can your office save
G r ee n B u i ld i n g & D e s i gN j a n u a r y + f eb r u a r y 2 0 1 3
chad oppenheim A chat (and a swim) with Miami’s coolest starchitect p14
paradigm SHft With Adrian Grenier & Peter Glatzer p104 The Flip Side of Paradise LEED Platinum housing on Oahu’s west coast p108
HEALTHIER HEADQUARTERS Novus, Trimble, BASF, and more p70
LEADERS IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
www.shive-hattery.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
In This Issue
COVER STORY Five case studies on corporate headquarters reveal new priorities on
the new corporate office
employee wellness, p. 70
A tour of SHFT’s hyper-sustainable studio space in the W Hollywood Residences, p. 104
hollywood's BIG shft
Adrian Grenier and Peter Glatzer
want you to care about the Earth—in a new, nonthreatening way, p. 104
On a forgotten coast, Oahu’s LEED Platinum Kaupuni
photos: Jim Roof (Nashville); Group 70 international (Hawaii)
Village, p. 108
homes nashville for renewed hawaii Investment begets investment. How Hastings Architecture and Hawkins Partners are revitalizing the Music City, p. 50
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
3
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Table of Contents Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List p11
p29
p49
p69
p89
p103
p117
p159
p169
4
january–february 2013
gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
12 Editor’s Picks 14 Guest Editor Chad Oppenheim 19 power up Harvest Power 21 scene AHR Expo 2013 22 Notebook Alan Oakes 24 Defined Design Mack Energy Corporate Headquarters 26 Defined Design Sherbourne Common Pavilion
30 31 33 34 34
Design
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Curry Automotive Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburg Monmouth University Barre Housing Authority DEvelopment
37 Conifer Realty 38 The Michaels Development Company 39 Food Lion 41 43 43 45
Corporate headquarters
70 76 79 82 86
Novus International Trimble Rockies Welch Allyn BASF North America DaVita World Headquarters
90 95 98 100
Terminal B, San Jose International James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute Fairmount Avenue Homes Posty Cards
104 108 114
SHFT, Adrian Grenier & Peter Glatzer Kaupuni Village, Department of Hawaiian Homelands Discussion Board
operations
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Kansas City Royals St. Alexius Medical Center Hillsborough County School District
Live
118 122 125 126 129
41 Bond Indigo Park Sunshower House Sonoma Family Farm Rockhill Personal Care Building
160 163 166
in progress Mount Vernon Mill net plus MARET Center net zero Paisano Green Community
170 toolbox New year, new styles 171 Material World Colbond 172 greater good San Antonio Housing Authority 174 Architects to Watch Vahid Mojarrab & Jonah Stanford 176 supply chain C&L Supply 178 Show & Tell Mike Winters
Plus Editor’s note Index People & Companies VERBATIM Joshua Host & Brett VERBATIM Fred Turner VERBATIM Tom Stewart VERBATIM Joseph S. Berman Index Advertisers
7 10 27 47 115 157 179
Shaves
play
50 56 58 60 63 65 68
Nashville Brooks Institute for Sustainability Whole Foods Berea College OCV Architects Iowa City Crowder College
132 Rancho Valencia 134 Bagley Outdoor Classroom work
135 Hilton Foundation Headquarters 138 Terrell Place learn
140 144 145 146 149
Marshall Conant Science Building Lupton Library Newberg Center History Colorado Center Dugoni School of Dentistry
heal
150 SECU Cancer Center 154 Anderson Pavilion 156 Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
5
InnovatIon
InSpIratIon
InformatIon
®
INTERNATIONAL AIR-CONDITIONING • HEATING • REFRIGERATING EXPOSITION
January 28-30, 2013
Dallas Convention Center • Dallas, Texas Co-Sponsors:
Honorary Sponsor:
Build a Sustainable World... With the Latest in: Building Automation & Controls • High Efficiency Heating & Cooling Systems • Energy Management Solutions • Alternative Energy Options from Geothermal to Solar • Resources for LEED-Certified Building Design • Building Information Modeling & Software Innovations • Energy-saving HVACR Products • Plus, Educational Sessions on Leading-edge Technologies, Trends, and more
The World’s Largest HVACR Marketplace FREE ONLINE REgIstRatION: Produced and Managed by:
www.ahrexpo.com
tel: (203) 221-9232 • e-mail: info@ahrexpo.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Editor’s Note Got Health Benefits?
