 171

october–december 2012

Cooper, Vanessa, 39 Cornell University, 106 Cottonwood Cove Resort & Marina, 181 Cousteau, Philippe Jr., 25 Cowboys Stadium, 175 Crites, Jeff, 78 Crolius, Chris, 82 Cromwell, Lindsey, 37 Cypress Envirosystems, 41 Dallas Cowboys, 175 DCYSA Architecture & Design, 66 DeLacey, Michael, 203 Despujols, Bernadette, 34 Despujols, Tamara, 34 Devcon Construction, 37 Development Management Associates, 71 Diamond Schmitt Architects, 170 Diebel and Company Architectural Studio, 146 Diebel, Gary, 146 DIGroup Architecture, 167 Dillon Design Associates, 39 Dillon, Michael, 39 Dixie Court, 201 Dobry, Paul, 44 Dotiwala, Azita Dashtaki, 153 Dow, 15 Dranoff Properties, 149 Dranoff, Carl, 150 Dunn, Kevin, 168 Dyson, 20 E e2e Materials, 204 Eanes, Tom, 28 Eastern Village Cohousing, 32 Eccentric Café, 76 EDG Architects, 32 Escamilla, James, 77 Evergreen Brick Works, 170 EwingCole, 60 F Fierko, Jason, 60 First Unitarian Society of Madison, 26 Flex Tech Program, 47 Florida Atlantic University, 153 Florida Green Lodging Program, 40 FONS Inc., 34 Fons, Adan, 34 Forever Resorts, 181 Frerking, Michael, 109 G Gary Comer Youth Center, 142 Geisinger Health System, 59 Gibbon, Jim, 63 Glass, Jack, 56 Glenborough, 41 Govang, Pat, 204 Green Living Council, 183 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, 139 Greenscreen, 15 Greenbuild Conference and Expo, 25 Gregg, Thomas, 165 GroundView, 98 Group 70 International, 89 Grove City College, 165 Gruzen Samton • IBI Group, 106 Guariglia, Michael, 159 H H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, 161, 186 Hannaford Bros. Supermarkets, 156 Hanover College Park, 36 Hanover Company, 36 Hanover Rice Village, 37 Harp, Sam, 40 Hatchell, Susan, 116 HI-FOG, 15 Hoffman, Scott, 168

Horizon Bay Realty, 183 Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale, 201 Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara, 39 Hreljanovic, Darko, 106 I IceStone, 20 Ike Design Group, 14 Indu, 33 Innovation Village Apartments, 153 Intrawest, 66 J James Corner Field Operations, 16 Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, 135 John E. Green Company, 44 Johnson, Debra, 92 K Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 135 Kazda, Jim, 106 Klai Juba Architects, 71 Knight Wall Systems, 15 Kohn Pedersen Fox, 18 Kostovny, Mark, 111 Kramer, Eric, 135 Kuhr, Jim, 82 L Lamb, Jeff, 176 Larsson, Ken, 126 Likins Residence Hall, 92 Lincoln Park, 206 Living Systems Architecture and Construction, 109 M Mallia, Mary Ellen, 34 Manassas Park Elementary School, 117 March Associates, 82 Marioff, 15 Mary’s Center, 33 Matt Brewing Company, 80 Matt, Fred, 80 Matt, Nick, 80 McCaffery Interests, 206 McCarter & English, 159 McConnell, Terry, 179 McLennan, Jason, 132 Meffert, Evan, 76 Microdesk, 203 Millennium Park, 141 Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, 66 Mori, Janine, 91 Moscone Center, 25 N Naylor, Kenneth, 201 Nemetschek Vectorworks, 146 Neuner, Al, 59 Nitsch Engineering, 53 Northwest Gardens, 201 Novus International, 118 Nyquist, Tom, 53 O Oberlander, Cornelia Hahn, 128 Oberlin College, 96 Oliver & Company, 102 Onair Development, 22 Ostrander, Scott, 171 P Parker, Richard, 101 Parmenter, George, 156 Peck, Steven, 141 Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, 50 Pelli, Rafael, 50 Perkins+Will, 125 Pfeiffer, Bruce Brooks, 26 PGAL, 153 Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, 131 Piacentini, Richard, 131 Piccinich, Edward V., 198 Pioneer Millworks, 14 Pizzetta, Daria, 187 Platt, Alex, 111

Polkinhorn, Kimberly, 89 Posnett, Jonathan, 187 Premier Chemicals, 109 Premier Materials, 182 Princeton University, 53 Provident Hotels & Resorts, 40 Pryor, Ann Looper, 123 Puliafico, Fred, 47 R Rambow, Jon, 78 RecycleMania Tournament, 46 Reed Hilderbrand, 135 Republic Services, 179 Reyes-Rodas, Orlando, 39 Richard Matsunaga & Associates, 195 Rivers Casino, 71 Robert Derector Associates, 159 Rockwell Hall, 165 Rolston, Will, 195 Rucinski, Loren, 47 Rudolphy, Gabriel, 155 Rutgers Preparatory School, 167 S Sack, Paul, 82 Safeway, 63 SAIC, 34 Salomon Brothers, 56 San Francisco Waldorf High School, 101 Sanchez, Alex, 39 Santa Clara University, 37 Santamaria, Carlos, 41 Saranac Beers, 80 Sattelmayer, John, 183 Schetlick, Michael, 160 Seattle Housing Authority, 28 Sharp & Diamond, 125 Shelby Farms Park, 16 Sinai Health System, 84 SIP Panel House, 155 SL Green Realty, 198 Slocum Architects, 78 Smart Home: Green + Wired, 14 SmartSide, 111 Smith, Roger, 162 Soffia, Alejandro, 155 Solar Village Homes, 111 Spaulding, Jason, 83 Spaulding, Kris, 83 St-Jean, Bruno, 66 St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor, 44 State University of New York (SUNY), 33 Step-Up Apprenticeship Program, 202 Strawbridge, Scott, 201 Structure Tone, 53 Suffolk County Community College, 162 Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES), 118 T Taliesin West, 26 Taylor, Rod, 181 The Design Alliance Architects, 130 The Green at College Park, 118 The Taubman Company, 192 Thermal Engineering Group, 89 Tidwell-Teachey Residence, 109 Tocco, Tom, 44 Tokita, Brent, 195 Tree Hugger Recycling, 83 Tremblay, Christine, 68 Tucker, Don, 32 Turner Construction Company, 50 Two Twelve, 187 U Uncommon Ground, 143 Union College, 46 University at Albany, SUNY, 33 University of Arizona, 92 University of Hawaii at Manoa, 89

US Federal Courthouse, Jackson, MS, 161 V Van Note-Harvey Associates, 54 VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre, 126 Varelmann, Steven, 96 Venezia, Jeff, 168 Versant Soleil, 66 Viñoly, Rafael, 20 Voss Lighting, 175 W Walters, Kimura, Motoda, 91 Wardell, Linda, 192 West Hawaii Civic Center, 195 Westlake Reed Leskosky, 96 Westrope, Jason, 71 Woodbury, Edmund, 206 Woodland Discovery Playground, 16 Woodrow, Scott, 175 Wright, Frank Lloyd, 26 X XOCO, 143

gb&d

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List

gbdmagazine.com

october–december 2012

UP FRONt

Editor’s Picks

Pioneer Reclaimed Paneling Sometimes it’s okay to be run-of-the-mill, especially for Pioneer Millworks. With shops located in Farmington, New York, and McMinnville, Oregon, the company specializes in reclaimed and repurposed wood features that can be utilized structurally or as natural flourishes. Limited edition products, saved from dismantled barns and industrial buildings, can also add earthy accents to modern structural spaces, such as in the EDUN offices in New York City (pictured). pioneermillworks.com

Ike Design Group Lighting Bill Orner and Brian Craig had two things: a bright idea and a lot of scrap wood. Originally meant as installations for a Scranton, Pennsylvania, art exhibit, “Hangin’ Lamps” were light fixtures made from reclaimed construction trash. When everything sold on opening night, the duo founded Ike Design Group, which creates rustic lighting fixtures ranging from a $35 night-light made of pallet wood and tin, to a $225 hanging lamp made of reclaimed barn wood. Trash to treasure. ikedesigngroup.com

photos: Alexander Severin / RAZUMMEDIA (Pioneer); J.B. Spector (Smart Home)

Smart Home: Green + Wired Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry has long been a proponent of modern technological innovation. With interior design by Scout and technology sponsored by Gizmodo.com, the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit showcases and contrasts everyday and emerging home technologies, including automation monitors, solar film, wind turbines, Cybertecture mirrors, and modern furniture by Gentner, including its Corliss Chair and Bones Cocktail Table (pictured below). The exhibit closes in January 2013. msichicago.org

it! Go see art The Sm hibit x e e m Ho ugh ro th runs 13. 0 2 Jan.

october–december 2012

gb&d

UP FRONt

Haiku Fan Taking its inspiration from the Japanese verse form, the Haiku Fan is clean, simple, and highly efficient. Its trademark direct-current Sensorless Drive Technology is 80 percent more energy efficient than conventional alternating-current ceiling fans. Bolstered by an Energy Star rating, the Haiku fan won an international LiveEDGE award for excellence in electronic design. The makers, Big Ass Fans, insist that the three bamboo fan blades be called ‘airfoils,’ though we suspect it’s simply to snatch that extra syllable. haikufan.com

greenscreen Living Walls It’s one thing to bring life to a building. It’s another to make the building itself come alive. Greenscreen’s welded-panel trellising system does both. The panels, available in various structural dimensions, can be utilized as fences, wall screens, columns, or proprietary shapes that can be set up as freestanding landscape structures. They encourage vertical plant growth and promote greenness inside and out. greenscreen.com

gbdmagazine.com

HI-FOG Sprinklers You never hope to test an in-building sprinkler system, but in case of emergency, you want to be ensured effectiveness and efficiency. Marioff’s precision-machined HI-FOG sprinkler heads come equipped with heat-sensitive glass bulbs designed to burst in response to five progressive levels of increased ambient temperature (134.6 to 285.8 degrees Fahrenheit). They also use 90 percent less water than standard systems and have 300-micrometer strainers in the spray heads to prevent clogging— just in case. marioff.com

Dow-Knight CI-System It was back in the 1960s that engineers realized separating the weather-bearing and structural elements of a wall made interior systems more efficient and building envelopes tighter. The new CI-System rain screen, offered by Knight Wall Systems and utilizing the patent-pending THERMAX Wall System from Dow, can help reduce long-term energy consumption, enable the use of rigid-foam exterior insulation, and be integrated with weather-resistant barrier systems and fire-performance industry standards. Plus, it doesn’t look half bad. knightwallsystems.com

october–december 2012

UP FRONt

Defined Design Shelby Farms Park Green geeks (like us) are in love with Memphis, and it might have something to do with James Corner Field Operations’ plan to restore Shelby Farms Park, a wild woodland amid Tennesee’s urban tangle.

prox·i·mal (adj) \'präk-sə-məl\ Located just 12 miles from downtown Memphis, Tennessee, Shelby Farms Park is a 4,500-acre park set on a former penal agricultural area owned by the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. trans·for·ma·tion (noun) \ˌtran(t)s-fər-ˈmā-shən\ Beginning in 2008, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy partnered with James Corner Field Operations to revitalize the park, raising funds and instituting a master plan, which addresses definition, fragmentation, and access issues by instituting new sustainable programs and a large-scale landscape overhaul.

See Ja m Corner’ es s Navy Pier re vamp, p. 177

com·pre·hen·sive (adj) \ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-siv\ Delivery on the master plan, which began in 2009, included new greenway connections, playgrounds, gateway signage, and the expansion of Patriot Lake. Pickering Firm Inc. and Archimania were enlisted to oversee the civil engineering and architecture for the park.

details location Memphis, TN Size 4,500 acres Completed Ongoing, Woodland Discovery Playground completed 2011 Landscape Architect James Corner Field Operations Civil Engineering Pickering Firm Architecture Archimania Client Shelby Farms Park Conservancy

play (verb) \ˈplā\ In 2011, one year after James Corner launched the “One Million Trees” initiative to engage the local community to plant and cultivate trees within the park, construction was completed on the 3.5-acre Woodland Discovery Playground. The SITES-certified play area was planned with the input of kids themselves and draws from its ties to the greater forest restoration project. Patriot Lake will be doubled in size to more than 100 acres, improving the overall health of the upland areas by reconfiguring the watersheds and diversifying the ecology of the park.

The “One Million Trees” program connects fragmented woodlands, creating wildlife corridors. It also reduces Memphis’s carbon footprint and engages the community in planting and stewardship.

october–december 2012

gb&d

UP FRONt

Woodland Discovery Playground, completed in 2011, is a 3.5-acre play area informed by research about how children develop and discover their surroundings.

on·go·ing (adj) \ˈȯn-ˌgō-iŋ\ Partnering with research teams from the Groundwater Institute and Ecological Research Center at the University of Memphis, Phase 1 of the master plan also includes the expansion of Patriot Lake, which will double its size to cover more than 100 acres, improving the health of the lake and revitalizing upland landscape for continued park restoration.

renderings: James Corner Field Operations

The master plan for Shelby Farms Park has four objectives: enhance the park’s identity, connect access and circulation, create ecological connections, and define edges and gateways to the park.

gbdmagazine.com

october–december 2012

UP FRONt

Defined Design Centra at Metropark

details location Iselin, NJ Size 80,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Architect Kohn Pedersen Fox Landscape Architect Towers Golde Construction Tishman Construction Client Hampshire Companies

october–december 2012

trans·mute (verb) \tran(t)s-ˈmyüt\ The old Centra building, located in Iselin, New Jersey, and owned by the Hampshire Companies, was a 1980s glass and concrete-block structure in dire need of revitalization. Respondent to a $20 million RFP, Kohn Pedersen Fox turned the 80,000-square-foot structure inside out and is striving for LEED Platinum certification. multi·form (adj) \ˈməl-ti-ˌfȯrm\ The new Centra building, completed in 2011, remains a four-story structure but provides an additional 30,000 square feet of office space, aided in part by the expanded fourth story supported by an iconic, asymmetrical tree-like structure, made of one-inch-thick plate steel connected with 300,000 steel studs. di·ver·si·ty (noun) \də-ˈvər-sə-tē\ Respondent to the orthogonal elements of the Centra building, whose entire envelope is flanked with tinted glass walls, the surrounding landscape features

pyramid-shaped stone forms created by landscape architects Towers Golde that diversify the structural context. il·lu·mi·nate (verb) \i-ˈlü-mə-nət\ Sunken gardens and floor-to-ceiling Viracon windows, in clear and gray glass, allow ambient light to reach all corners of the interior, including the previously unused 20,000-square-foot basement. A rectangular opening is cut in the center of the expanded fourth floor, allowing light to reach the center of the building. re·use (verb) \ˌrē-ˈyüz\ Inspired by a limited budget and sustainable efforts, Tishman Construction was able to perform a selective demolition of the old building by reusing $4.5 million worth of materials and preserving 45 percent of the building core.

gb&d

photos: Michael Moran

No, a cool office space doesn’t automatically make your job better. But it does help, and Kohn Pedersen Fox‘s redo for the Centra building in New Jersey should have employees cheering from the rooftops.

Kohn Pedersen Fox included a rectangular hole in the suspended fourth floor to allow more natural light into the building.

The building design revitalized the 20,000-square-foot basement by adding sunken gardens with an open ceiling and a walkway.

UP FRONt

Guest Editor Rafael Viñoly, FAIA We’ve been fans of Rafael Viñoly since... well, since we launched this magazine. The Uruguay-born, New York City-based architect has designed buildings for more than 45 years, and his global portfolio is critically and publicly praised. He’s a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a member of the Japan Institute of Architects. We asked him to tell us about some of the most alluring green inventions he’s stumbled upon recently.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Because travel is so integral to my work, flying comfortably is imperative. The technical advances of the new 787 have the power to revolutionize the way we experience travel. The new composite structure will not only help save fuel but allow for increased cabin pressure and humidity—a win-win.

october–december 2012

M/V ARIA Amazon River Luxury Cruise Eco-friendly tourism conjures up grueling travel experiences; luxury doesn’t come to mind. That is until I read about this well-designed ship aimed at preserving and protecting the health of the Amazon rainforest. Guilt-free luxury with an eco-twist that I plan on experiencing. gb&d

photos: aqua expeditions; The boeing company; icestone; Roman Viñoly (portrait)

IceStone Sustainability is a hallmark of my work and a constant thread throughout the many different design stages of my projects. We recently came across this company’s remarkable and sustainable products with an ethos to match. With its dizzying array of color options, we recently were able to specify the right option for a client.

UP FRONt

The hillside site behind UCSF was thought to be unbuildable, but Viñoly used the slope to his advantage by cantilevering the structure, thereby reducing excavation.

Dyson Airblade Customer loyalty, if there is still such a thing, doesn’t come easily for me, but I’ve been long wooed by my Dyson vacuum and sung its praises. It was no surprise to find the advanced hand dryer I used recently was by Dyson. What did surprise me was how hard it was to pry off the wall.

A facility that seeks to further stem-cell research is hardly conservative in its ambitions, but Viñoly’s facility for the University of California–San Francisco is all about conservation: the cantilevered building uses seismic isolators to manage the steeply sloping site, reducing the amount of steel needed for the superstructure, and green roofs reduce urban heat island effect and stormwater runoff. Research staff have access to the rooftop spaces, which boast sweeping views of San Francisco below. Inside, the main floor functions as a continuous, split-level laboratory, the openness intentional, in order to facilitate greater collaboration between research teams.

photos: dyson; bruce damonte

Glass PV Panels With the production of oil nearing its peak, the profound implications we face thereafter will be challenging. It’s key for architects, like myself, to consider and specify power-generating materials such as PV panels, which are modular and easily expandable, and provide energy independence and environmental compatibility.

OUR FAVORITE VIÑ OLY

Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building, San Francisco

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october–december 2012

UP FRONt

Launch Pad Onair Development

Healthcare facilities such as this one in Austin, TX, are being built closer to patients, says Kerry Angus, a developer.

Who

Kerry Angus started Onair Development after seeing an opportunity to improve conditions for medical providers. As a healthcare attorney, he watched physician reimbursements decline, and he eventually decided it was time to launch a new model of medical office space ownership to help with doctors increasing costs. “We make tenants our partners in the deal and allow them to acquire ownership by using their long-term lease as currency,” Angus explains. Onair Development’s typical deal size is 30,000 to 60,000 square feet, with about 60 percent of projects focused on ground-up construction and the remainder composed of acquisition and repositioning of existing facilities.

What Onair Development specializes in real estate development that offers physicians and other professionals benefits that many hospitals do not, such as control over services offered, complementary specialists among the project’s tenants, and an ownership stake in the project. Developments bring together specialists with primary-care physicians and urgent-care services as well. It’s a one-stop shop that provides patients convenience and tenants a robust business environment. The formula is successful because Onair has the real estate expertise and much of the capital, which allows the physicians to focus on healthcare.

october–december 2012

LAUNCHED

2009

“I’m seeing a real shift in medical providers wanting to be closer to their patients and oftentimes closer to where they live.” Kerry Angus, CEO

When Founded in 2009, by 2011 Onair Development was named Austin’s number one medical-real-estatedevelopment firm and fifth in overall real estate developers by volume. The market was difficult during those years, but it has grown in revenue each year, Angus says. Onair is now getting clarity on some of the real estate finance issues that have been plaguing the country for the past few years. Because of that insight, the company has been able to expand its footprint as well as its project portfolio.

Where Onair Development is located in Austin, Texas. One recent project, Kyle Medical Plaza, is located in the high-growth area of Kyle, Texas, about 20

miles south of Austin. The facility is less than a mile from a nearby hospital but outside any ancillary restrictions the hospital might try to impose. Another project, the Riverplace Medical Plaza is opening in summer 2013, but instead of being located near other care facilities, Riverplace is situated outside one of Austin’s gated communities for convenience. “I’m seeing a real shift in medical providers wanting to be closer to their patients and oftentimes closer to where they live,” Angus says. “It’s about bringing medical services to the patients and making it convenient for them.” While much of Onair’s focus has been on Central Texas, it’s branching out and taking other development opportunities across the South.

Why Onair Development seeks to develop medical facilities where provider tenants have an ownership stake. It brings medical providers together in a model that aims to boost revenue, not control it. “I saw the tension between physician groups and hospitals,” Angus says, “where the hospitals wanted to control the ancillaries, but doctors needed to capture those in order to maintain their income levels.” Onair Development often partners with other companies such as Schneider Halls, an architecture firm with a background in the healthcare niche. Angus says that Schneider Halls specialized in an area where it saw a need. In part because of its expertise in healthcare facilities, Onair chose Schneider Halls as the lead architect for the Riverplace project. Angus says the result is a cost-effective and efficient building that is also aesthetically pleasing and has a lot of touches to enhance the livability for tenants and patients. gb&d —Julie Knudson gb&d

Sustainability is essential, and gb&d is essential to sustainability.

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A I R P O R T S 81 B L A I N E B R O W N E L L 19 B E S T B U Y ’ S E X T R A V O L U M E 31 INSIDE THE HEALTHCARE F A C I L I T I E S S Y M P O S I U M 20

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ZAHA HADID’S SHRINK-TO-FIT AQUATICS CENTER FOR LONDON 2012 118

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Schneider Halls Design provides architectural and interior design services exclusively to the healthcare community. We are devoted to the delivery of state-of-the-art, people friendly environments to healthcare providers. Function and aesthetics are critical to creating spaces that are well received on opening day. Durable, sustainable, healthy environments are the keys to the success of our Clients business, and we understand that very well. We are committed to improving the quality of healthcare environments by any increment possible. Each of our Clients will define what that incrementis for them, and we will strive to exceed their expectations at every opportunity. Schneider Halls Design is currently designing a three story Medical Office Building for Onair Development in Austin, TX scheduled for completion in early 2013. Craig Puccetti CPuccetti@schneiderhalls.com (512) 531-9075 GBD 5113 Ad:Evapco 6/1/12Suite4:09 PM Texas Page78746 1 Southwest Parkway, 100, Austin,

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october–december 2012

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UP FRONt

Scene Greenbuild 2012 Celebrating its tenth year November “The Greenbuild Master Series brings Special sets include “The Collection,” 14–16 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, together leaders of diverse industries who “Community,” “Thought Leadership,” Greenbuild is the industry’s preeminent share the common trait of championand “Performance,” and several sessions event for gathering and sharing ideas ing sustainability and green building.” will be led by Richard Branson, NASA’s Sam Higuchi, Christina Page of Yahoo!, and innovations that continue to transAmong various USGBC professionals, and Andrew Blum of Wired. form the future of sustainable design. this year’s speakers include Kevin Carroll, founder of Kevin Carroll Four summits also will take Nearly 30,000 individuals are expected Katalyst and author of Think place. The Affordable Housing to attend this year’s conference, which Outside Your Blocks; Candy Summit takes place in three is hosted by the USGBC and sponsored Chang, TED Senior Fellow, by Kohler, Carrier, CBRE, McGraw Hill sequential sessions on Wednescofounder of the Civic Center Construction, and numerous others. day, November 14, the same in New Orleans, and an Oprah Greenbuild 2012 features hundreds day as the four-session Green Magazine “Live Your Best Life” of exhibitors, educational programJobs Summit and threeCousteau Local Hero; Philippe Cousteau, ming, and access to the diverse session Legal Summit, Jr., legacy entrepreneur, environmennatural and urban amenities which includes presentations native to the Bay Area. from Sandy Robertson, Louise tal advocate, and president of EarthEcho Adamson, and Donald Simon. International; and Van Jones, nonprofit Official programming The Residential Summit comprofessional and president of Rebuild the begins at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesprises 12 sessions during the Dream. gb&d day, November 14, but Monday second day of the conference, and Tuesday of the conference Carroll and features presentations from will host two full days of LEED a message from EVAPCO Matt Clark of Habitat for Humanworkshops for qualified profes The eco-Cooler and Thermal Ice Storage systems by EVAPCO, provide ity, Prudence Ferreira of Passive sionals. The conference schedthe opportunity to earn LEED points in Water Efficiency and Energy House Alliance US, and Aaron ule is broken into 15 sections, and Atmosphere. The eco-Cooler features Ellipti-fin™ technology, a Fairchild of Green Canopy. including social responsibility, wet/dry heat exchanger designed to reduce potable water consumpTen keynote Master Series finance and policy, site and tion. Thermal Ice Storage reduces peak energy demand and costs sessions are the central foci water, building performance, by building ice at night, and melting it during the day when energy of the conference programand research, and features 150 rates are high. Visit us at Booth 3610N at GreenBuild. Contact Chang ming. According to Greenbuild, EVAPCO at 410-756-2600, marketing@evapco.com. different sessions and summits.

Beyond the Golden Gate

photos: Randal Ford (Chang); Adam Larkey (Cousteau)

Explore the Bay Area with these green extracurriculars STAY

EAT

explore

Orchard Garden Hotel A half-mile walk from Moscone Center and one of the first LEEDcertified hotels in the world. theorchardgardenhotel.com

The Plant: Cafe Organic “Organic, fresh, local” dining whose main location at Pier 3 is just 1.3 miles from the Moscone Center. theplantcafe.com

Conservatory of Flowers San Francisco’s oldest conservatory (circa 1878) and the oldest building in Golden Gate Park. conservatoryofflowers.org

Presidio of San Francisco A bay-side park with nearly 220 years of history, historic buildings, beaches, forests, and iconic views. (Also home to the LEED Platinum Crissy Field Center, featured in gb&d’s July issue on p. 115.) nps.gov EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park An integral environmental-justiceeducation facility, and San Francisco’s first net-zero building. lejyouth.org

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october–december 2012

UP FRONt

Notebook Alan Oakes: Solar is a Boon at Taliesin West “The whole idea of putting solar panels on the roof was odious,” Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer says to me as we discuss the installation of a new 250-kilowatt solar system at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic winter home and studio near Scottsdale, Arizona. Pfeiffer is the well-known Wright archivist and author of many standard-bearing anthologies of Wright’s work, but before he was those things, he was one of Wright’s apprentices and helped build Wright’s winter retreat. Despite their relationship, Pfeiffer is reticent to ever put words in Wright’s mouth, but he does think Wright would be pleased with the new solar installation—once it was moved to an off-building location on the property. “Anything that would take you off dependence of public service Wright would like,” Pfeiffer says, explaining that Wright didn’t like others usurping his independence. After receiving particularly large utility bills for his other residence, Taliesin, in Wisconsin, Pfeiffer recalls that Wright was “so exasperated he put us on diesel generators.” I can imagine the twinkle in Wright’s eye at the sweet deal Taliesin West got for the new solar array. First Solar installed the entire system gratis—just for the publicity. Now, Wright’s property is off the grid for good. Many consider the organic design movement Wright fostered to be the prelude to the sustainability trends

Don’t mess with this roof. Though in favor of a solar array, Wright advocates said no panels on the buildings at Taliesin West.

emerging today. He wanted humanity to live in harmony with nature, but he also wasn’t afraid to use the latest technologies to do it. Looking back into Wright’s world from our perspective, we see an architect keenly interested in making buildings more efficient. “In 1943 through 1945, Wright was doing planted roofs, backing up earth onto buildings to conserve energy; he was explicit about conserving energy,” Pfeiffer says. “He always took advantage of a site, taking a design and turning it on the compass point to take advantage of the sun.” In 1958, in his final years, Wright included solar panels in a scheme for a private residence, but the home was never built. Updating Wright structures for a sustainable 21st

I can imagine the twinkle in Wright’s eye at the sweet deal Taliesin West got for the new solar array. First Solar installed the system gratis— just for the publicity. 26

october–december 2012

century still poses complex challenges however. At Taliesin West, it was agreed that the solar array would be kept from the buildings. Pfeiffer says that advertising for the solar installation company can be seen, but it doesn’t impede the view in any way, and it can’t be seen from the building. Recently, the congregation of the First Unitarian Society of Madison in Wisconsin wanted to expand on its Wright-designed structure from the 1940s. (Pfeiffer worked construction on this building as an apprentice.) To do so, it had to integrate the ideals of its faith, the needs of the congregation, and the design of a building Wright completed more than sixty years ago. Using pattern mapping and assembling a standing committee of Wright experts, Kubala Washatko Architects created an addition that serves the needs of the congregation while remaining in close relation—but not an imitagb&d

UP FRONt

TALIESIN PHOTO: JUDITH BROMLEY

Taliesin West’s dual solar fields take Frank Lloyd Wright’s summer home off the grid for good.

tion—of Wright’s original work. The 20,000-square-foot addition, embanked into the side of a hill with a green roof and a solar hemicycle shape, is the first ecclesiastical structure in Wisconsin to be certified LEED Gold. Pfeiffer, now in the twilight of his own career, told me what Wright once told him: “Go through life with an open hand rather than a closed fist and ideas will come to you when you least expect.” I have no doubt that if Wright were alive today, he would be on the forefront of the sustainable design movement, using new technology and ideas to push it further forward. gb&d

The green roof at Wright’s First Unitarian Church in Madison, WI, turned out beautifully, but adding it wasn’t easy.

Alan Oakes is an architectural historian, writer, documentarian, and regular contributor to gb&d. Reach him at alanoakes@gbdmagazine.com. gbdmagazine.com

october–december 2012

verbatim

“We are stewards of the public trust, so we feel that sustainability is the best use of public funds for the long-term.”

verbatim

ABOUT Tom Eanes is the senior development program manager for Seattle Housing Authority. Previously he was an architect at Pyatok Architects; his first job was at a landscape nursery. Among his accomplishments is Lake City Court, which is currently the greenest affordable housing in Washington state, featuring solar panels, bike racks, and a community garden. For more info, visit seattlehousing.org.

T om E anes

october–december 2012

The architect turned affordable-housing advocate shares his secrets for how to build truly healthful housing As told to Lynn Russo Whylly

I spent most of my career as an architect with Pyatok Architects, a firm that specializes in affordable housing. I had done a lot of work with another firm on the Holly Park redevelopment for the Seattle Housing Authority in the 1990s, so they knew me well. In 2006, I was already project manager for Lake City Court when I went to work for Hewitt Architects, and the housing authority assigned them the Lake City Court project. In mid-2010, I left Hewitt to join the housing authority full time. The kind of sustainable features we build have a positive impact on the life cycle of our buildings. That’s one reason why the Seattle Housing Authority is interested in sustainability. Another is that we are stewards of the public trust, so we feel that sustainability is the best use of public funds for the long-term. There is also a health aspect to it. We’re building buildings that have a long-term positive impact on people’s health and well-being. The site we built Lake City Court on presented some unique problems. The Lake City Village townhomes, built there in 1970, had a creek running in a pipe under the property. As development occurred upstream, the pipe could no longer carry the flow, and the grounds began to flood, making the homes uninhabitable. Eventually the buildings were torn down, and the city expanded the pipe to accommodate the larger need. The Seattle Housing gb&d

photo: sky-pix Aerial Photography

Authority purchased some contiguous property and the development became Lake City Court. We were charged with how to house a large number of families in the building and get them to live potentially without a car. While there is one parking space for every unit, because it’s required by zoning, residents can walk, bike, or take the bus everywhere they need to go: a secure underground garage provides parking for 90 vehicles, the building provides indoor and covered outdoor bicycle parking, [and] many major bus routes stop within a one-block walk. When we first started designing the project, we were partnered with a community health clinic called Neighborcare, but we were challenged to fit in the clinic along with all the necessary dwelling units and zoningrequired on-site parking. With the crash of 2008, the health clinic pulled out of the program and, with all the space at our disposal, our design became simpler. The net result was a four-story, elevatorequipped building with 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units. Two HUD grants—one from Hope VI and one from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—gave us the money we needed to look at sustainable ideas we hadn’t previously been able to afford. Because of ARRA, we were able to do the solar array and install high-quality linoleum flooring, which is a natural product made from flaxseed gbdmagazine.com

What is your hidden talent? Maintaining a sense of humor in the face of insurmountable obstacles.

Describe yourself in three words. Serious, thoughtful, hard-working.

What inspires you? High-quality, sustainable urban living for people of all income levels.

If you weren’t an architect, what would you be? A photographer.

What was your first job? Working in a landscape nursery.

Up Close and Personal

VERBATIM

and other things, rather than vinyl, which isn’t environmentally friendly, or carpet, which is a health hazard for asthmatics. The units are consuming 30 percent less energy for space heating than the current Washington State Energy Code. Apartments are heated with high-efficiency, gas-fired hydronic heat. Six thousand square feet of solar panels are generating 10 percent of the building’s annual electricity consumption and 20 percent of its annual hot water needs. And all appliances are Energy Star rated. Quality of life is a key component in our building designs as well. Residents of Lake City Court have a computer center, a community garden, a community meeting room, and a community patio and barbecue. Pedestrian paths connect the Lake City House next door and Lake City Court site with the adjacent neighborhoods. The building is close to schools, shopping, medical and dental offices, a post office, library, community center, farmers market, parks, and a beach. Also, bus service is excellent. gb&d

building sustainable communties enhancing the urban experience through thoughtful high density design solutions.

architecture landscape architecture urban design

www.hewittseattle.com

EDG Architects, LLC 3 BETHESDA METRO CENTER SUITE 110, BETHESDA MD 20814 301.654.0058 - edgarchitects.net

E n v i r o n m e n t a l

D e s i g n

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SInce 1974, EDG, which stands for Evironmental Design Group, has approached architecture as a collaborative effort to create sustainable environments involving the owner, end user(s), design team and builder. • SITE ANALYSIS • FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS • BUILDING PROGRAMMING • SCHEMATIC AND CONCEPTUAL DRAWINGS • DETAILED PRELIMINARY DRAWINGS • INTERIOR DESIGN • CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION • BID NEGOTIATION/CONTRACTOR PROCUREMENT • CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

october–december 2012

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GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List

Design 32 EDG Architects 33 University at Albany, SUNY 34 FONS Inc.

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DEvelopment

36 37 39

Hanover Company Santa Clara University Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara

40 41 44 46

operations

Provident Hotels & Resorts Glenborough St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor Union College

october窶電ecember 2012

Approach Design

EDG Masters Affordable Luxury Eastern Village Cohousing takes home honors for best green luxury project and best affordable rehab Principal Don Tucker, on tenant engagement: “Those who live there have to sustain it.” As “green” becomes an all-encompassing buzz word, many architecture firms are jumping on the sustainable bandwagon, but the name of EDG Architects says it all: Environmental Design Group. Since its inception in 1972, the Bethesda, Maryland-based firm has focused on sustainability, and when principal Don Tucker joined EDG in 1974, the firm was well on its way to differentiating itself from competitors by focusing on something many firms still fail to incorporate into their plans: engaging tenants. “Since we started in the 1970s our fo-

october–december 2012

cus has always been multifamily and affordable housing communities that were sustainable and energy efficient, but we always understood the importance of including the residents in the process,” Tucker says. “Those who live there have to sustain it.” In 2008, EDG Architects completed Eastern Village Cohousing, in Silver Spring, Maryland, a challenging adaptive-reuse project that converted an abandoned office building into residential housing and artist lofts. EDG engaged the local community and

Eastern Village verdant courtyard was once a parking lot. After one year, residents have made a hanging garden in the couryard and vines hang from green screens. And that’s not all—below it all are 40 geothermal wells.

conducted focus groups with future owners participating directly in the process. Eastern Village would prove to be EDG’s first LEED Silver, multifamily project. According to Tucker, LEED wasn’t very “friendly” when it came to multifamily units at the time, so the project required a lot of creativity, including one feature that EDG is becoming known for. Both Eastern Village and 3Tree Flats, a LEED Gold-certified, mixed-income development in Washington, DC, feature green screens. Essentially living architecture, these green-wall systems utilize climbing plants, such as deciduous vines, and cascading groundcovers. They not only filter indoor air but also control runoff and provide thermal protection. Eastern Village in particular was built with the intention of prioritizing a lush, eco-friendly landscape to create an urban garden for residents. Besides a green screen, the existing parking lot was gb&d

Design APPROACH

“A lot of what we do is just common sense; they’re things the industry seems to have forgotten about.”

UAlbany Leverages Social Media for Energy Savings

Don Tucker, Principal, EDG Architects

SUNY institution pushes Green Scene website to engage students

transformed into a garden over geotherthey’ve ever been. We can now study the mal wells, and a covered walkway along building envelope in a way that lets our the courtyard’s perimeter features plantclients get more bang for their buck.” In ers for individual owners to maintain, the end, such tools are just that: tools. giving the courtyard the appearance of a The knowledge and values have to come hanging garden. first. From its community roots—Three Tree Tucker says the EDG team is incredFlats also houses Mary’s Center, a comibly proud of the work it does. “Eastern munity health center that provides social Village Cohousing is representative of our services and healthcare to families in the best practices,” Tucker says. “Not only did area—to cutting-edge technology such it win the National Association of Home Builders’ 2005 Green Project of the Year as BIM, EDG is as progressive as archiaward for luxury multifamily homes, but tects come. Tucker is quick to point out, it also won first place from the Affordable however, that much of the firm’s efforts Housing Conference for affordable rehab involve going “back to basics.” projects. In the same project you have “A lot of what we do is just common luxury and affordable coexisting. I don’t sense,” Tucker says. “They’re things the know of many other firms that could industry seems to have forgotten about: incorporate both of those things into one building orientation, passive solar, project.” gb&d —Tina Vasquez natural ventilation, and daylighting. These are sustainable principles that have been around a very 3Tree Flats, a LEED Gold development on long time. I’m not saying energyGeorgia Avenue in Washington, DC, has a modeling tools aren’t helpful. community health facility and features a large They’re more useful now than green roof and several green screens.

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Five percent of energy savings attributed to behavioral changes The University at Albany, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, had several advantages as it transitioned toward further sustainability throughout the past decade. One is that the campus was largely constructed in the 1960s, allowing some economies from replication between structures. Another is that publicly owned, institutional buildings freed up planners to make energy upgrades that pay for themselves over building lifecycles—not just three or five years. And in a backhanded way, a state legislature-forced 30-percent reduction of the SUNY-wide operating budget made energy reduction an imperative rather than a choice. A university with 18,000 students, however, has a lot of human power to leverage as well, which the UAlbany Office of Environmental Sustainability does to a meaningful degree. Located in the Northeast, UAlbany is like many colleges and universities in that it must deal with the “shoulder season,” those times in the spring and fall when warm temperatures can make classrooms uncomfortable. But university engineer and LEED AP Indu (who uses no surname) explains, “All of our new construction and renovation projects include operable windows to help the occupant deal with this situation.” On a warm day in March, for instance, students can use windows instead of air-conditioning. To promote these options, UAlbany has a website (UAlbany Green Scene, albany.edu/gogreen) with social media extensions and news of hands-on programs that encourage students to conserve and recycle. Twitter and Facebook are utilized to advertise ways for students to get involved. “The Green Scene initiative has led to behavioral changes that yield more than five percent energy savings,” Indu october–december 2012

One of many green projects, UAlbany’s 96,000-squarefoot School of Business building was designed by Perkins+Will to earn LEED Gold certification.