photoS: samantha simmons
Almost every afternoon, I take a walk. I head east toward Lake Michigan, past Millennium Park and the pavilion dedicated to cancer survivors. The ritual is simple but vital. It gets me out of my chair and away from a screen; it gives me a breath of fresh air and a small dose of exercise. Studies repeatedly show that all these things improve productivity and personal well-being, which further increases output because fewer sick days are taken. So it’s really no wonder that some of today’s largest corporations, such as BASF, DaVita, and Novus International, are building green headquarters. They’re better for the environment, employee health, and the company’s bottom line. In our cover story, a case study of five new corporate offices (p. 70), you’ll find workspaces that offer walking trails, butterfly gardens, rooftop cafeterias, even ‘Zen rooms,’ not to mention sustainable building materials that ensure high indoor air quality. It’s all part of the way we work now, or should—a company’s offices ought to be considered part of its health-benefits package. Buildings that promote health for people and the environment are popping up all over. Some especially incredible innovation is happening in our low-income housing: the net-zero Paisano Green Community in El Paso (p. 166), the sun-loving Fairmount Avenue Homes in Chatanooga (p. 98), the urban gardens at San Antonio’s Lewis Chatham Apartments (p. 172). Even in Hawaii, a large portion of the native population lives below the poverty line, but the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is building green to provide economic and environmental relief (p. 108). The wellness benefits of eco-friendly design are especially appreciated by the Molina family, who has spent far more time at the Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin than any family should have to. Lisa Molina’s son, Thomas, was diagnosed with leukemia at age three. On p. 22, Alan Oakes, who met gbdmagazine.com
the family as a chaplain, talks with Lisa and Thomas about how their hospital experience changed once the green, healthful Dell CMC opened, which Lisa says is “beautiful and soulful, and even sacred.” Two people who understand the human potential of sustainability are the creators of SHFT.com, a website and brand founded by actor Adrian Grenier and independent film producer Peter Glatzer. They run SHFT out of a converted penthouse suite in the Residences at W Hollywood and produce short films, bottle their own wine, and have spurred a new kind of dialogue on sustainability. The two saw the proclamations of climate catastrophe as the ecological equivalent of a sidewalk preacher’s message of eternal damnation. True or not, no one’s listening. “I think the overarching narrative of SHFT . . . is that the need for us to react to climate change issues can be tackled by tapping into the creative spirit that we all have as human beings,” Glatzer says. Our interview and tour of the new studio is on p. 104. As usual, there’s much more to sink your teeth into here than what I’ve mentioned—like the fact that our guest editor is none other than Miami starchitect and ‘regenerative’ building advocate, Chad Oppenheim (p. 14). For health reasons, I recommend taking the magazine, or iPad—did I mention our newly designed tablet edition?—outside, or at least sit by a window because here at gb&d, we think that a little sunlight goes a long way. Cheers,
Timothy A. Schuler Managing Editor tim@gbdmagazine.com january–february 2013
7
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Masthead gb&d ®
Green Building & Design
Media Inquiries
gbdmagazine.com
Guerrero Howe Custom Media guerrerohowe.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Advertising inquiries
ceo / publisher
Christopher Howe, chris@gbdmagazine.com
Laura Heidenreich, laura@gbdmagazine.com, 312.447.2394
Christopher Howe
Laura Heidenreich, laura@gbdmagazine.com
EDITORIAL INQUIRIES
Pedro Guerrero
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Timothy Schuler, tim@gbdmagazine.com, 312.256.8487
Vice President OF SALES
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Kathy Kantorski CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Karin Bolliger MANAGING EDITOR
Timothy Schuler SENIOR DESIGNER
Aaron G. Lewis Copy Editor
Melanie Loth Staff Writer
to order REPRINTS
Stacy Kraft, reprints@guerrerohowe.com, 312.256.0460 SUBSCRIPTIONS
For a free subscription, please visit gbdmagazine.com/sub MAILING
Green Building & Design magazine 205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 3200, Chicago, IL 60601
PRESIDENT
Titus Dawson Vice President OF SALES
Krista Lane Williams Executive Director of business development
Justin Joseph director of client services
Stacy Kraft DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Cheyenne Eiswald ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Benjamin van Loon
Rebekah Mayer, Traci Saiz
CORRESPONDENTS
SALES executives
Matt Alderton, Erin Brereton, Annie Fischer, Jeff Hampton, Scott Heskes, Jennifer Hogeland, Ashley T. Kjos, Russ Klettke, Julie Knudson, Michelle Markelz, Kelli McElhinny, Jennifer Nunez, Lindsey Howald Patton, Seth Putnam, Suchi Rudra, Lynn Russo Whylly, Julie Schaeffer, Tina Vasquez, Laura Williams-Tracy
Giovanni Avila, Emily Boyd, Maggie Coleman, Logan Distefano, Benjamin Fongers, Elise Fox, Brett Gehrig, Brendan Healy, Jessica Holmes, Gianna Isaia, Alex Kalpaxis, Brittany Reidy, Candice Stockstell, Bobby Stone, Jennifer Ublasi
Senior pHOTO EDITOR / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Samantha Simmons pHOTO EDITOR / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Sheila Barabad Editorial Research Manager
Tom Joiner Researchers
Matthew Klein, Caitlyn Moore, Michelle Ruiz, Jessica Smith
Controller
Linda Wolf Staff accountant
Mokena Trigueros HR GENERALIST
Diana Schnekenburger operations manager
Adam Castillo EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS
Ashley Bigg, LeeAnne Hawley Office Manager
Printed in South Korea. Reprinting of articles is prohibited without permission of Guerrero Howe, LLC. Green Building & Design® is a registered trademark of Guerrero Howe, LLC.
8
january–february 2013
Samantha Childs
gb&d
Sustainability is essential, and gb&d is essential to sustainability.
Join the conversation! @gbd_mag
gb&d
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
GREEN TYPOLOGIES GUEST EDITOR
G R E E N B U I L D I N G & D E S I G N J U LY+ A U G + S E P T 2 0 12
AT PLAY ISSUE 20+ CASE STUDIES ON RECREATIONAL DESIGN
GREEN GRAND SLAM The Mariners, Twins, & Padres prove the value of sustainability 75
APOGEE, KING OF STADIUMS Inside the nation’s only LEED Platinum football stadium 132
ZAHA HADID’S SHRINK-TO-FIT AQUATICS CENTER FOR LONDON 2012 118
PRI N T + DIGITAL E DITIO NS Fully redesigned and social! Find us in the App Store or at gbdmagazine.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Index People & Companies
# 41 Bond Street, 118 A AHR Expo, 21 American Society of Landscape Architects, 70 Aniston Village Limited Partnership, 66 Antonov Stone Work, 120 Aramark, 61 Architectural Visions, 31 Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, 149 Audi Urban Future Initiative, 12 B Bagley Outdoor Classroom, 134 Barr & Barr, 142 Barre Housing Authority, 35 BASF, 82 Basilice, Joseph, 125 Bass, Carmela, 176 Beacon Capital Partners, 138 Beckham, Hunter, 72 Berea College, 60 Berman, Joseph S., 157 Blue Water Baltimore, 161 Boettger, Michael, 38 Bonneville Mortgage Company, 38 Boyt, Art, 68 Brasfield & Gorrie, 152 Bridgewater State University, 140 Brooks Institute for Sustainability, 56 Brooks School, 56 Bulbrite Thread Series, 170 Burrow, Todd, 43 C C&L Supply, 176 C&G Construction, 125 Camden County Housing Association, 37 Campbell-Anderson & Associates, 133 Campbell, Jake, 31 Carinci, Bob, 31 Cassidy Turley, 138 Castle, Chip, 35 Castro Ramírez, Lourdes, 172 Charles D. Jones Co., 165 Chattanooga Housing Authority, 98 Chen, Simon, 132 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 155 Cichon, Gerald, 167 City of Pittsburg, 33 Cochran, Liz, 155 Colbond USA, 171 Collier, Will, 56 Conifer Realty, 37 Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, 135 Consuelo Foundation, 110 Cooper, Mary Ellen, 63 Cor Building, 18 Costantino, Bernard, 95 Crespo, P. J., 45 Crowder College, 68, 164 Curry Automotive, 31 D Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, 41 Daniel Smith & Associates Architects, 126 Darger, Lisa R., 144 DaVita Inc., 86 Day, Vicki, 91 DDG Partners, 118 Dell Children’s Medical Center, 22 Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, 109 Dierenfeld, Ellen, 72 Dodger Stadium, 176 Domus Development, 33 Dyal Compass, 122 Dyal, Candace, 122
10
january–february 2013
E EAM Associates, 38 Efficiency Vermont, 36 Energy Service Group, 43 EnerNOC, 130 Enkadrain, 171 Enterprise Community Partners, 98 Enterprise Green Communities, 99 Excel Dryer, 176 F FACIT Homes, 13 Farish, Mike, 58 Fentress Architects, 92, 179 Ferandel, Rene, 58 Firestone EPIC System, 136 Fisk, Amy, 147 Food Lion, 39 Franklin Development, 173 Franklin Theatre, 54 Fritzmartin Electric, 120 G Gaffney, Paul G. II, 34 Gagnon, Bill, 176 Gannaway, Chuck, 53 Garmong Construction Services, 30 Gates, Nick, 57 Gehry, Frank, 17 General Electric Pension Trust, 138 Gilliland, Nathan, 19 Glatzer, Peter, 104 Golub Corporation, 157 Green Communities Criteria, 98 Green Life Brooks, 56 GreenbergFarrow Architecture, 58 Gregory, Robin, 171 Grenier, Adrian, 104 Griggs, Rebecca, 86 Group 70 International, 110 GTL Construction, 