Campus-wide, the school’s 1960s buildings are getting double-pane, low-E windows and new roof membranes, insulation, and lighting with energy-saving alternatives. Most students, though, will see none of this—except, perhaps, on Facebook and Twitter. gb&d —Russ Klettke says. According to Mary Ellen Mallia, the university’s director for environmental sustainability, the university currently achieves a 38 percent recyclable trash diversion rate, up from a 9 percent diversion rate in 2005. Events, blogs, and academic programs built around campus sustainability informs the university population on some of the more visible components of the program, such as a LEED Gold-certified, 500-unit dormitory, its 96,000-squarefoot School of Business building (targeting LEED Gold certification), and the university’s data center, which, planned with the help of Virginia-based engineering firm SAIC, will recover heat from the center’s servers to warm adjoining offices. Water conservation is evident in a rainfall-retention pond, used for irrigation, a rain garden at the Alumni House, and responsibly managed fountains that have long served as icons of the institution. Those are the aspects of UAlbany’s sustainability initiatives that are in plain sight. What are not seen are the improvements to the school’s mechanical systems that save the school $500,000 per year and reduce carbon emissions by 14 percent. Or the LEED-certified dormitory that is the first on campus to resource all heating and cooling from a geothermal system, made possible in part by a $2.7 million US Department of Energy grant. Indu and her team employ meters, submeters, and control points to monitor its efficacy and eventually build a case for geothermal systems on future projects.

october–december 2012

Guiding the Greening of Key Biscayne FONS Inc. aids Despujols & Despujols in creating the first LEED Silver home in Key Biscayne, FL

By year end, Adan Fons, principal of FONS Inc., is hoping a family will call 241 Buttonwood Drive its home. The single-family structure was the first US project for Tamara and Bernadette Despujols, owners of Despujols & Despujols, a design and real state development firm, and the two chose FONS to be the US architect of record and project manager because of FONS’s knowledge of Key Biscayne, Florida, and its commitment to sustainable design. 241 Buttonwood has 3,500 square feet, four bedrooms, and three-and-ahalf baths and was designed to provide a nontoxic environment without compromising luxury and comfort. It qualified for LEED Silver with a total of 68 points, including 17 for indoor environment and quality, as well as one for innovation and

two for awareness and education. This is the first of five sustainable homes Despujols & Despujols expects to build in Key Biscayne this year, and it is the first LEED Silver single-family home on the island. “When Tamara and Bernadette first looked at the home together, they wanted to make sure the site was close to services, within walking distance from everything,” Fons says. The home was designed for the coastal area and the tropical climate. Windows were strategically located to minimize heat gain and made impact-resistant for hurricane season. Fons says everything was designed with the future owner in mind. “We tried to look at how they would use the home to provide a design that would consume less energy and was operationally more efficient,” he says. Its particular residential community uses golf carts to get around the island, so Despujols & Despujols added an electrical plug-in for a golf cart to the home, and FONS ensured there would be space for the golf cart onsite. Fons says he hopes this feature will become standard in the area over time. On the western side of the house, the windows were recessed behind an outdoor covered terrace area to provide shade and create an outdoor living space. Many of the windows face the north side to bring more daylight to the interior, and the centrally located HVAC system reduces the amount of ductwork needed, thus reducing the overall impact of the house. R-14 insulation was used on the exterior walls, and R-30 was used on the roof. The builder is exploring the possibility of using recycled tiles and FSC-certified woods on the interior, and low-VOC paints and finishes have been specified into the plans. The home sits in a flood zone, so it is built on piles and elevated five feet. All State Engineering & Testing Consultants handled the soil borings and ground investigation. The lift adds a natural ventilation space under the home and meets water flow-through requirements necessary for a storm surge. Landscaping was designed with minimum irrigation requirements, and a provision for the future installation of a submetering system was included. Permeable pavers around the pool and in all the walkways absorb excess rainfall. “It’s been a great team effort, and we’ve really enjoyed working with Tamara and Bernadette, as well as the overall team of engineers,” Fons says. “Everyone has contributed to the project, making things cost-effective and sustainable.” gb&d —Lynn Russo Whylly gb&d

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october–december 2012

Approach Development

Hanover College Park houses three restaurants within its 22,000 square feet of retail space. The Maryland project is just one of Hanover Company’s locally sensitive, transit-oriented developments.

Houston-based Hanover Company expands its portfolio of luxury residential development to 22 US cities, responding to unique urban sites and transit options After more than 30 years of building luxury multifamily developments, Houstonbased Hanover Company broke ground on its latest project in College Park, Maryland, last summer. The 380-unit Hanover College Park, which includes 22,000 square feet of retail space and three restaurants, is poised to earn LEED Silver certification and stoke the fire of green development. Although vice president Brandt Bowden is proud of the various LEEDcertified projects Hanover has worked on, he says that being an energy-conscious company isn’t about chasing scores. It’s about making smart choices based on the timing of a project and its surroundings. “There’s been somewhat of a pushback on LEED recently, for a

october–december 2012

couple reasons,” Bowden says. “The first is because LEED is so inundated with projects lately. The second is because some characteristics of LEED don’t necessarily lead to more efficient buildings. Many aspects of LEED end up doing less intelligent things with the building.” He adds that because energy efficiency has become such a crucial issue for growing municipalities, many cities have adopted their own building standards, many of which are similar to LEED’s. For Hanover, developing urban complexes that adapt to a city’s infrastructure and use little energy has been a natural step. Founded in 1981 by Bowden’s father, J. Murry Bowden (still the company’s acting CEO), Hanover began as a company focused on multi-

family apartments in Houston. When the oil crash hit in 1985, Bowden says it was time to adapt. “We started developing in Florida, the Carolinas, the Southeast, and California,” he says. “Then, in 2000, we were building from Seattle, to Texas, to DC, to Philly, to Boston. We’re now building in 22 cities.” Hanover has completed approximately 38,000 projects so far, totaling $7.5 billion. The vast majority of its projects are located in urban cores, a direction the company took about a dozen years ago, before many competing development companies had caught on to the national shift toward city centers. “People are really trying to reinvest in urban centers,” Bowden says. Because of any given project’s proximity to various downtown areas, Hanover has had to adjust to whatever environment it finds itself in. Bowden says that he and his team often face two extremes: a pedestrian-friendly environment, or a more vehicular one. Whether they’re designing a building for a traffic-heavy city gb&d

Photos: Ed LaCasse

Developer Adapts to New Locales

Development APPROACH

The Olivian is a 27-story Hanover Company apartment building in Seattle and has energyefficient building systems, water-conserving fixtures, and natural lighting.

where ample parking is crucial (like the 58-unit Ashton Westwood development in Los Angeles) or for a dense location close to public transit (like Philadelphia’s Domus, close to the University of Pennsylvania), Hanover has to work with and around preexisting infrastructure. Bowden cites the soon-to-open Hanover Rice Village as an example. The development, near a small, wealthy urban center in Houston, is located in a neighborhood largely made up of single-family homes. The neighborhood was desirable, but there hadn’t been a high-quality rental development there in almost two decades. Hanover had to accommodate for traffic-heavy Houston while also taking advantage of Rice Vil-

“Some characteristics of LEED don’t necessarily lead to more efficient buildings. Some aspects of LEED end up doing less intelligent things with the building.” Brandt Bowden, Hanover Company

lage’s walkable neighborhood, a balance Bowden says is a challenge for every project the company takes on. “The goal was to create a project that could effectively deliver good value in terms of cost structure,” Bowden says. “Because we do new construction, we can solve issues like parking that the old space couldn’t have. ... We wanted a project that could be consistent with the neighborhood and bring vibrancy to the area.” gb&d —Annie Monjar gbdmagazine.com

Santa Clara University Goes Beyond Building Social justice, economic development, and ethics are pushed to the forefront of collegiate sustainability discussions Colleges across the country preach the importance of sustainability, but Santa Clara University, located 40 miles south of San Francisco, has established programs that go beyond buildings. “The university approaches sustainability with the three-prong approach—considering social equity, the environment, and economic issues—but we take their overlap very seriously,” explains Lindsey Cromwell, director of the office of sustain-

ability. “We’ve coined the term ‘beyond green’ because we are also interested in social justice, equitable economic development, and ethics.” Santa Clara University has won awards from the EPA and its local energy provider for its support of renewable energy and campus-generated power. The school signed the Presidents’ Climate Commitment pledging climate neutrality by the end of 2015, and initiatives to achieve this goal include installing solar panels, a solar-thermal collector, a smart microgrid, and a wind turbine. “We’ve already seen decreases in our energy consumption,” Cromwell says of these initial efforts. The university’s rooftop solar-photovoltaic system actually is one of the largest in the United States, producing 1.05 megawatts of solar power. “The solarhot-water system in the student services building preheats the water, which helps to conserve natural gas usage,” says Don Akerland, the school’s director of planning and projects. Comparing 2005 to 2011, the university saw a decrease in electricity usage of 22.8 percent per person. Within the same time period Santa Clara University also added new buildings, so the figure illustrates an overall reduction in electricity use. Waste numbers also are decreasing. Recycling, waste, and composting options are available in every campus building, down to the desk level, Akerland says. “Our landfill waste per campus user has decreased 13 percent over the last six years,” Cromwell adds. “Our waste diversion rate has increased by 50 percent.” Campus buildings are being built to both stand the test of time and require less energy consumption; Akerland says each structure going forward is required to be built to LEED Gold standards and will harness the environmental know-how of companies like Devcon Construction, a Milpitas, California-based design-build company that has served as the LEED coordinator on several projects for the university. The first building on campus to be awarded LEED Gold

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was the Paul L. Locatelli, S.J. Student Activities Center; three other projects are still pending certification. A number of components, including mechanical systems, have allowed the Locatelli building to exceed the university’s energy-savings expectations by 20 percent. “We have 6,000 hours a year where the temperatures are below 65 degrees, and half of those hours are during the workdays, so the fact that we have operable windows and that the building was designed to take advantage of the natural prevailing winds actually provides a lot of cooling for the building,” Cromwell says, and further explains that similar techniques will be used for construction in the future. With more than 200 courses on or related to sustainability, Santa Clara University is serious about its “beyond green” language. “We’ve been identified as one of the schools in the US that has a well-developed sustainability program across the curriculum,” Cromwell says. gb&d —Jennifer Hogeland

Regional Plants Boost Residential Rehab

PHOTOS: Peter S. Carter Photography

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara’s recent renovation of 500+ units sets new standards of sustainability for affordable housing Inefficient building systems are swapped out while native California plants replace water-guzzling turf In one of its most ambitious rehab projects to date, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara (HACSC) chose to take a step firmly forward and incorporate sustainable features into more than 500 units of affordable housing. “We saw an opportunity to promote environmental sustainability within these properties—both to the benefit of tenants and the authority—and decided to go with it,” says HACSC executive director Alex Sanchez. The initiative was made possible through $95 million in gbdmagazine.com

For the HACSC’s recent renovation project, Dillon Design Associates replaced turf with plants native to California, significantly reducing the housing authority’s water use.

private-sector equity funding and commercial debt. Now in its 43rd year of service, HACSC provides rental subsidies and develops affordable housing for low-income families, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities living in Santa Clara County, California. The organization serves 20,000 households with 50,000 individuals housed by the authority on a monthly basis, and its recent renovation has similarly broad impacts. The organization prioritized a number of energy-saving and environmentally friendly elements, with a particular focus on regional adaptations. Landscape architect Dillon Design Associates, for instance, removed grass from the rehabilitated properties and replaced it with native California greenery. “Lawn is one of the most inefficient types of plant material for landscaping,” says Michael Dillon, a principal at Dillon Design. “It requires large amounts of water, fertilizer, and maintenance. Throughout the HACSC renovation projects, significant areas of lawn were replaced with low-water-using and low-maintenance plant material.” Energy cost savings also figured prominently. The installation of Mitsubishi HVAC systems resulted in less noise, greater efficiency, and more environmentally friendly heating and air-conditioning. Installing dual-pane, energy-efficient windows has enabled apartments to keep cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Within each renovated unit, use of low-VOC paint and carpeting generated improved air quality. Utilization of Energy Star appliances, including washers and dryers, has prompted lower energy expenses. Similarly, use of motion-sensing and photovoltaic-powered lights, as well as LED parking-stall lighting, promoted significant reductions in electrical costs. Although the cost savings and environmental benefits of these green

upgrades are apparent, there were challenges. “During the construction, we strived to keep tenants in place whenever feasible,” says Vanessa Cooper, HACSC’s director of real estate services. “Frequently, however, this meant temporarily moving individuals and families from one apartment to another.” There also were structural considerations. Orlando Reyes-Rodas, HACSC’s real estate project manager, says, “It was sometimes necessary to redirect load-bearing beams or modify joists to accommodate the new HVAC system.” Perhaps the best measure of the rehabilitation project’s green success can be found with tenants’ positive reactions. “We’ve received favorable comments about additions like the tankless water heaters, which, because of their small size, allow for more living space in the apartments,” Cooper says. “It’s always gratifying to hear such positive reviews. It reminds us of how important and environmentally worthwhile this project has been.” gb&d —Mark Pechenik a message from DILLION DESIGN ASSOCIATES At Dillon Design Associates, we strive to create beautiful, dynamic community spaces while supporting the public health and ecosystem vitality. We follow the Bay-Friendly Landscape Design approach, which aims to: conserve water, conserve energy, protect air and water quality, nurture soil, create and protect wildlife habitats, landscape with locally adapted materials, and landscape to reduce waste to landfills. To stay current in this evolving field, continuing education has been an important goal of the firm. Michael Dillon earned a professional credential as a USGBC LEED Green Associate. Berry DeWaele is a qualified Bay-Friendly Landscape Design Professional.

october–december 2012

Approach Operations

Ocean views and certified Earth-friendly lodging? Believe it. Ocean Pointe Suites will soon be named a green destination by the Florida Green Lodging Program.

Hotel Group Proves the Possibility of ‘Green Destinations’ Condo-hotel pioneer Provident Hotels & Resorts creates a new kind of vacation without breaking the bank Laundry, light bulbs, and cleaning supplies among the green initiatives that offer a significant ROI Making a condominium hotel sustainable is no simple task. A green initiative at such a property requires buy-in not only from the property’s unit owners but also from employees and guests. But in 2007, Florida-based Provident Hotels & Resorts decided it was up to the task. “Quite simply, we wanted to become more environmentally friendly and decided we’d do what it took to get there,” says Sam Harp, director of operations, who is spearheading Provident’s efforts to make all of its condominium hotels as green as possible. Provident was established in 1976 as a residential condominium manager, but after converting an existing hotel into

october–december 2012

a condominium hotel, it became one of the first companies on Florida’s Gulf Coast to work in this specialized industry of mixed-use facilities. Individuals own the condos, but Provident manages the condo association and runs a rental program that helps individual condo owners lease their units if they so choose. The challenge of making a big change at a condo hotel, says Harp, is that it requires buy-in from all affected parties. Provident, however, devised a solution. “We communicated our vision to general managers and ran a contest whereby employees could submit a name for the program,” Harp says. “The result was Des-

tinations Green, which struck a chord with clients since sustainability is big in the hotel industry.” To move forward, Provident worked with the Florida Green Lodging Program, which awards one, two, or three “palms” to hotels that meet increasingly difficult sustainability goals. The program Provident ultimately developed seeks sustainability in four categories: energy conservation, water conservation, recycling, and air quality, which involves green cleaning products, paper products, and cleaner air-handling systems with HEPA filters. Some initiatives are a wash financially, such as Provident’s recycling program, through which housekeepers and owners are asked to separate trash into recyclable and nonrecyclable categories. “Adding a recycling contractor adds $100 to $300 per property per month but reduces trash-collection costs, which are based on the quantity of material collected,” Harp explains. Other initiatives significantly reduce costs. Reducing the laundering of gb&d

Operations APPROACH

“I’d heard how expensive a proposition going green is, but that hasn’t been true. If you’re creative, you can become a really greenfriendly property and save money while you’re doing it.” Sam Harp, Director of Operations, Provident Hotels and Resorts

towels and linens—typically done off-site with the help of vendors such as Exceptional Linens—has cut associated costs by 25 percent. Replacing CFLs with LEDs in a single hotel’s public areas reduced energy use by 30 percent. And switching to greener cleaning supplies and paper products cost 5–10 percent less than the ones the company was previously using. Today all five Provident properties— the Mutiny Hotel in Miami, Ocean Point Suites in Key Largo, Sailport Waterfront Suites in Tampa, Sunset Vistas Beachfront Suites in Treasure Island, and Aqualea Resort Condominium in Clearwater Beach—are either certified by the Florida Green Lodging Program or in the process of being certified. “When we started this project, I’d heard how expensive a proposition going green is, but that hasn’t been true,” Harp says. “If you’re creative, you can become a really green-friendly property and save money while you’re doing it.” gb&d —Julie Schaeffer

The Mutiny Hotel, Miami

Glenborough’s VP of Engineering Hones in on Energy Conservation Cypress Envirosystems offers the real estate firm affordable energy control Carlos Santamaria: “These Cypress WPTs [allow us] to view each and every zone in a pneumatic system while increasing control and tenant comfort.” For every one kilowatt of energy used in an office building, it takes about two or three kilowatts at a power plant to create that energy, and for Carlos Santamaria, vice president of engineering at Glenborough, that’s a few kilowatts too many. Something of an energyconservation crusader, Santamaria is currently working with consultant teams to install metering, wireless pneumatic thermostats (WPTs), and energy controls and to implement mechanical-system upgrades to Glenborough’s 42-year-old corporate headquarters. “What we’re doing at a number of our different buildings and our corporate headquarters is looking at . . . how energy is used in a number of different scenarios—the use and behavior by tenants, miscellaneous building equipment, elevators, things of that nature—to better identify opportunities for energy reduction,” he says. In light of today’s energy challenges, Santamaria says conservation is an emerging trend across the country. “A lot of your really forward-thinking businesses are doing this—getting in early and making changes so that they’re positioned well for when the market turns and tenants are trying to differentiate buildings,” he says. “A lot of organizations and companies that are very astute ask prior to leasing space about the sustainability program. They want to be a part of a building that’s forward-thinking. As our economy starts to improve and you see businesses

become more aware of their overall expenses, commercial office space is usually number one or number two in controllable expenses in budgets.” Glenborough was established more than 30 years ago as a privately held, full-service real estate investment, management, and development company focused on the acquisition, management, and leasing of high-quality commercial properties. It focuses on both new developments as well as major renovation work on existing properties. Sustainability is a huge focus in new development in addition to energy management while overseeing portfolios of more than five million square feet. The company works closely with its energy consultants to reduce energy use and the carbon footprints of the developments it owns and its own corporate offices. Glenborough’s headquarters at 400 S. El Camino Real in San Mateo boasts 144,000 square feet of office space. Evenings and weekends can be the biggest culprits when it comes to energy waste, Santamaria says, and Glenborough is combating this by converting from traditional thermostats, which Santamaria says are “extremely inefficient and waste a lot of energy,” to direct digital control (DDC) devices. Manufactured by Cypress Envirosystems, the systems provide increased control functionality at a fraction of the cost, and installation can take as little as 20 minutes, which can

“A lot of organizations and companies . . . ask prior to leasing space about the sustainability program. They want to be a part of a building that’s forward-thinking.” Carlos Santamaria, Glenborough

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october–december 2012

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Operations APPROACH

also be less intrusive to tenants than traditional wired systems. “What makes these Cypress wireless pneumatic thermostats the latest technology [to change] our industry is the different capabilities of the technology,” Santamaria says. “These WPTs provide owners the ability Glenborough does day cleaning to view each and every zone to conserve nighttime utilities. in a pneumatic system while increasing control and tenant comfort while also having the capability to reduce energy significantly.” In conjunction with KW Energy and PG&E, Glenborough has been selected to undergo a technology assessment. The project is being completed through the PG&E On Bill Financing program. With energy incentives totaling $41,000 and annual energy savings and reduced maintenance costs totaling more than $42,000, Santamaria said the assessment is expected to pay for itself in less than three years. “What makes this project such an important upgrade is the ability to control these remotely and through the Web,” Santamaria said. “Our tenant comfort and retention will be enhanced thus making this an extremely successful Carlos Santamaria, Glenborough choice for an upgrade.”

“One kilowatt turned off is a kilowatt saved. That’s the most simplistic way of looking at energy in an office building.”

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Glenborough also is taking a comprehensive approach by looking at a spectrum of energy arenas. “Through the use of our EFT Energy Manager … system,” Santamaria explains, “we’re looking at every particular energy-use load and taking time to say, ‘Is there something out there that can run more efficiently or use less wattage? Do you really need all those printers and copiers? Do you need to run fans on weekends?’” As companies look for innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprints, Santamaria says the focus has shifted in the real estate industry to specialize in energy management and tenant education. “Property and facility managers have to wear a higher number of different hats,” he says, “knowing that in order to fully understand a number of our trades and real estate disciplines, a higher level of specialization and or education must occur. From my background, I was very lucky to have been in the trenches learning building operations and development early on while also pursuing the property management side of the business.” Santamaria says there needs to be

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APPROACH Operations

a major effort by those who have long been in the business to pass on that information to those just starting out. He lauds the Building Owners and Managers Association for doing just that. During BOMA’s annual convention in Seattle, Santamaria moderated a presentation called “Energy Leadership: Defining Our Role,” which was led by various leaders of today’s commercial real estate industry. A father of two boys, Santamaria takes his work home with him when it comes to energy conservation by impressing upon his sons the value of environmentalism through language only a vice president of engineering might use. “I tell them, one kilowatt turned off is a kilowatt saved,” he says. “That’s the most simplistic way of looking at energy in an office building.” gb&d —Erin Sauder

a message from PG&E Glenborough San Mateo manages premium commercial real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company worked with PG&E and the utility’s network of qualified vendors and contractors to implement energy retrofits. Glenborough has transformed its San Mateo headquarters into a powerful illustration of its commitment to conservation. The company plans to use the data from the successful system upgrade projects to create a roadmap for energy improvements with its other buildings. “This collaboration has been a model for PG&E’s ongoing work to help business customers and property managers lower their energy bills and reduce their environmental footprint,” says Ann Camperson, the utility’s strategic account manager for Glenborough San Mateo. “Together we can make significant strides toward more sustainable ways of doing business.” A MESSAGE FROM ABM Congratulations to Glenborough for being recognized in their relentless pursuit of energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort or safety at their beautiful facilities. ABM is proud to be helping by providing a broad range of facility services and EV charging solutions. Thousands of commercial, industrial, and government clients turn to ABM for quality service that meets their specialized facility needs. For integrated or stand-alone energy solutions, call Ken Sapp at 949-330-1542. A MESSAGE FROM Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics itsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. is proud to work with M quality-oriented companies such as Glenborough LLC. Our innovative technologies make it possible for elevators to conserve energy while providing the safety and performance expected from a vertical transportation system. Consider our Regenerative Converter. An elevator usually draws energy from a power supply; however, when it travels down with a heavy car load, or up with a light car load, its traction machine functions as a power generator. The power generated by the traction machine operation is usually dissipated as heat, but the Mitsubishi Electric Regenerative Converter makes the most of that power. Our Regenerative Converter sends the power to a transformer, which converts it to electricity and feeds it into the building’s electrical network. Compared to the same type of elevator without a Regenerative Converter, this system provides an energy savings of up to 35 percent. Learn more at www.mitsubishielevator.com.

october–december 2012

Growing Hospital Shrinks Footprint St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor reduces water use by 58% and slashes energy spending by $2.5 million

A wise institution allows its legacy to inform its future, and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor has a history of environmentally conscious practices, especially regarding energy. This history was crucial as it planned to upgrade its buildings. The hospital moved to it current campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1977, and after 25 years much of the infrastructure had ceased to be efficient. In 2004, as St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor considered its construction and renovation needs, it instituted an aggressive and comprehensive energymanagement program; Tom Tocco, vice president for support services and capital projects, led the way. “I hired some in-house expertise, a certified energy manager named Paul Dobry, and got the entire engineering department and caregiving staff energized toward our goal, which was to dramatically reduce our energy consumption,” Tocco says. St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor also brought a together a team of subcontractors and consultants, led by Dobry, who ultimately decided what should be done on campus. Improving the Energy Center was the first step. The power from this building is distributed throughout the 340-acre, three-million-square-foot campus. “Given the magnitude of that distribution, we addressed all the energy opportunities including upgrades to the center’s three major boilers and chilled-waterdistribution systems to get the biggest bang for our buck,” Tocco says. The

Despite a net increase of 500,000 square feet since 2004, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor has seen energy use decrease steadily, thanks to efficient HVAC systems.

improvements to the Energy Center were done in part by mechanical contractor John E. Green Company and electrical contractor A.F. Smith Electric. In 2007, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor tackled the first of its two patient towers. The cost to renovate versus build new was nearly identical, so the hospital chose to tear down the old structures and start fresh. The east tower’s natural gas use was reduced via changes made in the Energy Center, other green components helped reduce water use and energy consumption via lighting controls. The water systems that support domestic use, as well as water used for heating and cooling, are all fed through complex, energy-efficient pumping systems. The pumping system reacts when water is demanded; because this is variable, it decreases the amount of required energy to move water. The same is true for the pumping systems that support the heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. The heating, ventilation, and airconditioning systems’ variable speed technology allows them to increase or decrease based on occupant needs. “We also harvest the light that comes in from the sun,” Tocco says. “During

Paul Dobry

Tom Tocco

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Facility Managers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Deliver Rx for Hand Hygiene and Maintenance Issues In 2010, Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH), one of the country’s premier academic medical centers, launched a major hand washing campaign aimed at employees, patients and visitors: Clean hands every time. While hospital administration was encouraging its employees, patients and visitors to do their part to prevent the spread of viruses, Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Director of Facilities Engineering, David Stout, was also beginning his own campaign – a major hospital refurbishment program that would include equipment and product upgrades to the hospital’s restrooms. Going into the refurbishment project, Stout and his team were faced with daily restroom plumbing and maintenance issues related to paper towels. “The paper towels were getting flushed down the low-flow toilets, causing blockages,” said Stout. “The continuous plumbing calls combined with the high levels of restroom maintenance were taking up a considerable amount of time and costly resources. That’s when we got serious about looking into heated air electric hand dryers.” With approval from Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Infection Control board, the facilities staff installed nearly 100 XLERATOR® high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers the first year, thus meeting the hospital’s rigorous standards for hand hygiene. Unlike conventional hand dryers, which average 30 to 45 seconds of drying time, XLERATOR dries hands three times faster (completely in 10-15 seconds) and uses 80% less energy than conventional hand dryers. XLERATOR represents a 95% cost savings when compared to paper towels, reduces maintenance and improves restroom hygiene. XLERATOR is also the only hand dryer to be MADE IN USA Certified, the first hand dryer to be GreenSpec® Listed and helps facilities qualify for multiple LEED credits. Stout’s cost savings analysis, which compared the facility’s current paper towel use to the installation of (30) XLERATOR high-speed dryers revealed an initial annual savings of over $20,000. Cost savings and benefits also came in the form of reduced transportation costs, paper towel storage and waste reduction. “After installing the dryers our plumbing issues were eliminated and our bathrooms were cleaner,” said Stout. To date, over 120 dryers have been installed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s main campus with more to come. “We look at this product like it was tailor made for us,” concluded Stout.

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october–december 2012

APPROACH Operations

“We actively share this information with all healthcare organizations. [Paul] Dobry’s favorite quote is, ‘Knowledge not shared is knowledge wasted.’ That says it all.” Tom Tocco, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor

the daylight hours, our control systems are elaborate enough to sense the light and shut off automatically.” Similar technologies were incorporated into the north patient tower in 2010. In spring 2012, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor finished the renovation of its chapel and main entrance to complete its $300 million master plan. Upgrades throughout include efficient HVAC systems that allow new operating rooms to conserve energy. Air in operating rooms needs to move at rapid rates to control infection; typically, a room might be exchanging air up to 30 times every hour, which is expensive and inefficient, but necessary at certain times. St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, however, reduced energy use by installing occupancy controls. “Now, if the doctor or patient are not in the room, the air isn’t moving at 30 exchanges per hour,” Tocco says. “It is moving at a code-minimum 15 exchanges rate.” The payback from the energy-saving initiatives has been astonishing, Tocco says. The healthcare system’s purchase of energy decreased dramatically as it went from spending $10 million on energy to $7.5 million today. “Since 2004, we’ve had a net increase of 500,000 square feet … on our campus, if you take into account what we tore down and what we put up,” Tocco says. “During that period of time, our natural gas usage is down 21 percent,

$2.5

million

Amount saved through energyconservation initiatives at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor

october–december 2012

our electricity is down 12 percent, and water and sewer is down 58 percent. Those results speak for themselves.” The work continues as St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor pushes to further reduce its energy use with electrical and lighting control improvements. The organization also is in the process of creating a new master plan, which will take the healthcare system through the year 2022. New areas of attention include an outpatient surgery pavilion, cancer service facilities, and the enhancement of physician partnerships and physical practice development. Tocco says future infrastructure will benefit from the same green initiatives and energy-saving features its recently built facilities received. The Ann Arbor facility also is just one of Trinity Health’s 48 hospitals. Over the next several years, Trinity intends to leverage expertise in energy reduction by working with St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and other member hospital systems to reduce its energy dependency. “Our hope is that we can provide access to this knowledge and capability nationwide, throughout the Trinity system, as we are actively heading down this path,” Tocco says. “We’ve been as generous as possible, conducting tours and providing access to what we’ve been doing through speaking engagements and sharing the technologies that have worked for us. We actively share this information with all healthcare organizations. Mr. Dobry’s favorite quote is ‘Knowledge not shared is knowledge wasted.’ That says it all.” gb&d —Jennifer Hogeland

Recycling Champ Expands Green Palette At the top of two Recycle Mania divisions, Union College puts $1.5 million into building upgrades and renewable-energy education Out of 630 universities, ranging from Ivy League institutions to more locally revered liberal-arts colleges, Union College in Schenectady, New York, took first place in the Per Capita Classic and Cardboard divisions in the 2011 RecycleMania Tournament. The competition rates participating college and university recycling programs in North America, and Union is attempting to hold its title; currently, it’s within the top two spots in the same categories again this year. In addition to Union’s aggressive recycling initiatives, it has employed numerous energy-conservation systems throughout its 130-acre campus for the benefit of the environment, education, and its bottom line. “It’s great that the world is starting to come to grips with

a message from A.F. Smith Electric, Inc. A.F. Smith Electric, Inc. has been in business since 1920 and has been providing electrical service to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and continuing with St. Joseph Mercy Health Systems for more than 60 years. For the past 15 years or more, we have seen an aggressive progression toward energy conservation at St. Joseph Mercy Health Systems, led by a strong facilities management team with a big responsibility. We are very grateful for the confidence this management team places with A.F. Smith and will continue to provide the type of cooperation and services necessary to help them reach their goals. a message from John E. Green Company John E. Green Company is a national leader in the fabrication and installation of plumbing, HVAC, process piping, water and waste treatment, and fire protection systems. As one of the country’s only mechanical contractors with both an ISO 9001: 2000 and ISO 14001: 1996 certification, JEG employs an office and field staff of 800 people in offices throughout Michigan, North Carolina, and Tennessee. John E. Green Company is consistently recognized as one of the largest specialty contractors in the United States.

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Operations APPROACH

“Changing the college culture … is a living-learning experience, which in our estimation is part of the educational process.” Loren Rucinski, Union College

the carbon-footprint issue,” says Loren Rucinski, Union’s director of facilities and planning. “Changing the college culture … is a living-learning experience, which in our estimation is part of the educational process.” Union plans to become carbon neutral by 2060, a goal set in 2007 when president Stephen Ainlay signed the Presidents’ Climate Commitment. “It doesn’t sound very aggressive,” says Fred Puliafico, associate director of utility management. “But the first big milestone is in 2015, where we should be reduced by about 15 percent over what our output was in 2009, and that’s pretty significant.” So far, the Already a leader in recycling, Union College’s first milestone toward carbon neutrality comes in 2015: a 15% decrease in carbon emissions.

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Union College’s energy-conservation efforts include lighting and HVAC upgrades in its field house (above), the addition of three vertical-axis windmills (left), and the installation of solar panels on the 712 Huron Eco-House.

school is on target. In 2010, Union underwent a campus-wide energy audit as part of the Flex Tech Program. The audit was split between two passes. “They went through the buildings and looked for the low-hanging fruit, so to speak—the easier ones to acquire—and then went back and did a few more detailed projects that would take longer,” Puliafico says. The college invested $1.5 million in the suggestions from the Flex Tech Program. Most were less than two-year paybacks, and a majority of the projects were upgrades to high-efficiency lighting with occupancy sensors. Building management controls for the HVAC systems and modifications to the motor systems were included in the audit. Many projects involved improving the building envelope with tighter insulation, better fitting doors, and seals. The biggest challenge during the audit was accessing the space. Being a trimester school, there is only a short window between sessions, and Union hosts various programs on campus during the summer when the students are gone. “We really have to dance around with the schedule so we can get in there and do the work,” Rucinski says. “We picked the most promising ones at

the time, so there are several projects that we pick away at.” The first wave of work was completed at the end of summer of 2011. Union College employs an array of renewable-energy technologies—not just because it will lower the operating budget or impact energy savings, but because they provide a test bed for students to explore and learn. The school has several solar-photovoltaic and solar-thermal installations on various buildings as well as at its boiler house. “These were not installed just with the idea of saving energy and reducing our carbon footprint, although that was the driving factor,” Puliafico says. “We’re in the wrong part of the country to really make them work well; [on] our average winter day, you might see sun for a couple hours if you’re lucky.” Instead, the solar arrays and other features are livinglearning projects to inform students’ decisions and to test new systems. To Rucinski and Puliafico, this is just as important as reducing the college’s carbon footprint. gb&d —Jennifer Nunez october–december 2012

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The Albanese Organization Princeton University Jack Glass, Citigroup Geisinger Health System Safeway Mont Tremblant Ski Resort Rivers Casino

october窶電ecember 2012

It takes a visionary to build the first LEED Platinum condominium building in New York City, yet the Visionaire is a triumph not of one man at all, but of two men and their sons and the powerful company they’ve all helped shape.

The Albanese Organization By Lynn Russo Whylly

Anthony Albanese built his first house when he was 19. As a product of the Great Depression and family loss at a young age, he became a hard worker in practice and attitude early in his life. When his brother Vincent completed law school in 1949, they started a construction business with Anthony handling the building and Vincent handling the legal matters. One by one, they built upon their successes until they eventually constructed the first condominium building in New York City to achieve LEED-NC Platinum status. The Visionaire, completed in 2008 and certified a year later, is one of three Battery Park City projects, an urban portfolio that includes some of the Albanese Organization’s best and most recent work. Anthony, who died earlier this year, and Vincent started the company, but their sons are the ones continuing their fathers’ ideas about urban excellence and environmentally conscious design. In 1979, Anthony’s son, Russell Albanese, joined the company after completing a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering at Duke University. “That’s when we were getting into Manhattan properties,” says Russell, who serves as chairman of the Albanese Organization. “We had just started our first high

october–december 2012

rise—100 United Nations Plaza—a 52-story residential condominium.” Vincent’s son Christopher Albanese also followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the company after law school. “Our backgrounds compliment each other’s like our fathers’ did,” Russell says. From the beginning, Anthony Albanese had a vision, and Russell and Christopher are committed to keeping that vision alive. “He always tried to find improvement from one project to the next,” Russell says. “He never looked to create cookie-cutter buildings and stamp those out. He was conscious about quality of life and trying to bring into residential homes and commercial spaces features that would enhance the environment and achieve efficiency of space. Decisions concerning design of building systems were always based on long-term durability, value, and efficiency over cost.” This commitment to quality is what started the Albanese Organization on the path to sustainability. “We didn’t

have a crystal ball, but we saw environmental issues becoming more important and critical in our daily lives, and that encouraged us to translate that into our business,” Russell says. The Albanese Organization’s contribution to Battery Park City includes three high-rises: the Solaire (completed in 2003), the Visionaire (2008), and the Verdesian (2006), which were designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and built by Turner Construction Company. “The success of these buildings is largely attributable to a great team effort beginning with our public partner, the Battery Park City Authority, and our design, marketing, and construction professionals,” Russell says. “The continuity of the team in all three projects helped us build upon lessons learned and enabled us to refine and advance the green technologies with each building.” Rafael Pelli, a partner at Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, says, “We had weekly meetings with the Albanese Organization on all three buildings, which included not only design in the traditional sense, but a discussion of environmental strategies.” The result was a collaborative process that took input from many different perspectives. The Visionaire is New York City’s first certified LEED Platinum condominium building. Key features of the 35-story, 500,000-square-foot property include an American Water waste-water-treatment plant, which recycles waste water to supply water to toilets and cooling towers, as well as an air purification system, a natural gas cooling-and-heating system, solar panels, and regenerative braking on elevators, which reduces electric con-

“We had weekly meetings ... which included not only design in the traditional sense, but a discussion of environmental strategies.” Rafael Pelli, Architect

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photos: The Albanese Organization

TRENDSETTERS

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT At least 50% of the building materials used for the Visionaire contain some type of recycled content. The fully landscaped rooftop of the Visionaire looks out onto the Hudson River. The Verdesian was the first residential high-rise to be awarded LEED Platinum certification.

The Visionaireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water use as compared to a similar building. The 500,000-square-foot condo building also uses 35% less energy than a comparable structure.

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octoberâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;december 2012

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“We didn’t have a crystal ball, but we saw environmental issues becoming more important and critical in our daily lives.” Russell Albanese, The albanese organization

ABOVE The 400,000square-foot Solaire was designed by Cesar Pelli and is LEED Platinum certified for an existing building.

sumption by one third. The building also has a microturbine that generates a portion of electricity for the building and utilizes energy recovered from combustion heat to heat domestic hot water. To top it off, it has a green roof that reduces rainwater runoff and utilizes harvested rainwater for irrigation. Overall, the building saves approximately 50 percent of water over a typical building and more than 35 percent in energy. “With each building, we set out to apply lessons learned from the previous one and take advantage of new technologies, always improving upon what we have completed before,” Russell says. The company treated waste water and implemented other green measures at the Solaire, and Russell says the Albanese Organization’s previous experience resulted in significant cost savings when installing the Visionaire’s features. Within each unit, a single master switch allows all in-unit lights to be managed from a central location. In public areas, occupancy sensor controls automatically raise and lower lights. The swimming pool uses a water-purification system that cuts down on chlorine use, and the building is cleaned with green materials. The Albanese Organization even gives each new resident a basket of green cleaning supplies for use in his or her home. The company also worked with a gourmet organic-food market to fill first-floor retail space. “We thought this would be an ideal use to help our residents live a green and healthier lifestyle,” Russell says. gb&d gb&d

photos: The Albanese Organization

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TRENDSETTERS

Princeton University The Ivy League school once occupied a single building. Now it comprises 9 million square feet. Tom Nyquist explains how the school is adding space and reducing emissions. By Erin Brereton

“Many times, you save so much over the life of the building that you’d be crazy not to put the [energy-conservation] feature in.” Tom Nyquist, Princeton University

When Princeton University moved in 1756 to its current home in Princeton, New Jersey, the entire campus was composed of one building: Nassau Hall. For almost 50 years, it held Princeton’s library, chapel, dorm rooms, classrooms, dining room, and kitchen. But Nassau Hall couldn’t handle Princeton’s entire academic and residential needs forever. Over time, the campus grew to 180 buildings. By 1990, it encompassed roughly 7 million square feet, and it’s now about 9.5 million square feet, according to director of facilities engineering Tom Nyquist. The growth, however, came with an environmental cost. The steady expansion significantly increased Princeton’s carbon footprint. To curb its environmental impact, the university created a climate plan in 2007 to conserve natural resources, reduce carbon-dioxide emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 without the use of offsets (credits that can be purchased to reduce the overall recorded amount of emissions), and cut energy costs by 25–30 percent.

Photos: Christopher Lillja

Green Building Guidelines At the start of every large construction project, Princeton holds a sustainability meeting with the design architects, engineers, construction managers, and Facilities Department representatives. Using this integrative design approach, Princeton was able to build an extremely efficient data center that incorporated the latest energy-saving technologies,

gbdmagazine.com

New Chemistry Building The science building’s canopy-like roof houses solar panels, and the site features rain gardens.

including cogeneration, water-cooled computer racks, air and water economizers, and highly efficient, water-cooled chillers. Structure Tone handled the data center project and offered advice on capital costs of energy-conservation technology. Comparing the anticipated energy and maintenance costs for the next Neuroscience & Psychology Building The structure’s high-efficiency building envelope will include two skins of glass sandwiching a three-foot-wide airspace.

25–30 years to the initial estimates for an energy-conservation feature often makes a strong case for sustainability. “When adding energy-conservation features, we were adding cost, so [the feature] used to get cut,” Nyquist says. “[But] many times, you save so much over the life of the building that you’d be crazy not to put the feature in.” External consultants also suggest green solutions. Rain gardens were added to the new chemistry building’s site to slow rainwater runoff due to research from Boston-based Nitsch Engineering. “We are tackling new buildings as we add them,” Nyquist says of current projects. “The more efficient they are, the less we have to cut energy elsewhere.” Although LEED certification isn’t Princeton’s primary goal, it often uses the green-building standards as a general guide. The 250-year-old university also is trying to incorporate sustainability into building renovations, such as its ongoing library restoration. Upgrades include switching to a chilled-beam system that uses water to cool surrounding air more october–december 2012

TRENDSETTERS Princeton University

Princeton Data Center Construction for this state-of-the art facility is pursuing LEED and Energy Star certifications and was managed by Structure Tone, a USGBC member with 165 LEED APs on staff.

Revamping Energy Use Princeton’s plan to reduce emissions will require a $45 million investment through 2017, yet energy-efficiency projects have already resulted in an annual savings of roughly $1.7 million. Nyquist says the university has always tried to reign in energy costs. In 1996, the addition of a cogeneration plant helped reduce the amount of power the university needed to buy. The plant produces electricity and steam efficiently and thereby significantly lowers the campus carbon footprint. Princeton’s new solar-collector field boasts 16,500 photovoltaic panels, built with the help of Van Note-Harvey Associates, a civil engineer and the project’s environmental consultant. Connected to the main campus’s electrical-powerdistribution system, the field is expected to meet 5.5 percent of the total annual need and prevent production of 3,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The payback? “[This should] help us lower our carbon footprint by six to seven percent,” Nyquist says. a message from STRUCTURE TONE As a member of USGBC, Structure Tone has constructed over 16,300,000sf of LEED Certified facilities (and an additional 2,000,000sf of eco-friendly) ranging from Certified to Platinum, including the first LEED Platinum project in the UK. Our Green focus is also internal with each of our offices pursuing eco-friendly and carbon neutralizing practices and/or LEED Certification. With close to 200 LEED APs on staff, we are advocates for sustainability in all aspects of our professional practice.

october–december 2012

560K ft 2.6%

Reduction Results Since 2008, the university’s emissions have declined by 2.6 percent, and campus energy use increased by just 3.9 percent despite adding more than 560,000 square feet of building space. This year, Princeton plans to add more efficient lighting in at least 12 buildings and outfit more than 40 with energy-efficient, control-system-optimization technology, which Princeton tested in 2011 with positive results. Yet according to Nyquist, Princeton isn’t the only university undergoing a conservation check. “There’s a general awareness nationwide for many schools to get more energy efficient,” Nyquist says. “A significant number of colleges across the county have hired sustainability directors or managers. And, cutting energy saves money.” gb&d

new space

Decline in emissions

16,500

Number of solar panels at Princeton

Cogeneration Plant Princeton added this facility back in 1996, significantly reducing the amount of power it needed to buy.

Photos: Christopher Lillja

efficiently. “It’s a multiphase project that, in 10 years, could cut building energy use in half,” Nyquist says.

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october–december 2012

TRENDSETTERS

Navigating the interests of information technology and commercial real estate, Jack Glass and his team of tinkerers at Citigroup play a leading role in the increasing national focus on data center efficiency. By Lindsey Howald Patton

Jack Glass does not work alone. This is something he wants to make absolutely clear, that the people who make up the Department of Data Center Planning at Citigroup, a team of mechanical and electrical engineers—natural tinkerers, all of them—are vital because of their curiosity and meticulous attention to the inevitable “little things that can,” in an ominous sense, “get you in a data center.” Data centers, which house a company’s mainframes, servers, and storage systems, are not Citi’s functional equivalent to a closet. They are not just a place where they stack away files for safekeeping or in case of future Team Effort review. Data centers are the central Jack Glass (right) and members of his Data Center mechanism that enables Citi to do Planning team, (from right) Jason Kutticherry, what it does. “We don’t have stores, Oleg Levchook, Peter Pucillo, Vincent Raniolo, and we don’t have trucks, we don’t have, Michael Licitra pose near the cooling towers of Citi’s you know, products that people New York City data center. look at and buy; we deliver financial services,” Glass says. “And we do it centers’ density—the average watts per through technology.” Citi, one of the square foot—has leapt upward by at least world’s largest financial services net50 percent. works, has 21 data centers plus 400 tech Data centers entered the public rooms that run less-critical business applications. In all, the corporation’s raised consciousness as prime candidates for efficiency measures after an EPA report floors—beneath which run cables and to Congress in 2007 estimated that these wiring that serve information technolbuildings made up roughly 1.5 percent ogy equipment—add up to over a million of total US energy use. (Their impact can square feet. That makes Jack Glass’s job be better seen in Citi’s numbers: though very important. data centers account for just one percent It is rare for someone to win renown by drastically reducing some aspect of his of Citi’s real estate, they consume 25 percent of the company’s total energy company, trimming it until its impact across its operations.) The EPA predicted is as low as possible. Many industries that this number would double to three tend to laud expansion and growth. But percent by 2011. But, perhaps thanks to Glass, who studied engineering at the data center operators like Glass and the General Motors Institute (now Kettering nimble responsiveness of technology, it University) and was part of a well-known Salomon Brothers project retrofitting 7 didn’t. Data centers currently account World Trade Center before joining Citi, for about 2 percent of total energy use in has actually helped slice the number of the United States. data centers by more than half. There Citi’s data-center plan has involved were 52 in 2005, when Citi adopted a reworking old centers, a task that Glass, plan to reduce its number of global data as someone who lives in an old home he centers, and the eventual goal is to trim has progressively updated for the past that number to 19. Meanwhile the data 22 years, enjoys the most. Yet it also has

october–december 2012

involved shutting down old sites and opening new ones. Citi constructed three large data centers on American soil in the past decade. One, completed in 2008 in Central Texas, is 100,000 square feet and LEED Gold-certified, the first data center to have the honor. Citi has two other LEED-certified data centers: A LEED Platinum structure in Germany with a sleek, modern exterior; a green wall; and free-cooling system in use for 65 percent of the year. And another LEED Gold facility in Singapore with an uninterruptible power supply system that eliminates the need for battery backup. Glass was part of the working group created to give input on data centerspecific guidelines for LEED certification, which, when written, are planned to be released in November 2012. Even more rewarding has been serving as chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9. The committee, which contains IT manufacturers, air-conditioning manufacturers, data center “owners” like Glass, and consulting engineers, churned out a set of thermal guidelines for data centers in 2004. It was the first set of guidelines of gb&d

TRENDSETTERS

“We don’t have stores, we don’t have trucks, we don’t have, you know, products that people look at and buy; we deliver financial services. And we do it through technology.” Jack Glass, Citigroup its kind. Before that, people had no uniform guide for data-center temperatures and tended to over-cool. “You were shooting in the dark,” Glass says. The committee is now publishing its third edition of “Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Equipment,” part of the ASHRAE Datacom Series. If you were to visit his office in New York City and ask how he goes about planning Citi’s data centers, he would turn and draw two large circles in marker on his dry-erase board. One circle represents Citi’s IT organization; the other is corporate real estate. Glass’s world occupies the space between these two circles, and his mission is to be wherever they touch, which they must anytime a data center needs to be changed or designed. And if you don’t understand where those circles touch, you don’t understand Glass’s department. He draws those circles for every job candidate he interviews, and he needs them to understand that if you work for him, you are neither real estate nor technology but some amalgam of both. Not everyone can do it, and maybe this is why Glass is so proud of the members of his team—because they have proved that they can. Glass has a sailboat, and he compares data center operations to the meticulous details a sailor mulls through to prepare for any problems that might surface while on the water. On the end of the dock, hands in pockets, surrounded by a group of other sailboat owners and enthusiasts, “you can talk forever about what little improvements you made to make things better,” he says. Making things better—that’s the best part. gb&d gbdmagazine.com

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ABOVE In 2008, Citi constructed the first LEED Gold-certified data center in the US. The company has two other LEED-certified data centers in Germany and Singapore.

Pay other people easily with Citibank® Popmoney.®

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october–december 2012

Advanced Windows EwingCole lined the research center with large windows that bring in ample natural light.

Geisingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conference and research facility in Danville, PA, is a 70,000-squarefoot LEED Silver building.

photos: Barry Halkin

Hood Center for Health Research

TRENDSETTERS

Recognizing a tempting ROI, Al Neuner at Geisinger Health System proposed a new formula for facilities funding. Today, Neuner is generating annual savings equal to if not greater than his department’s entire budget. And he has no plans to stop now. By Julie Schaeffer

Green Roof The Hood Center has an extensive and easily visible living roof, which helped the building reach LEED Silver status.

Henry Hood Center for Health Research Certified LEED Silver for New Construction Site Water Energy Materials Air Quality Innovation TOTAL

When Al Neuner began looking at energy-conservation projects in 1995, he had no idea they could lead to $7 million in annual savings. “At the time, I was driven purely by financial necessity,” says the vice president of facilities operations for Geisinger Health System, which serves more than 2.6 million residents in 44 counties in Pennsylvania. “Times were lean, and we were making cutbacks. I realized that every dollar we saved in energy was a dollar we could use to save jobs and continue our mission.” Despite several successful energysavings projects, Neuner’s department was ignored by Geisinger’s capitalallocation process in 1996. “It’s a bureaucratic process, and energy-savings projects aren’t as sexy as CT scanners, MRI machines, and robotic surgery equipment,” he says. “You can’t advertise energy savings on a billboard.” Neuner, however, used that year’s oversight to his advantage. He suggested that in the future his department receive funding based on an agreedupon formula, based on square footage. Currently, the department gets $1.25 per square foot, but it increases by $0.10 annually. “The health system is currently at a little more than 6 million square feet, so next year I’d get $7.5 million to $8 million,” he explains. This formula continues to please Geisinger’s executive management, Neuner says, because the projects his department completes generate a compelling return on investment. In November 2011, Neuner’s team added a five-megawatt cogeneration facility to Geisinger’s Danville campus, which includes the LEED Silver Hospital for Advanced Medicine and the LEED Silver Henry Hood Center for Health Research. The cogeneration plant creates combined heat and electricity and repurposes waste heat for useful purposes. “The cogeneration facility generates savings of about $1.4 million per year, october–december 2012

TRENDSETTERS Geisinger Health System

Buildings that Save The Henry Hood Center for Health Research (left) and Hospital for Advanced Medicine save energy as they help save lives.

Hospital for Advanced Medicine Certified LEED Silver for New Construction Site

Al Neuner, Geisinger

making the ROI just under two years,” Neuner says. The facility’s $5.3 million cost was reduced to $2.6 million via grants from the local utility, PPL, and Pennsylvania Green Energy Works, a grant program funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. Neuner’s department installed a chilled-water-storage system at the Danville campus. EwingCole designed the facility, and principal Jason Fierko says the firm helped Geisinger prepare for electric-rate-cap expirations by designing a one-million-gallon thermalstorage tank with a cooling capacity of 8,000-ton-hours. Here’s how it works: At night, when both temperatures and electricity costs are lower—the latter roughly a third of the daytime cost—the system runs three chillers that produce 2,700 tons of cooling. During the day, the system runs one chiller that produces 900 tons of cooling and draws remaining energy from the water in the tank. In addition to reducing energy usage, it also affects the demand charge. The health system’s A message from Hiller Albert Design Group Hiller Albert Design Group is proud to have provided professional design services for the Geisinger system for over 17 years. We congratulate Geisinger for making the commitment to green principles and their projects that provide better, more efficient buildings that are healthier for their patients, employees, and the community.

october–december 2012

Water

utility, PJM, assesses charges based on peak load contributions to the grid, and since the chilled-water system takes two megawatts off peak, the health system’s hourly kilowatt fee is reduced. “The cost was about the same as adding an additional chiller, which wouldn’t have produced savings of $150,000 a year,” Neuner says. Other savings have been achieved via reduced water usage. “Air handlers generate a lot of water in cooling season, and most facilities drain it away,” Neuner says. “We recapture it and use it to feed our cooling towers, significantly reducing our water usage. Along with savings from plumbing fixtures, we’ve reduced our water usage by 30 million gallons of water per year.” Neuner is quick to give credit to a core group of consultants and contractors with whom Geisinger works with on its green projects, including Ewing Cole, Hiller Albert Design Group, and Johnson Controls, which also owns York, the manufacturer of Geisinger’s chillers and air handlers. “We work hand-in-hand with them to achieve so many things,” Neuner says of the health system’s energy-savings efforts. The figures for Geisinger’s energy savings are annual and thereby provide a funding stream with which to invest in additional site improvements. “The health system is up to $7 million in

ABOVE Already designed for premium care and utmost efficiency, Geisinger’s Hospital for Advanced Medicine’s cogeneration plant saves the health system up to $1.4 million per year.

A message from Johnson Controls Every day, Geisinger Health System relies on Johnson Controls to help maintain its critical environments. Ensuring its ORs, ERs, and life-sustaining facilities help doctors cure and patients heal. And now, the Metasys building management system is an integrated part of the Geisinger Cogeneration Plant. Utilized for control, monitoring, and communications, Metasys helps Geisinger make informed decisions regarding the operations of mechanical systems and achieve better energy efficiencies and financial results.

A message from EwingCole Since EwingCole’s founding in 1961, one of its core values has been the importance of nurturing deep-rooted relationships. Throughout a nearly 40-year relationship with the Geisinger Health System, EwingCole master planned and designed a variety of facilities that are integral to Geisinger’s emergence as one of the nation’s most innovative and efficient healthcare providers. EwingCole’s ongoing relationship with Geisinger exemplifies the firm’s dedication to being at the forefront of thought leadership.

Energy Materials Air Quality Innovation TOTAL

annual energy savings as a result of these efforts,” Neuner says, “and that roughly corresponds with the amount of funding we receive each year.” And that number will only get bigger, as Neuner’s department continues energy-conservation efforts across the health system. “We just acquired another hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the first thing I did was go there and do an energy audit to identify opportunities for savings,” he says. “With an investment of $880,000 in plant infrastructure—chillers, boilers, lighting—we’re going to save $625,000. [That’s] an ROI of 1.4 years.” gb&d

gb&d

photos: Barry Halkin

“Times were lean, and we were making cutbacks. I realized that every dollar we saved in energy was a dollar we could use to save jobs and continue our mission.”

TRENDSETTERS

Advanced Healing The Hospital for Advanced Medicine on Geisingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Danville campus is a leading-edge healthcare facility, featuring skylights and other smart and eco-friendly design features.

gbdmagazine.com

octoberâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;december 2012

Healing Environment. Healthy Business. Increasing efficiency, comfort and productivity helps doctors cure. Helps patients heal. Helps organizations prosper. • Enhance the patient experience and safety • Increase staff satisfaction and productivity

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PROUD PARTNERS IN DESIGNING PLACES TO INSPIRE. HEAL. CARE. REVITALIZE. DISCOVER.

october–december 2012

IRVINE NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA WASHINGTON DC ewingcole.com

ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS INTERIOR DESIGNERS PLANNERS

gb&d

TRENDSETTERS

Santa Cruz Store Safeway’s first LEED-certified store, located in Santa Cruz, CA, uses the 1,000 gallons of defrost water it produces to serve its irrigation needs.

RATED

LEED NC-G old 46 points

Safeway On track to receive LEED certification for 10 stores by the end of the year, the supermarket giant is at the top of the food chain

photos: Dan Cunningham

By Lynn Russo Whylly

Safeway, the fifth-largest grocery store chain in the United States, according to Supermarket News’ 2012 Top 75 Retailers and Wholesalers list, has made a substantial commitment to building and operating sustainable facilities. The grocer is on track to receive LEED certification for 10 stores this year and has ambitious plans for the years to come. Green building is one facet of Safeway’s complete sustainability strategy, which integrates environmental principles throughout every store, inside and out. Safeway launched its sustainability strategy in 2004. In researching standards, the grocer determined that the LEED system was the best method for assessing progress and results, and with the help of consulting firm Architectural Energy Corporation, it designed a LEED-based program for its stores to follow. “We wanted to implement something that reflected what we were already doing rather than reinventing the wheel,” explains architect Jim Gibbon, an architectural coordinator for Safeway. Safeway already had a long-standing practice of utilizing sustainable construction and design techniques; to participate in the LEED program, the company simply stepped up its game. As a result of the chain’s efforts, Safeway is ranked No. 8 on the EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program for Retailers, which lauds companies for their energy reduction and use of alternative energy sources. “From 2004 to about 2006, we developed a construction prototype which basically followed that standard,” Gibbon says. “At the time, we were developing our lifestyle décor for store interiors, and that gave us an opportunity to see how that fit with LEED points.” The company began referring to the LEED rating system when selecting materials and vendors. gbdmagazine.com

ABOVE The Safeway supermarket in Besthesda, MD, is the first LEEDcertified grocery store in its county. Safeway used eco-friendly building materials and practices in lighting and refrigeration to achieve the certification.

october–december 2012

TRENDSETTERS Safeway

PROVIDING GREEN RESOURCES

“Most of our stores have a 40- to 50year lifecycle. If they are not designed [to last for decades], they are going to be a lot more expensive to operate and maintain.”

Morrison-Maierle is proud to have provided site entitlement and site civil work for Bozeman’s LEED Certified Safeway building engineers - surveyors - planners - scientists 1.888.608.0010 WWW.M-M.NET

Service to Safeway

FREEMAN

MORGAN architects

7229 FOREST AVENUE, SUITE 209 HENRICO, VIRGINIA 23226 (804)282-9700 FAX (804)282-8267

for 20 years. 64

october–december 2012

Safeway’s first LEED-certified store was built in Santa Cruz, California. That store received LEED-NC Gold certification in 2010 with a total of 46 points. Among its key green features, the Santa Cruz store does not use any potable water for irrigation. What does it use? “The store produces about 1,000 gallons a day of defrost water, and that is what we’re using,” Gibbon says. He notes that this strategy is not ideal for every store; no two stores will utilize precisely the same array of efficiency strategies. Rather, Safeway’s goal is to utilize the greenest building techniques to build the most durable and user-friendly stores. “It’s about how much energy we use, how efficient we are in using it, how much water we use, the quality of the air, and the quality of the buildings’ mechanical systems,” Gibbon says. “They all affect the lifecycle cost of the building. Most of our stores have a 40- to 50-year lifecycle. If they are not designed [to last for decades], they are going to be a lot more expensive to operate and maintain.” Safeway integrates credit-earning elements in ways that complement the aesthetics and overall feel of a store. The flooring in the floral and produce departments resembles hardwood, giving the area the look and feel of an indoor farmer’s market, but real hardwood floors are impractical for a building that receives endless foot traffic. Instead, Safeway chose durable vinyl flooring that looks like wood and is made from recycled materials. The vinyl can last up to 10 times longer than wood. In addition to LEED certification, California Safeway stores are adapting construction practices to meet the state’s California Green Building Standard Code, or CALGreen, and the grocer also is looking to comply with the International Green Construction Code set by the International Code Council in Washington, DC. “Even though every building won’t be LEED certified, we are incorporating elements of the LEED standard in every building,” Gibbon says. Nineteen of Safeway’s stores use solar power, and the company has two single-megawatt wind turbines supplying power to its Tracy, California, distribution center. New stores include elements such as cool roofs, which are systems designed to reduce heat island effect, occupancy sensors that dim lights in unoccupied areas of the store, LED lighting both inside and on exterior signs, and an energy-management system. Roof gardens are being tested in areas with highmoisture climates, and several stores in the Northwest also collect rainwater in retention ponds. Since it began its sustainability strategy, Safeway has diverted 490,000 tons of materials from landfills, including construction waste, plastics, cardboard, cooking oil, and compostables. gb&d

gb&d

photos: Dan Cunningham

Jim Gibbon, Safeway

TRENDSETTERS

BELOW Safeway is a leader in green groceries. New stores have, among other things, occupancy sensors, LED lighting, and planted and cool roofs to reduce heat island effect.

Store #2858, Pasadena, CA Opened on June 30, 2011, Safeway store #2848 is awaiting LEED-NC Silver certification. This store—a VONS location, a division of Safeway— diverts more than 90 percent of its perishable waste from landfills through direct recycling and composting. It is close to public transportation and has bicycle storage for employees. Store lighting uses just more than one watt per square foot, which is one of the best efficiency ratings in the industry, and LED lighting in the refrigerated cases reduces energy consumption by more than 60 percent compared to fluorescents. In addition, rainwater runoff from parking areas is filtered on-site and percolated into an aquifer to minimize impact on storm-water infrastructure. The landscaping is designed with drought-tolerant and native plants.

Store #2808, Washington, DC An urban store that should be completed by 2014, Store #2808 will give Safeway the entire first floor of a six-story building with easy access through underground parking. Upon completion, Safeway will apply for LEED certification under the Commercial Interiors rating. Although the store is still in the design stage, energymanagement systems and systems that minimize refrigeration are standard sustainability features in any newly built Safeway. In addition, the headquarters sends all store managers a list of LEED-certified suggestions they should strive for, including pedestrian nodes and close proximity to mass transit. Store #2999, Bozeman, MT Considerably larger than the planned property in Washington, DC, Store #2999 is a 59,000-squarefoot Safeway that opened in December 2011 and has a LEEDCS Silver certification pending. The Bozeman store anticipates a 22 percent reduction in energy consumption over current code standards due to its design and equipment. As a bonus, the store is purchasing 35 percent of its power from sustainable sources. Safeway earned points in LEED’s Innovation category for an exemplary recycling program, diverting 97 percent of its construction waste from the landfill—an effort that is part of Safeway’s standard construction-waste-recycling program—and acquiring 50 percent of its masonry, corrugated exterior, and other materials locally. Bozeman has several pedestrian nodes that interconnect with the town’s bike path and is located near public transportation.

gbdmagazine.com

Vision. Quality. Integrity. For nearly 30 years, Eleven Western Builders, Inc. has been delivering innovative, quality-built construction to a diverse group of clients. We specialize in ground-up and remodel retail construction. We also have an in-house fixture and millwork division providing complementary services to our clients.

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october–december 2012

TRENDSETTERS

Mont Tremblant This Quebecois ski resort is watching out for the wildlife by clearing trees according to bird-nesting patterns and restoring streams for fish. All it needs are floating islands that maintain the wetlands. Oh wait, it does.

PROJECT LOCATION Mont Tremblant National Park, Quebec Completed Ongoing, two phases completed 2008 Program Retail and residential space

TEAM CLIENT Intrawest Architect DCYSA Architecture General Contractor Pomerleau Construction

GREEN CERTIFICATION Not applicable Walkability Pedestrian-friendly design of villages Energy Tight insulation, cross ventilation Landscape All wood kept on-site, used in soil and signage

october–december 2012

Located on twenty square kilometers of land inside the Mont Tremblant National Park in Quebec is the Mont Tremblant Ski Resort. For years, it was a resort in trouble, embattled with financial difficulties and threatened every three to four years with the prospect of closing permanently. Things began to turn around when the resort was purchased by Intrawest, a resort-management-anddevelopment company responsible for many successful ski resorts in the North America, including Whistler, Steamboat, and Blue Mountain. Intrawest focused on improving the services, the restaurants, and the quality of equipment while keeping the spirit of conservation at the forefront—a spirit that had always existed within the park and the surrounding community. Due to its location mostly within the national park, rehabilitating and developing new areas on Mont Tremblant Ski Resort came with a unique set of restrictions and limitations, but Intrawest accepted the challenge. Two significant additions have been added to the resort in recent years. The first is the South Side Village, a dense, European-style pedestrian retail and residential hub. “With the South Side Village, Intrawest and its development team have created a true destination, one that guests enjoy and don’t want to leave,” says Bruno St-Jean of DCYSA Architecture & Design, the project’s design architect. The second is Versant Soleil, a smaller project that includes two residential areas and a casino. In order to conserve forest area, Versant Soleil was concentrated on ten acres, which resulted in a dense central village area suitable for travel by foot and increased the sustainable nature of the project. To

photo: Mont Tremblant

By Ashley T. Kjos

gb&d

TRENDSETTERS

Working Relationship

Designing a Village

Like many life forms, DCYSA and Mont Tremblant have a mutually beneficial relationship. The resort offers a stunning locale and laudable ecological vision; the architects respond with award-winning designs for its hotels and residential villages. Win-win.

“The idea for the South Side Village was for it to be a celebration of Quebec. The buildings create streets and plazas; they become outdoor rooms where the population spends a lot of time,” explains Bruno St-Jean, of DCYSA Architecture, the firm that has helped shape Mont Tremblant over the past 20 years.

Sensitive Slopes When new ski runs are made, Intrawest carefully considers the natural site as well as the local nesting season, during which no wood can be cut.

gbdmagazine.com

october–december 2012

TRENDSETTERS Mont Tremblant Ski Resort

Floating Islands

Christine Tremblay, Intrawest

account for any loss of wildlife habitats or other adverse environmental effects of the new development, various compensation projects were employed. “Instead of doing something detrimental, this project was seen as a way to improve the quality of the environment, to do something positive,” explains Christine Tremblay, the environment project manager at Intrawest. A fish-enhancement project, for example, was conducted in the Mercier Creek just five kilometers from the resort to mitigate any fish habitat losses attributable to Versant Soleil. It included building 40 weirs along the creek that increase the water’s oxygen content, clearing gravel that acts as a spawning location, and planting trees along the banks so the water remains fresh and viable for fish life. Versant Soleil’s inspiration was Quebec’s natural environment. Characterized by less density and more contact with the natural elements of the site such as the mountain ecology and the pond and streams that run through the neighborhood, the village’s sustainable features include well-planned crossventilation and high levels of insulation. The structures’ orientations and the placement of windows in the front and back allow occupants to forego airconditioning in the summer months, and during Quebec’s harsh winters, the buildings rely on their insulation and air-to-air heat exchanges, where the exist-

october–december 2012

ing air is used to heat the incoming air with a 70 percent recuperation rate. All the lighting on the village site is oriented toward the ground to eliminate ambient light as part of the resort’s Dark Sky Initiative. The South Side Village, too, echoes the environmental awareness of the resort as a whole, and it is also tied to a sense of the local culture. “The idea for the South Side Village was for it to be a celebration of Quebec,” St-Jean says. To accomplish this, the village was designed with shops at the bottom level and residential space above, and much of the retail is locally driven with artisan crafts and goods. “The buildings create streets and plazas; they become outdoor rooms where the population spends a lot of time,” he says. The resort’s environmental efforts aren’t limited to its residences. The natural aspects of the area are taken into careful consideration when designing and removing trees for the ski trails and ski slopes. Any wood cut or removed from the national park cannot be taken off-site or sold; it all stays on the trails. “Much of the soil here is thin, and there isn’t that much organic material on the trails, so we include wood in the soil and use it to shape the slopes,” Tremblay says. The resort also has a strict wood-cutting policy to coincide with the local bird’s nesting season; wood-cutting for all projects occurs between August and April. “Environmental stewardship is at the core of our business,” Tremblay says. “We want to offer the guests a nice environment, high quality of design, and to take care of the natural habitat throughout.” gb&d

building a site-sensitive lake At the base of Versant Soleil a new lake is being built. Though artificial lakes are, by definition, unnatural, all efforts are being made to build this new addition sensitively. The 5.6-acre lake is complying with environmental requirements from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife, and the Sustainable Development Department, Environmental and Park. Designed to follow the typical variations of a natural lake—a spring flood, gradual decrease throughout the summer, rebound in the fall—Versant Soleil’s lake also is managed to maintain fish habitats in the creek below the lake, which hosts brook charr spawning grounds.

gb&d

photos: Mont Tremblant

“Instead of doing something detrimental, this project was seen as a way to improve the quality of the environment, to do something positive.”

At Mont Tremblant, floating islands were added to Plouff’s Pond as part of the resort’s wetlandscompensation project.

architecture + nature

One of the largest architecture and design offices in Canada serving private enterprise, DCYSA is a 90-person firm headquartered in Montreal. Their four decades of history have seen them complete a variety of large-scale, complex projects in the fields of Master Planning, Urban Design, Resorts, Housing, Retail, Hospitality, Industrial, Offices and Interiors around the globe We build long-term relationships with our clients. Not just buildings, but a collaboration that endures from project to project. By the same token, we would like to thank Intrawest and Mont-Tremblant resort for their incredible partnership.

ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

w w w. d c y s a . c a

It’s GOLD

a celebration of Quebec, in nature

gbdmagazine.com

First LEED GOLD Certified casino in the World! ®

Rivers Casino

Des Plaines, IL

“Proud of our work . . . & grateful for the opportunities.”

www.klaijuba.com

october–december 2012

Living Walls The casino has two such features indoor and more outdoor, helping break down the interior/exterior barrier.

TRENDSETTERS

Living walls and skylights are practically forbidden in gaming facilities, but Klai Juba’s design in Illinois is a revolution for the industry, proving Rivers Casino isn’t afraid to pioneer its way out of the dark and into a sustainable future. By Benjamin van Loon

Just outside Chicago is the suburb of Des Plaines, home to 60,000 residents and the world’s first McDonald’s. It’s a quiet, residential town and now the home of a 147,000-square-foot casino. But this isn’t your average casino. In 2007, Midwest Gaming announced plans for Rivers Casino, a LEED Gold facility to be erected on a 20-acre lot near the busy intersection of Des Plaines River Road and Devon Avenue. The city of Des Plaines took the news the standard way: with a mixture of curiosity and ambivalence. Jason Westrope, a LEED AP and development manager at the Chicago-based Development Management Associates (DMA), explains that, due to the history of casinos, people often scrutinize new casino construction. “But a casino is a big building, like an office or hospital, and part of the skepticism derives from how this new structure reflects the community it is in,” he says. “That’s why it was important for us to set a high design standard for Rivers Casino and make it something special.” Completed in 2011, Rivers Casino is the first casino in the world to receive LEED Gold certification, awarded in part for its widespread implementation of LED lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, lighting occupancy sensors, and diverting 90 percent (35,330 tons, or about the weight of an aircraft carrier) of its construction waste from the landfill. Although this was DMA’s fourth casino with Midwest Gaming, it was the first for which it was brought on to do LEED consulting. Westrope says, “Though we’ve managed the development of other casinos, the location of Rivers and its proximity to Chicago really caused us to pay attention to the design quality while gbdmagazine.com

adhering to a firm budget and meeting all of our sustainability goals.” Incorporating LEED elements into the design was not an initial aspect of the plan; although with the approval of Midwest Gaming, DMA was able to run a quick analysis on the project to assess the feasibility of LEED scores. “We estimated we would be able to attain LEED Silver,” Westrope says, “though around this same time, the City of Des Plaines was asking us to help deliver a LEED building in their district.” The decision to shoot for the LEED label was obvious, but because the design phase was taking place at the height of the economic downturn, making the investment to achieve LEED while staying on budget was an obstacle. “Our only request, when working with the City of Des Plaines, was that they give us freedom to achieve the highest level of LEED certification possible without new mandates or expectations,” Westrope says. City leaders granted this opportunity, and this freedom to explore the most suitable green improvements allowed Rivers Casino to present the city with a LEED Gold casino—and bragging rights to the first casino of its kind—as well as to reinforce reciprocal trust between the casino and the city. “Above all else, innovative, more environmentally connected design was an integral part of Rivers Casino’s efforts to set a new standard for regional casino projects,” Westrope

says. In a revolutionary move, DMA, working with Las Vegas-based Klai Juba Architects, incorporated skylights into the 43,000-square-foot gaming space. Although many casinos seek to obscure the passage of time by reducing the amount of daylight visible from the casino floor, Rivers Casino welcomes it and allows for a more naturally inspired and friendly gaming experience. The casino also includes two internal and several exterior living walls, which are planted with live flora to expand the innovations blending the interior and exterior spaces. Based on these design innovations and a highly efficient physical footprint, Rivers Casino generates just as much revenue at half the square footage of its local casino competitors. “By designing an efficient space, Klai Juba was able to heavily impact our sustainable goals by being both cost-effective and environmentally efficient in the most fundamental way,” Westrope says. “Rivers Casino took an underutilized site of prime, riverside property and has really set an example for future sustainable building design in the community,” Westrope adds. “It has created thousands of jobs, boosted the local economy, and been an important first for the city of Des Plaines.” Now, in addition to being the home of the world’s largest fast-food chain, Des Plaines can brag about its green casino. gb&d

“Rivers Casino took an underutilized site of prime, riverside property and has really set an example for future sustainable building design in the community.” Jason Westrope, LEED AP

october–december 2012

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october–december 2012

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GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List breweries

74 80 83

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Bell’s Brewery Matt Brewing Company Brewery Vivant

october–december 2012

photo: samantha simmons

Everybody loves beer, but not everyone makes it like Bell’s—that is, naturally and efficiently. The brewery’s new facility features high-quality equipment and automated systems, reducing energy consumption while quadrupling output.

Breweries GREEN TYPOLOGIES

BELL’S b r ewI NG sUstai nably

BREWERY KALAMAZOO, MIchigan SINCE 1985

We examined facilities across the nation, and we were impressed with how Bell’s used geothermal energy and built its new, 200-barrel brewhouse, which ups output even as it increases efficiency. The beer-makers are clearly taking the green road less traveled, and they took us along for an afternoon. By Ashley T. Kjos

gbdmagazine.com

october–december 2012

It’s Thursday. lunch time at the Eccentric Café.

At the bar are men in suits and men in overalls. The nearby tables are crowded with a young family and an elderly couple at the Bell’s Brewery restaurant and brew pub in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. The mood of the pub seems to represent the brewing company’s philosophy: always remain connected to the people who drink the beer, the natural ingredients that go into each batch, and how both influence and are influenced by the environment. PROJECT Location Kalamazoo, MI Size 40,000 ft2 (expansion) Completed May 2012 (expansion) Program Expanded grain-handling system, 200-barrel brewing system, new fermentation vessels, and energy storage system

TEAM Owner Bell’s Brewery Architect Slocum Architecture Engineer Byce & Associates

GREEN CERTIFICATION Not applicable Waste 87% trash diversion rate, food composting at brewpub Lighting Solar tubes and high-efficiency lights with occupancy sensors Materials Sustainable products including glulam beams Energy 86% efficient steam boiler, 85-ton geothermal field, natural cooling

october–december 2012

These tenets are how Bell’s Brewery ensures that it’s making the best possible beer in the most responsible way, and they are exemplified in its latest project: the company’s most ambitious expansion to date. Opening May 2012, the larger brewhouse at Bell’s incorporates some of the beverage industry’s newest and most efficient technologies and not only increases capacity but also is designed, for the first time, to draw the public in. Since 1985, Bell’s Brewery has been consistent in making the quality of its beer its top priority—and the driving force behind every other initiative. Which isn’t to say that the philosophy behind the more recent energy efficiency programs wasn’t there at the start. “Sustainability is part of the company culture and has been for a long time,” says sustainability coordinator Evan Meffert. “It didn’t get a lot of attention when we were smaller because our focus was on getting quality beer out and building our brand.” As an industry, the past five years have seen some of the bigger brewing companies getting more aggressive in the publication of their green efforts. Bell’s adheres to the idea that sustainability programs offer tripar-

tite benefits—environmental, social, and economical—and Meffert always is mindful of selecting projects that have a solid return on investment. Members of the beverage industry share the same types of costs and potential for waste, namely water and electricity. For Bell’s, this led to rethinking the maintenance program in an effort to cut down on wasted energy and increase its equipment’s uptime. But it didn’t look to brewing best practices. Instead the maintenance methodology came from the commercial airline industry. In an industry where most failures are critical ones, any breakage becomes completely unacceptable. Bell’s applied that ideal to its production. “You don’t wait for things to break, then fix them,” Meffert says. “We wanted preventative and predictive systems in place to mitigate failures before they happen.” This approach has found its way into other production companies, and it applies well to the food-and-beverage industry. As it pertains to sustainability, the program greatly reduces waste. “There is a lot of wasted air, energy, natural gas, and water when equipment isn’t maintained,” Meffert explains. “From a sustainability standpoint, this is in our best interest.” Meffert has spearheaded other programs in his four years with Bell’s, including an evaluation of the brewery’s solid-waste management and recycling program—which led to a 93-percent landfill-diversion rate for the production facility—an 8,000-square-foot green roof on the conditioning warehouse, and a composting program at the Eccentric Café downtown. But by far the most impressive and most visible example of the values and culture of Bell’s Brewery is the recent expansion of its facilities, which saw the company’s production capabilities go from 180,000 barrels a year to more than 500,000. The project was a two-year process involving local contractors and design firms, and it was necessary to gb&d

photos: samantha simmons, tyler kaschke

GREEN TYPOLOGIES Breweries Bell’s Bewery

Breweries GREEN TYPOLOGIES

“Sustainability is part of the company culture and has been for a long time. It didn’t get a lot of attention when we were smaller.” Evan Meffert, Sustainability Coordinator, Bell’s Brewery

accommodate a growing company and increasing demand for its products. Byce & Associates, which has a longstanding relationship with the brewery (this is the fifth Bell’s addition the local engineering firm has completed), handled the full range of engineering needs of the project. “The biggest goal [Bell’s] had was to increase productivity, and this expansion will quadruple their output capabilities,” says James Escamilla, president and CEO of Byce & Associates. Indeed, the brewery’s staff and production output has grown at a rate of 20 percent per year for the past ten years. Currently, you can find Bell’s beer in 18 states, as far northwest as Minnesota and as far southeast as Florida, with Arizona as the only western outpost. The comgbdmagazine.com

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Evan Meffert says that the Bell’s Brewery sustainability initiatives prevent future problems. The new 200-barrel brewhouse has five brewing vessels and an advanced steam boiler. The Eccentric Café composts food waste from the restaurant along with sawdust and spent grain from the original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo. The malt for the Harvest Ale comes from a barley grown in Michigan specifically for Bell’s.

october–december 2012

GREEN TYPOLOGIES Breweries Bell’s Brewery

Automation.

Geothermal.

Exterior.

Lighting.

Cooling.

The Bell’s Brewery expansion features an automated grain-handling system that streamlines the addition of malts in the brewing process. Bell’s uses a number of specialty malts for its craft beers, and prior to this system these were purchased in 50-pound bags and added by hand. Now the same malts are bought in bulk and added by the automated system, a rare procedure in smaller breweries. A new 400-horsepower steam boiler features a stack economizer and an updated burner-control system to increase its energy efficiency to 86 percent.

Byce & Associates, the engineering firm on the project and longtime partner on brewery addiitons, contributed an 85-ton geothermal field to heat the office environments and public touring areas. This wasn’t the first time the engineers had employed a geothermal system on a Bell’s project; a 16-ton geothermal field was used on the main office building.

The entry to the main brewhouse was a point of focus for the public’s benefit. Jon Rambow, Jeff Crites, and the rest of the Slocum Architecture team designed the entrance and public areas with an aesthetic that varied from the rest of the building and included sustainable products, such as glulam beams. The tall spine and tower portions have cedar siding and a sloped metal roof, unlike the more industrial flat roofs found elsewhere.

Solar tubes were installed to bring light into the facility’s darker areas. These light tubes use a lens and reflective material to harvest sunlight and funnel it into the building. Large Kalwall windows also were used, and the light fixtures were swapped out and replaced by high-efficiency lights that also use occupancy sensors.

The building was configured to take advantage of natural wind. The brewing process generates a large amount of heat, so windows were placed at the top of the tower/spine and at the bottom of the facility to generate a natural convection effect and cut cooling costs. Where fans are needed, Big Ass Fans use their size to their advantage and conserve energy.

What’s the most popular beer at Bell’s? The seasonal summer brew known as Oberon Ale, a wheat beer with a spicy hop flavor and a fruity aroma.

TABLET EXCLUSIVES! Go behind the scenes at Bell’s Brewery with exclusive photos and video in our iPad edition.

october–december 2012

pany has been careful not to grow too quickly. “We wanted to grow organically, and we’ve had to say no to some people that want our brands in their state,” Meffert says. “Strong relationships and service are also company values, and we’re not going to move into an area we can’t effectively service.” The new 200-barrel brewhouse should make possible further expansion into new regions. The preexisting 50-barrel facility will be used for some of the specialty and seasonal craft beers, while the larger facility will produce the company’s larger runs and its most popular beers, such as the Oberon and Two Hearted Ale. The expansion incorporated cuttingedge brewing technology, including an advanced steam boiler and automated grain-handling system, but one of its most unique aspects is its focus on the community. “For the first time, the public was going to be invited in,” says Jeff Crites, the project manager from Slocum Architects, the Kalamazoo firm that designed the current Bell’s headquarters. “Bell’s wanted this to be a showpiece and asked us to design something other than just an industrial plant.”

Slocum’s principal in charge, Jon Rambow, adds, “Bell’s is a very localoriented company, active in the community and philanthropic by nature.” To this end, the brewery staff educated the Slocum design team about the brewing process and how the plant flowed, in order to identify the best way to bring in visitors. The human-scale emphasis became the building entrance, as Slocum worked to create a welcoming appearance by using materials such as cedar and nonindustrial forms such as a sloped roof. Now, when tours begin, visitors easily can identify the entrance—not always apparent with industrial structures—and feel welcomed into this newly expanded model of green building and better brewing. gb&d a message from byce & associates Byce & Associates is proud to be a part of the success of Bell’s Brewery. We have provided environmentally sensitive design and engineering services to Bell’s for many of their projects. Sustainability is a shared principle for Bell’s and Byce, one we incorporate into every project. Our team has designed numerous resource-sensitive systems including those for storm water, heat recovery, geothermal heating and cooling, demand-control ventilation, daylighting, energy management, and green roofs.

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photos: samantha simmons, tyler kaschke

The Details Bell’s new brewhouse

Engineers

Architects

Byce & Associates, Inc. is proud to be a part of the success of Bell’s Brewery. Congratulations and we wish you future success.

INNOVATIVE

PRACTICAL

SOLUTIONS

CIVIL ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURAL ELECTRICAL MECHANICAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT BUILDING COMMISSIONING

James Escamilla, P.E., President/CEO 487 Portage Street • Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007 • Phone: (269) 381-6170 Fax: (269) 381-6176 • Email: corporate@byce.com • www.byce.com

258 Genesee Street, Suite 300 Utica, New York 13502

Phone 315.733.3344 Fax 315.733.3331

Salocum rchitects AIA

521 S. Riverview Drive Kalamazoo, MI 49004 p: 269.381.2420 slocumarchitects.com

architects of record

bell’s new brewhouse true blue green architecture gbdmagazine.com

marchassoc.com october–december 2012

GREEN TYPOLOGIES Breweries

brewING sUstainably

Matt BREWING CO.

The maker of Saranac beer isn’t well-known beyond the East Coast, but it got on our radar when it responded to a ferocious fire with a verdant vision for greener operations, which, oddly enough, is a return to its roots By Scott Heskes

OPPOSITE Fred Matt (left) and Nick Matt stand in Matt Brewing Company’s brewhouse in front of the two original copper kettles, which were initially installed when the brewhouse was built during World War ll.

october–december 2012

n May 29, 2008, a devastating fire spread from the second floor warehouse of Matt Brewing Company in Utica, New York, wreaking $10 million of damage and halting production of the popular Saranac Beers brand for a month while the 120-year-old brewery tried its best to recover. “In the end,” brewery president Nick Matt recalls saying stoically, “There will be some real benefits to this.” He was right. Nick faced similar challenges when he left his highly successful career as general manager and president at Procter & Gamble’s Vicks Health Care division to come back to a struggling family business in 1989. “I did not start my career here,” Nick says. “I came back because it looked like this brewery was not going to survive. I decided the business that my grandfather started and that my family built over the past hundred years was too important to let go. So, I came back with the hopes of saving that. It means a great deal to me.” With the help of his nephew Fred Matt and a team of dedicated employees, Nick rebuilt the business. Twice. After the fire, he and Fred had a vision. They didn’t want only to make a quality beer steeped in more than a century of family tradition; they wanted to

photo: nancy L. ford

UtiCA, NEW YORK est. 1888

PROJECT

GREEN

LOCATION Utica, NY Size 350,000 ft2 (total brewery) Completed 2008

certification Not applicable Recycling Spent grain donated to local farmers, glass crushed on-site Waste CO2 reused to carbonate sodas and pressurize beer tanks, anaerobic digester used to produce methane and electricity Geothermal Closed-loop system cools the kegs efficiently throughout seasonal changes Lighting T-5 and T-8 fluorescents, motion and daylight sensors

TEAM CLIENT Matt Brewing Company Architect March Associates Engineer Paul Sack

Matt Brewing Company recovers CO2 created during production, just as the original brewer, F.X. Matt did when he started the company.

brew a beer that made a statement about how it was brewed. It would recall an innovation Nick’s grandfather, F.X. Matt, unveiled after Prohibition, when he began brewing legendary India pale ales. He was one of the first brewers anywhere to siphon off carbon dioxide and recycle it. “Our roots of sustainable brewing all go back to him,” Nick says. At the forefront of rebuilding the brewing company’s vision is director of brewing operations Jim Kuhr. With a team of consultants lead by Utica architect Chris Crolius of March Associates and engineer Paul Sack, the team weighed the financial considerations alongside that vision. Nick says tough choices had to be made, such as reusing older equipment in the fire-ravaged production area so that the new warehouse could have state-of-the-art green features. Kuhr say two of those green features have stood out since the reconstruction. “The geothermal system works phenomenally well,” he says, “and as simple as it sounds, the motion sensors on the lights

october–december 2012

are a constant visual cue that we are saving energy.” The geothermal system, Sacks explains, is a hybrid of conventional refrigerant, fresh-air economizers, and closed-loop ground-water storage designed to keep the keg cooler operations running efficiently throughout harsh seasonal changes. Lighting controls weren't the only a part of the lighting overhaul done throughout the 350,000-square-foot brewery. “Matt Brewing retrofitted almost all of the lighting throughout the plant to T-5 or T-8 lamps with motion- and daylight-sensor controls,” Crolius says. “Reduction of energy costs was on the forefront of the brewery’s thoughts.” Numerous other cost-saving and sustainable features were included in the facility’s new design and in the brewery’s operational protocol. With respect for Nick’s grandfather’s carbon-dioxide innovation, the team made a great effort to improve brewing efficiency. “We just completed an upgrade,” Kuhr says, “allowing us to pull the lower-pressure CO2 gas off the fermenters in a larger volume to better meet the capacity of our compressors.” Other improvements were made to the assembly line, replacing old motors and pumps with new highefficiency models on variable frequency drives. And spent grains, production glass, and aluminum all are recycled. The net result, Nick says, has been surprising. “We have made a lot of progress in the last three or four years,” he says. “We have improved energy efficiency by 30 percent per barrel of beer produced. It really reflects what we are doing.” gb&d

Matt Brewing Company, which brews Saranac beer, crushes waste glass on-site and only uses 100% recyclable bottles and cans.

Matt Brewing’s Jim Kuhr

ON Making a Sustainable Brew Recycling spent grain. Every brew requires a lot of grains, mostly malted barley. [Ours is] recycled back to our spent grain tank, where local farmers come and pick it up to be used as dairy cattle feed. In total last year, we recycled 99% of our solid waste stream. Choosing containers & packaging. All of our waste glass is crushed on-site. We also use aluminum cans, which, like glass, are 100% recyclable. Nothing leaves here without a recyclable container. Upgrading equipment. Line changes had to happen after the fire. Almost all of the canning and bottling lines had to be redone. Motors have been switched over to high-efficiency [systems], and almost every motor is driven by a variable frequency drive. Recovering CO2. We have invested a lot of money in the last five years into the efficiency of recovering CO2 and reusing it by [installing] better monitoring equipment. The CO2 has to be pure, so we have to vent for a while until all the oxygen has been removed from the fermenter. As soon as we get to that point, we begin collection and purification. We then reuse it to make soft drinks and pressurize beer tanks. Managing water & waste. Our anaerobic digester system is a new digestion project designed for wastewater treatment. We are removing about 85% of the load and producing methane, which will be converted on-site through generators to electricity, providing about a third of our electric load. Evolving filtration. Traditionally we have used a two-step diatomaceous earth (DE) process for filtering. Three years ago we took one of those steps out and replaced it with a centrifuge, which spins the larger particles, like yeast and hops, out of the beer. We then go through the final polish clarification through the DE system. The next technology we will adopt in filtration is [the use of] cellulose pads. They have developed technology to make cellulose pads compostable, which is what really sold us on the product. By next year, we will be DE-free. gb&d

photos: Nancy L. Ford

GREEN TYPOLOGIES Breweries Matt Brewing Company

Breweries GREEN TYPOLOGIES

brewING sUstainably

BREWERY grand rapids, MICHIGAN

Through the dedication of owners Kris and Jason Spaulding, LEED Silver-certified Brewery Vivant puts what’s best for its community ahead of the almighty buck—a move we’ll applaud any day By Jennifer Nunez

PROJECT

The Details Brewery Vivant

Location Grand Rapids, MI Size 5,000 ft2 Completed 2010

Site. Located in the historic East

TEAM Owner Brewery Vivant Real Estate Developer Locus Development

GREEN Certification LEED Silver Water Low-flow toilets, waterless urinals, storm-water runoff released slowly HVAC High-efficiency heating and cooling system Materials Aluminum beer cans, reclaimed-wood furniture Waste Sent to a local cattle farmer

Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Vivant Brewery was once a funeral home. The chapel is now the brewpub and retains much of the building’s original character. The site is close enough to downtown to be easily walkable and bikeable, and it sits on a local bus route.

Landscape. Keeping its plantings as efficient as its beer-making, native vegetation surrounds the brewery, requiring no irrigation. All storm-water runoff is also captured and slowly released into the ground to reduce load on the city’s wastewater-treatment plant.

Interior. Inside the brewpub, benches and tables are constructed from reclaimed wood that range in origin from old barn walls to fruit crates. Some pieces were created by a craftsman out of a single walnut tree. Polished concrete floors also saved on additional construction resources like tile, wood, and paint. Shipping. All distributed brews

ABOVE When the building was a funeral home, the wood timber barrel-vaulted ceiling was the roof of the horse livery. It now serves as the ceiling for the brewhouse, right next to the old chapel, which is now the brewpub.

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are packaged in aluminum cans containing 68% recycled material that can be recycled and put back on shelves within 60 days. Cans also require less energy to transport; a one-ounce can is far less heavy than a six-ounce glass bottle.

anufacturing facilities that focus on sustainability are hard to come by because the field is reliant on energy use. But Brewery Vivant, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, stands out in its community not only for offering great brews, but also for its commitment to the environment, which earned it LEED Silver certification of its facilities in 2012. The distinction made it the first commercial microbrewery in the world to receive LEED certification. Kris Spaulding, Vivant’s sustainability director and a part owner alongside her husband, Jason Spaulding, says most of the challenges the brewery faces are equivalent to that of any microbrewery. However, decision-making tends to be more difficult when a company is looking at more than just cost. In the end, however, it can help. “We believe that considering the triple bottom line helps us make better and more informed decisions,” she says. Culturally, it can be a challenge to keep staff trained and engaged with their sustainability goals, Kris says. Even goals such as putting waste in the right receptacles can be tough when employees are running around on a busy night in the pub. “With the naturally high turnover rate in the pub, this will always be somewhat of a challenge,” she says. “But if we are hiring the right people—those with passion for our values— it should become easier the more we get solid systems in place and make it obvious how we are performing to our goals.” Vivant implemented a scoreboard in both the pub and the brewery to highlight major goals related to environmental, financial, social, and customer-satisfaction goals, and Kris hopes that keeping these numbers updated on a weekly and monthly basis will keep staff motivated. “It is really cool to see when our staff grabs on to sustainability and leads things on their own,” she says. “Our assistant brewer, Brian [Kuszynski], recognized that we weren’t recycling as much as we could be, so he contacted a local expert and recycling center, Tree Hugger [Recycling], to find out what they accept that the city program can’t.” The brewpub has adopted a zero-waste philosophy by composting food and paper waste and recycling all materials that are accepted by the city. This is in addition to partnering with the community to find ways to recycle material that is not easily recyclable. Due to Vivant’s commitment to the reuse/recycle method, the brewery’s waste is sent to a local cattle farmer. Vivant has many goals for the future, including expanding its distribution to Chicago this summer. The brewpub is increasingly sustainable; next, Kris wants to partner with Vivant’s suppliers to work in tandem to make the entire process equally environmentally conscious. gb&d october–december 2012

verbatim

“Sinai’s sustainability is unique. The health system has a genuine desire to become the national model for the delivery of urban healthcare.”

verbatim

Sinai Health System took a pledge to help protect the environmental health of the community. Our team, which is part of SodexoMAGIC, a joint venture of Magic Johnson Enterprises and Sodexo, Inc. that provides engineering, food, and environmental services to Mount Sinai Hospital and Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital—a 533-licensed-bed facility that is a member of Sinai Health System—looked at what we could do. Sodexo has a program called SMART, which stands for Sustainability Management Reporting Tool. We complete a facility assessment that looks at the client’s footprint, water usage, sustainable food environment, and waste. This tool provides us with benchmarking data that compares Sinai Health System with other healthcare facilities across the country. It helped us define best practices that would encourage Mount Sinai to achieve greater sustainability. We’re looking at LED lighting. The energy savings provided by LED lighting is significant. We’re currently retrofitting 931 exit signs. Our local utility, Commonwealth Edison, has a “Smart Ideas” incentive program that offers reimbursement up to $20 per fixture for the installation of the Grainger-supplied, Radionic LED Exit Sign Retrofit Kit. This installation alone will save us 290,000 kilowatt-hours per year, which translates into savings of $24,000 per year. We are currently looking for funding that would help us

ABOUT Josh Bruschuk is the director of engineering at Sinai Health System, one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. In 2011, Sinai joined the Chicago Green Health Care Initiative. Bruschuk, senior director Steve Parker, and operations manager John Burns have since led the system’s efforts to reduce energy use and create more sustainable healthcare system. For more information, visit sinai.org.

J osh B ruschuk

october–december 2012

The director of engineering at Sinai Health System discusses client utility consumption, global energy prices, and how simple steam can improve urban healthcare As told to Julie Schaeffer

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become the first healthcare facility in the nation to be 100 percent illuminated by LED. This would save approximately 4.8 million kilowatt-hours per year. We install variable-frequency drives, or VFDs, with each new or upgraded airhandling unit. Energy is saved when the motor is run at less than full speed. The return on investment is often as little as months. We recently received $14,850 in “Smart Ideas,” incentives to install four Square D VFDs, which have the potential to save us $25,000 annually. We’re also currently updating our Siemens buildingautomation system. By installing dimmer actuators throughout our parking areas, we expect a decrease in energy usage by 225,000 kilowatt-hours per year, which translates into $18,000 of savings annually. We recently replaced 1,700 steam traps at Mount Sinai when a utility survey showed a higher-than-normal trend in our natural gas bills. Steam traps are automatic valves within a steam system that filter out condensation. If these traps aren’t working properly, steam escapes, and water is lost. Your natural-gas costs also rise because you have to heat more water to make up for the steam loss. The replacement saved us $75,000 annually in natural gas costs. We also reduced our annual water usage by 21 million gallons, which will generate $60,690 of energy savings annually. gbdmagazine.com

What is your hidden talent? I get along well with others.

Describe yourself in three words. I’m motivated, efficient, and trustworthy.

What inspires you? I enjoy helping people.

If you weren’t in your current field, what would you be doing? I might work in energy management but on the finance side. I’m fascinated with the world market and how changes in the global environment affect energy costs.

What was your first job? As a young entrepreneur, I cut lawns around the neighborhood. This was my first real introduction to customer service.

Up Close & Personal

VERBATIM

The cost savings that these sustainability initiatives generate help the community tremendously. We’re a safetynet hospital, meaning our goal is to improve the health of the community we serve by providing services that may not be available otherwise. Sinai’s sustainability is unique among other health systems. The health system has a genuine desire to become the national model for the delivery of urban healthcare. From Sodexo’s engineering, food, and environmental team to Mount Sinai’s caregivers, everyone is focused on sustainability. gb&d a message from comed A t ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business program, we help you achieve your energyefficiency goals by providing financial incentives that reduce the cost of your energy-efficiency improvements—just as we did for Sinai Health Systems. For more information, call 888-8062273 or visit ComEd/BizIncentives.com.

a check for $7,908. $9,200 in annual energy savings.* There is a real impact to your bottom line with energy-efficiency incentives from ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business®. If you’re located in Northern Illinois, find out more: Call 888-806-2273 or visit ComEd.com/BizIncentives. *Average incentive amount and annual energy savings for office, healthcare and higher education facilities to date.

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GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 88 92 96 100 104 109 111

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C-MORE Hale Sixth Street Residence Halls Bertram and Judith Kohl Building San Francisco Waldorf High School Human Ecology Building at Cornell University Tidwell-Teachey Residence Kettering Residence

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“The green roof was an element that we suggested early on. We felt that it was a great [way] to reflect the life-sciences work being done in the building.” Kimberly Polkinhorn, Architect

This UH Manoa laboratory building’s vegetated roof will reduce storm-water runoff and the building’s temperature while helping reduce CO2 and providing habitat for insects and birds.

As a drought-tolerant groundcover, Hawaii’s native akulikuli was a perfect choice for the C-MORE Hale green roof. Its light purple flowers are also sometimes used in traditional Hawaiian leis.

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INNER WORKINGS

C-MORE Hale Below, underground chambers replenish the water table. Above, a living roof blooms with native akulikuli. Inside, researchers study microbial oceanography. UH Manoa’s LEED Platinum laboratory shows the greener side of science.

The faculty and staff of the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education, known as C-MORE Hale, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa used to be scattered across campus. Now, thanks to a new facility, C-MORE Hale, they’re under the same roof—a living one at that. Designed by Group 70 International, the building offers state-of-the-art research amenities alongside highly efficient systems and earned LEED Platinum certification in 2012, a first for a laboratory building on the islands. Architect Kimberly Polkinhorn notes that honoring the environment is quintessentially a Hawaiian theme, and here she explains how C-MORE Hale honors its natural site and the environmental research happening inside. By Kelli McElhinny

PROJECT

GREEN

Location Honolulu Size 29,000 ft2 Completed 2010 Program Research laboratories, lobby, offices, conference rooms

Certification LEED Platinum Roof 2,500 ft2 green roof, 60 PV panels Ventilation Air-exchange frequency occupancy controls Water Waterless urinals, high-efficiency drip irrigation, underground storm-water retention Lighting Occupancy sensors, daylighting for 75% of interior spaces

TEAM The south façade of C-MORE Hale is a 30-foot curtain wall made of high-performance glass with a low-E coating. The architects made every possible effort to capture natural light.

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Architect Group 70 International Owner University of Hawaii at Manoa General Contractor Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. Landscape Architect Walters Kimura Motoda

Minimal Air Exchange The C-MORE researchers study microorganisms that make their homes in the sea, and this work requires large, open laboratory spaces. Buildings dedicated to such scientific research typically consume a great deal of energy, especially through HVAC systems. In particular, the continuous need for fresh air poses a problem for sustainable design. Group 70 worked with the university to reduce the number of air exchanges per hour from the standard 12 to 10. When rooms are unoccupied, a time-based direct-digitalcontrol (DDC) system drops the air-exchange frequency to five per hour. Solar-hotwater panels were installed on the roof (No.1), but the designers had underestimated themselves: the building’s domestic-hot-water use was lower than expected. So the hot-water system was revised and now is used to supplement the HVAC-reheat system and further offset energy use. In collaboration with Thermal Engineering Group, the architects incorporated additional features as well, ultimately cutting the building’s energy consumption by more than half compared to a conventional laboratory of similar size and use.

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INNER WORKINGS C-MORE Hale

FLOOR PLANS 1 First floor 2 Second floor 3 Roof

C-MORE Hale’s concave curtain wall beats the Hawaiian sun with sunshades and spandrel panels. Below the native plantings and curved pathways, a subterranean tank stores rainwater.

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Captured Sunlight

New Water Ways

Natural light is abundant in Hawaii, and C-MORE Hale’s design allows for more than three-fourths of the spaces to be daylit, helping qualify for Daylighting and Views EQ Credit 8.1. “We tried to capture as much daylighting as possible in concert with sun shading and the use of spandrel panels,” Polkinhorn says. The building’s south façade is a 30-foot curtain wall made of high-performance glass with a low-E coating, a visible transmittance of 46, a shading coefficient of 0.27, and a solarheat-gain coefficient of 0.23 (No.2). Additionally, eight Solatube light pipes bring light to the building interior’s offices and public spaces. Because the need for artificial light varies, the facility is equipped with Lutron EcoSystem smart controls for lighting management, including daylight and occupancy sensors that can dim lights to 10 percent (No.3). Group 70 also took steps to manage the heat accompanying that natural light. Angled masonry walls on the eastern and western sides of the building block direct light.

Designed to reduce potable water consumption by 48 percent, C-MORE Hale earned three water-efficiency credits. Its Zurn waterless urinals alone save 45,000 gallons of water per year. These required some education for maintenance staff unaccustomed to cleaning the devices. “The waterless urinals received some pushback,” Polkinhorn says, “but the C-MORE group wanted to set an example of sustainability on campus.” The building also features low-flow fixtures and toilets. Water-conservation efforts extended to the building’s exterior as well. A RainBird high-efficiency drip-irrigation system saves about 65 percent in irrigation, or just under 47,000 gallons of water each year (No.4). A less visible watermanagement solution is the underground Triton stormwater-detention system, which comprises underground chambers and keeps 25,000 gallons from entering the storm-water system. “The storm water is held and allowed to percolate back into the ground and recharge the water table—a hidden green feature,” Polkinhorn says.

When rooms are unoccupied, a time-based direct-digitalcontrol system drops the air-exchange frequency from an already-reduced ten exchanges per hour to a mere five.

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Tropical Green Roof Several more sustainable features sit atop the building, including a 2,500-squarefoot green roof, the first of its scale on the campus. The green roof reduces stormwater runoff, helps cool the building, recaptures carbon dioxide, and provides a habitat for insects and birds. “The green roof was an element that we suggested early on,” Polkinhorn says. “We felt that it was a great [way] to reflect the life-sciences work being done in the building and C-MORE’s values of environmental stewardship.” The roof contains a modular system of Liveroof trays that were nurtured for six months in a nursery before installation. It includes native and adapted plants such as aloe, akulikuli, and portulaca. A series of 60 laminate Unisolar photovoltaic panels also is found on the the roof. The system, which includes a Sunny Boy inverter, has a capacity of 8.16 kilowatts and is expected to generate 48 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day. Not that it was needed, but this renewable-energy system wasn’t given credit during the LEEDcertification process, because the photovoltaics were added after its completion and financed solely through the fundraising efforts of C-MORE director David Karl.

Thermal Engineering Corporation Mechanical & Fire Protection Engineering Consultants The Walters Kimura Motodadesigned landscape features native vegetation and a high-efficiency drip-irrigation system that saves about 47,000 gallons of water each year.

Sensitive Siting The building’s exterior setting achieved a balance between maintaining existing features and introducing new, sustainable ones. Polkinhorn says Group 70 was tasked with keeping as many of the trees as possible. They did so and found space for new plants as well. Landscape architect Janine Mori from Walters, Kimura, Motoda designed a setting that used native vegetation, such as ’aki ’aki and naupaka, and dry streambeds lined with river rocks to reduce the use of turf grass. Reinforcing the work done inside, pavers include images of marine microorganisms (No.5). Vegetation choices for the green roof also will provide a case study for such features in Hawaii. gb&d

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INNER WORKINGS

Sixth Street Residence Halls Echoing arroyo topography and capturing the power of the desert sun, the new urban home for University of Arizona students becomes the first LEED Platinum project of its type in the state.

With a student body totaling more than 30,000, the University of Arizona needed a way to provide new housing for students that served a triune purpose. The residences must reduce energy costs, incorporate organic visual design, and model sustainable practices for resident life. Recently opened for the 2011–2012 school year and built to mimic canyon and arroyo topography, UA’s new Sixth Street Residence Halls (SSRH) house 1,088 freshman students and are the first LEED Platinum residential units in Arizona. Debra Johnson, UA’s senior architect, gave us a tour. By Benjamin van Loon Modern Materials

The primary challenge for the SSRH project—which comprises both the Árbol de la Vida and Likins halls—was getting the buildings to work with the surrounding area. “This is an urban campus, so we had limited planning boundaries,” Johnson says. Respondent to this, the architectural team at AR7 Architects was able to incorporate new space into the halls that works both practically and aesthetically. Johnson says, “We were able to build multiple courtyards into the design, and these become social spaces for the students that are private, secure, and enclosed by the buildings themselves.”

Because the residence halls were being built within the campus precincts, Johnson says it was important for them to abide by the established architectural vocabulary. “We wanted … the halls [to] respect the campus context but still make them modern and unique,” Johnson says. The halls thus incorporate brick on the perimeter of the building to maintain this continuity, adding multicolored aluminum panels (No.1), stainless and galvanized metals, and stucco, provided by Mirage Plastering, on the interior, to bring lighter, reflective colors into the courtyards.

Organic Gatherings

Operable Windows

Johnson says the angles in the buildings are intended to make the exterior spaces more organic, though this is reflected in the interiors as well. “We widened the hallways at the ends to provide spaces for students to gather,” Johnson says. “We also placed study rooms in the corridor centers to naturally allow people to transition from loud to quiet.” As with the exterior design, the goal was to integrate private and public areas (No.2). The areas were styled with furniture provided by Target Commercial Interiors, among others, and students were assured cohesive social space.

Large windows in student rooms and study spaces allow for the influx of natural light, as does the buildings’ northsouth orientation. Unlike many college dormitories, the windows in the SSRH are operable, which means they can be opened or closed relative to student preference (No.3). In addition to these passive strategies, all rooms are equipped with proprietary “smart” thermostats and occupancy sensors to conserve energy.

Photos: Frank Ooms

Limited Boundaries

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Battling to complement established university architecture and still embrace modern design, Árbol de la Vida Hall, part of the Sixth Street project, combines brick, stucco, and colorful aluminum panels.

PROJECT

GREEN

LOCATION Tucson, AZ Size 335,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Dormitories, study areas, gathering spaces

CERTIFICATION: LEED Platinum Materials One-third sourced from within 500 miles, 82% of wood FSCcertified Solar Off-site photovoltaic array, solar hot water Courtyards Proprietary ‘canyon’ design with secure, shaded open-air enclosures Landscape Native Sonoran plants, shade trees such as sycamore and walnut

TEAM

SITE PLAN Árbol de la Vida Residence Hall

The amount of trees around the residence hall is reflective of its name; árbol de la vida means ‘tree of life’ in Spanish.

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CLIENT University of Arizona Architect AR7 Architects General Contractor Core Construction Landscape Architect Wheat Scharf Associates Structural Engineer Holben, Martin & White Electrical Engineer Monrad Engineering Interior Design Richard + Bauer LEED Consultant Architectural Energy Corporation

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INNER WORKINGS Sixth Street Residence Halls

ABOVE Natural gathering spaces, inside, and out, were a primary goal of AR7’s design. RIGHT Sixth Street’s urban site necessitated interior courtyards that double as social spaces, eventually shaded by sycamore and walnut trees.

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Double Solar

Energy Education

Heating domestic water uses a significant amount of energy in a residence hall. The desert conditions allow for practical implementation of rooftop solar-thermal systems to heat domestic water for the students. When it came to LEED scores, Johnson says the Energy and Atmosphere category was crucial. “We achieved 14 of 17 points here, and we were able to meet all energy-savings goals,” he says. The project was able to take advantage of off-site photovoltaic arrays, and the electrical design, provided by Monrad Engineering, has a lighting power density 45 percent more efficient than baseline and an electrical power density 10 percent more efficient than baseline.

Sixth Street residents benefit from the buildings’ spacious, landscaped courtyards, designed to mimic arroyo topography (No.4). They also can learn from their living quarters. The SSRH project received LEED points for education, as residence halls are integrated with a Webbased dashboard. This allows students to track and monitor energy usage and learn firsthand ways to moderate consumption and encourage green practices. “It was important that the residence halls’ utility information be accessible,” Johnson says, “because this allows us a direct way to instruct the students on the benefits of sustainability.” gb&d Photos: Frank Ooms

Perforations in the brick of Likins Hall bring in daylight while reducing glare (shown in the interior photo). The building also features operable windows for natural ventilation and a solar-thermal system for domestic hot water.

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Likins Hall, named for University of Arizona president emeritus Peter Likins, features a proprietary ‘canyon’ design that creates a cool, open-air cloister protected from the sun and city noise.

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Bertram and Judith Kohl Building Like its rooftop garden’s specially bred witch hazel, the new jazz studies and music theory building at Oberlin College blooms in surprising ways. For more than 35 years, jazz music was heard but rarely seen in the verdant town of Oberlin, Ohio. Jazz students at the worldfamous Oberlin Conservatory of Music had to practice in the basement of Hales Memorial Gymnasium from 1973, when the jazz studies department was founded, until spring 2010, when Oberlin College finally introduced a home for its jazz studies, music history, and music theory programs: the Bertram and Judith Kohl Building. Campus architect Steven Varelmann takes us inside. By Matt Alderton

Jazz Discrimination

Sustainable Tradition

For a school like Oberlin—a private liberal arts college that has prided itself on diversity and inclusion since 1835, when it became the first college in the United States to regularly admit African American students—the Kohl Building is as symbolic as it is practical. It’s designed to make jazz and classical music equal despite a long history of musical prejudice. “When the jazz program was started [in 1973], it wasn’t part of the Conservatory of Music; it was an extracurricular activity,” Varelmann explains. “It was almost like a second-class program. The Kohl Building was built to bring the jazz program out of the basement, so to speak.”

In the same way that it builds on Oberlin’s long history of equality, the LEED Gold Kohl Building continues the school’s tradition of sustainability. In 2004, the college’s board of trustees adopted a statement that formalized the school’s commitment to environmental responsibility, and in 2006 it mandated all new construction and major renovations on campus to be designed and built to LEED Silver standards. As far back as 2000, the college was building things like the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, a net-zero building that predated LEED and was intended as a demonstration project, testing ground, educational venue, and catalyst for the emerging field of ecological design. “That building,” Varelmann says, “has been named by the Department of Energy as one of 30 milestone buildings of the last century.”

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On Tappan Square When Oberlin College decided to add the Kohl Building, its architect, Cleveland-based Westlake Reed Leskosky, studied multiple sites on campus, including several existing buildings that were candidates for renovation. Ultimately, the school decided to construct a new building on a sliver of vacant land adjacent to the main Oberlin Conservatory of Music complex, designed in 1963 by Minoru Yamasaki, designer of New York City’s Twin Towers. “The site design was one of the most important elements of this building,” Varelmann says, describing the building’s location on Tappan Square, a large, park-like setting in the center of campus. “On three sides of the park are campus buildings,” he says. “On one side is downtown Oberlin. So this park really anchors the whole community.” The Kohl Building was designed to create a north-south axis with Tappan Square. Instead of terminating at the facility’s front door, a pedestrian walkway from the square leads past the building, under a bridge, which is a third-story “sky lounge” that connects the Kohl Building to the Yamasaki complex, and into an exterior staircase that climbs up the building’s façade. The path ultimately leads to a third-floor roof garden that functionally extends the park below.

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The Kohl Building connects to Oberlin’s conservatory building via a skybox that features a coffee lounge and casual performance space for jazz students.

PROJECT LOCATION Oberlin, OH Size 37,000 ft2 Completed 2010 Program Classrooms, practice rooms, rehearsal spaces, recording studio, library, lounges, offices Awards Award of Excellence, 2011 Cleveland Engineering Society; 2010 AIA Western Mountain Region Design Award

TEAM CLIENT Oberlin College Architect Westlake Reed Leskosky General Contractor Krill Construction Landscape Architect GroundView Acoustic Consultant Kirkegaard Acoustic Design Civil Engineer KS Associates

GREEN Certification LEED Gold Site Former back lot, adjacent to existing conservatory Materials Recycled-content aluminum and concrete, sustainably sourced ipé, gypsum board Water Low-flow and sensor-activated plumbing fixtures Mechanical Geothermal HVAC system, radiant heating/cooling, energy-recovery ventilator Energy Daylighting, occupancy and daylight sensors, dimmable light switches, LED lighting Landscape Green roof, lowmaintenance vegetation, terrarium, reduced storm-water runoff

photos: Kevin G. Reeves (Left), Nic Lehoux (Above); Courtesy of Westlake Reed Leskosky

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INNER WORKINGS Bertram and Judith Kohl Building

“The roof garden acts as a stage. A lot of the jazz students will have impromptu practices and jams up there.” Steven Varelmann, Oberlin College

d Material Menu

Artful Acoustics

The third-floor roof garden is one of the Kohl Building’s most beloved spaces (No.1). It’s also one of its most versatile. Planted primarily with lowmaintenance grasses, flowering perennials, and woodland flowers, it offers benefits in the form of thermal insulation and storm-water mitigation. It also serves as acoustic insulation, blocking overhead noise to the delight of students who are rehearsing inside. What’s more, the green roof doubles as a performance space. “The roof garden acts as a stage,” Varelmann explains. “A lot of the jazz students will have impromptu practices and jams up there. They might gather at the top of the stairs, and students and other people from the community will sit on the stairs and listen to them play.” GroundView landscaped the garden, in addition to an enclosed garden also on the third floor. The roof garden contains two specially bred witch hazel trees that bloom in January when the rest of Oberlin is blanketed in snow.

Just three core materials compose the Kohl Building’s exterior: glass, wood, and metal (No.2). The low-E glass, part of a curtain wall fabricated by Tubelite, is acoustically rated and fritted to reduce sound and solar heat gain, respectively (No. 3). The wood siding is Brazilian ipé wood that was harvested exclusively from naturally sustainable forests. The rainscreen system, fabricated by Riverside Group, is made of custom-stained aluminum (No. 4), a material chosen not only because of its sustainable properties—it’s abundant, easily recyclable, lightweight, and naturally resistant to corrosion—but also because Alcoa founder Charles Martin Hall, who discovered the aluminum extraction process, was an Oberlin graduate who donated a sizeable amount of money and land to the college.

The Kohl Building’s interior is designed to reconcile two opposing challenges: acoustics and sustainability. “This is an acoustically designed building,” Varelmann says. “Because of the high demand for no sound transmission, there are as many as eight layers of gypsum board [in the wall assemblies] for sound deadening.” Because it’s recyclable, the gypsum board, provided by Gypsum National, is inherently sustainable, as is the building’s other dominant interior material: concrete. According to Varelmann, the floors are black-stained concrete while many of the walls are 4- by 24-inch CMU block made with white cement and mortar, courtesy of Grand Blanc. “It’s standard concrete block, but its [unique] dimensions and color elevate the material and make it art,” Varelmann says. “Plus, it’s durable. In a music building there are a lot of instruments being moved around, so walls get banged up. Concrete is a robust material that will last longer and require less maintenance over time.”

Quieter Systems Walls aren’t the only place in the Kohl Building where acoustics and sustainability marry. It happens in the ceiling, too, in which is embedded a BEKA geothermal radiant heating-and-cooling system. The feature—the first BEKA system installed in the United States—includes radiant tubing embedded inside Knauf Drywall MP75 Projection Plaster. Powered by a Mammoth ground-source heat-pump system, it’s more efficient and produces less mechanical noise than airbased HVAC. “And because ventilation is required, we’re using an enthalpy well,” Varelmann says, referring to the building’s Munters Corp. energy-recovery ventilator. “It’s basically a heat exchanger; it transfers either the heat or coolness of the air inside to air that’s coming in from the outside, so you’re not wasting air that’s already been conditioned.” gb&d gb&d

photos: Kevin G. Reeves (Left and opposite), Nic Lehoux (Above); Courtesy of Westlake Reed Leskosky

Rooftop Jams

GBD_Oberlin College_Layout 1 5/22/12 3:37 PM Page 1 INNER WORKINGS

In addition to more typical conservatory amenities (performance spaces, practice rooms, music archives, instrument storage, recording facilties), the Kohl Building houses the largest privately held jazz collection in the United States.

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San Francisco Waldorf High School A brutalist concrete building that housed an AT&T call center circa 1970 isn’t a natural home for a school that prizes interaction with nature. Then why does it work so well? 450 architects principals David Bushnell and Richard Parker are known for engaging multiple stakeholders in a project’s design, asking what a building and its environs can and should accomplish. They’re also advocates of both education and sustainability, so when the San Francisco Waldorf High School—an education system that values nature as a tool for learning— needed a new campus, the pair was a natural fit. What might not have seemed natural, however, was the brutalist, poured-inplace concrete structure originally built in the early 1970s that the architects had to work with. Here, the architects take us inside the renovation, a project that earned LEED Gold certification in 2011. By Russ Klettke

PROJECT

GREEN

Location San Francisco Size 4,800 ft2 Completed 2008 Program 9 classrooms, 2 art studios, 3 science labs, library

Certification LEED Gold Ventilation Natural cooling and air exchange via operable windows Materials Cork flooring, wallboard with 98% recycled paper and 96% recycled gypsum Air 99% efficient boiler, tight building envelope, no mechanical air-conditioning

TEAM Architect 450 Architects Client San Francisco Waldorf High School General Contractor Oliver & Company

Concrete Casing The philosophy of the Waldorf schools, which use a humanistic, sensory, and interdisciplinary approach to education, includes experiences in the outdoors. “Reverence for the Earth is ingrained in their philosophy,” Bushnell says. “We were able to transform a concrete shell that, to our surprise, was not only structurally sound after 40 years but met current seismic code requirements.” Part of the transformation involved the windows: dingy, single-pane, fixed-glazing windows were replaced with high-efficiency operable wood ones, increasing daylighting and providing natural ventilation (No.1). Natural Interior 450 architects celebrated the structure’s original materials. “Exposed concrete respects the building for what it is,” Bushnell says. “It’s durable and was well-made. Rather than cover it, we juxtaposed a warm palette of natural materials and finishes.” Light fixtures positioned near windows are set to dim with daylight while those closer to the building core provide higher-intensity light. Class Specific

ommissioned to convert a 23,000-square-foot C building into a high-performance high school for the progressive San Francisco Waldorf School, 450 Architects teamed up with green-building veteran Oliver & Company to complete the project on time and under budget. Among its features are an ultra-tight building envelope and numerous sustainable materials.

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Though many high schools use a singularly designed science lab for biology, chemistry, and physics, Waldorf schools configure them differently for each subject. Here, the biology lab benches october–december 2012

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INNER WORKINGS San Francisco Waldorf High School

“We were able to transform a concrete shell that, to our surprise, was not only structurally sound after 40 years, but met current seismic code requirements.” f

David Bushnell, 450 Architects

are separate from the lecture area, under all of which are concrete floors (No.2). Why concrete? “When future resources allow they will get rubber and cork floor coverings,” Bushnell says. “Concrete can suffice for now, instead of installing cheap vinyl or carpet.” Via the operable windows, a eucalyptus grove provides a therapeutic scent inside the building (No.3). Given San Francisco’s moderate climate, no mechanical air-conditioning is necessary with such a tight building envelope, and a boiler that is 99 percent efficient minimizes energy use.

Gallery Space To contrast the hardness of the concrete, curved wall surfaces form a central hallway to soften the learning environment (No.4). “We had a raw, 80-foot by 60-foot space to work with,” Bushnell says. “We wanted to allow the space to naturally flow, to create places to congregate. This provided surfaces that were conceived to provide a gallerylike atmosphere for displaying art.” Bushnell says the project’s general contractor, Oliver & Company, was very adaptive to what the school was trying to do. Notable materials include the wallboard, which is made from 98 percent recycled paper and 96 percent recycled gypsum.

Inside its concrete shell, the San Francisco high school needs little to no artificial light. For some classrooms, 450 Architects cut new windows into the façade.

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In its previous incarnation as an AT&T call center, what is now the textile arts classroom housed a backup generator to accommodate emergency functions in the case of an earthquake (No.5). Because Waldorf schools integrate the art of making things to also teach mathematics, physics, and astronomy, improving this space was vital. The architects cut windows into the concrete walls and transformed the vault into a lightfilled studio, connecting the space to the outdoors. gb&d

The hard angles of the high school’s concrete structure are softened by its curved interior walls. The LEED Gold school teaches students core subjects through nature and art.

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INNER WORKINGS

CONSTRUCTION / MANAGEMENT / DEVELOPMENT

In honor of our client Waldorf School and the great architectural work of 450 architects 1300 South 51st Street / Richmond, California 94804 510.412.9090 / www.oliverandco.net

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INNER WORKINGS

Human Ecology Building Diversity. Cornell’s Human Ecology program is full of it, with studies ranging from textiles to nutrition. The school wanted a building to match, and they wanted it to be green. What they got is all of the above.

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PROJECT

TEAM

GREEN

Location Ithaca, NY Size 208,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Common area, classrooms, studios, laboratory spaces

Architects Gruzen Samton • IBI Group Client Cornell University MEP Engineer M/E Engineering General Contractors The Pike Company (garage), Murnane Building Contractors (superstructure), Lechase Construction Services (management)

Certification LEED Platinum (expected) Lighting Daylighting, occupancysensors, high-efficiency windows Air Demand-control ventilation and air-handling systems, variable air volume fume hoods Glass Low-E, high-performance glass curtain wall Materials Local materials such as Llenroc stone

october–december 2012

photos: Paul Warchol

Behind this high-performance glass curtain wall, exterior stairwells help animate the building and make the College of Human Ecology more visible.

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INNER WORKINGS

The commons area provides a dynamic yet neutral background for events of all kinds, in hopes of bridging previously disconnected departments.

5,450-square-foot commons is designed to serve as its living room, connecting the new building to the portion of the college housed in the existing space (No.1). Showing Off

Below the new building is a parking garage that has preferred parking for low-emitting vehicles and an electric-car charging station.

The College of Human Ecology at Cornell University examines human life within social and scientific paradigms, pulling together an assortment of interests, including sustainability, health, nutrition, ergonomics, and textiles and fabrics. In designing the college’s new Human Ecology Building, which is targeting LEED Platinum certification, Gruzen Samton • IBI Group decided to mirror that variety. “The project is a discussion of that programmatic diversity,” says Darko Hreljanovic, a Cornell alumnus and the Gruzen Samton principal who served as the project’s lead architect. He says this idea is seen in the Panelite glass system he used, which scatters light throughout the building. “It creates complexity,” he says. “When you’re inside, rooms read differently.” Hreljanovic and Cornell’s Jim Kazda walk us through the new building. By Kelli McElhinny gbdmagazine.com

Creating Collaboration The 208,000-square-foot, three-story building strives to tie the college together, in an effort to fulfill the school’s dual goals of sustainability and visibility. “The space not only has upgraded facilities, but it also fosters collaboration between departments,” says Kazda, senior director of facilities for contract colleges at Cornell. In particular, the

The college also wanted to leverage the new building to generate awareness of its existence. Before this project, the college was housed in an older building that had limited visibility. “The College of Human Ecology wanted to increase its exposure,” Hreljanovic says. “That, for us, became a clue that the building should be transparent. For that reason, glass was chosen for the façade. Additionally, the EFCO glass curtain wall is intended to replicate a piece of cloth wrapped around the building to give a nod to the college’s fiber-science and apparel-design program” (No.2). Similarly, the stairwells are external, showcasing the flow of people throughout the building. “We wanted to celebrate student movement,” Hreljanovic says, “and it further animates the building.” Local Stone Located on a promontory overlooking one of Ithaca’s many lakes, the Human Ecology Building has a spectacular view, but the site also presented several challenges. An integrated 250-car underground garage needed to be sited first to provide a base for the glass box above it. Because october–december 2012

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INNER WORKINGS Human Ecology Building

“The College of Human Ecology wanted to increase its exposure. That, for us, became a clue that the building should be transparent.” Darko Hreljanovic, Architect

BOTTOM LEFT The stacked stone on the façade of the parking garage is a local type of bluestone called Llenroc, Cornell spelled backward. BOTTOM RIGHT The building’s wet and dry laboratories feature occupancy sensors that conserve energy. OPPOSITE The promenade and outlook show Beebe Lake below the building. Just inside are the drawing and apparel studios, a choice the college hopes will make its programs more visible.

Double-Duty Glass The glass that gives the college its desired visibility also doubles as a mechanism for reducing energy use. “Natural light is a big player,” Hreljanovic says, explaining that occupied spaces are on the perimeter, maximizing the use of daytime lighting, and rooms are equipped with WattStopper occupancybased lighting controls (No.4). Extensive glass use could af-

fect internal climate control, but Guardian low-E highperformance glass has visible transmittance of 54 percent, along with a solar-heat-gain coefficient of 0.28 and a shading coefficient of 0.32. The research spaces requiring a more stable environment are concentrated in the building’s innermost spaces, to reduce the glass’s impact. Conserving Systems The Human Ecology Building also features a highly efficient HVAC system, including demand-control ventilation and air-handling systems that recycle classroom air for use in large laboratory spaces. Variable-air-volume fume hoods in the lab are equipped with position controls and Phoenix Controls air valves that cut airflow in half when the space is unoccupied. The labs also feature WattStopper occupancy sensors that reduce air exchanges from eight to four per hour when the rooms are empty. The

commons feature a Rehau radiant floor system that generates heat to ensure that small study groups feel comfortable. The demand-control air-handling systems promote cooling when the room is filled for larger events. These efficient systems bring positive results. Gruzen Samton anticipates that the building will use 40 percent less energy than a baseline building. Reducing energy use is a campus-wide priority at Cornell; the Human Ecology Building uses an energy dashboard to display water consumption and energy use, the goal of which is to create campus-wide competition among the colleges to reduce energy and water consumption. gb&d

photos: Paul Warchol

the garage faced Beebe Lake as well as an upscale residential community, it came with some controversy. Gruzen Samton solved the problem by sheathing the garage in a bluestone called Llenroc (Cornell spelled backwards, and the name of the famous estate Ezra Cornell had built near the college campus), sourced by Ithaca Stone Setting a half a mile from the site (No.3). “We wanted a façade that looked like a stacked stone wall in the country,” Hreljanovic says.

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The outside of the Human Ecology Building is patterned with vision glass, shadow boxes, interlayers, and operable windows.

The outdoor terrace overlooking the lake is an exterior gathering place, much as the commons is inside. The architects designed such spaces in order to promote collaboration.

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INNER WORKINGS

Tidwell-Teachey Residence Not every builder has the luxury of working with laser-optics experts, but in this net-plus desert home an already innovative lighting solution collides with aerospace research.

A rapid evolution of concept. That’s how architect and homebuilder Michael Frerking describes his professional process and approach. His design-build company, Living Systems Architecture and Construction, continually develops new technology and integrates it into its overall architecture, creating some of the most efficient structures by any grading scale in the United States or Europe. Whether they use light-diffusing reflector decks and alternative materials or are cutting-edge collaborations between architect and client, Frerking’s projects come together with a sense of creative continuity and personal passion. The culmination of these tenets can be seen in the in-progress Tidwell-Teachey Residence, Frerking’s most ambitious and innovative project to date. By Ashley T. Kjos Magnesium Oxide

Reflector Decks

Integrated Aesthetic

Hydraulic cement, or Portland cement, is the largest carbon producer of any single building material. Magnesium oxide (MgO) is an alternative binding material and the only real product viewed as a contender to replace Portland cement, a portion of which Frerking replaced with MgO in the Tidwell-Teachey Residence. Magnesium oxide (MgO) sequesters more energy than is required to make the product, which renders it net-minus in terms of carbon production and environmental impact. The benefits of MgO in construction have been known for thousands of years, and it can be found in the mortar used to bind sections of the Great Wall of China. The material has been slow to be widely utilized in the Western Hemisphere, but Frerking works directly with a manufacturer of MgO in the United States. For the Tidwell-Teachey Residence, Premier Chemicals aided in the production of responsible materials and provided custom chemical mixes compatible with the fin. flr. soil and materials on-site. 100'-0"

The Tidwell-Teachey project features Frerking’s reflector deck technology to light and heat the interior of the house. “For passive solar heating to work effectively, it requires a large amount of light, which typically means a lot of glass and clerestory windows and a fair amount of glare and bright spots throughout the home,” Frerking says. “The reflector decks take the light and reflect it up onto the ceiling, bringing it deep into the home and diffusing it throughout the space. The resulting effect is pleasant and free of glare.” The diffused light also helps store heat in a thermal mass, increasing the efficiency of passive solar. “Lighting a residence in this way really is an art form,” he says.

Although the technology that Living Systems employs is cutting edge—and in some cases years ahead of what other builders are doing—there is a conscious design choice to make the advanced systems work within the boundaries of good aesthetic design. The Tidwell-Teachey Residence is a good example of this: the project will adopt the regional style while remaining wholly unique. “One of the things I do is to integrate the systems visually into the architecture, to create a beautiful and efficient home without it looking awkward,” Frerking says.

gbdmagazine.com

PROJECT LOCATION Prescott, AZ Size 2,300 ft2 Completed 2013 (expected) Program 4 bedrooms, 3 baths

TEAM

ARCHITECT Living Systems Architecture and Construction General Contractor Living Systems Architecture and Construction Chemical Supplier Premier Chemical

GREEN

CERTIFICATION Not applicable Materials MgO rather than Portland cement in poured earth Water 85% of need provided by 18,000-gallon rainwaterharvesting system Energy Grid-tied photovoltaics Landscape Organic garden, native plants, xeriscaping

Michael Frerking utilized his client’s background in aerospace laseroptics research to increase the efficiency of the home’s reflector decks by 40%.

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INNER WORKINGS Tidwell-Teachey Residence

“In terms of technology we’ve leapt forward several years at least. It’s the most innovative thing I’ve ever done.”

VENICE LOFTS, Manayunk

veniceloftsapts.com 215.483.4090

THE LEFT BANK, University City

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Michael Frerking, Architect

777 SOUTH BROAD, Center City

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THE VICTOR, Camden Waterfront

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LOCUST ON THE PARK, Fitler Square

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Tough Exterior

Client Collaboration

Living Systems always considers the regional climate and how it affects the longevity of materials when choosing components and designing the exterior of homes and buildings. Tidwell-Teachey was no different. Because materials exposed to the Arizona sun and heat will deteriorate rapidly, Frerking sought to create an exterior where only masonry or metal, not wood, would be exposed to the harsh solar environment.

With increasing consistency, Frerking finds himself working with clients who not only understand current green technology but also have a scientific background, and some have been a part of developing these technologies and patents themselves. “I find sophisticated clients, or in many cases they find me,” Frerking says. “Building for scientists with a background in sustainable research is becoming typical. These are smart people who push the edge, do their part, and they want to be participants in the process.” This was the case with Tidwell-Teachey. The owner sought out Living Systems to design and build his home. He had a background in laser-optics research in the aerospace field, and his expertise found its way into the design of his home. “We took his understanding in optics and used it to take what we do further,” Frerking says, explaining that the owner’s input and evaluation of Living Systems’ reflector decks resulted in a minor tweak that increased their efficiency by 40 percent. “This project was exciting. In terms of technology, we’ve leapt forward several years at least. It’s the most innovative thing I’ve ever done.” gb&d

Net-Plus Design The residence is a true net-positive home, creating more electricity than it consumes and nearly doing the same with water as well. The project uses a night-sky radiation-cooling source that involves water tubes running under the roof. At night this becomes a radiator and circulates chilled water to cool the floor mass and provides cooling for the house during the day. The house also uses a grid-tied photovoltaic system that allows the owner to sell excess power to the grid in the summertime and buy energy back during the winter. In addition, the house uses an 18,000-gallon rainwaterharvesting system to provide 85 percent of its water needs.

www.RentDranoff.com

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INNER WORKINGS

Kettering Residence

The Kettering Residence’s exterior uses a recycled-wood siding, behind which is highly efficient Icynene water-based spray foam.

Foil-faced rigid foam, fiberglass-framed windows, and SmartSide recycled-wood siding. This Solar Village prefab could be the future of green building.

Prefab homes have come far in the past 15 years. Colorado’s Solar Village Homes builds prefab homes that are functional, flexible, and long-lasting and filled with numerous green technologies. “We sit down with the client and custom-design the house to their needs,” says Alex Platt, a project architect at Solar Village. The owners of the Kettering Residence are musicians, so the architects included a guitar practice room and two spaces for piano practice and performance. Here, Platt and Solar Village founder Mark Kostovny discuss the finer details of the project. By Scott Heskes

PROJECT LOCATION Buena Vista, CO Size 2,594 ft2 Completed 2012 Program 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, music room

TEAM ARCHITECT Solar Village Homes Client Greg Kettering, Dale Hansen General Contractor Anthony Ryan and Associates Radiant Floors Infloor Sales and Service

GREEN

photos: luke urbine

CERTIFICATION Not applicable Energy Solar-hot-water system, highefficiency boiler, ventilation system with heat exchanger Materials SmartSide siding, lowVOC materials Windows Enduroshield windows Insulation Icynene spray foam, reflective Poly ISO rigid insulation

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Passive Design The Kettering Residence, like many Solar Village homes, is designed around passive-solar principles. To heat the house on extremely cold days, Solar Village installed an evaporating-tube solar-hot-water system that creates domestic hot water and radiant floor heat, backed up by a condensing high-efficiency boiler. When combining passive solar design and radiant floor heat, Solar Village adds one and a half inches of lightweight concrete, or gypcrete, to protect the radiant tubing. “The gypcrete also works as a thermal mass that we can heat up with the passive radiation of the winter sun,” Platt says.

Efficient Insulation

Adaptive Windows

The home uses Icynene waterbased spray foam that fills the cavities of the walls, creating a high R-value and a nearairtight seal of the houses. The house also is wrapped in Poly ISO rigid foam, which according to Kostovny, minimizes thermal bridging. The rigid foam has a foil face as well that reduces radiant gain both internally and externally. In the summer, it keeps the sun from radiating through the walls, and in the winter, the heat stays inside.

Both Kostovny and Platt claim fiberglass window frames are far superior to others. Fiberglass expands and contracts at about the same rate as window glass. “On windows made with a wood frame, or vinyl or aluminum,” Platt says, “you can actually hear the cracking noise when the sun heats the window because it’s fighting that seal with the materials expanding at different rates.” This project features a product called Endurashield (made by Weathershield), a fiberglass frame with a wood interior. “They got the best of both worlds,” Kostovny says of the owners. “The beauty of wood on the inside and the performance of fiberglass outside with near-zero maintenance.”

Recycled Wood For exterior siding, Solar Village is keen on a Louisiana Pacific product called SmartSide. The siding has a 50-year warranty and is made of recycled wood. “The factoryapplied paint or stain lasts twice as long as a field-applied paint or stain, which is important in Colorado where you have a strong radiant-solar exposure,” Kostovny says. On the home’s south-facing roof is an evaporated-tube solar-hot-water system for radiant floor heat that will complement its passive design.

Fresh Air “We use low-VOC paints, glues, and wood products,” Platt says. “The cabinets in this house were IKEA cabinets. Europeans have a much higher standard for wood offgassing.” To further ensure indoor air quality, Solar Village uses heat-recovery-ventilation systems that bring outside air in to temper the air before entering the space through a heat exchanger, which brings a constant turnover of air into the houses. “Most houses leak haphazardly,” Kostovny says. “This gives you a guaranteed way to continue to subtly flush the house with fresh air 24 hours per day.” gb&d october–december 2012

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green building & design

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 115 125 130 134 138 144

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American Society of Landscape Architects VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre Phipps Conservatory Center for Sustainable Landscapes Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Discussion Board

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A primary principle of NFPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Firewise Communities Program is to create home landscapes that will discourage ignitions and limit the spread of wildfire. Careful plant choices and care of surrounding natural vegetation not only make homes safer from fire, but can also add to a homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beauty and privacy, and keep the home landscape compatible with its surroundings. Visit Booth 762 during the 2012 ALSA Conference and www.firewise.org to learn more.

FEATURES

304

Numbe ro that we f plants re used to create these fo ur letters

going native Everyone loves a pretty bed of flowers, but in the world of landscape architecture wildness reigns supreme. Why our cities are blooming with unruly native plants and why we should applaud it.

photo Illustration: samantha simmons

By Russ Klettke

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features ASLA

1899

ASLA is founded in New York City by two sons of Frederick Law Olmsted and nine others, including one woman.

1953

California adopts registration of the title “landscape architect,” followed by adoption of practice acts by New York and Connecticut.

2012

ASLA membership exceeds 15,500 individuals, a massive jump from its 5,000 members in 1980.

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he four components of ancient Hellenic physics—earth, air, fire, and water—are fundamental tools of modern landscape architects. They sculpt the land and harness the sun with chlorophyll. But it is water that may be most critical, as both a tool and an outcome, in landscape architecture. As with the sun, nature supplies water capriciously, even more so under conditions of climate change. We get too much in some places and too little in others. When water arrives it is often in momentary oversupply, and throughout it insistently finds its own level. Add to that the misguided concepts of water management from the past century, which are the root cause of innumerable problems today. Because water is so fundamental to life, all players in built environments—architects, landscape architects, builders, owners, occupants, communities, flora, and fauna—have an interest in finding better ways to work with this essential component. The American Society of Landscape Architects, the ASLA, is on the case, as it always has been. “Landscape architects have been green since 1899,” says Susan Hatchell, FASLA, current president of the organization and herself a practitioner in North Carolina where she largely works in public planning. That was the year the ASLA was founded by, among others, two sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous designer of New York City’s Central Park and other iconic urban park systems in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Louisville, and others. Olmsted’s approach to planning created the landscape architecture profession in America and served as a model that recognized the importance of landscape in built environments. Which suggests a classic conflict: man versus nature. Hardscapes such as buildings and pavement are notorious displacers of natural earth and water, and this is why landscape planners and designers are now, more

than ever before, a part of development from its most nascent stages. “Landscape architects are at the table from the beginning of all high-profile projects,” says Hatchell, whose fellow ASLA members number nearly 16,000 across 48 chapters. About a quarter of all landscape architects work in the public sector, while 70 percent privately contract with homeowners, architects, and municipalities. “Particularly with LEED projects, there is a coming together of developers, architects, landscape architects, and general contractors.” Though the USGBC awards LEED certifications for both buildings and interior environments, there is no such certification solely for the outside spaces surrounding those buildings (the LEED system recognizes landscape as part

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ASLA 2011 Award Winner Manassas Park Elementary School, Manassas Park, VA Siteworks, siteworks-studio.com Manassas Park Elementary wanted a “school in the woods,” and that’s exactly what Siteworks delivered. The school was built next to an existing forest, and the design incorporates two outdoor forest classrooms. The LEED Gold-certified building is surrounded with native vegetation with signs identifying different plants, as well as an inviting bio-retention pond. All of these features encourage children to experience nature instead of being sealed away from it.

gbdmagazine.com

“‘Pretty’ is not a bad thing, but instead of trying to tame nature, we’re allowing nature to work as it does. The mainstream aesthetic is catching up to that.” Susan Hatchell, FASLA, ASLA President

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features ASLA

“LEED certainly recognizes the importance of the landscape, but SITES goes further and deeper, evaluating habitat and pollination.” Susan Hatchell, FASLA, ASLA President

of the building’s evaluation). For this reason, the ASLA was a key driver in creating the Sustainable Sites Initiative, or SITES, which established voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable practices within land design, construction, and maintenance. “LEED certainly recognizes the importance of the landscape,” Hatchell says, “but SITES goes further and deeper, . . . evaluating habitat and pollination. It also rates places that have no buildings.” The SITES program was developed with assistance from the USGBC, Haskell adds. ASLA’s primary partners in developing the program, an interdisciplinary effort, were the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden. Three projects were certified under the SITES program in a beta test this year: Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tennessee (see p. 16); The Green at College Park in Arlington, Texas; and the Novus International Campus in St. Charles, Missouri, a planned corporate site that allows employees to interact with natural habitat. Scores of projects in 33 states and the District of Columbia, Canada, Iceland, and Spain also are participating in the early stages of SITES. “We expect that [SITES] will help illustrate how there is never a need to argue for budget when smart design can ultimately save money,” Hatchell says. Indeed, the City of New York recently determined that a green storm-water-management system would cost $2.5 billion, as compared to maintenance of its “grey” infrastructure (pipes and pavement) that would cost $2.9 billion, according to Hatchell. ASLA’s federal advocacy programs currently focus the EPA’s proposed national rulemaking on storm-water discharges—which would encourage a natural-water infiltration and recharging processes—and on the US Congress, where the Green Infrastructure for Clean

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The Bill of SITES After a two-year pilot program, the Sustainable Sites Initiative, or SITES, awarded its first three certifications in 2012. The purpose of the pilot was to see what was missing or what needed to be revised from the 2009 SITES official scorecard. Here’s a breakdown of the rating’s nine categories and how its 250 possible points shake out.

SITES Certifications MMMM 100 pts (40% of possible) MMMM 125 pts (50%) MMMM 150 pts (60%) MMMM 200 pts (80%)

U.S. Botanic Garden

SITES-CERTIFIED PROJECT The Green at College Park in Arlington, TX, is one of the first projects to be certified under the SITES pilot program. MMMM

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ASLA FEATURES

Site Selection* 21 POINTS The selected site, among other things, preserves existing resources and repairs damaged systems such as brownfields.

Materials* 36 POINTS The project reuses or recycles existing materials and supports sustainable production practices such as using certified wood and regional materials.

Assessment & Planning 4 POINTS Sustainability is at the forefront of the project from the beginning, including conducting a pre-design assessment and engaging site users in the design process.

Water* 44 POINTS The project protects existing water systems and restores damaged ones, including rehabilitating lost streams, restoring wetlands, and managing storm water. Reducing potable water use by 50 percent is a category prerequisite.

Soil & Vegetation 51 POINTS The site makes use of native plants, minimizes soil disturbance, restores plants native to the regional ecosystem, and uses vegetation to minimize heating-and-cooling requirements. *These categories also appear on the LEED scorecard

Human Health & Well-Being 32 POINTS The design positively affects communities by offering equitable site use, making the site accessible and safe, providing opportunities for physical activity, and creating tranquil outdoor spaces.

SITES-CERTIFIED PROJECT The Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms Park became SITES certified in 2012. Read more on p. 16 MMMM

Construction 21 points The construction of the site minimizes the effects of construction-related activities such as soil disturbance and the emission of greenhouse gases. Operations & Maintenance 23POINTS The site is maintained sustainably by recycling organic matter, reducing outdoor energy consumption, and promoting the use of fuelefficient vehicles.

Monitoring & Innovation* 18 POINTS The project exhibits particularly innovative site design and utilizes the leading-edge sustainable design practices and technologies.

SITES-CERTIFIED PROJECT Novus International’s corporate campus was chosen from 150 submissions to be a SITES pilot project. MMMM

SITES PROJECT PARTNERS The US Botanic Garden (top) and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (bottom) were the ASLA’s primary partners in creating the SITES landscape rating system. photos: university of texas (the greeN); james corner field operations (shelby farms) SWT Design (novus).

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One of Dutch artist Tom Claasen’s ‘Two Rabbits’ rests contentedly within Citygarden, a serene sculpture garden set amid St. Louis’s urban fabric. The three-acre park was designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz.

ASLA FEATURES

ASLA 2011 Award Winner

photos: Debbie Franke; STEVE HALL / Hedrich Blessing (aerial)

Citygarden, St. Louis, MO Nelson Byrd Woltz, nbwla.com When the City of St. Louis commissioned a three-acre sculpture garden on the Gateway Mall to reinvigorate the city center, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects helped create a park that features 24 contemporary sculptures without a single “Do not touch” sign. The designers stocked the park with 235 Missouri trees of 20 different species, and 89 other plant species including perennials, shrubs, native grasses, and wildflowers. All plant choices were based on their resilience to urban conditions.

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“It’s about communities, walkability, people spending more time outdoors. … A whole generation has caught on to the societal benefits. Look at dining al fresco. We didn’t do that nearly as often 30 years ago as we do today.” Susan Hatchell, FASLA, ASLA President Water Act and the Safe Treatment of Polluted Stormwater Runoff Act have been introduced. In all such efforts, the economic case for smart water management is made alongside the arguments for environmental sustainability. The human experience is not lost amidst environmental and economic objectives. Hatchell stresses that while it’s hard to monetize the sensory value of landscape, the results are clearly evident. “It’s about communities, walkability, people spending more time outdoors, cooler air, and better public health,” she says. “A whole generation has caught on

to the societal benefits. Look at dining al fresco. We didn’t do that nearly as often 30 years ago as we do today. Even factories are offering their employees outdoor break rooms. People are drawn to the outdoors, to sunlight, to chirping birds.” The specter of climate change is intrinsic to the discipline. “Particularly in urban areas, we work to reduce the costs of air-conditioning,” Hatchell says. “But we have been doing this all along. Public sentiment is catching up to us.” That public, or much of it, now prefers “sustainable” to “pretty,” with greater acceptance of rain gardens, less frequent october–december 2012

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ASLA 2011 Award Winner Casa Nueva, Santa Barbara, CA Van Atta Associates, va-la.com ecause of the limited budget, which B had to cover art, architecture, and landscape, this design surprised the ASLA jury. Van Atta Associates designed the property with the building on its outer edges, so the structure would shield the courtyard from wind and freeway noise. This created a calm, outdoor space for the 1,800 employees working in the building, and it’s equipped with computer-charging stations, so they can work outside and truly enjoy the landscape.

mowing of grass along highways, and the use of native grasses. “‘Pretty’ is not a bad thing,” she adds, “but instead of trying to tame nature, we are allowing nature to work as it does. The mainstream aesthetic is catching up to that.” Hatchell believes the green movement is good for the profession, both for placing greater value on what landscape architects do and in drawing young people to work in the field. “We really exist in the mix of environment and culture,” she says. “Landscape architecture needs people who can think and collaborate and write as well as design. It’s about historical preservation, community development, health and healthcare, public art, and reclamation.” In other words, all the things that flow upon a landscape. gb&d a message from JAKOB Jakob has been providing design solutions and products for more than 100 years. We are the worldwide leader in manufacturing custom-made stainless-steel wire rope, nets, rods, and fittings—all in top quality AISI 316. Our products fully comply with ISO and DIN standards. The applications are limited only by your imagination. a message from ERLAU Erlau manufactures environmentally friendly outdoor furnishings for tough environments. Erlau wire mesh furniture is color-coated in RILSAN, a naturally derived polyamide made from castor plant oil, and is backed with the industry’s longest warranty—10 years against rust. Erlau uses environmentally sustainable processes, including the use of recycled materials and renewable resources.

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ASLA FEATURES

“I can’t wait to hear Sunday morning’s keynote panel of design critics discuss the changing role of landscape architects in design and popular culture.”

A Dialogue with Ann Looper Pryor Ann Looper Pryor knows everything worth seeing at this year’s ASLA Annual Meeting. She joined the American Society of Landscape Architects as the director of public relations and development in 2002 and is now the managing director of publishing and resource development. Ann oversees the ASLA’s professional and student awards and coordinates media efforts for those recipients. In 2011, she became an honorary member of the ASLA. Here, she talks to gb&d about the Annual Meeting and what she’s excited to see. (We suggest you take her advice.)

photos: samantha simmons; aaron lewis; jessica / Gesthemane garden center; ASLA

What’s most compelling about the meeting this year? There will be 130 education sessions featuring more than 300 experts from across the US and abroad serving as faculty. Local landscape architects have organized 17 field sessions to see award-winning residential design, urban farming, horseback riding, professional sports-facility design, photography, biking, therapeutic gardens, and resorts. There will also be 450 exhibitors in the expo, the largest trade show for the profession, and about 100 of them are new this year. Who are the speakers and presenters that you hope to hear? I can’t wait to hear Sunday morning’s keynote panel of design critics discuss

BEHIND THE SCENES PLANTING A-S-L-A On a Friday this summer, the gb&d team got to play in the dirt, in order to create this issue’s cover image. It was a messy four hours, and it took a couple days to get the dirt out from under our fingernails, but it was worth it. Chicago’s Gethsemane Garden Center (gethsemanegardens.com) let us run wild in its greenhouses; we pulled varieties from every section to ‘plant’ the letters one at a time. Although it only made one appearance, one of our favorite plants was the Begonia ‘Escargot,’ though we just called it “the Tim Burton plant.”

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the changing role of landscape architects in design and popular culture: Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times; Chris Hume, Toronto Star; Steven Litt, Cleveland Plain Dealer; John King, San Francisco Chronicle; and Inga Saffron, Philadelphia Inquirer. Water is an overarching theme of the meeting, and education session topics range from rainwater harvesting to storm-water management, wetlands construction, and green infrastructure solutions for cities. What kinds of presentations are happening today that wouldn’t have five years ago? Landscape architects want to learn more about plants than ever before, and they are using them in ways that go far beyond beauty. Probably one of the

2012 ASLA annual Meeting & Expo Sept. 28–Oct. 1, 2012 Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix The 2012 ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo will focus on all things green: storm-water management, energy conservation, living walls—the works. It’s also an excellent place for landscape architects to meet professionals in and outside their field. Plus, do you really need a better excuse to visit sunny Arizona?

newest topic areas is energy—to lower consumption, to increase renewableenergy production, and even to incorporate access to energy for electric cars in streetscapes and for phones and laptops in parks. What new kinds of exhibits and exhibitors are at the expo that weren’t there five years ago? The expo features more sustainable and natural products than ever before. Systems and plants for living walls are amazing. And there are more residential furniture exhibits every year. gb&d

Numbe r of lett we ‘pla ers nted.’ B esides the ma in four, we made a T, for drop ca the p.

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FEATURES

Living Landscapes

rooftop paradise Topped with a Sharp & Diamond-designed planted roof, Perkins+Will’s biophilic botanical garden center seeks to be named Canada’s first Living Building By Julie Schaeffer

photo: Sharp & Diamond

The daylight oculus of the fully self-sufficient VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre is protected from the elements, unlike the better-known oculus at the Pantheon in Rome.

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hether you’re building a single-family residence or a giant sports stadium, “low maintenance” is a phrase clients love to hear. What about “no maintenance?” The roof atop the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, is not only beautiful and architecturally stunning, but also completely self-sufficient. “The roof is designed to simulate the Pacific coastal grassland community; it can essentially survive on its own,” says Ken Larsson, a principal with Sharp & Diamond, the project’s landscape architect. “It uses native bulbs planted among fescue grasses that don’t grow higher than about six inches, and it’s meant to go dormant in the summer. As a result, you don’t have to irrigate, fertilize, or mow.” The lauded project, planned by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to be the first Canadian structure to meet the Living Building Challenge, began with a single-story, 19,000-squarefoot structure that introduces visitors to the naturalistically planted grounds.

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To realize the sustainable vision of the board, architect Peter Busby and the team at Perkins+Will designed the visitor center around the aesthetic of an orchid. It consists of a stem and six petals, evoking the same imagery utilized by the Living Building Challenge itself. The stem, built from rammed-earth walls designed by Sirewall, extends toward the sky. Atop it is a vaulted ceiling and atrium, which infuse the center

with natural light. The petals, meanwhile, are formed by the roof, which is constructed of multiple panels and prefab wood-glue laminated beams, made by StructureCraft Builders. Four of those petals are vegetated. One of the two remaining petals, which are covered with standard roofing membrane, holds 400 solar-hot-water tubes from Sunda Solar, and the other, which is inverted, collects water and diverts it into a cistern for reuse. gb&d

photo: Sharp & Diamond

features VanDusen Visitor Centre

Such a roof isn’t easy to make. Its slopes ranged from 5% to 50%, and few systems are designed for such steep angles. This also meant water collected in the valleys, requiring water-tolerant plants.

It’s not a simple system: more than 50 different roof panels enclose the building. A panel averages 15 feet by 65 feet and undulates in multiple directions. The panels were first drawn by the architects using Rhino, then transferred to Revit for working drawings and prefabrication, which incorporated the structure, sheathing, and roofing membrane, as well as rough-ins for fire protection and electrical. “Each panel was brought on flat-bed trucks in gbdmagazine.com

“North Americans are used to typically seeing green and lush landscapes. When clients see a site or living roof going brown and scruffy they think something is wrong, but that actually means it is working.” Ken Larsson, Principal, Sharp & Diamond october–december 2012

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features VanDusen Visitor Centre

“It was a truly collaborative design process, with all disciplines working together to solve problems of a technical nature in a very tight time frame.” Ken Larsson, Principal, Sharp & Diamond

PROJECT

A landscape miracle? VanDusen’s 19,000-square-foot green roof is ecologically self-sufficient, structurally sound, and eligible for the Living Building Challenge.

Location Vancouver, BC Site 5 acres Size 19,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Botanical garden and visitor center Awards British Columbia Lieutenant Governor Award for Architecture

Landscape Architects Sharp & Diamond, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Architect Perkins+Will Client Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation General Contractor Ledcor Construction Structural Engineer Fast + Epp Mechanical/Electrical Engineer Cobalt Engineering Civil Engineer R.F. Binnie & Associates Cost Consultants BTY Group; B.R. Thorson Envelope Consultant Morrison Herschfield Acoustic Consultant BKL Consultants Commissioning Agent KD Engineering Lighting Design Total Lighting Solutions Ecology Consultant Raincoast Applied Ecology

GREEN Certification LEED Platinum, Living Building Challenge 2.0 (both expected) Gardens 50 acres of botanical plantings Plantings All-native plantings representing Cascadia Pacific Northwest, with site soils stripped, sifted, and amended for growing medium; non-irrigated Storm Water Integrated system of wetlands, streams, and rainwater gardens Materials Locally sourced and salvaged sandstone boulders and wood decking, bridges, and custom furniture Water Net zero achieved via rainwater catchment and on-site blackwater treatment Energy Net zero achieved via solar hot water, photovoltaics, geothermal boreholes, and natural ventilation, assisted by a solar chimney usby Peter B the reveals r tion fo inspira usen D n a V for the , Centre Visitor 0 1 2 . p

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segments and individually pieced together like Lego blocks,” Larsson says. “It was very complicated.” The difficulties didn’t stop there. Making the roof function like a living thing was unusually complex because its topography features slopes ranging from 5 percent to 50 percent. “There aren’t a lot of products on the market that allow you to collect rainwater or grow on rooftops with slopes that steep,” Larsson says. “At the same time, we had to ensure that too much water wasn’t collected. Planting types were adapted to suit water saturation in the valleys.” Ultimately, green roof consultants Architek and ZinCo Canada worked together with Sharp & Diamond and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander to select a green roof system—together with membrane protection and slope stabilization—that would achieve the designers’ goals—and meet the Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia warranty—while not violating the red list in the Living Building Challenge, which prohibits toxic materials or PVC products in any building supplies. The roof, of course, isn’t the only green thing about the visitor center. For one thing, it’s net zero in terms of water and energy. The building’s solar system

stores the sun’s heat in water tubes that heat the hydronic fluid in the center’s radiant heating system. The rest is stored at about 68 degrees Fahrenheit in a series of 52 boreholes, each 200 feet deep, placed in a random pattern around the building. The center exchanges excess hot water for electricity generated in a newly upgraded HVAC system housed in a connecting building. Photovoltaic panels, located in the visitor center’s parking lot, provide an additional 11 kilowatts of electricity, which is actually about 20–25 percent of the center’s electrical energy requirements, thanks to daylighting and LED light fixtures from Selux, Alights, Philips Ledalite, and Douglas Lighting Controls. “It was a truly collaborative design process, with all disciplines, contractors, and suppliers working together to solve problems of a technical nature in a very tight time frame,” Larsson says. “North Americans are used to typically seeing green and lush landscapes. When clients see a site or living roof going brown and scruffy they think something is wrong, but that actually means it is working. We want to connect people to a healthier way of building and design. We believe we have seamlessly blended architecture, landscape, and ecology.” gb&d gb&d

Images: Sharp & Diamond

TEAM

FEATURES

site PLAN The visitor center is part of the 50-acre VanDusen Botanical Garden, featuring more than 11,000 unique plant species from around the world.

Together, We’re Changing The Shape of Architecture.

“Don’t go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank you to the great minds at Sharp & Diamond for blazing a beautiful trail which the rest of us now enjoy.

Engineered Solutions For Living Buildings

A R C H I T E K . CO M

1 . 8 8 8 . 3 1 7 . 5 5 8 5

Working with Water ‘Mechanics’ of a green roof The undulating living roof of the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre is secretly an entire waterworks. The building has two rainwater cisterns. Excess water from the roof’s ‘petals’ is collected in the first cistern and conveyed into a drywell. One of the roof’s six petals is inverted, allowing it to collect water and divert it into the second cistern, a 79,000-gallon tank beneath the building. This greywater is filtered and used in toilets and urinals. Although the city required the building’s water and sewer systems to be connected to the city service, the visitor center is also the first Vancouver building in more than 45 years to treat blackwater on-site (using a bioreactor wastewater system from Eco Fluid Systems), a technique also used by the center’s architects at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. Specifically, blackwater from toilets and urinals is reclaimed and sent to a bioreactor for treatment, directed to a percolation field, and then returned to the surrounding gardens. Hot water, meanwhile, is provided by a biomass boiler fed by dry wood-waste reclaimed from the surrounding area. This off-the-grid water system makes the building completely net zero.

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features

Living Landscapes

modern eden Andropogon, 7group, and The Design Alliance reach past LEED certification toward SITES and Living Building status at Philadelphiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic Phipps Conservatory By Benjamin van Loon

photos: Alexander Denmarsh Photography

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes in Pittsburgh, PA, will soon feature constructed wetlands, storm-water-management systems, and a rooftop permaculturedemonstration garden.

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hen the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, or CSL, officially opened to the public this past spring, it was one of the largest buildings designed to achieve Living Building status in the United States. The tri-level, 24,350-square-foot garden, education, administrative, and research center at the historic Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, should also earn LEED Platinum and SITES certifications. Although construction on the CSL began in 2010, its idea was conceived five years earlier in a conversation that took place 2,500 miles away. Richard Piacentini, Phipps’s executive director, was at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Denver, Colorado, in November 2006. The conservatory had recently completed construction on its 12,000-square-foot Tropical Forest Conservatory, a passively cooled greenhouse and changing exhibit space with an open-roof system and dozens of other cutting-edge green technologies. At the time, the Phipps team was “really trying to understand how the environment interacts with buildings,” Piacentini says, “and, more importantly, how buildings interact with the environment.” Attending the conference was the creator of the EPA’s Energy Star program logo. Piacentini told him a few of his ideas for Phipps’s next project, which included implementing ways to use conservatory-campus waste to create methane for fuel cells as well as utilizing water stored in underground cisterns to act as a thermal sink for heating and cooling purposes.

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PROJECT Location Pittsburgh, PA Site 2.5 acres Size 24,350 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Education, administrative, and research spaces

TEAM Client Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Landscape Architect Andropogon Associates Architect The Design Alliance Architects Landscaping Mele Landscaping Water Treatment Sundrive Storm-Water Management Epiphany Solar Water Systems General Contractor Turner Construction Technical Advisor Massaro Corporation Energy, Daylight, and Materials Consultant 7group Structural Engineering Atlantic Engineering Services MEP Engineer CJL Civil Engineer CEC

GREEN Certification LEED Platinum, SITES, Living Building Challenge (all expected) Plants Noninvasive native plants Storm Water Wetlands, water treament for reuse in lavatories Purification Plant watering via solarheated water-distillation system Education Green roof with permaculture demonstration garden

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“We were really trying to understand how the environment interacts with buildings and, more importantly, how buildings interact with the environment.” Richard Piacentini, Executive Director, Phipps

“I showed him the diagram for what we were planning for our next building,” Piacentini recalls of that fateful day. “We didn’t know it at the time, [but] he said what we had was the diagram for a ‘living building.’” The day before this conversation, Jason McLennan, the new CEO of the Cascadia Green Building Council, had introduced the Living Building Challenge to all 12,000 conference attendees during a keynote address. “I knew I had to meet McLennan next,” Piacentini says. “As we got to talking, sure enough, it was clear we were already in gear for this new challenge.” McLennan and Bob Berkebile— one-time architectural partners at BNIM—had created the Living Building Challenge, or LBC, to challenge builders to utilize and implement innovative, sustainable tools for new and renovated buildings and landscapes. It challenges builders with 20 imperatives broken into seven performance areas, similar to LEED. The LBC, however, is far more stringent; imperatives include growth limits, net-zero water and energy, appropriate sourcing, conservation and reuse, rights to nature, and other demanding considerations.

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In January 2007, the Phipps Conservatory accepted the Living Building Challenge for its next building. In the design phase, which was energized by this new challenge, “we got really excited by the possibility of creating one of the greenest buildings in the world,” Piacentini says. “We didn’t just want this to be about Phipps—we wanted to involve and showcase all of our local talent.” As Phipps formed its team, which eventually included partners from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Turner Construction, The Design Alliance Architects, and dozens of others, Piacentini says he “became convinced that integrated design was the only way to truly create a high-performance green building.” Integrated de-

sign demands that all project members have a shared vision for sustainability and project completion. “The proposals [stated] our requirement that everyone on the team follow a facilitated integrated-design process,” he adds. John Boecker, from 7group, facilitated the integrated-design process, and Piacentini says they were able to assemble a strong, like-minded team to begin building the CSL. Because it is so integrated with the natural environs, Piacentini says the new building’s landscape, engineered by Andropogon, plays the most important role when it comes to efficiency. The constructed wetlands, storm-water-management systems, shading, and rooftop permaculture-demonstration garden all gb&d

photos: Hawkeye Aerial Photography, Alexander Denmarsh Photography; rendering: Andropogon Associates

Conservatory

Center for Sustainable Landscapes FEATURES

net-zero water diagram A Rooftop capture B Storage tank C Lagoon D Rain gardens E Pervious asphalt F Pump station G Nonpotable well : Storm systems : Green roof

net-zero energy DIAGRAM A Geothermal wells B Photovoltaic wells C Hot-water radiant floor D Tri-coil rooftop mechanical unit E Wind turbine F Under-floor air distribution G 100% CSL electric supply H Excess power to campus

OPPOSITE PAGE The design for the Center for Sustainable Landscapes concentrated on the surrounding environment, something Richard Piacentini calls the most important piece of the project’s sustainability. Its water-conservation features and constructed wetlands will help the newly opened structure achieve its expected LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge certifications.

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serve to integrate the building with the surrounding environment. One challenge was treating water, an LBC requirement. Project engineers designed a filtration system that will divert sink and toilet water to a settling tank and constructed a wetland where plants will clean the water before it is passed to a sand filter and a UV sterilizing unit. From there, it will be recirculated to flush the toilets again. In order to pass regulation, however, the CSL needed to dispose of 200 gallons of purified water a day in excess of what was needed to flush the toilets (regulations would not allow it to infiltrate the ground). To get rid of this water, Phipps is utilizing the Epiphany Solar Water System, a solar-heated water-distillation system created by Tom Joseph and Henry Wandrie. “It’s an amazing system,” Piacentini says. “It creates pure distilled water soft enough to water our orchids, which are sensitive to chemicals in municipal water.” Sometimes, a conversation is all it takes. By employing innovative green solutions, working with regional architects and engineers, and maintaining public accessibility, the CSL will be an example of living building potential. “America has a history of innovation,” Piacentini says. “The Living Building Challenge shows how, with limited resources, we can improve our standards of living while bettering our relationship with the environment.” gb&d a message from CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS, INC. Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC) employs dedicated multidisciplinary Industry Consulting Groups to provide comprehensive and integrated, sustainable design services in civil and site engineering, environmental and ecological sciences, waste management, and water resources. An expanding national company with 16 offices, CEC builds trust and a reputation with our core principles of Senior Leadership, Integrated Services, and Personal Business Relationships, and innovative, responsible solutions that foster environmental and economic sustainability in the communities where we practice.

A Brief History Phipps Conservatory Phipps Conservatory was erected in 1893 as a gift to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by American entrepreneur Henry Phipps, Jr. It was designed in the Victorian greenhouse style and built at a cost of $100,000—roughly $2.5 million in 2012 dollars— by architecture firm Lord & Burnham and stocked with tropical plants sourced from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Phipps intended for the conservatory to “prove a source of instruction as well as pleasure to the people.” By the 1930s, the conservatory, operated by the Pittsburgh Parks Department, came to be regarded as one of the preeminent conservatories in the United States. Annual flower shows and events served Pittsburgh and beyond. In the 1980s, however, the collapse of the steel industry in Pennsylvania forced the City of Pittsburgh to cut funding to the Conservatory and other municipal entities. A decade later, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens became a 501(c)3 organization and signed a 100-year lease with the city. The new management, led by executive director Richard Piacentini—who joined the conservatory in 1994 and remains in that role today—began revitalizing the conservatory grounds. In 2005, it completed a new Welcome Center—the first LEED-certified visitor center in a public garden in the United States, followed by the Tropical Forest Conservatory in 2006, which became the most energy-efficient conservatory in the world. Four years later, Phipps broke ground on the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, built to achieve the Living Building Challenge. Opening in spring 2012, the CSL, which will function as a community space, garden, education center, and administrative and research complex, will be one of the greenest buildings in the world.

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The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts hired Reed Hilderbrand to make good use of the three acres of parking garage roof on its property. The resulting landscape is a completely occupiable green roof that brings the music outdoors.

FEATURES

Living Landscapes

P E R F O R M A N C E S PAC E At Kansas City’s Kauffman Center, visiting artists aren’t the only performers. The landscape is actually a living roof, designed by Reed Hilderbrand for both functionality and frivolity. By Julie Knudson

photos: Timothy Hursley, Derek Hamm

or most new musical artists, performing in a garage is part of the deal before making it big. But performers at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, already have record deals and international tours, and they’re still performing at a garage— technically on top of one. As part of the new Kauffman Center project, landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand designed a public space above an underground parking area that functions as a gathering space and a place for concerts, outdoor performances, and even parties. In sum, the building and surrounding site encompass an entire city block. “From the beginning, the donor for the performing arts center had a vision that this was meant to be a very public landscape,” says Eric Kramer, a principal at Reed Hilderbrand. One of only two firms chosen to work on both halves of the project—the north half focused on the center itself, while the south half included the garage and public space—Reed Hilderbrand, based in Watertown, Massachusetts, served as landscape architect for the entire endeavor. Kansas City’s Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company—the other firm involved for

both parts of the Kauffman Center—was asked to provide preliminary consulting services on the project. “In many ways that was logical, because of course the landscape as a whole is the one thing that needed to be consistent across the entire city block,” Kramer says. The rooftop green space flows from the underground parking structure to the main structure, and it unites the project into a single landscape. Managing storm-water above the parking garage is one of the primary functions of the public green space, but it isn’t its only purpose. “Unlike a lot of green roofs that store water, this one is entirely occupiable,” Kramer explains. The space is turfed, with a few trees scattered for shade and texture. Below that are six inches of a highly specified soil-and-sand mixture that also includes

geofibers. “They act almost like roots,” Kramer says. “They hold the soil together so you don’t get any erosion, and they allow the soil to withstand compaction.” When rain hits the grass, it flows through the soil and sand, slowly emerging onto a drainage board below where it is directed to a series of cisterns. The water is now clean, having gone through this highly effective and entirely natural sand filter. “Instead of having to invest in expensive detention structures and additional mechanical devices to filter the storm water, . . . the landscape replaces those devices,” Kramer says. High-density EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam beneath the soil gives shape to the turf above. “It allows you to get the landform shapes that give character to these great lawns without using thick soil profiles,” Kramer says. The material

“Unlike a lot of green roofs that store water, this one is entirely occupiable.” Eric Kramer, Reed Hilderbrand

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features Kauffman Center Landscape

PROJECT LOCATION Kansas City, MO Site 13 acres Size 285,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Proscenium hall, banquet hall, concert hall, offices, rehearsal spaces, warm-up rooms, and dressing rooms Award Capstone Award, Special Judges Recognition, Kansas City Business Journal

“Landscape architects as professionals are now actually leading some of the most significant large-scale urban projects. Those projects previously would have been led by an architect.” Eric Kramer, Reed Hilderbrand

TEAM

GREEN CERTIFICATION Not applicable Storm Water Filtration via 3-acre green roof Irrigation Rainwater captured for watering tree planting, advanced metering; 84% use reduction Accessibility Site transformed into an ADA-accessible, pedestrianfriendly thoroughfare

also is strong enough to accept cars and large masses of people, a necessity in a popular public space. Because it links several Kansas City neighborhoods, the site of the new performing arts center has become a popular path. To create a safe, efficient way to travel over a site that has nearly 80 feet of grade change, Kramer explains that the team terraced the garage structure, so that there is an ADA-accessible path diagonally across the site. “We developed a landform strategy specifically to allow an almost unobstructed path with no steps at all, accessible from one corner to the other,” he says. The significant slope meant that managing groundwater movement was as important as managing the movement of people across the space. The sidewalks are outfitted with stock trench drains that work together with perforated pipes to control the water that moves through the site. “All of that water is harvested as well and provided directly to the street

trees,” Kramer says. A sophisticated moisture-metering system monitors the entire site, directing water from the cisterns to irrigate the different zones as needed during dry cycles. A case study conducted of the completed project identified an annual water savings of 84 percent through the use of the various water-management and -harvesting strategies. This level of success at the Kauffman Center—achieved through Reed Hilderbrand’s work alongside Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company—proves that a parking garage and the space it creates above and around it can add much more to a city than just a place to keep a car. gb&d

photos: Millicent Harvey, Timothy HursleY, Derek Hamm; RENDERINGS AND PLANS: ReedHilderbrand LLC

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Consultant Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company Architect Moshe Safdie, Safdie Architects Associate Architect BNIM Architects Structural Engineer Arup USA Local Structural Engineer Structural Engineering Associates Project Manager Land Capital Corporation General Contractor J.E. Dunn Construction Civil Engineer Taliaferro and Browne Lighting Lam Partners

The green space above Kauffman’s parking garage used 300,000 pieces of expanded polystyrene, 3,000 tons of sand, and 100,000 square feet of sod.

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Kauffman Center FEATURES

Dialogue ERIC KRAMER

Architect Moshe Safdie’s eye-catching performing arts center is surrounded by a landscape of fescue and Reveille, interspersed with paths that create a new neighborhood thoroughfare.

What are the hottest topics in landscape architecture right now? I think water is a key one. It connects so many of our projects, from the urban, such as Kansas City, to the rural. We’re working at a museum where the way that water moves across that site and back into native stream corridors is driving a huge portion of the design work and decision-making.

kauffman center LANDSCAPE PLAN

What are today’s biggest challenges? Regulations. They’re written in ways that are meant to be as general and overarching as possible, but the problems are always site- and condition-specific. Finding ways to mesh the needs of the project and the needs of the site with the language of the regulatory framework is very hard. How has the industry changed in the past decade? One way is that the issues we’ve been talking about, such as water, have always been central to our work, but they haven’t been at the forefront. Now they are. So the topics may be the same, but the conversations themselves have changed.

Pathways at the Kauffman Center use stock trench drains and perforated pipes to control runoff, and a sophisticated moisture-metering system monitors the entire site.

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Is there a growing consciousness of the importance of landscapes? I think so, and I think one piece of evidence to that effect is the fact that landscape architects as professionals are now actually leading some of the most significant large-scale urban projects. Those projects previously would have been led by an architect but now are being led by landscape architects.

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FEATURES

G r e e n R o o f S T

ROO

Celebrating its tenth year by returning to an urban center known for its planted rooftops, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities will show Chicago— and the world—why planted roofs are one species of green infrastructure we should let run rampant.

CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS chicago City Hall / Cultural Center 121 N. LaSalle Blvd. / 78 E. Washington St. In 2000, the top of Chicago City Hall (pictured) was planted to test a green roof’s potential for combating urban heat island effect. Five years later, a 15,000-square-foot green roof was planted atop the Chicago Cultural Center. Though neither has direct public access, they serve public purposes. Both roofs house beehives, and their honey can be purchased at Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand across from the Cultural Center.

By Jennifer Nunez

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CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS lurie garden at millennium park The Loop, 5 S. Columbus Dr. The five-acre Lurie Garden sprawls out across Millennium Park, and tourists on their way to Cloudgate, better known as The Bean, might not even know that it is a rooftop garden. The parking garageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s green roof creates an ecosystem for insects, animals, and plants native to North America and Illinois.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities FEATURES

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photos: Mark Tomaras (lurie garden); Eric Hausman (aqua)

ur desire to connect with nature by bringing plants in contact with buildings goes back to ancient times, times when we had things like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Even early settlers used native material to construct theirs shelter when they built the sod roofs on the prairie. In other words, green roofs aren’t new. Yet since environmental consultant Steven Peck founded Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) ten years ago, they’ve become a valuable tool of green infrastructure—and a far more common sight. Jeffrey Bruce, FASLA, president of his own Kansas City-

based landscape architecture firm and chairman for Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, thinks he knows why. “This acceptance of green-roof technology is due to the integration of the roofing manufacturers and landscape architects, which have been working together to advance the industry,” Bruce says. “The science of constructing green roofs to make them functional and better protect the waterproofing integrity of the structures is a key to the public acceptance of the technology.” Today’s architects and builders have at their fingertips systems for almost any application, from modular tray systems to custom design-build solutions to green walls and living façades. “One interesting industry trend is the tremendous variety of local and native plant ecologies now available for use,” Bruce says. “The industry is no longer confined [to] sedum plants. The native plant ecologies are now climbing the walls to reside on the roof.” Greens roofs, and green infrastructure in general, have great public benefits over traditional grey infrastructure. No traditional storm-water solution can reduce urban heat island effect, increase biodiversity, strip pollutants from the air, reduce the cost of heating and cooling our buildings, be used as recreation, increase a roofing membrane’s life, and treat and reduce stormwater runoff. These myriad CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS benefits are several reasons Aqua Tower green roofs are incentivized The Loop, 225 N. Columbus Dr. in many cities. It’s been a highly producThis 80,000-square-foot space gives residents of Studio tive decade for GRHC, and Gang’s Aqua tower a private outdoor area for recreation or its accomplishments are relaxation. The design weaves native and nonnative plants transformational and varied. around a running track, lap pool, fire pit, and zen garden. From advocating for and

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CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS tour de loop Planted roofs can do more than cool cities, manage their storm water, and look pretty; they can be incredibly useful. Within Chicago’s Loop—its core downtown area—are five Chicago rooftops with missions beyond greening the Windy City. Even better, several made CitiesAlive’s walking tour route. a s d f g

Chicago City Hall Green Roof Chicago Cultural Center Green Roof Millennium Park Lurie Garden Aqua Tower Living Roof XOCO Rooftop Garden

implementing green-roof policies in dozens of cities to the development and formation of Green Roof Professional Accreditation—which has resulted in more than 500 qualified professionals around the nation—to the establishment of fire, wind, soil, and root-barrier standards, the association has educated tens of thousands through its workshops and conferences. “In an industry that started without a collective focus, GRHC has become the epicenter of the science and emerging technology while providing a forum for dialogue and debate,” Bruce explains. A major venue for that forum is the organization’s annual CitiesAlive conference, an event to which Bruce says he looks forward each year because of the attendees’ diversity and vitality. “Scientists, inventors, manufacturers, installers, designers, ... policy makers— the meeting crosses the entire industry,” he says. “Unlike many conferences, there is a creative energy that makes you feel like you are part of a rapidly advancing industry. New ideas and synergies flow from each educational session. The sidebar discussions and professional interaction in the hall brings an added value, which is hard to find anywhere. Last year, Philadelphia was an exceptional experience, and I can only imagine the celebration planned for the 10-year anniversary in Chicago.” october–december 2012

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The industry is no longer confined [to] sedum plants. The native plant ecologies are now climbing the walls to reside on the roof.â&#x20AC;? Jeffrey Bruce, Chairman, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS Gary Comer Youth Center Greater Grand Crossing, 7200 S. Ingleside Ave. This planted green roof, which has been graced by First Lady Michelle Obama, gives children opportunities to learn about horticulture, specifically as it relates to food production. The youth center uses its 8,000-squarefoot garden for programs and classes about food cultivation.

GRHC has been entrepreneurial in the development of green-roof systems and high-performance landscape technologies. Much of the academic research on green roofs was supported and funded by GRHC and has defined the foundation of performance metrics. The critical nature of placing soils and plants on buildings in narrow profiles was a challenge GRHC embraced. “Green roofs are easily the most technical of the green infrastructure tools, and GRHC has provided the technical support to make green roofs reliable and commonplace in public policy,” Bruce says. “Some of the current GRHC projects, such as the green roof-rating system and the integrated water-management seminars, will continue to advance the green industry for decades.” Bruce owns a landscape architecture firm that focuses on green technologies and works with “the nation’s leading architecture and landscape architecture firms,” he says. He became involved with GRHC when he gave a presentation in 2004. Since then, he has chaired or co-chaired a number of its educational workshops, which led to him chairing the accreditation program. In 2009, he was appointed to the board of directors and chairman. He says of the journey, “It has been such an exciting privilege and honor to be involved in this critical phase of development of the association.” gb&d Orlic Photography (Uncommon GrounD)

photos: SteveHall/ Hedrich Blessing (gary comer youth center); Andrew McCaughan (Xoco); Zoran

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities FEATURES

Q&A with steven Peck What is the importance of conferences, expos, and other annual events in the green roofs industry? Each year Green Roofs for Healthy Cities brings together leading scientists, policy makers, designers, and manufacturers to network, develop new business, and learn the latest in innovative design, science, and policy. The multidisciplinary nature makes it a special opportunity to learn from professionals you might not otherwise meet. CitiesAlive is entering its tenth year right back where we started, in Chicago, the leading green roof city in North America. What are the benefits of attending this year’s CitiesAlive conference in Chicago? The programming for this year will focus on performance: project performance, research performance, and policy performance. We are highlighting a number of older green roof projects, such as the Chicago City Hall, and re-examining design intent and how these systems have evolved and performed over the last decade. On the policy front, we have

CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS XOCO Rooftop Garden River North, 449 N. Clark St. Celebrity chef Rick Bayless is committed to sustainable food in the city. He uses the rooftop garden above XOCO, his LEED Gold-certified eatery, to supply local, organic produce to his three restaurants below.

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CHICAGO GREEN ROOFS Uncommon Ground Rooftop farm Edgewater, 1401 W. Devon Ave. This 2,500-square-foot rooftop farm started in 2007 and has continued to supply the popular restaurant with fresh produce. In addition to growing vegetables, the rooftop has five solar panels that heat up to 50 percent of the water used in the restaurant.

invited representatives from the leading policy jurisdictions to share details of the lessons learned. What is most exciting every year at the conference? The future orientation is what is most exciting this year. In 2012, we surpassed more than 500 accredited Green Roof Professionals, and the industry had 115-percent growth in 2011. We will be reviewing and discussing the Living Architecture Performance Tool, an initiative we are developing to fully understand and communicate the multiple benefits of green roofs and walls in a standardized, measurable way. What’s going on in the industry right now? There is emerging scientific research about the performance of green roofs and walls that is very exciting in the fields of integrated water management, biodiversity, food production, and thermal benefits. We will be launching a professional-development course, which explores the design and technical opportunities to move towards the aggressive design goal of net-zero water. What can you tell me about your involvement with the Urban Agriculture Summit in Toronto in August? We have been seeing more projects— green roofs and walls—that incorporate food production as a design objective, and in some cases, the primary objective. We developed a Rooftop Food Production course that we launched in Vancouver at CitiesAlive in 2010 and have updated. Cities are passing laws to support urban agriculture projects, and the conference in Toronto this summer, the Urban Ag Summit, brought all of this together to advance food production in our cities.

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discussion board how can we better integrate the landscapes and buildings of the future? “Blur the lines between the built and natural environments. Start by creating habitat with native plants, avoiding invasive species, and minimizing lawns. Use the landscape to increase building efficiency by planting deciduous trees for shade and rain gardens to manage storm water.” Richard V. Piacentini, Phipps Conservatory, p130

“Work with what you have. Integrate natural systems: sunlight, views, wind, topography, water. Collaborate with your design team and listen to the next generation.” Ken Larsson, Sharp & Diamond, p125

“We want to see strategies that support low-impact-development (LID) design, reduce potable-water demand for irrigation, and manage storm water on-site. The more projects strive to maintain or return to predevelopment hydrology, the less we contribute to depleting and polluting our natural resources.” Kimberly Polkinhorn, Group 70 International, p88

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Eric Kramer, Reed Hilderbrand, p134

“Landscapes are performing more like building systems and buildings are being designed more like landscapes. We need to learn from the MEP discipline to see construction and commissioning as an integrated and extended process of testing, adjustment, and benchmarking.”

Michael Frerking, Living Systems Architecture and Construction, p109

“The relationship of landscape to building design goes far beyond simple aesthetic issues. Buildings that open the door to rediscovering and participating in the cycles of nature become a timeless journey that grounds our spirit in these times of great change.”

David Yocca, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, p138

“Green roofs and walls slow, cool, cleanse, and utilize rainwater; treat and decompose waste; provide food, fiber, and other valuable products; and foster a more beautiful, humane setting for building occupants.” gb&d

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List Live

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434 House 777 South Broad Innovation Village Apartments SIP Panel House

WORK

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Hannaford Duanesburg McCarter & English Offices US Federal Courthouse, Jackson, MS

Learn

162 165 167 170

SCCC Life Sciences Building Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Building at Grove City College Rutgers Prep School Dining Hall Centre for Green Cities

PLAY

171 174 177 178 181

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Cedarbrook Lodge Cowboys Stadium Navy Pier Pierscape Bridgestone Arena Cottonwood Cove Marina Services Building

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California Cool Architect Gary Diebel describes the transformation of a lot in Palo Alto into the 434 House, a sustainable residence that takes advantage of the area’s endless sunshine and evening breezes Interview by Tina Vasquez

Tell me about the 434 House. What did the project entail? Gary Diebel: The initial house located on the property was actually the home the client grew up in—his parents originally bought the house in the summer of 1940. We started from scratch, and the client wanted a one-story home that was clean and modern and had tall ceilings. This was actually a very unique project because the ceilings had different heights, spanning 10, 12, and 14 feet. The house is also very linear; it’s long

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and narrow. It was also important that we made sure that natural breezes would come through the home. In this area, it can be 80 degrees during the day and then drop down to 50 degrees at night. A lot of homes around here don’t even have air conditioners because it cools down so much, so we wanted to be mindful of how this would affect the home. Your firm has become known for its attention to site orientation and its focus on taking advantage of natural lighting. Were these features incorporated into the 434 House? Diebel: Definitely. We use Nemetschek Vectorworks building-informationmodeling (BIM) software, which has a sunlight-orientation feature that can analyze how light will be seen in the home depending on the time of day, the location, and the situation. There’s a misconception that heating is always the biggest energy consumer in a home, but I’ve found that it’s often the lighting. Taking advantage of natural lighting is sustainable, but it also brings a lot of warmth to a home. I’ve actually used this particular software for a long time, but it went by a different name previously. My experience with BIM technology goes back 12 years. It helps in … that it’s more efficient and accurate. Using a 3-D model, you can get an understanding of

photos: kevin ng

ost people have trouble drumming up business when they start their own company, but Gary Diebel started his company because he was getting so much work, much of it personal requests for residential projects. He formed Diebel and Company Architectural Studio in 1990, and for more than 20 years the small firm has been designing sophisticated, sustainable Northern California homes, including the 434 House in Palo Alto, which was completed early last year. Featuring modern architecture and calming blue accents, the home is the picture of California cool. Diebel spoke with gb&d about the house and its sustainable features.

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Diebel hung a stainless-steel rain chain from the roof to the ground so that rainwater will run off the roof and into the ground drainage system.

TOP These walnut floors add to the warmth of the well-daylit 434 House. The main living area also features a stainless-steel gas fireplace and 14-foot ceilings. ABOVE The floor plan for the 434 House shows the clerestory windows above the main area that let in daylight. The home was oriented to maximize natural light.

PROJECT Location Palo Alto, CA Size 2,150 ft2 (plus 800 ft2 detached garage) Completed 2011 Program 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, great room, kitchen, detached 3-car garage

TEAM Architect Diebel and Company Architectural Studio Radiant Floor Installation Anderson Radiant Heating

GREEN certification Not applicable Lighting BIM used to maximize daylighting via clerestory windows Water Storm water used for irrigation, low-flow bathroom fixtures, tankless water heater Heating In-floor radiant heat for high-ceilinged space

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“Using a 3-D model, you can get an understanding of how sunlight will come into the home. Nothing is drawn by hand anymore.” Gary Diebel, Architect

how sunlight will come into the home. It cuts down on the amount of waste that’s produced, and it cuts down on the number of mistakes that can be made. Nothing is drawn by hand anymore. What are some of the home’s other sustainable features? Diebel: Water and pollution are both issues in the state of California, so whenever you can cut down on either it’s a good thing. The home has an extensive system for reclaiming storm water. That water is then used to irrigate the property. This system also keeps the storm-water runoff from flushing debris into storm drains, which drain into the San Francisco Bay. The home also has low-flow fixtures, including TOTO toilets, Hansgrohe Talis sinks, and Hansgrohe 3-jet showerheads. Because the house is built on a concrete slab and has very high ceilings, we needed something that would regulate heat well, so we utilized radiant heat flooring. It was installed by Anderson Radiant Heating and it has PEX tubing in the concrete floor slab. The home also

has a Nortiz-model tankless water heater. The boiler in the heater is a Triangle Tube Prestige Solo 110 high-efficiency model. The only way to get an Energy Star rating with water heaters anymore is to go tankless, because tankless water

heaters only heat water when you need it, rather than heating large amounts of water and storing it. In terms of the home’s appearance, what was most important to the clients? Diebel: They had a firm understanding of design, and to them the most important thing was that their home featured good, modern design. They were fans of Japanese design and architecture, which features a lot of horizontal, flowing spaces, and because their home is modern and very linear, they truly love the house. I’m proud of the work we did, and the results are better than we could have imagined. gb&d

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photos: kevin ng

Diebel designed the 434 House's landscape to be low-maintenance by using mostly native, droughttolerant plants. Rainwater runoff is used for irrigation.

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SPACES

A Neighborhood, From the Ground Up Dranoff Properties anchors an up-and-coming community in Philly with a mixed-use development that pushes public transit By Annie Monjar

SPACES LIVE WORK LEARN PLAY

n 1999, Philadelphia-based Dranoff Properties opened its first development on the bank of the city’s iconic Schuylkill River. The firm, headed by civil engineer and real estate expert Carl Dranoff, rehabbed the historic but decrepit building and called it Locust on the Park. Just one problem: there was no such park. The river was barren, and the city only had a vague, unofficial plan to revitalize the area. Seven years later, Locust on the Park sits in one of the city’s most desirable neighborhoods, and Dranoff is using that same foresight and design savvy to construct another cutting-edge, community-conscious building: 777 South Broad. Sitting on Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts, 777 South Broad follows in the footsteps of the 32-story Symphony House, Dranoff’s first-ever ground-up building, and it boasts a LEED score of 33, enough to earn LEED Silver certification. The South Broad building—luxury apartments up top, retail on the bottom—is green down to the mortar, from low-flow plumbing and a concierge desk made of recycled aluminum cans to a UV-reflective roof that keeps energy use down and utility costs low. Ninety-five percent of the construction waste was recycled, and the firm opted to use ecofriendly materials like bamboo flooring and no-VOC paints. “We’re now gearing all our buildings toward being green,” Dranoff says. “Altruistically, it’s the right thing to do, but from a pragmatic standpoint, it also allows us to have better, more efficient buildings that attract residents.” Efficiency was a cornerstone of the planning process, Dranoff says. As the design took shape, the firm focused on minimizing residents’ dependency on cars. South Broad is just a short walk from Philadelphia’s subway line and right next to a bus stop, and it has Philly Car Share access on-site. In addition, Dranoff included an electric-car-charging

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“We’re trying to determine where the next new neighborhoods can be. We know we’ll make a big statement that will become the anchor for that neighborhood.” Carl Dranoff, Dranoff Properties

station, a first for an apartment complex in the Philly region. Dranoff says that unlike other developers, Dranoff Properties is not a merchantbuilder; that is, the company owns all of the buildings it develops. “This means that when we’re designing, we’re looking for long-term value,” Dranoff says. “We’re looking for higher quality.” With that in mind, Dranoff gave 777 South Broad ground-level retail and dining; the development has a T-Mobile store, a beauty salon, and a critically acclaimed Indian restaurant called Tashan, with another restaurant planning to open soon.

The property also is a model for Dranoff’s newest project, which will be built just two blocks north: Southstar Lofts, an 85-unit, ground-up project also geared to be LEED-certified. The new development, like 777 South Broad, will include ground-level retail, a coffee shop, wine bar, and even a designated public art project. “We feel like we are leaders, not followers,” Dranoff says. “We’re trying to determine where the next new neighborhoods can be. Then people follow us. We know we’ll make a big statement that will become the anchor for that neighborhood.” gb&d gb&d

777 South Broad SPACES

Philadelphia from 777 South Broad’s fifth-floor corner model is a magical sight. But then, so is the space itself, featuring circular living spaces and expansive skylights.

LEFT The lobby seating area is decorated with upscale finishes that use natural materials. The concierge desk is made of recycled aluminum cans. BELOW The portions of roof not dedicated to the property’s luxurious sky deck use a UVreflective roof to reduce urban heat island effect and energy costs.

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Student housing this sustainable is a team effort. PGAL, Balfour Beatty, Capstone, and FAU collaborated to complete the aptly named Innovation Village.

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PROJECT

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GREEN

Location Boca Raton, FL Size 500,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program 375 apt-style units with living area, kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms

Owner Florida Atlantic University Developer Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions, Capstone Development Corporation Architect PGAL General Contractor Balfour Beatty Construction

Certification LEED Gold (expected) Materials Local, low-VOC materials Water Greywater irrigation and low-flow plumbing fixtures Education Energy- and water-saving competitions

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SPACES

housing that will change us Innovation Village at Florida Atlantic University offers upscale amenities but also an escape from a culture of waste By Julie Schaeffer

F photos: dana hoff

ABOVE FAU’s Innovation Village Apartments comprise two sevenand eight-story buildings that house upperclassmen and graduate students. The first students moved into the complex in late July 2011.

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lorida Atlantic University is on a winning streak. The college in Boca Raton already has nine LEED-certified buildings—including a dining and banquet hall in its College of Engineering building that earned LEED-CI Platinum certification—and a tenth is coming soon with the completion of the Innovation Village Apartments, a 500,000-square-foot apartment complex with 1,216 beds. Phase I of Innovation Village Apartments, built on a 20-acre site on FAU’s 750-acre campus, consists of 375 apartment-style units in two residential buildings. All of the units have a living room, dining area, and kitchen and offer from one to four single-student bedrooms each. The project was designed to LEED Gold standards and uses local materials, daylighting, greywater irrigation, lowflow plumbing fixtures, and low VOCpaints, adhesives, and carpets. Preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles, access to public transportation, ample bicycle storage, and an active recycling program encourage students to understand the building’s emphasis on sustainability. Perhaps the most notable element of the project was the tunnel-form system used for the buildings’ interior frame, which is covered in tilt wall panels. The challenge of the tunnel-form system, necessitated by the 18-month schedule, was that it required a column every 10 feet, preventing flexibility in unit configura-

tion. The creative solution of PGAL, the project architect, included floor-toceiling glass that provided a dramatic infiltration of light into the living rooms. PGAL, in partnership with Capstone and Balfour Beatty Construction, worked closely with team members to complete the project six weeks early and on budget for just more than $66 million. According to Azita Dashtaki Dotiwala, associate vice president of facilities at FAU, the on-time and onbudget completion was partly the result of PGAL’s commitment to understanding the university’s goals. “The team held design meetings to gain a better understanding of the specific features the user group desired in this facility, including a clear vision for the sustainable goals of the project,” she says. “It was from this process that the architect learned the importance that the university placed on green features.” The impressive wrap-up also showcased the success of FAU’s unique approach to sustainability. According to Dotiwala, the university is unusual in that it involves the entire collegiate community in its sustainability efforts. “Our efforts aren’t isolated to the construction of LEED buildings or division of facilities,” she says. “We have a sustainability committee that includes faculty, staff, and students, all of whom contribute to the overall reduction in our environmental footprint. And, climate change and renewable-energy research is a major part of the university’s grant-funded awards. It’s only through a joint effort … that change [can] really occur.” Phase I of Innovation Village Apartments is FAU’s first housing project in which green design and construction were part of the process, Dotiwala says. The same will be the case for a new 600bed student housing project and parking garage, which are set to begin this year. Dotiwala says they will create a “sense of place” for FAU students by providing additional facilities to complement the october–december 2012

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a message from PGAL Architects Sustainability begins at home for national architecture/engineering firm PGAL, whose new corporate headquarters in Houston is LEED Platinum-certified. The firm’s extensive green portfolio includes Florida Atlantic University’s Innovation Village Apartments, awaiting LEED Gold certification, as well as Net Zero Ready Marine barracks, the nation’s first LEED Gold-certified parking garage complex, LEED Platinum-certified Habitat for Humanity prototype homes, a LEED Gold-certified Airport CONRAC, LEED Silver- and Gold-certified cultural centers, schools, airline terminals, mixed-use projects, and more. Besides Houston, PGAL has offices in Atlanta, Alexandria, Austin, Boca Raton, Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Mexico City.

fill. “These practices carry out beyond the walls of the new housing residence and hopefully will impact decisions such as the type of car [students] purchase and whether they turn up the temperature of their room when they are leaving for

class,” Dotiwala says. “If these students take these habits with them beyond their university years, we have contributed to educating future generations about how their actions impact our resources and how to change a culture of waste.” gb&d

photos: dana hoff

university’s 30,000-seat football stadium, which opened in October 2011. That’s important, Dotiwala says, because oncampus housing plays a significant role in educating students about the impact their habits have on the environment. Students learn to reduce and recycle as a way of life, she says, and housing staff runs two major competitions throughout the year. One measures which residence hall reduces the most energy- and water-use for a designated month, and the other measures the amount of waste diverted from the land-

Floor-to-ceiling windows aren’t limited to entryways. PGAL Architects used expansive windows in living spaces to let in natural light.

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LIVE WORK LEARN PLAY SPACES

SPOTLIGHT

SIP Panel House

Alejandro Soffia & Gabriel Rudolphy

Santo Domingo is a quiet, seaside community located on the western central coast of Chile. With a population numbering around 7,500, Santo Domingo already makes a small footprint, though in a recent project actualized by architects Alejandro Soffia and Gabriel Rudolphy, the duo demonstrated a way to make that footprint even smaller. The SIP Panel house, a modern home built along the beach in Santo Domingo, consists of 111 structural insulated panels (SIPs)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;71 wall panels and 40 split-level panels, to be exact. Exemplifying a modular architectural style, the SIP Panel House capitalizes on its north-facing orientation to maximize unobstructed ocean views. The north and south faces, as well as the various terraces around the home, are lined with slatted wood, and in the spirit of efficiency, the home was built in 10 days.

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Beyond Ice Cold Hannaford’s Duanesburg store has all the coolest green features—including patented iceless seafood cases that reduce water use by 40% By Tina Vasquez

uanesburg, New York, might not be the epicenter of cutting-edge green design, but the Hannaford Bros. Supermarket built there in 2009 is mean, green, and oh-so progressive. The LEED Gold-certified building was based on a 35,000-square-foot prototype that incorporates the strategies of Hannaford’s LEED Platinum store in Augusta, Maine. The design team took the Augusta store’s best elements and brought them to Duanesburg, along with new features such as a solar-reflective roof. In the Energy Performance category for LEED-NC structures, ten points are possible and the Hannaford Energy Services team couldn’t be more proud that the Duanesburg store scored ten out of ten. “It’s a real point of pride,” says George Parmenter, Hannaford’s man-

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ager of sustainability. “Supermarkets use a tremendous amount of energy because they’re constantly freezing or cooling items. It was our goal from the start to make this store as energy-efficient as possible.” According to the EPA, most of the supermarkets in the United States use centralized–direction-expansion systems to chill their products. These refrigeration systems are not only charged with up to 4,000 pounds of refrigerant, but they also leak 20 percent of their charge each year, causing potent greenhouse gases to enter the atmosphere. Hannaford’s Duanesburg store uses an advanced refrigeration system that reduces emissions of ozone-depleting substances, helps protect the ozone layer, protects against global warming, and produces reduced refrigerant charges. Coupled with high-efficiency lighting, including

motion-sensitive LED lights on refrigerated cases, the Duanesburg store is a next-generation supermarket. Most innovative is the design team’s strategy to drastically reduce water use. Seafood cases, according to Parmenter, are filled daily with chipped ice, a process that already requires large amounts of water and energy. At the end of the day, though, equally large amounts of hot water are used to melt the ice. This wasteful process takes place every day. By opting to use iceless seafood cases, the Duanesburg store is able to reduce its water use by up to 40 percent. The store employs two different types of iceless cases, Barker’s Model PSG and Model PTD, both of which utilize patented technology. The cases run off the refrigeration rack just like other types of cases, but what makes these unique is their self-contained pumps, which send glycol through tubes on the underside of the shelves, keeping the product at a consistent cool temperature—kind of like how radiant systems heat flooring. Many of the materials used in the Duanesburg store were harvested and manufactured within 300 miles of the store’s location, including the interior wall framing, which came from Boonton, New Jersey. Not only does the use of local gb&d

SPACES

More than 50 skylights adorn the roof of the supermarket, maximizing natural light and minimizing the amount of electricity required to brighten the space.

materials support the local economy, but it also reduces the harmful environmental impacts of long-distance transport—and earns LEED points. The design team also prioritized recycled materials, everything from nuts and bolts to roof hatching and the snow-retention system, which is made of 70 percent post-consumer recycled content. A portion of the building’s steel has 97 percent pre-consumer recycled content. gb&d

PROJECT

GREEN

LOCATION Duanesburg, NY Size 35,000 ft2 Completed 2009 Program Supermarket

CERTIFICATION LEED Gold Emissions Greenhouse-gas emissions reduced via advanced refrigeration system Water 40% water-use reduction via iceless seafood cases Lighting Motion-activated LED lights on refrigerated cases Materials Sourced within 300 miles, feature recycled content

TEAM CLIENT Hannaford Bros. Architect / MEP Engineer Excel Engineering General Contractor Timberline Construction Sustainability Consultant Fore Solutions HVAC Alltek Refrigeration Colonie Mechanical

a message from Timberline Construction Corporation T imberline Construction Corporation is a full-service general contractor based in Canton, Massachusetts, serving clients nationally with projects throughout the northeast United States. In 2002, Steven P. Kelly acquired a small firm focused on telecommunication construction. Steven has since developed the company into a nearly $30 million general contractor with strong bonding and insurance capabilities. Timberline has expanded to more than 80 employees and a diverse portfolio of projects in academic, healthcare, hospitality, residential, retail, restaurant, supermarket, corporate, data center, and wireless sectors. Timberline offers “big company” talent and stability while providing “small company” versatility and attention. In recent years, several of Timberline’s repeat clients announced a commitment to greener standards for new construction projects including Hannaford Supermarkets and Starbucks Coffee Company. As a commitment to being a proactive partner and member of the global community, Timberline continues to prepare and position project teams for advances in sustainable construction.

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General Contrac ng | Construc on Management | Preconstruc on | Design/Build | Wireless Construc on Celebra ng a NEW Website and

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Robert Derector Associates is proud to be part of the McCarter & English project.

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the Law office of transit & reuse When McCarter & English renovated its offices, nearly 70% of its original components were preserved and used in the new space.

Law firm McCarter & English tasks Gensler with transforming outdated offices into a LEED Gold workspace— without increasing its footprint By Kelli McElhinny

hen the time came to renew the lease on its Newark, New Jersey, office, the law firm of McCarter & English explored a variety of options. Its space hadn’t been renovated in more than two decades, and it was in dire need of some updates. “That precipitated a rethinking of our space,” says Michael Guariglia, managing partner of the firm’s Newark office. Rather than relocate, the firm decided to stay put and took advantage of the opportunity to introduce the same sort of eco-friendly construction that its clients often pursue. “We decided we were going to do it right and include sustainable design,” he says. The renovation underscores one of the firm’s focus areas. McCarter & English’s Construction Practice Group

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has demonstrated a commitment to sustainable construction. Four of the firm’s construction attorneys are LEED APs. Mary Jane Augustine, a McCarter & English partner in the group, says that only a few hundred attorneys in the entire country have received that designation. “It would be very unfortunate if we were out there preaching this and didn’t follow through on it ourselves,” she says. Completed in 2011, the renovations created a space that features a new, centralized 22,000-square-foot conference center and 110,000 square feet of space on five practice floors. The project earned LEED-CI Gold for the workspace renovations and LEED Silver in the same category for the conference center. The constraints of the lease and other building characteristics prevented the firm from incorporating major green features, such as geothermal heat or high-performance windows (“We have certain limitations with the building,” Augustine says), but the efforts of global

architecture firm Gensler helped McCarter & English overcome many of the obstacles. “McCarter had the foresight to look beyond the components that made up their existing space to understand what went into its original creation,” says Anthony Brower, a senior associate at Gensler. “Nearly 70 percent of the original components within their space were preserved as part of the new design.” Robert Derector Associates contributed to the LEED effort and coordinated the review of the project’s green features, which were small but significant: Low-efficiency plumbing fixtures from TOTO and Sloan Valve Company save 400,000 gallons of water each year and send it back to the Newark watershed. Benjamin Moore and Scuffmaster low-VOC paints contribute to air quality, as do green cleaning products and carpets made from recycled materials from Re:Source New Jersey. LED lighting fixtures by Nessen and Winona Lighting help reduce energy use, and more than 75 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfills. In addition to the upgrades, preserving what was already in place also emerged as a sustainability strategy. october–december 2012

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“The big goal was to take our space and reuse as much as possible.” Michael Schetlick, Director of Facilities, McCarter & English McCarter & English decided to practice what its clients preach by renovating its office for LEED-CI Gold certification.

PROJECT LOCATION Newark, NJ Size 132,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Office space and conference center

TEAM Client McCarter & English Architect Gensler General Contractor StructureTone LEED Consultant Robert Derector Associates

GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED-CI Gold (workspace), LEED-CI Silver (conference center) Site Attached to Newark’s major transportation hub, accessible by all area transit systems Materials Low-VOC paints and finishes, refurbished furniture Water 400,000 gallons saved annually via low-flow fixtures, toilets, and urinals Energy LED lighting, renewableenergy certificates

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“The big goal was to take our space and reuse as much as possible,” says Michael Schetlick, director of facilities at McCarter & English. The firm kept as much furniture as possible and maintained essentially the same carbon footprint by using appropriate conservation measures. The project’s location also earned it LEED points. The law firm’s offices are in a building attached to Penn Station, Newark’s transportation hub. This provides the 500 Newark-based McCarter & English employees the option of nearly any form of public transit. “From a transportation standpoint, it’s very green,” Augustine says. The project’s final perk is that the updated space helps to sell clients on services and serves as a recruiting tool to attract new employees, many of whom are increasingly interested in a healthful work environment. gb&d

A MESSAGE FROM ROBERT DERECTOR ASSOCIATES Robert Derector Associates has been providing professional engineering services since 1980. It is through uncompromised attention to detail, constant concern for our clients’ needs, and a pragmatic engineering approach that Robert Derector Associates has become the premier interiors consulting engineering practice in New York.

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SPOTLIGHT

US Federal Courthouse, Jackson, MS

H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture

photos: Chris Cooper

re For mo y, 3 Hard from H out check p. 186

State buildings are notoriously opaque. Often constructed under the auspices of a Kafkaesque bureaucracy, innovative design elements are often sidled in the name of function over fashion. However, the newly revitalized, 400,000-square-foot US Federal Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, as designed by H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, is seeking to put a stop to all that and aims to achieve LEED Silver in the process. At a cost of $122 million, the project, which replaced the original courthouse constructed in the 1930s, identified and resolved more than 7,000 building-systems issues and incorporates an open rotunda at the center of the structure as an architectural homage to other federal architecture. The outer walls are adorned with large windows and courtrooms are flanked by large bay windows, encouraging a new sense of transparency in a formerly cloistered space.

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Teaching Tool How BBS Architects made Suffolk County Community College’s Life Sciences Building an educational centerpiece By Erin Sauder

he 68,500-square-foot Life Sciences Building at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) in Selden, New York, is the first new construction on campus in 30 years. “This is a big step for them,” says Roger Smith, president and founder of BBS Architects, Landscape Architects, and Engineers, the firm behind the highly green campus addition. Much of the work BBS does involves public schools and higher education, and much of it is green—a majority of its recent buildings are LEED certified. “There may not be another firm in the country doing as many LEED projects at one time,” Smith says. With construction on the Life Sciences Building slated to begin this year, Smith feels sure the team will attain LEED Silver certification, though he says it is shooting for LEED Gold. Some of the LEED points will come from a contained drainage system, stormwater-collection swales with natural vegetation, and high levels of insulation throughout the structure. “We’ll also be able to actually monitor the mechanical systems’ efficiency in real time,” Smith explains. “The data will be displayed on screens throughout the building, so students can view how the building is operating. It’s a very cool feature. You can literally walk around and watch the building work.” Smith was first drawn to green technology in college. “As a student I took a number of solar-energy and passive-energy-design classes,” Smith says, and more

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than three decades later, he’s incorporating those same green ideas into the work his firm does. “We’ve been able to take a lot of the energy-efficiency-increasing passive-design concepts—intrinsic in LEED practices—and telegraph them and highlight them in our projects,” he says. BBS has won numerous awards for the work it’s done within the publicschool sector, including two awards in the Site Selection & Development category of School Planning & Management magazine’s 2011 Sustainability and Innovation Awards program for the renovation and expansion of the Southampton Elementary School and the renovation of the Mullarkey Hall at Long Island University’s Brookville campus. The magazine also recognized BBS’s work on Suffolk County’s Life Sciences Building with an award in the Building as a Teaching Tool category. Smith says designing a green building is not difficult. “In fact, it’s quite simple, and taking into effect good building systems should be every designer’s priority,” he says. “As we are experiencing everincreasing energy costs, it’s even more imperative that we look at the footprint we’re creating. The buildings we develop and operate today can be much more sustainable, and you need to design all your projects to be energy-efficient, regardless of a potential LEED certification.” A design contest held by Suffolk County Community College is what landed BBS the Life Sciences Building project, and since then, BBS has been able to work hand-in-hand with the college’s staff in developing each of the science rooms and electric spaces. Mobile learning as well as dedicated technology will be employed, and informal student interaction is encouraged by the wide corridors facing the windowwall façade that will also be designed to harvest solar energy. “With our projects, we’re spending time really looking at sustainable, doable, and durable materials so

that our clients are paying a reasonable amount of the first cost and get a great, long-term operational return on that first dollar,” Smith says. “It’s about how we can make our projects doable, practical green. That’s an easy way to put it. You can’t just close your eyes to it. You have to be able to do it.” As BBS has been leading the charge in sustainable design of educational facilities, the firm is pushing the green envelope across the board. Having a substanial portfolio of LEED-certified projects and about a third of its staff holding LEED AP credentials, the firm is well positioned to define the sustainability path for the architectural- and engineering-design industries in the years to come. gb&d a message from DSI Mechanical Inc. SI Mechanical Inc. serves the New York – Long Island area for D over 15 years as a mechanical contractor specializing in automatic temperature controls and has worked with “BBS” architects and engineers for many of these years. DSI assisted in the completion of the Hampton Bays Middle School and we are very proud that our efforts helped this school achieve its LEEDS certification. Presently, we are working on the Plainedge Athletic Center for “BBS”.

gb&d

SPACES

The Life Sciences Building tells SCCC students how it’s doing via energy monitors. Outside, the building features bioswales and ample landscaping.

“As we are experiencing ever-increasing energy costs, it’s even more imperative that we look at the footprint we’re creating.” Roger Smith, BBS Architects

PROJECT Location Selden, NY Size 68,500 ft2 Completed 2013 (expected) Program Classrooms, student gathering areas, and an interior amphitheater

TEAM Architect BBS Architects, Landscape Architects, and Engineers Client Suffolk County Community College

GREEN Certification LEED Gold (expected) Materials Recycled content, locally sourced Lighting Solar-photovoltaic glass, occupancy controls Water Contained drainage system, storm-water-collection swales with natural vegetation

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SPACES

electrochromic landmark

Pennsylvania’s Grove City College is merging science, engineering, and mathematics into one sustainable building. Its coolest feature? A tintable glass wall that will react to seasonal changes in sunlight. By Erin Brereton

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tudents at Grove City College know the iconic clock tower at Rockwell Hall. Administrators were hesitant to remodel the building because they didn’t want to destroy an 80-yearold school symbol. “We were concerned there might be an outcry from alumni because we were talking about replacing it,” says Thomas Gregg, vice president of operations. “But they were really in favor of it and said the facility being replaced was long overdue.” With the approval of alumni, the school, located in Grove City, Pennsylvania, hired Philadelphia-based architecture firm Ballinger to remodel the science, engineering, and mathematics building with sustainability in mind. Grove City College initially had planned to renovate and add onto its existing science and engineering buildings, but as planning began, school officials realized they needed much more space than an addition would offer. They decided to create a new, energy-efficient, 60,000-square-foot building that would combine the science and engineering departments and facilitate a greater amount of interdisciplinary work.

During Phase I, scheduled for a 2013 completion, the existing buildings will remain in place. Phase II, which is still in the design stage, involves razing and replacing the existing science building and repurposing Grove City College’s engineering building. Throughout, college officials are placing a strong emphasis on incorporating green elements into the new building’s design, provided the college can afford it. “We want to do things that make economic sense for us,” Gregg says. “We’re very interested in reducing our energy consumption and limiting our waste stream as much as we can.” Some sustainable suggestions came from Ballinger while others came from Gregg and his team, such as the highefficiency—and high-tech—windows used for the new building’s two-story atrium. SageGlass, an electrochromic glass that uses automatic digital controls to adjust the amount of light that is let in to the building, was discovered by Gregg at facilities-development conference. At Grove City College, the tintable glass will help minimize the effects of the bright morning sun, which filters into the east-facing atrium, and control the building’s heat factor. “Whenever the october–december 2012

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“Saying we can’t afford the green elements would just be foolish in the long term—we needed to incorporate them.” Thomas Gregg, Grove City College

Vice president of operations Thomas Gregg is pushing for green features as Grove City College constructs its new buildings, including the Christian Activities Building (below).

PROJECT Location Grove City, PA Size 60,000 ft2 Completed 2013 (expected) Program 2-story atrium, classrooms, existing building addition

TEAM Client Grove City College Architects Ballinger

GREEN certification Not applicable Windows High-efficiency electrochromic windows with digital tint controls from SageGlass Energy Super-efficient chilled-beam system, low-flow fume hoods

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sun is shining, in warmer months, we can have a higher tint level that will reject more heat,” Gregg says of the system. “And in the winter months, we can limit the amount of tint to make it comfortable for people reading in the room but take in as much heat as we can acquire.” Because the standards changed during the planning process, the school ultimately decided not to apply for LEED Silver status, but it did take a few cues from its handbook. Eco-friendly features include chilled beams, which will reduce air-handler capacity by 40 percent, enhance air quality, and reduce waste. They were suggested by Ballinger, based on an experience incorporating a similar system in a science building for a higher-education project in South Carolina. “The technology is such that water circulating in the chilled beam needs to be just above the dew point so you don’t get condensation,” Gregg says, “but it provides accurate cooling for the area where beams are located.” Low-flow fume hoods are another Earth-friendly element, designed to improve airflow and help ventilate areas

where toxic or potentially hazardous fumes, gases, or vapors are present. “We didn’t go through a cost analysis,” Gregg says. “It just made sense to do it. If you can reduce your air-handling capacity and your outside-air intake—so you don’t have to heat or condition that air—it’s a no-brainer.” Like many operations personnel, Gregg says he experienced some pushback about the initial upfront cost of the green elements, though they reduce costs over the long haul. Grove City College, however, ultimately decided to limit other features of its master plan in order to fund the sustainable additions, namely reducing its building layout by a floor, removing space allotted for future expansion, and altering some of the finishes within the building. “We definitely had some cost pressure on the project, but we looked at it holistically,” Gregg says. “Saying we can’t afford the green elements would just be foolish in the long term—we needed to incorporate them.” gb&d

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SPACES

Dining Sustainably photos: halkin architectural photography

The new dining hall at Rutgers Preparatory School is centered on an atrium that lets natural daylight into the building.

After 2008’s financial collapse, Rutgers Prep had to scale back its master plan, but it didn’t stop DIGroup Architecture from bringing to fruition Phase 1: a LEED-pursuant 21st-century dining hall. The architects take questions. By Jennifer Hogeland gbdmagazine.com

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Location Somerset, NJ Size 25,000 ft2 Completed 2011 (Phase 1) Program Dining commons and classrooms

TEAM Architect DIGroup Architecture Structural Engineer Harrison-Hamnett Civil Engineer Menlo Engineering General Contractor Epic Management

or 25 years, DIGroup Architecture has been the go-to firm for Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey, and, striving to incorporate sustainable design practices into each project, the firm has helped the school commit to sustainability through building design. Here, DIGroup president Jeff Venezia, project designer Kevin Dunn, and project architect Scott Hoffman talk to gb&d about their most recent work at Rutgers Prep. What’s the most recent project you’ve been working on for Rutgers Preparatory School? Jeff Venezia: Four years ago, we were commissioned to design a performing arts center for the school, which was to include a full-service kitchen and dining commons. This was right before the financial collapse in 2008, so they were only able to raise 60 percent of the funds needed for the project. We began with the first phase of the overall project, a two-story, 25,000-square-foot building with a 350-seat dining commons and classroom space. What we’ve done won’t preclude the school from building out the entire performing arts center facility in the future. Is this building the first sustainable structure on campus? Venezia: We’ve had discussions in the office many times in recent years; we look at sustainability as good design, and we’ve all practiced good design for a long time. So, to answer your question, the earlier projects were designed [sustainably], though this will be the first building to pursue LEED certification. While the school does have a commitment as an institution to sustainability, part of our charge was to incorporate sustainable features that fit within their budget. What key features make the building sustainable?

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GREEN certification LEED Silver (expected) Energy Daylighting, lighting and HVAC controls, heat recovery Water Low-flow bathroom fixtures and watersaving kitchen devices Materials Exterior brick cladding for tight envelope, healthful interior materials

Rutgers Prep is pursuing LEED certifications for all of its new buildings. The DIGroup-designed dining hall is expected to achieve LEED Silver.

“We’ve concentrated on the various components of the project, from site selection to . . . construction management. We took a holistic approach.” Scott Hoffman, Project Architect Kevin Dunn: A lot of the sustainability came early on in the planning of the systems. We have lighting controls and HVAC controls with heat recovery as part of the HVAC package. Scott Hoffman: We’ve concentrated on the various components of the project, from site selection to the materials that were selected for the interior to the structure’s construction management. We really took a holistic approach to the project. Venezia: I think the initial visual impression of the building, from a sustainability standpoint, is we used a lot of daylighting. One entire wall of the dining commons is glass and overlooks the central quadrangle of the campus.

You’d notice it is a brick building, which gives you an idea of the tightness of the envelope. Where did you earn the most points for LEED certification? Venezia: Our target was 32 points, and one of the areas we’ve been able to capture the most credits was by optimizing the performance of the building. This includes the HVAC system and light fixtures selected. We also have low-flow fixtures in the bathrooms and watersaving devices in the kitchen, including the dishwasher. What type of energy efficiency is the school hoping to see from the dining commons? Dunn: We hired an energy consultant gb&d

photos: halkin architectural photography

PROJECT

Rutgers Preparatory School

SPACES

Bsg

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to do energy modeling for the building. The modeling exercise we did for LEED certification suggested it would use 20 percent less energy than a similar building, though we’re currently showing 25 percent more efficient than the baseline. Did you want the building to match the other structures on campus? Venezia: It wasn’t a priority that it match other buildings, but it was important that it fit in with the other buildings. We’ve been working on the campus since the early ’80s, and the buildings have a very different look than years ago, but some of the materials used, like the brick, are similar. This building has a contemporary exterior. The part of the building that isn’t finished has a metal skin on it where the performing arts center will be. It will definitely be a well-designed identity building when it’s done. gb&d gbdmagazine.com

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SPOTLIGHT

Centre for Green Cities

Diamond Schmitt Architects

Running through the center of Toronto between the Prince Edward Viaduct and Mount Pleasant Cemetery is the Don Valley, an ecologically diverse landscape with industrial developments along its passage. Don Valley Brick Works, a once prominent brickyard in operation from 1889 to 1984, fell into disrepair in the 1980s, and it wasn’t until Evergreen, a community group, began work on the site in 1991 that the Lower Don Watershed started renewing itself. By 2006, a farmer’s market moved into the area, and in 2008, Evergreen broke ground with Diamond Schmitt Architects to build the award-winning Centre for Green Cities, which contributes to the area’s historic roots, exemplifying sustainability in an urban context. Completed in 2010, the site aims for LEED Platinum certification, and in 2012, the project won the Green Design Award from the City of Toronto Green Toronto Awards, the SAB Canadian Green Building Award from Sustainable Architecture & Building Magazine (SABMag), and Green Building of the Year from the NAIOP.

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The Good-Natured Hotel

Behind the Cedarbrook Lodge’s all-encompassing green experience are satellites that control its sprinklers, microbes that love ’em some compost, and an ethos of honest environmentalism By Ashley T. Kjos

photos: cedarbrook lodge / jeff caven

he juxtaposition of urban and natural settings is becoming increasingly common, but it is rare to find destinations where these contrarian environments don’t feel contrived or artificial. Cedarbrook Lodge is one exception. Set only a half mile from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the lodge occupies 18 acres of land, 15 of which are naturally restored wetlands that are self-contained habitats for wildlife indigenous to the Northwest, including a nesting of bald eagles. The wetland has managed to remain untouched by the surrounding urban area of Seattle-Tacoma and, fortunately, it will remain so, as it is protected from future development. Cedarbrook Lodge itself is a leader in environmental stewardship; it not only incorporates sustainability into numerous aspects of its operations but imparts a green and responsible mentality into its employees and the services they provide. It certainly has the right man at the helm: Scott Ostrander, the hotel’s general manager, has long been a champion for sustainability as a way of business and a way of life. “I personally believe in being environmentally responsible and doing everything possible to give back to the environment and the community, both as a company and myself as an individual,” Ostrander says. “When I visited the hotel for the first time and saw where it was and what it was, I gained an understanding of the values that are a foundation for the hotel. It was very much in alignment with my own personal values as it pertains to sustainability.” Cedarbrook is part of the Coastal Hotel Group, which operates three additional destinations. While each is unique to its respective location and environment, sustainability and responsibility is a thread of continuity throughout. At Cedarbrook Lodge, all the landscaping is natural, and the plant life on the gbdmagazine.com

Copperleaf Restaurant’s executive chef Mark Bodinet (left) and culinary director Roy Breiman harvest produce and herbs from the on-site chef’s garden at Cedarbrook Lodge.

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“The benefits of our composting are multifold. It reduces overall waste in landfills, allowing us to recycle our waste, and it also creates an incredible richness in the soil.” Scott Ostrander, Cedarbrook Lodge

Location Seattle Size 780,000 ft2 Opened 2002 Acquired 2009 Program 110 guest rooms, meeting and event space

TEAM Owner Cedarbrook Lodge Composting Service Cedar Grove Composting

GREEN certification Not applicable Materials 100% biodegradable, compostable sugarcane tableware Water Satellite-controlled sprinklers Food 100% from local farms and gardens Waste Grease and cooking oil converted into biodiesel, on-site composting program Electric Vehicles Charging stations on-site to promote energy-efficient vehicles Amenities NATURA bath products, biodegradable bottles, low-energyuse 42” HDTVs Housekeeping Staff uniforms made from 100 percent post-consumer bottles, cleaning and paper products Green Seal Certified

OPPOSITE Cedarbrook Lodge uses an eco-friendly Ford Flex to provide guests with complimentary shuttle service to the nearby airport, tram, and train station.

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property is indigenous to the area. Two underground reclamation ponds are used to feed the irrigation system, and all of the eaves and troughs drain into the ponds. The irrigation and watering system itself is remarkable. Each individual sprinkler head is controlled by a satellite in space; a sensor on each sprinkler measures the dryness of the area and communicates with the satellite, which then activates watering only in the areas that need it. The on-site restaurant and all food service is sourced 100 percent from local and organic farms and gardens. The food and beverage team also uses 100 percent biodegradable and compostable sugarcane tableware. The hotel recycles 100 gallons of its grease and cooking oil each month to be converted into useable biodiesel fuel and has its own on-site composting program, which it uses to enrich the soil and grow its own vegetables and herbs. “The benefits of our composting are multifold,” Ostrander says. “It reduces overall waste in landfills, allowing us to recycle our waste, and it also creates an incredible richness in the soil.” When the amount of composting exceeds the on-site capability, Cedarbrook Lodge employs the help of Cedar Grove Compost, a composting expert and service company in the area. “It’s a closedloop connection: the hotel recycles their food wastes and creates a nutrient cycle,” explains Jami Burke of Cedar Grove Composting. “Composting increases the organic matter in the soil. It’s like a bag lunch for the existing microbial communities. You’re adding the nutrients to the soil, which then passes it off to the plants. It’s a very natural process.” Cedarbrook Lodge also has a mushroom inoculation garden, and all of its growing gardens are in guest areas so that the guests can see what the hotel is doing and learn about its composting program. Involving the guests is an important tenet of the hotel. “I love this

The idyllic Cedarbrook Lodge is much more than pretty; the hotel operates its own composting site and uses leaves and foliage from its 18 acres to facilitate the breakdown of materials.

hotel, but also I love the people here,” Ostrander says. “I get to work with a great staff and interact with great guests— that’s what motivates and inspires me.” Recently, the hotel installed electric vehicle charging stations that promote the use of energy-efficient automobiles, and this will hardly be the final effort. “It’s an evolution,” Ostrander says. “I’m proud that we continue to evolve. We do everything we can to support the environment, and we can always do more.” Beyond the tangible programs and initiatives, the hotel propagates an environmentally responsible personality, if a hotel can be said to have such a thing. “I’m a big advocate of hiring employees that believe what we believe,” Ostrander says. “In the end, people do business with people who share their same values.” gb&d

gb&d

photos: cedarbrook lodge / jeff caven

PROJECT

Cedarbrook Lodge

SPACES

Voss Lighting

Specialists in Lighting Since 1939

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Put the top down! Cowboys Stadium features a retractcable roof that allows for natural ventilation and daylight. Any necessary lighting increasingly is LED, courtesy of Voss Lighting.

OPPOSITE The new stadium comprises three million square feet, featuring an 800-foot glass wall on its exterior. The glass is sloped at a 14-degree angle to minmize solar heat gain.

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SPACES

Cowboys & Engineers The engineering and operations team at Cowboys Stadium is out to prove the cliché true: everything— including energy savings—is bigger in Texas By Jennifer Nunez

PROJECT Location Arlington, TX Size 3 million ft2 Completed 2009

TEAM Owner City of Arlington Operator The Dallas Cowboys

GREEN certification Not applicable Roof White PVC coating, retractable roof for ventilation and natural lighting Exterior Double-paned, ceramicfritted glass angled 14 degrees to minimize solar heat gain Recycling Recycling bins throughout stadium concourse Lighting LED lighting fixtures throughout complex

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owboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, can fit more than 100,000 people during large events such as the Super Bowl, when the arena is filled to the brim. With such a large capacity, the three million-squarefoot domed space, home to the Dallas Cowboys, requires a high amount of energy to run, but Scott Woodrow, director of engineering at the stadium, implemented a “going-green-is-free” motto, and the stadium has reduced its carbon footprint significantly in the past four years. In the first year, the stadium’s energy consumption was reduced by approximately 15 percent, adding another 10 percent by the second year. It is on track to reduce energy consumption by another 15 percent this year by continuing to implement a multiphase energyefficiency plan. “It’s the right thing to do,” Woodrow says. “We need to conserve natural resources. Water and energy are the two biggies. Then you will reduce the pollution that is going out into the environment.” Increasing efficiency also makes economic sense. “Most of your green initiatives will pay for themselves, even things like our LED lighting,” Woodrow says. “When we are saving energy by reducing, it means we are reducing someplace where we were wasting energy before and therefore wasting money.” One of the big ways the stadium has saved is through its lighting retrofits. Timers have been installed, and the staff puts them into “dark mode” at night. This year, Voss Lighting helped retrofit october–december 2012

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Although these arches aren’t a green feature of the stadium, they’re noteworthy for their size: the dual arches span a quarter mile across the stadium and weigh 3,255 tons.

two driving ramps that go from the ground level of the stadium down to the field level. “We did a one-for-one change out, replacing approximately 170 of the existing 150-watt metal-halide fixtures with 70-watt LED fixtures from Lighting Science Group called the C2D,” says Jeff Lamb, a lighting specialist at Voss. “Working together with the local utility company and an electrical contractor, we helped the stadium receive a rebate, which covered a good portion of the project.” This retrofit will save the stadium around $12,000 per year. Voss also introduced 25-watt, 4-inch, T-8s throughout the facility, LEDs in the elevators, LED and IRC replacements for all the standard halogens in the clubs and gift shops, LED/CFL replacements for the A19s, LED indicator bulbs in various electrical panels, and many other lower-wattage replacement products.

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Lighting isn’t the stadium’s only green arena. Throughout the past three years, the stadium’s chiller plant has conserved energy through detailed programming. “We are now going through another iteration of reprogramming the whole sequence to try to incorporate some of the newer energy-management techniques,” Woodrow says. “We are utilizing the air handlers and chilledwater system and are able to optimize by changing the temperature and pressure of the chilled water to match the need.” Cowboys Stadium also initiated a recycling program, placing recycling bins for plastic and cardboard throughout the stadium concourse. These bins capture about 20 percent of waste that could be recycled; Woodrow hopes to increase this number with better awareness. Currently, public service announcements remind patrons to recycle during the game, but there remains recyclable waste in the stands after games. The stadium has saved money via a reflective white PVC coating on its dome, which meets LEED requirements, and its retractable roof, which provides natural ventilation and reduces the need for airconditioning. The field’s end zone doors are glass, and the translucent roof allows for natural lighting during the day. The building exterior is covered with doublepaned, ceramic-fritted glass that is angled 14 degrees out from the building and spans from bottom to top, minimizing solar heat gain. gb&d

ABOVE The recently built stadium reduced its energy consumption by 15% in its first year by switching to LED bulbs throughout the building.

top photo: Cliff Baise; opposite page: James Corner Field operations

“We need to conserve natural resources. Water and energy are the two biggies.” Scott Woodrow, Cowboys Stadium

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LIVE WORK LEARN PLAY SPACES

SPOTLIGHT

Navy Pier Pierscape

james corner field operations

In 2016, Chicago’s Navy Pier will be celebrating its centennial birthday the new-fashioned way: infused with green space. Taking its cue from the greening of Chicago’s lakefront parks, the $85 million Pierscape Design Project, overseen by James Corner Field Operations (JCFO), will revitalize the public face of the pier as part of the central mandate established by its Centennial Vision. JCFO will add water features, public art installations, local vegetation, a greenhouse with suspended vegetal pods, a floating swimming pool that becomes an ice rink in the winter months, and ‘hidden nature’ installations that will provide ecosystems for algae, bird life, and rock fish. The architects want to reorient pedestrian passages and community spaces throughout the pier to better integrate with Lake Michigan and Chicago skyline views, and JCFO even drew up plans to update the iconic 140-foot Ferris wheel, originally designed as an homage to the amusement ride built in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition.

Chicago’s Navy Pier will soon get a facelift, thanks to the design work of landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, whose plan was chosen from 52 submissions.

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The glass faﾃｧade of the Bridgestone Arena lets in daylight to cut down on energy costs and provide the main concourse with natural lighting.

PROJECT

GREEN

Location Nashville Size 750,000 ft2 Completed 1996

certification Not applicable Lighting T-8 bulbs, occupancy controls, energyefficient lamps, glass walls HVAC Enthalpy-based economizer controls, occupancy-based and night-setback unit fans Water Energy-efficient water aerators, low-flow toilets, storm-water management Recycling Facility-wide recycling program for cardboard, plastic, and aluminum

TEAM Owner Bridgestone Arena Waste Management Republic Services Energy Audit SSRcx Facilities Commissioning

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Company/Story SPACES

A steward of public space Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena takes its status as a municipal building seriously as it tackles water and energy consumption across the board. By Mark Pechenik

B ABOVE Visitors to Bridgestone Arena—whether for Predators games or for music artists such as the Rolling Stones—can now make more environmentally friendly choices because of an expanded arena-wide recycling program.

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uilding upon their current existing focus, operators of Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena have been busy taking further steps toward a broader approach to sustainability for their premier sports and entertainment facility. “We are exploring new measures that will enable us to be even greater stewards of the environment,” says Terry McConnell, senior director of operations for the arena. Bridgestone Arena opened in December 1996. The facility has hosted more than 13 million guests for various events, including the NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional Tournament and tournaments for the Ohio Valley and Southeastern conferences, as well as performances by high-profile musical artists such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, and The Rolling Stones. It also has been the home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators since 1998. Increasingly, arena management has prioritized the greening of its operations. A facility-wide recycling program, coordinated with Republic Services, enables both customers and vendors to deposit cardboard, plastic, and aluminum cans in receptacles located throughout the facility. Most recently, Bridgestone administrators conducted two audits—one reviewing energy usage and one examining water consumption—that will be used to determine methods for making the arena more sustainable. “As a municipal building, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the environment,” McConnell says. “The focus of the audits was to determine

what can be done to bring our building up to today’s energy-efficient standards.” SSRcx, a division of Smith Seckman Reid, was procured by the facility-management team to conduct the energy audit; the goals of which were to assess the arena’s current energy use and cost and identify any potential energy-saving and operational improvements that could be made. The scope of work was consistent with a Level II energy audit as described by ASHRAE guidelines and included a preliminary energy-use analysis, review of the available information concerning mechanical and electrical design and potential energy conservation measures (ECMs), and analysis of identified ECMs to estimate energy use and impacts. The goals of the water audit were to assess the arena’s current water use and cost and identify any potential water-saving improvements that could be made. Ongoing review of the audits results, which became available earlier this year, has pointed to several ways Bridgestone Arena might move forward in its sustainability goals. Regarding energy, management plans to replace T-12 bulbs with energy-saving T-8s, and improvements to the lighting system would provide occupancy-based controls for applicable spaces and utilize daylight-harvesting next to glass curtain walls. “This process would enable us to make better use of daylight throughout the facility,” McConnell says. “For instance, in places where daylight is most plentiful, we would be able to reduce in-house lighting to save on electrical costs.” The arena’s outdoor parking structure, which is open to daylight on all sides, is an area that would october–december 2012

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ABOVE Lighting sporting events requires some of the brightest bulbs. Bridgestone Arena switched to T-8s to save energy.

benefit from such harvesting practices. Implementing bilevel lighting controls and energy-efficient lamps—in the place of metal-halide sources—along concourses will reduce energy costs. On the mechanical side, upgrades and replacement of the HVAC control system will have the greatest impact. Enthalpybased economizer controls are planned for all air-conditioning units while occupancy-based controls, night setback when applicable, and variable frequency drives on unit fans also will be utilized. Installation of more energy-efficient water aerators will figure prominently in Bridgestone’s sustainability efforts. Water flow will be reduced from 2.5 to 1.5 gallons per minute for sink faucets. Similarly, low-flow toilets will replace the current 3.5 gallons used per flush to a more efficient 1.28 gallons. Showerhead aerators will also be swapped out. Furthermore, a planned rainwater-harvesting system will offset the water use for toilets and urinals. “All of these energy- and waterusage modifications would enable us to take advantage of simple conservation measures that are available to us today,” McConnell says. These and other enhancements are set to begin later this year. In the meantime, Bridgestone Arena staff and management remain enthusiastic about their sustainability program. “We believe it is a great initiative that is definitely moving us in the right direction,” McConnell says. “It enables us to be ecologically responsible tenants of this building and, at the same time, to remain at the forefront of the sports and entertainment industry.” gb&d

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SPACES

Floating into History Forever Resorts puts sustainability on the water with this cutting-edge marina, the first floating structure to submit papers for LEED certification By Julie Knudson

ABOVE The Marina Services Building at Cottonwood Cove Resort is built on a floating platform, which came in handy; twice during construction the building was floated over to a launch ramp where a crane was waiting to install roof panels. This saved the team from having to float the crane to the building.

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uildings on the water are nothing new, but the new Marina Services Building at Cottonwood Cove Resort & Marina on Nevada’s Lake Mohave is hailed as the first of its kind— the first floating structure submitted for LEED certification. Replacing a decades-old building, and in partnership with the National Park Service, Forever Resorts set out to construct an on-the-water building that showcases green technology. Here, Rod Taylor, regional vice president of Forever Resorts, talks with gb&d about the floating building he expects to be certified LEED Gold later this year.

What prompted you to build a floating LEED-certified structure? Rod Taylor: We had a windstorm back in 2007 that destroyed the marina and most of the infrastructure. We wanted to build a new state-of-the-art marina with sustainable products. When it came down to designing the building, I thought about

a green building on the water. I talked to the Park Service, which is our landlord, and they got excited and got behind it not only because it is the right thing to do, but it would be the first certified LEED structure floating on water. How much was your budget for this project? Taylor: We had a fixed amount of $642,000 to work with, and I really wasn’t allowed to go over that. We needed to do something creative to come in on budget, so we designed a flyer and donation forms to send to different companies asking them to help us on cost, either a full donation or to provide discounted goods and services. Much of the materials and labor were given to us for free or at discounted rates, so we had multiple partners helping us stay in budget. Some tweaking was needed toward the end, and Ausonio, our LEED consultant, volunteered a substantial amount of time to get this project finished, as did our engineers and architects. The final project cost was only $4,000 over budget. What are some of the green elements that contribute LEED credits? Taylor: Some of the credits that count toward certification were not available october–december 2012

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TOP The decking material is made from recycled plastic and rice hulls. Rice hulls not only are renewable but also have excellent thermal insulation. BOTTOM Shown is a sample of a typical pre-fabricated wall section with utilities running through it. The foam piece is also used for the subfloor and roof.

S INC E 1959

General Construction | Project Management | Architectural Design

Design + Build Specialists LEED® AP on Forever Resorts’ Marina Services Building Chartwell School — LEED Platinum Monterey College of Law — LEED Platinum Nordic Naturals — LEED Gold Our LEED APs can help you with your LEED certification. Ausonio Incorporated — The Leader in Green/Sustainable Building Techniques.

L E E D D O C U M E N TAT I O N S P E C I A L I S T S Ausonio Incorporated (License # 682308)

to us because there was no site prep on this project. But the energy efficiency of the building is a big component—the roof, walls, and even the floor have an R-value. Another big contributor was the tremendous amount of recycled content of this structure: The steel is 100 percent recycled. The subfloor is recycled nylon carpet pieces. And Premier Materials provided us with decking that’s made out of rice hulls and recycled plastics. Also, the material we recycled off the project was close to 90 percent. We only had one small dumpster of trash at the end of the whole project. Can you describe some of the challenges you faced during construction? Taylor: Building the structure on the water had some challenges. We used modified structural insulated panels, which are large, solid foam panels with steel studs inside that are trimmed as they’re erected at the site. But if the wind is blowing, you can’t do anything because the stuff blows into the lake. It’s the desert, so we had a tremendous number of days where we couldn’t work because the wind was blowing. Our assembly was painstakingly long because of the days we couldn’t work. Is there anything about the building that you’re particularly pleased with? Taylor: The overall aesthetics have really turned out well, and this building actually reduced the night sky pollution from the old building substantially. We used to have 250-watt sodium vapors with 360-degree, three-dimensional lighting that would light the sky, the ground, everything, and we went to downcast fluorescents. People are now having stargazing events out here, and they can even use their telescopes, so the night sky protection at the end of this project really was enhanced. gb&d

11420 A Commercial Parkway • Castroville, CA 95012 Tel 831.633.3371 • Fax 831.633.3389 • www.ausonio.com

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VERBATIM

“We can really change lives by what we do. We want the space to facilitate interaction. We want people to feel at home.”

verbatim

At Horizon Bay we did a good job of educating employees and residents about our sustainability efforts. Brookdale Senior Living was more focused on high-level tasks, such as energy conservation. We’ve combined the best practices of both entities. Brookdale had taken a huge step and replaced CFL bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs throughout its portfolio of retirement communities, and it brought that to Horizon Bay Realty’s communities. Horizon Bay, meanwhile, is helping Brookdale engage and involve its residents with its sustainability efforts. To reach residents, we’ve formed a Green Living Council. The goal of the council is to increase the visibility of our sustainability efforts. In the past, we did this more on the maintenance side. Now we’re directing it to high-level executives and marketing people. That, we think, will take our message to the residents. Our message is that our residents are critical to this process. It’s up to residents to help affect change inside their apartments. You don’t want to leave your windows open while running the heat or air conditioning, for example. You’d want to use energy-efficient bulbs, and you’d want to recycle. Residents are reacting surprisingly well. I was at a community in Missouri the other day, looking at a landscaping program, and I was surprised by how informed residents are on the subject. They know we’re looking at

ABOUT John Sattelmayer began his career as a culinary intern at Disney World, but he is now the senior director of corporate development at Brookdale Senior Living. In October 2011, Brookdale acquired Horizon Bay Retirement Living, providing John opportunities to improve both groups’ sustainability programs. For more info visit brookdaleliving.com.

J ohn S attelma y er

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The senior-living developer discusses Brookdale’s Green Living Council and the company’s merger with Horizon Bay As told to Julie Schaeffer

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Up Close & Personal What was your first job? I was a culinary intern at Disney World.

Specializing in Multifamily and Senior Living Communities • Interior Common Area Renovation • Apartment Renovation and Modernization • Accessibility Improvements • Roofing, Siding and Stucco Repair and Replacement • Interior and Exterior Painting • Paving and Concrete • Emergency Services and Distaster Recovery

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plants that are native to their environment and want to plant responsibly so we don’t have to water all the time. Partnerships have been an important part of our efforts. We’re working with local biological societies, such as the Missouri Biological Society, which preselects plants that are appropriate for the local climate via its Plants of Merit program. Contractors are also important because they work on projects based on our direction. For example, we selected Branch Construction, a general contractor, because its management believes the same things we do. We don’t want to go into a building, tear everything down, and bring in new stuff if we can save anything. Branch has done a great job helping us repurpose. Next, I see us doing more work with daylight harvesting. As we work on landscaping projects, we’re looking at it not only from the perspective of improving curb appeal, but also from the perspective of improving the view from indoors. That makes you realize the importance of bringing the outdoors inside. If you can get more daylight inside,

If you weren’t in your current field, what would you do? I love what I do. This job found me. But I started in food service, then started building kitchens, so I’d probably work in a hotel. What inspires you? Making people happy. Describe yourself in three words. Enthusiastic, efficient, and effective. Your hidden talent? Project management. I’m good at bringing it all together.

you can reduce your lighting load, thereby reducing energy consumption. But you also improve the residents’ experience with natural lighting. We can really change lives by what we do. We pay special attention to making sure we have the proper lighting; comfortable, perfect temperature; pleasing colors. We want the space to facilitate interaction. We want people to feel at home. When I walk into a dining room and realize it’s comfortable because it’s filled with happy residents, I’m happy. gb&d

Branch Construction Services Driven to Deliver - throughout the USA 2802 Flintrock Trace, Suite 206 | Austin, TX 78738 512-371-4194 | t.butler@branchcs.com 24 Hour Emergency Service: 813.299.7905

“We don’t want to go into a building, tear everything down, and bring in new stuff if we can save anything.”

www.branchcs.com

John Sattelmayer, brookdale senior living

october–december 2012

gb&d

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List

186 DELICATE ENvIRONS Botanical Research Institute of Texas 191 URBAN INFILL City Creek Center 194 REMOTE LOCATION West Hawaii Civic Center

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Delicate Environs botanical research institute of texas H3 Hardy COLLABORATION ARCHITECTURE

The glass façade on the north side of the building and windows in every office let daylight into the building.

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PHOTOS: CHRIS COoPER

Dried plant specimens housed in BRIT’s temperaturecontrolled herbarium

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TOUGH BUILDS

BRIT had students from nearby Texas Chrisitan University help select plants for the green roof to foster its community engagement.

primer

In spring 2011, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) opened the doors to its new headquarters. It was an appropriate season to cut the ribbon on a facility that studies, houses, and celebrates flora, and the site was as appropriate. Set in the cultural center of the Fort Worth Area, the LEED Platinum building is close to museums and other civic institutions such as the Modern Art Museum, the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. Texas Christian University (TCU) also is nearby, and the location lends itself to a creative sense of synergy. By engaging the students at TCU to select local plant species for its green roof or by collaborating with the botanic gardens on programming, BRIT is interconnected with the cultural geography of the area. The site also was a natural choice because of Trinity Park’s location immediately to the east, providing prairie views from the facility. However, an early challenge was an existing building on-site—a health center—that required demolition. Because of this, the project was on hold from summer 2007 to summer 2008. When it resumed, the project’s design architect, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, was faced with the challenge of designing a building that would house sensitive dried plant specimens as well as provide space for essential organizational functions and graphics that communicated the institute’s mission.

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planning

The strength of the new BRIT building, and the lattice that held it together throughout the build process, was the collaborative nature of the project team. “There are always challenges— budget, schedule—but no one ever lost sight of what they were trying to achieve, and it produced amazing results,” says Jonathan Posnett, creative director at Two Twelve, a New York-based graphic design consultancy that was responsible for not only the design but the development of the signage in and around the headquarters. The large, interpretive graphic program was integral to BRIT’s space because of the new importance the organization placed on communicating its message to visitors and the public. Daria Pizzetta, a partner at H3 Hardy, echoed the idea that the closeness of the team was the bedrock of its success. “No one ever presented a problem without also presenting a possible solution,” she says. “We all just loved each other.” H3 Hardy was not only the project architect but also a part of programming. The team worked with BRIT before any drawings were made to develop what kind of space it envisioned. Importantly, that space would need to house conferences, educational programs, presentations, a library, and, crucially, up to two million dried plant specimens.

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The new BRIT building by H3 Hardy is one of eight buildings in the state to be LEED Platinum-certified. Inside, the airy administrative offices have views to the exterior and feature bamboo ceiling panels.

process

125,000

PHOTOS: CHRIS COoPER

Volumes in the BRIT’s expansive learning library

During the time the BRIT building was on hold, various project costs decreased, enabling the structure, in the end, to surpass LEED Gold certification and reach LEED Platinum. The geothermal field located in the parking lot was already planned, but additional features included natural materials such as pure wool carpet and a rooftop photovoltaic array. These features helped the project get all 17 possible points in LEED’s Energy and Atmosphere category. The BRIT headquarters is composed of two intersecting forms or structures, the “Think Block,” which houses all the administrative, research, and public areas, and the “Archive Block,” which contains the herbarium and the library. The herbarium is where all the sensitive plant specimens are located, and the climate is controlled to keep these plants viable. It is cool and dry. Researchers spending the better portion of a day

there need at least a jacket. The Archive Block also will eventually become a living form because the exterior was designed to accommodate vines woven through stainless-steel guide wires. According to staff, the BRIT’s most popular feature is the lighting. The building was designed to bring in a large amount of sunlight, made possible by a large glass façade on the north side of the building and every office having a window. “We wanted the building to be outward-looking,” Pizzetta says. “In fact, the sunlight is so good the staff rarely turns on their lights during the day.” A final attractive feature is the landscape design by Balmori Associates. “What makes the whole project sing is the marriage between landscape and building,” Pizzetta says. After a year of being open to the public, BRIT's goals and intent continue to be met by its new home, a building that successfully aids research and education as well as communicates to the public about the work it does. Pizzetta says, “All of the client’s feedback was about having a building that reflected their personality and their mission.”gb&d —Ashley T. Kjos

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Botanical Research Institute of Texas TOUGH BUILDS

17 Points scored in the Energy and Atmosphere category for LEED certification

The lobby has bamboo ceiling panels and reclaimed sinker cypress for the feature wall.

Installing a geothermal field in the parking lot and a rooftop photovoltaic array helped BRIT achieve LEED Platinum certification.

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proud consultant to the botanical research institute of texas

t Wo t WeLVe D e sig n fo r a b e t t e r e x p e r ie n c e s M

sustainable Design for signage, wayfinding, master planning and information graphics.

www.twotwelve.com

M/ Wbe certifieD

We’ve been accused of

fa n at i c a l craftsmanship – t o W h i c h W e p l e a d g u i lt y. We pride ourselves in working with others who have that same passion for excellence. As a team member and partner on the city creek center project, we are proud of this ambitious vision that has become a stunning reality. We would like to say thank you to city creek reserve, inc. for a job well done. Very well done.

city creek center

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TOUGH BUILDS

Urban Infill City Creek Center

City creek reserve

The retractable roof on the City Creek Center—the first of its kind in North America— provides natural airflow and sunlight while reducing the need for air-conditioning.

settlement

80% Material recycled from former structures on the City Creek Center site gbdmagazine.com

Although Salt Lake City is a young city, human settlements in the Salt Lake Valley date back thousands of years. The city itself is situated between the towering Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, across which cut the natural, mineralrich streams of Millcreek, Emigration Creek, and City Creek, which runs through the city and empties into Utah’s serpentine Jordan River, eventually leading into the Great Salt Lake. october–december 2012

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One of the many creeks that flow through Salt Lake City winds through the City Creek Center property.

History

23 Total acreage of the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City

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In 2003, City Creek Reserve began development of City Creek Center, a sustainable, multiuse, commercial and residential hub that would fill 23 acres of prime downtown real estate. Salt Lake City covers 110.4 square miles, but its downtown district is much more condensed, built surrounding the historic Salt Lake Temple, international headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and City Creek Reserve is the for-profit arm of the LDS church. Although the temple is not the oldest structure in Salt Lake City, its completion in 1893—after 40 years of construction— set a lofty precedent for other architecture in the district. The temple grounds span a range of two city blocks between West Temple Street and North State Street, and right across West South Temple Street were two malls—ZCMI and Crossroads—both of which were built during the 1970s and occupied two adjacent city blocks. City Creek Reserve purchased ZCMI and Crossroads, scheduled them for selective demolition, and began development with The Taubman Company on its new downtown epicenter.

Rebirth

The first challenge faced by the builders of the new LEED-ND Silver-certified City Creek Center was figuring out what to do with the shells of the ZCMI and Crossroads shopping centers. Linda Wardell, general manager of City Creek Center, says this actually offered an opportunity. “City Creek Reserve, Inc., Taubman’s partners in the project, began by selectively deconstructing the old malls, and in this process we were able to reuse all recyclable materials from the demolition to contribute to the building of the new center.” The conceptual importance of the location and name of the center was essential to its design. “The center has a 1,200-foot water feature running through it, designed to mirror the actual City Creek,” Wardell says. “It has live aquatic plants and was initially populated with over 200 live trout.” Historically, it was the fresh water of City Creek that led Brigham Young, pioneer of the LDS movement, to declare to his fellow pioneers, “This is the right place.” Based on its concept, size, and implementation as a central, downtownrevitalization building, City Creek Center uses its most innovative features—lowflow plumbing, automatic lighting and HVAC systems, its retractable roof—to make an equally bold architectural statement, as well as a claim for better communities. Whereas the former properties were exclusively dedicated to commercial use, the new center promotes revitalization by attributing multiple uses to a single project. “Neighborhood development was essential for this project,” Wardell says. “With a dynamic, mixed-use center in place, it will strengthen the business and the economic vitality of downtown Salt Lake City.” gb&d

City Creek Center TOUGH BUILDS

1,200 Length in feet of the development’s creekstyle water feature

The creek that runs throughout the mixed-use development features aquatic plants and was populated with 200 trout.

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City Creek Reserve designed and funded the entire project and recognized the potential of the center’s proximity to the Salt Lake Temple, the city’s highestvolume tourist destination. Because the project was privately funded at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, without public subsidy, the construction phase was able to sustain jobs for more than 2,000 subcontractors, who began work in 2006 and built through the midst of the national economic downturn. The 700,000-square-foot development, which officially opened in March 2012, is the first indoor-outdoor mall of its kind in North America. Its most distinct feature, Wardell says, is the retractable roof. “Aside from a retail center in Dubai, City Creek Center is the only other retail center in the world with a retractable roof,” she says. Salt Lake City has a semi-arid climate through most of the year. Regulating temperature in the retail center would normally create a substantial drain of energy. The retractable roof allows the center to suspend primary HVAC functions and convert the retail sections of the center to an outdoor mall when the weather allows. “It only takes four minutes to close the roof,” Wardell says. “And when the roof is closed, we have a building-automation system to enable our radiant heating or cooling system to keep the interior comfortable.” Adjacent to City Creek Center, and elemental to the project, is 2.1 million square feet of existing office space as

well as 800 new residential suites, some of which are located above the retail center. Richards Court, which includes two 10-story buildings on the City Creek campus, was certified LEED Gold, aided in part by the project’s neighborhood development scores. “As part of our responsible messaging for the project, we’ve also developed a concentrated effort to encourage people to access the center through alternate transportation methods, such as bicycling or public transportation,” Wardell says, explaining that the center is immediately accessible via TRAX, Utah’s public transit system, and that bicycle racks are located at all center entrances. “Sustainable building isn’t always budget-friendly, but when we built this center, we knew we were building for the long term. It’s important for the community, the ecology, and the future.” gb&d —Benjamin van Loon

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Remote Location west hawaii civic center

Richard Matsunaga & Associates

400,000+ Annual kWh provided by the WHCC’s rooftop photovoltaic system

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The West Hawaii Civic Center has more than cultural events; the complex has a zero-waste policy, bicycle parking, and electric-car charging stations.

island

Towering at 13,679 feet, Mauna Loa is only 120 feet shorter than Mauna Kea, the highest point on the island of Hawaii. Not to be outdone, Mauna Loa, which translates to long mountain, is nearly 50 percent of the island’s total landmass. Due to its breadth, Mauna Loa is the primary weather regulator on Hawaii, keeping rain on its eastern half while its western side stays drier, calmer, and—during the day—subject to the unrelenting rays of the equatorial sun. Kailua-Kona is a sunny, semi-arid coastal district situated near the island’s westernmost point. Respondent to substantial population growth over the past few decades and increasingly limited energy resources, civic officials on what Hawaiians call the Big Island had to find a way to continue serving their western constituents without draining public resources—or taxpayer bank accounts.

site The LEED Silver-certified West Hawaii Civic Center has a 320kW solar panel array on the roof of the parking garage.

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Traffic is heavy on the Kealakehe Parkway, the main artery on the west side of the Big Island. In order to ease congestion, the Ane Keohokalole Parkway, a nine-mile, midsize road, is being built to cut straight through Kailua-Kona, fostering new residential and commercial development. To provide a public resource for future growth in the area, planning for the West Hawaii Civic Center began in 2007. Completed in 2011, the WHCC is a $50 million, 80,000-square-foot building cluster that houses 15 county agencies, the mayor’s office, an amphitheater, and other services. Aided by its location on

a virgin lava flow—what architect Brent Tokita, AIA, LEED AP, of Richard Matsunaga & Associates calls “nature’s parking lot”—uninhibited exposure to the Pacific sun, and an average 10 inches of annual rainfall, developers treated the project as an opportunity to set a precedent for the district by utilizing sustainable building techniques and strategic capitalization of photovoltaic power.

complex

The WHCC campus consists of eight separate buildings situated around a central courtyard in order to maximize airflow coming off the shore, situated two miles to the west. “In addition to the placement,” Tokita says, “we also worked hard to follow the regional vernacular style, which is a hybrid of agrarian and industrial forms.” Will Rolston, energy coordinator for the County of Hawaii, adds that the project was especially important because it was the first one the county had completed using a design-build approach. As such, education played an integral part. “We wanted to minimize misunderstandings and ensure the whole team would be on the same page for accomplishing the sustainability goals of this project,” Rolston says. The project’s most notable sustainable element is the 250-kilowatt photovoltaic array located on the top deck of the WHCC parking structure. Although it was originally intended for placement on all rooftops, the fragmented style of the campus suggested that a centralized array would prove to be most efficient. “Aside from having an ideal orientation, placing the array on top of the structure allows us to provide shade for vehicles in the structure,” Tokita says. october–december 2012

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TOUGH BUILDS West Hawaii Civic Center

770 Oil barrels displaced annually by WHCC’s reliance on solar power

I N N OVAT I V E , I N T E G R AT E D, D E S I G N / BU I L D COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION Consistently voted as Hawaii's #1 Place to Work by Hawaii Business 808-545-6464

www.maryl.com

We are proud to have been a part of the West Hawaii Civic Center project

Government Commercial Multi-family Sustainable Design Interior Design Planning Construction Management Est. 1964

RICHARD MATSUNAGA & ASSOCIATES

“By centralizing the array,” Tokita adds, “we didn’t have to run the AC/DC lines from the inverters back to the distribution room, which also allows the WHCC to better power the emergency backup generator.” The array also marked another significant first for the county: a power purchase agreement (PPA). The WHCC needs 150 kilowatts of peak power during the day, which leaves an excess of 100-plus kilowatts, allowing the county to charge electric vehicles and generate revenue by selling excess wattage to the power company. “We requested that Maryl Construction, our design-build partner, write the RFP, which included a pro forma PPA,” Rolston says of the agreement. The photovoltaic RFP had an open range for the size of the array (building loads were not yet known), but Rolston’s first responsibility as energy coordinator was to bolster the design-build process by naming the designbuilder as the lead for the project, who was then able to work with the contractors and allow for streamlined bidding and installation of the photovoltaic and other functional systems. “The agreement between the county and the power provider gives us a pool of cheap renewable energy and allows flexibility for how we use our energy,” Rolston says. Aside from providing power for routine building functions, the arrays also provide power to five hybrid Chevy Volts, which save the county drivers roughly three dollars per gallon. Rolston adds that the county is installing a 100-kilowatt battery to store renewable energy made during the day, which will hopefully provide nighttime energy. The center only needs 50 kilowatts at night, and the goal is to eventually hit net zero. Tokita sums up the value of WHCC. “Consolidating these county offices and putting the energy under county control will greatly reduce their carbon footprint and energy usage,” he says. “Which is good for the county—and good for Hawaii.” gb&d —Benjamin van Loon

ARCHITECTS INC.

1150 South King Street, 8th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814 Ph: ( 8 08 ) 591-1818 Fax: ( 8 08 ) 591-1618 www.rmaia-architects.com

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GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN

Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List

198 Architect to Watch Jay Black 201 Common good GEDs + LEED GAs 203 Tech Talk Michael DeLacey 204 Material World e2e Materials 206 Solution McCaffery Interests 208 Index Advertisers 210 Show & Tell Origins of VanDusen

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Architect to Watch Jay Black, LEED AP

When you’re the largest holder of commercial real estate in the great city of Manhattan, there’s a certain exemplary duty that accompanies your holdings. SL Green Realty Corp. gets that. “We’re proud to receive recognition for our efforts to increase energy efficiency,” says Edward V. Piccinich, executive vice president of management and construction and board member for the Urban Green Council. Piccinich says the group’s efforts have continued to gain traction since the appointment of architect Jay Black, LEED AP, to the post of director of sustainability. We spoke with Black to learn what makes him and the SL Green team tick. Fifteen of your properties earned Energy Star Labels in 2011. They’re being touted as some of the most energy-efficient buildings in the nation. What does that mean to you? It’s indicative of how we operate and our dedication to bringing them up to the highest standards by conducting energy-efficient retrofits. It’s a representation of our program as a whole. Your position as director of sustainability was created in 2011. What has the journey been like? Back in 2007, we realized we could install LED exit signs and occupancy-sensor devices in tenant spaces. Nowadays, that’s just a standard. Next: what about the lighting in the offices? In 2008, we [upgraded] 22 properties . . . to high-efficiency fluorescent lighting. That project alone saved about $600,000 a year with a 1.6-year payback. It was

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dramatic. Then we said, if we can do these simple lighting fixes, can’t we do the same to heating and air? Where do you think technology is going from here? One of the key things I’m starting to see is addressing operational efficiencies, giving the engineers and managers of our buildings tools to allow them to optimize the building’s energy performance and run them even more efficiently. In terms of computer management? Yes. You want your system to notify you when something isn’t working at its peak optimization. In our [New York City] portfolio, we implemented a real-time energy-management program that shows us exactly how the building is using energy in five-minute increments. That was an important piece of information that helped

engineers understand when to start up or shut down the building during slower parts of the day. Since installing the program in 2009, cumulatively we’ve saved about $3.5 million, which is an enormous starting point.

have a positive impact. Last year we launched an education program where we met with every single tenant to explain how the building recycles, their role, and what they can do to improve. We saw on average a 20-percent improvement in recycling.

Who are the regulars you collaborate with on these projects? I rely heavily on several of our consultants. For the LED retrofit, we installed 7,500 Seesmart bulbs, which we consider to be the best available. We work closely with Code Green Solutions, [who] helped us achieve two LEED certifications. We’ve also been working with Carpet Cycle. We’ve recycled more than 2 million square feet of these products combined— that’s more than 750 tons of debris that we’ve kept out of landfills, which helped us win Armstrong World Industries’ national recycling award in 2011.

Would you say that’s the missing link: awareness? Definitely. I’m a huge proponent of dialogue. Most people want to get involved and do the right thing, and if you can provide them with the tools, you start to see a lot of success. It’s all about communicating. What we’re doing isn’t a profound task—sharing our message and talking—but it has a profound impact. Take water. In 2012 alone, we’ve gone throughout our properties and reduced our water usage by 8 million gallons a year just by changing our faucet aerators to half-a-gallon-per-minute flows. That’s it.

Do you think the social obligation is as important as the bottom-line savings opportunities? Of course. One thing I hate is for people to think about us as landlords and that we’re only concerned about energy efficiency because it translates to dollars. The reality is that we’re starting to see that all elements of sustainability can

These are amazing milestones, but it feels like business as usual for you. It’s about trying to implement methods that people can utilize every day without radical changes in how they conduct themselves. Yet they have positive impacts to both the business and the environment. That’s our guiding principle. gb&d

a message from SEESMART, INC. At Seesmart, Inc., we engineer and manufacture high-quality LED lamps and fixtures for general illumination in commercial and residential spaces. We have experience with all types of customers and can accommodate industry-specific needs. We deliver a rapid ROI, an industry-leading warranty, immediate energy savings, and true retrofit solutions.

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photo: samantha simmons

SL Green Realty’s director of sustainability discusses nascent technology, vital partnerships, and why dialogue is crucial to doing green business. Interview by Seth Putnam

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“One thing I hate is for people to think of us as landlords and that we’re only concerned about energy efficiency because it translates to dollars. The reality is we’re starting to see that all elements of sustainability can have a positive impact.” Jay Black, Director of Sustainability, SL Green Realty

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CarpetCycle: Leaders in carpet and construction recycling Continuing its commitment to sustainability, CarpetCycle, an innovator in post-consumer recycling solutions, recently opened its brand new facility located at 16 Herbert St., Newark, NJ. With more square footage and cutting-edge recycling technology, CarpetCycle is ensuring a brighter – and greener – tomorrow through its ongoing dedication to lighten the burden placed on today’s landfills by discarded carpet, acoustic ceiling tiles and gypsum wallboard. To learn more, contact 973-732-4858 or visit www.carpetcycle.com. 16 Herbert Street • Newark, NJ 07105 • Phone 973-732-4858 • Fax 973-732-4859 • info@carpetcycle.com • www.carpetcycle.com

(888)-HSQ-4ENG (888) 477-4364

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1.805.578.2536 • 4139 Guardian Street, Simi Valley, CA 93063 • www.seesmartled.com

HSQ Group is a Florida based Civil Engineering, Land Planning and Surveying Company. HSQ has been involved in aﬀordable housing projects with several developers, architects and local housing authorities. HSQ has been practicing Green building design since 2005 and has been involved in USGBC LEED projects for both residential and commercial developments. HSQ has been able to incorporate new green technologies into their project designs, while also including several cost cutting initiatives. Their dedication to high quality and ability to expedite the platting, site planning and permitting process have proven to be the critical components to their client’s success. Contact them for your next project at (888) HSQ-4ENG or visit their web site at hsqgroupinc.com.

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CIVIL ENGINEERING SURVEYING ROADWAY DESIGN MUNICIPAL UTILITIES RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL gb&d

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Common Good Earn Your GED, Become a LEED GA Green building isn’t enough for the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale. Yes, two new developments are pursuing LEED-ND status, but the organization and Carlisle Development Group are using green job training to create “economically sustainable” housing.

Northwest Gardens will offer 600 LEED-certified residential units by late 2013, but housing is only part of the picture. HACFL also offers apprenticeship programs.

photo: fernando lezcano

By Kelli McElhinny The thought of public housing often conjures images of aging high-rises or unsightly collections of squat concrete buildings. Numerous conversations have been held about how to design the most sustainable—in all senses of the word—affordable housing. Which is where the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale (HACFL) comes in. The organization is working to change public perception and is incorporating green building in the process. HACFL initially delved into green building with Dixie Court, a project for which the funders requested Energy Star certification, and as the organization embarked on its latest endeavors, Northwest Gardens and Kennedy Homes, it realized that LEED-ND status was within reach. According to Scott Strawbridge, HACFL’s director of development, the decision to move in this direction unfolded over time. “It wasn’t really a moment in time as much as the evolution of a process,” Strawbridge says of the project. “Now, we just don’t see how we could do it any other way.” Northwest Gardens is a four-phase apartment-and-townhome gbdmagazine.com

community that will offer nearly 600 LEED-certified residential units upon completion (expected in late 2013). The Kennedy Homes project, completed in fall 2012, is an update of a complex originally built in 1938, listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its roots as an all-white housing project in the segregated South. Residents must be either low-income or very lowincome, earning 60 percent or 28 percent, respectively, of the area’s median income, which is $62,600. Some units are reserved for seniors, and some of those are designed to meet the unique needs of grandparents raising grand-

“Sustainability for our communities means economic self-sufficiency for our residents.” Scott Strawbridge, Director of Development, HACFL

children. On all three projects, the housing organization partnered with the Miamibased Carlisle Development Group. “We constantly look for ways to conserve resources and reduce our impact on the environment,” says Kenneth Naylor, Carlisle’s chief operating officer. “As a result, we’ve been able to set a number of new green-building standards

for our affordable-housing communities.” Of course, buildings include green features such as efficient building envelopes, high-performance windows and dual-flush toilets, and civil engineering firm HSQ Group promoted eco-conscious infrastructure. For HACFL, though, sustainability is a multifaceted affair. “We’re october–december 2012

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Annual income of some of Kennedy Homes’ residents is $17,500, which isn't even a third of the Fort Lauderdale area’s median. Carlisle and HACFL are helping house the city’s low-income population and to do so in healthful ways. These trees provide shade and curb appeal, but at some HACFL developments, fruit trees provide connection to the Earth and an opportunity for earned income.

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landscape design to cabinetry, and according to Strawbridge, four Step-Up grads have been inspired to pursue LEED Green Associate credentials concurrently with their GED. Individuals who pass the exam will be rewarded with a scholarship to the USGBC’s annual conference, Greenbuild (p. 25), which is held in San Francisco this year. Strawbridge says the hands-on experience is vital. “We don’t just give them a certificate,” he says. “We give them a resume.” One Step-Up participant boosted that resume by working on an agricultural project in Ghana, an effort that eventually earned her a place among Google’s Young Minds. Not only are Step-Up

participants able to make a material contribution to their communities, they’re also generating income to sustain the program. Strawbridge notes that Step-Up gets 85 percent of its funding from earned income. One avenue for that income is the organic vegetable garden containers and tropical fruit trees that are integrated into social and green spaces throughout the communities, which present another vehicle for social enterprise. Stands are staffed, and fruits and vegetables are sold to residents at a discount. “Sustainability for our communities,” Strawbridge says, “means economic self-sufficiency for our residents.” gb&d

ABOVE The USGBC’s South Florida chapter awarded the Northwest Gardens development the 2011 GalaVerde award for Outstanding LEED Multifamily Project.

photo: fernando lezcano

turning our affordable housing into economically sustainable housing,” Strawbridge says. “Economic sustainability is often a forgotten part of the equation.” That sentiment is reflected in HACFL’s Step-Up Apprenticeship Program, which was established in 1994. The program, which is funded by a grant from the Department of Labor, provides community residents with 4,288 hours of field and classroom training in construction. It also offers GED courses on-site. The Step-Up program also serves as a training site for the National Center for Construction Education and Research, and it offers experience in all the trades, from

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Tech Talk Michael DeLacey Combining leading software tools with methods like BIM, Microdesk has played a crucial role in furthering sustainability within our built environment. Cofounder Michael DeLacey gave us the scoop on what’s next in architectural-design technology. (Here’s a hint: it starts with an “i”). By Benjamin van Loon “Cloud computing represents a huge technological trend towards efficiency,” explains Michael DeLacey, president and cofounder of Microdesk. “In today’s market there are a lot of high-profile projects pushing for new technology. It’s our job to facilitate that.” DeLacey founded Microdesk with Robin Adams in 1994, and the company is now headquartered in New Hampshire with 12 offices nationwide. As an organization, it’s constantly seeking new ways to bolster efficient technological practices for architecture, engineering, and construction, meshing software from Autodesk, Oracle, Google, and Adobe with digital building methods. With recent advancements in mobile technology and cloud computing, DeLacey says, “the effects of sustainability in the AEC industry could be huge.” DeLacey used his background in computer science and civil engineering to start working for a small Autodesk/ AutoCAD retailer in 1990. “I fell in love with the product,” DeLacey says. “After working there for a few years, my business partner [Adams] and I purchased that company’s computer products division and started Microdesk.” gbdmagazine.com

As computing technology speedily evolved throughout the 1990s, drafting software had the potential to become more accessible to architects and engineers, forgoing the need for paper drafting. “This was a big transition,” DeLacey says, “and the need for education and consultation services was huge.” The back-and-forth relationship between developments in the AEC and software industries further iterates the need for companies like Microdesk, DeLacey says. “Architects and engineers know what they need—visualizations of their work—but they don’t always know how it’s possible,” he says. “Education is essential.” For the past 18 years, education has been Mi-

crodesk’s mission. Since 2010, Microdesk has been growing 30 percent per year, and this number continues to rise. As technology and computing becomes more accessible to a wider range of people—and devices—the need for advanced technical computing education and consultation is as urgent as ever. “It almost sounds cliché, but it’s true—the iPad has had tremendous importance,” says DeLacey, who sees the iPad as one of Apple’s greatest accomplishments because it has succeeded in bringing mobility to the masses. “There has always been a desire to get information out of the office and into the hands of the people who need it.” These new mobile devices—iPads, iPhones, tablets, Droids—allow for seamless transition of technical information to the maintenance workers in the field. As mobility increases, DeLacey sees Microdesk meeting a twofold need within this increased tendency toward sustainability. “It is our goal

to help companies increase efficiency, and BIM is a big part of this,” DeLacey says. “It is a more efficient way to document design intent, it is a more efficient way to go through the construction process, and it provides better information to the operations and maintenance process.” He also thinks cloud computing signifies an industrywide trend toward operational centralization and efficiency. By concentrating all computing and storage in a cloud, information is more accessible by a wider range of devices but, on a physical scale, reduces energy expenditure. “Computers generate a lot of heat. With cloud computing, those computers are no longer necessary,” DeLacey says. “You can take them off the floor and significantly reduce building-wide energy use. “The goal with all of this,” he continues, “is teaching people how to fish, and not fishing for them.” Understanding and incorporating new software and technology allows Microdesk to teach others how to execute the BIM process and increase efficiency on their own terms. “As new analysis capabilities come to bear,” DeLacey says, “and as the cloud continues to proliferate, Microdesk will continue educating and consulting with designers, contractors, and operators on how to leverage technology and boost efficiency.” gb&d

iPads aren’t just for fun. Microdesk created a tablet visualization for Mount Vernon Group using Autodesk Revit and 3ds Max to help a client and community members see a new school facility. Welcome to the future of building.

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Material World The Biocomposite Revolution If we’re accepting philosopher Thomas Kuhn’s definition, a paradigm shift happens when a specific scientific view becomes inadequate for the present world. The people at e2e Materials would say we’re in the midst of such a shift right now. “The world is dynamic,” says president and CEO Pat Govang. “With e2e’s biocomposites, we’re transforming the material industry, and the way people think about design.” We bring you notes from the revolution. By Benjamin van Loon

Pat Govang has plenty of reasons to smile. The former director of the Cornell Center for Materials Research holds one of the keys to a greener future.

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Progressive Research Preliminary research on e2e’s biocomposites began in 1992 at Cornell University, where Govang was working as the director of the Cornell Center for Materials Research. “I was working with a professor who had a background in synthesizing high-performance composites involving various resin systems and Kevlar and carbon-fiber composites,” Govang says. As the research came to show that it was possible to integrate two unlike materials, the professor was able to foresee how these materials would lead to cause environmental problems, so he began research on the synthesis of new, natural-binding systems that used soy flour as the chemical backbone. “In the early 2000s, there was considerable interest forming in green and sustainable solutions,” he says, “So with our technology and expertise, e2e was an outgrowth of that.”

Shifting Paradigm “University technologies, like those we had developed at Cornell, can be very unique, but if there’s not a fit for them in the marketplace, they lose their value,” Govang says. While Govang and his partners were shopping around e2e, they utilized the momentum of the shifting paradigm to establish and fulfill a unique design need. With nearly $3.5 million in funding from various capital venture entities, such as Seed Capital Fund, Excell Partners, and NYSBTIF, and a biodegradable biocomposite equipped with 28 different patents and comprising 28 different natural fibers and resins, e2e is positioned to establish its offerings in markets totaling more than $65 billion. “With our formulated material and various project solutions,” Govang says, “our goal is working with customers to get these products into the marketplace.”

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The e2e material is made from agricultural feedstocks, including soy beans, kenaf seed, kenaf stalk, and flax seed.

Soy Flour, et al In 2004, formaldehyde was officially declared as a carcinogen, and many states began setting limits on its use in industrial design. “[e2e] doesn’t use any formaldehyde, petrochemicals, or other synthetic, carcinogenic materials in the construction of our products,” Govang says. “We receive consistently high marks for safety and sustainability.” The composites are made from soy flour and grass fibers such as jute, flax, and kenaf, a woody-stemmed plant cultivated for its fiber throughout Southeast Asia as well as in the United States. They are bound with natural epoxies to ensure sustained tensile strength, which is on par with glued particleboard and MDF. However, unlike these toxic materials, the construction of e2e biocomposites requires a third less energy to produce and has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the materials industry.

e2e biocomposites range in strength but can equal that of midrange steel. Although you could dance atop this desk, we suggest that there may be other reasons not to.

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Made in USA (Really) Although most wood materials are made from 4’ x 8’ sheets that are sawed, routed, and sent for manufacture, e2e biocomposites are highly moldable and render this intermediate step obsolete; therefore, enabling a more dynamic design approach. “This saves on time and energy,” Govang says, “and it substantially boosts efficiency.” e2e also incorporates what it calls regionally integrated manufacturing (RIM) for the material sourcing and jobcreating schemata at its new 100,000-square-foot facility in Geneva, New York. RIM demands that the fibers that go into the e2e biocomposites be grown within a 100-mile radius of the manufacturing facility. Not only does this create new “green collar” jobs for people in the region, but it also reduces manufacturing costs and carbon footprints associated with transportation and processing. “For each manufacturing job we create in our facility, which totals around 200, we create five agricultural jobs,” Govang says.

Facility Siege e2e Materials recently launched a new line of office products—desks, cabinets, boards, acoustic materials—that have multiplied the demand for e2e materials. “Right now, we fit in best with LEED-certified projects where groups are starting to look for solutions in commercial buildings that contribute to a LEED status,” Govang says. “We are able to boost customer LEED scores, and this offering helps us dispel the misconception in the marketplace that green products are more expensive.” With the RIM schemata in

place, e2e also has plans to convert existing particleboard and MDF facilities into e2e Materials facilities. This has the potential to create more than 15,000 new jobs and save 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. “We can take pride in that we are manufacturing items sourced from our neighbor’s feed stocks,” Govang says, “and we’ve been blessed with more demand than we can handle. We want to build a better American manufacturing paradigm that is cost-effective, environmentally conscious, and creates new jobs.” gb&d

P R I MER

Biocomposites UP CLOSE Pros

Cons

+ Dynamically designed. e2e biocomposites are moldable and more versatile than their wood-pulp counterparts. + Cost-neutral. The materials are competitively priced with other nonsustainable products. + Bio-based. e2e biocomposites are entirely bio-based and biodegradable, and as an added benefit, they are naturally flame-resistant.

— Longevity. Because e2e biocomposites are biodegradable, ensuring durability is one of e2e’s primary concerns. Synthesis of new, natural lacquers and polymers are being developed.

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Solution Localizing Lincoln Park In 2012, the veteran developer McCaffery Interests won the chance to create something new in the heart of Chicago. The problem was that there were already too many cars. Its solution? A mixeduse development heavy on sustainable features, striking just the right balance between progress and preservation. By Erin Brereton

Background When Children’s Memorial Hospital moved from its Lincoln Park location— its home for 130 years—to Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood in June 2012, it left behind a parcel of prime real estate. After submitting credentials detailing its experience working on green mixed-use, transit-oriented projects for more than a decade, McCaffery Interests was selected from eight candidates to develop the site. Armed with a site-reuse feasibility study by the City of Chicago, the group plans to take ownership of the property in late 2012. Challenge Lincoln Park is home to a university serving more than 25,000 students and

a 68,000-plus population, according to the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce / Nielsen Solution Center. Yet the neighborhood stood to lose a significant amount of people—approximately 1.5 million patients, doctors, and other individuals per year, according to the hospital’s estimates—when Children’s Memorial closed. Any new development needed to attract consumers without vastly increasing the neighborhood’s number of cars. “This site is in a highly dense area with a lot of traffic and a lot of pedestrians,” says McCaffery president Edmund Woodbury. “We wanted to reduce the impact of automobile traffic.” McCaffery wasn’t alone in its concerns about the environment. More than a half-dozen vocal community groups raised questions about

Lincoln Avenue, the street bisecting the former hospital campus, is a designated bike route. McCaffery Interests plans to make good use of alternative transit options.

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“The development community would be building the same buildings today that we were 20 years ago if we weren’t challenged by these new green features.” Edmund Woodbury, McCaffery Interests

how the renovation would affect the environment and several early-20th-century-era buildings on the site. Solution Several aspects of the property, including its proximity to a city-designated bike route, along with the addition of bike storage and shower facilities, should help reduce car use and encourage employees to pedal their way to work. McCaffery also hopes the selection of retail tenants will entice locals to stop by. “If you’re providing convenient goods and services for the residential community,” explains Pamela Austin, McCaffery’s project manager of development, “they don’t have to drive [elsewhere].” During the project’s early planning stages, McCaffery met about 30 times with local groups to hear their thoughts on the preservation of the site’s older buildings and new development. “Developers sometimes say, ‘What could I do with the land if I tore everything down?’” Woodbury says. “Our view involves looking at how some facilities can be creatively reused.” Indeed, McCaffery hopes to keep more than half the buildings on the site, adding modern systems to increase energy efficiency. New and renovated structures also will receive eco-friendly features like green roofs, which provide water-conservation capabilities and a scenic spot for residents to relax that benefit both the environment and surrounding community. “We want to make the roof into something that interests people and is an amenity to the development,” Woodbury says, who credits green design elements such as lush roof systems with providing the construction industry a new source of eco-friendly inspiration. “The development community would be building the same buildings today that we were 20 years ago if we weren’t challenged by these new green features,” Woodbury says. “They’re good for the environment— and for developers.” gb&d gbdmagazine.com

• Heating Ventilating & Air Conditioning • Building Automation/ Environmental Controls • Energy Management/ Economic Analysis • Sustainable Green Design • Geothermal Systems Engineering • Site Utilities

Engineered Solutions and Energy Economics for our Essential Environment

• Plumbing Design • Fire Protection Systems • Power Distribution

Vinokur-Pace exhibits dedication to completeness, accuracy and attention to detail, but most importantly to an open minded approach to project requirements whether institutional, commercial, residential or industrial to allow for unique and innovative investigation into intergrated architectural-engineering design solutions. established 1961

980 Davisville Road Willow Grove, PA 19090 www.vpes.com 215.885.5900

• Power Conditioning & Protection • Lighting Design • Life Safety Systems • Fire Alarm Systems • Information Technology • Multi-Media Systems • Security Systems

october–december 2012

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Index

Advertisers A

A.F. Smith Electric, 43 ABM Industries, 42 All State Engineering, 35 American Society of Landscape Architects, 8 Aqua Master Fountains and Aerators, 124 Architek, 129 Asphalt Pavement Alliance, 48 Ausonio, 182 B Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, 38 Big Ass Fans, 11 Big-D Construction, 190 Birdsall Services Group, 169 Branch Construction Services, 184 Byce & Associates, 79 C Carl Stahl DecorCable, 124 Carpet Cycle, 200 Cedar Grove Composting, 173 Chelsea Group, 42 CitiesAlive, 72

Citigroup, 57 Civil & Environmental Consultants, 129 Colbond, 114 Commonwealth Edison Company, 85 CPH Engineers, 65 CST Covers, 211 D DCYSA Architecture & Design, 69 Devcon Construction, 38 Dillon Design Associates, 38 Dranoff Properties, 110 DSI Mechanical, 164 E e2e Office, 35 EasyTurf, 112 EDG Architects, 29 Eleven Western Builders, 65 Enterprise Lighting Sales, 164 Erlau Furnishings, 112 Evapco, 24 EwingCole, 62 Excel Dryer, 45, 209 F Firewise Communities, 114 FM Facility Maintenance, 86

Freeman Morgan Architects, 64 G Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, 2 Guzen Samton • IBI Group, 85 H Hanover Company, The, 4 Hewitt, 29 Hiller Albert Design Group, 57 HSQ Group, 200 I Infloor Sales and Service, 112 J Jakob, 124 JDRM Engineering, 72 John E. Green Company, 45 Johnson Controls, 62 K Klai Juba Architects, 69 L Lakeside Interior Contractors, 99 M March Associates, 79 Mark One Electric Company, 103 Marous Brothers Construction, 99 Maryl Group, 196 MiaGreen Expo & Conference, 30 Mitsubishi Electric, 43 Morrison-Maierle, 64

N Nemetschek Vectorworks, 212 Nitsch Engineering, 55 O Oliver & Company, 103 P Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, 52 PG&E, 42 PGAL, 154 Premier Construction Products Group, 108 Premier Materials Technology, 182 Progressive Roofing, 91 R Republic Services, 180 Richard Matsunaga & Associates, Architects, 196 Robert Derector Associates, 158 Rufus Dunright, 158 S SageGlass, 164 SAIC, 35 Schneider Halls Design, 24 SeeSmart, 200 Selbert Perkins Design, 190 Selbert Perkins Design, 207 Slocum Architects, 79

Smooth Energy, 169 Structure Tone, 55 T Thermal Engineering Corporation, 91 ThreeSixty Architecture, 124 Timberline Construction, 158 Toledo Mirror & Glass, 180 Two Twelve, 190 V Van Note-Harvey Associates, 55 Vinokur Pace Engineering Services, 207 Viridian Energy & Environmental, 52 Vitruvian, 72 Voss Lighting, 173 W WM. J. Keller & Sons Construction Corp., 45

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PUNCH LIST

Show & Tell Orchidaceae Origins From obscure photograph to architectural wonder. The Perkins+Will team, led by Peter Busby, takes us through its inspiration for the design of the VanDusen Visitor Centre.

photos: samantha simmons; perkins+Will

Somehow, this photograph of an orchid plant, taken by German photographer Karl Blossfeldt and published in his book The Alphabet of Plants, caught the attention of the VanDusen design team.

The mission of a botanic garden is one of conservation, so our team agreed the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre should have the same purpose. An image of a native orchid taken by Karl Blossfeldt was the inspiration for the organic form of the project. The building is organized into undulating green-roof ‘petals’ that float above curving rammed earth and concrete walls. Mimicking natural systems, the building is designed to collect water, harvest sunlight, and store energy until needed. Through mapping and analyzing the garden’s ecology, our team was able to integrate natural and human systems, restoring biodiversity and ecological balance to the site. The building’s green roof and surrounding landscape were carefully designed to include native plants, forming a series of distinct ecological zones. A vegetated land ramp was included to connect the roof to the ground plane, encouraging use by local fauna. Old-growth trees were carefully preserved to facilitate an ecologically balanced system of wetlands, rain gardens, and streams. The VanDusen Visitor Centre is pursuing the Living Building Challenge, which promotes the most advanced measurement of sustainability in the built environment possible today. gb&d

See mo the Van re of D Visitor usen Centre on p. 1 25

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