31 Guevara, Veronica, 172 Guthrie, Peter, 118 H H. Thomas O’Hara Architect, 120 Hammond & Company, 127 Hammond, Bruce, 127 Harsco Industrial Patterson-Kelley, 87 Harvest Power, 19 Hastings+Chivetta, 61 Hastings Architecture Associates, 50 Hawkins Partners, 52 Hawkins, Gary, 53 Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects, 98 Heliodyne, 127 Hellmuth + Bicknese, 61 Hennebery Eddy Architects, 145 Hensel Phelps, 91 Hill, Kathryn, 147 Hillsborough County School District, 45 History Colorado, 147 Hopper, Russell, 68, 165 Hosey, Lance, 12 Host, Joshua, 27 Housing Authority of the City of El Paso,167 Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburg, 33 I Interface FLOR, 170 International Exposition Company, 21 Iowa City Free Medical Clinic, 66 Iowa City, 65 J Jacobs Engineering, 42 James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, 95 James Perse Ping Limited Edition Pong Table, 15 Jericho Project, 64 Jessee, Erick, 100 Johanson, Doug, 43 K Kai, Kimo, 110
Kang, Meea, 33 Kansas City Royals, 43 Karcher, Steve, 60 Kaupuni Village, 110 Kawneer North America, 147 Kiawah Partners, 122 Kinnard, Judith, 125 Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers’ Association, 37 Kovach, Jeff, 138 Kronenberg, Craig, 98 Krug, Jarrod, 76 L Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 70 Lewis, Richard, 91 Lin, Tiffany, 125 Locke, John, 152 Long, Dale, 30 Long, Steve, 65 Lorenz, Dietmar, 126 Low & Bonar, 171 Loyd, Tony, 41 Ludeman, Julie, 41 M Machemer, Clark, 82 Mack Energy Corporation, 25 Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion, 155 Mark One Electric Company, 43 Marshall Conant Science Building, 140 McCabe Community Center, 52 Mission Hospital, 151 Mission Foundation, 152 Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) Center, 164 MKK Consulting Engineers, 148 MOA Architecture, 86 Mojarrab, Vahid, 174 Monmouth University, 34 MoSA, 174 Mosher, Bill, 87 Mount Vernon Mill, 160 Mousseau, Jack, 86 N Nadurra Eco Collection, 170 Navarra Design, 127 Navarra, Kathleen, 127 NBBJ Architects, 156 New World Symphony, 17 Newberg Center, 145 Nordtank, 165 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, 91 Novus International, 70 NuCedar, 123 O O’Brien, Marianne, 149 OceanSafe, 125 OCV Architects, 63 Oppenheim Architecture+Design, 15 Oppenheim, Chad, 14 Orsee Design Associates, 93 OZ Architecture, 76 P Packard, John, 57 Palladia Inc., 63 Palm, Brian, 56 Payette Architects, 142 Petersen, Rick, 76 Portland Community College, 145 Postlethwaite, Carl, 100 Posty Cards, 100 Powell, David, 50 Price Chopper Supermarkets, 157 R Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, 132 RATIO Architects, 30 Rebar, 13 Rechnitz Hall, 34
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Lighting Research Center, 80 REOSE, 125 Residences at W Hollywood, 104 Robert Silman Associates, 120 Rockefeller Group Development Corporation, 82 Rockhill Mennonite Community, 129 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 30 Rothman, Mark, 92 S Salimbene, Rory, 46 Salmela, David, 134 San Antonio Housing Authority, 172 Sawatsky, Ron, 129 Scarola, Colleen, 36 Seabold, Mark, 66 Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic, 156 Seigel, Fred, 139 Sellew, Paul, 19 Sharp, Nicole, 132 Shaves, Brett, 27 Shaw, John, 66 Sherbourne Common Pavilion, 26 Sherwin-Williams, 87 SHFT Studio, 104 SHFT.com, 12, 104 Shive-Hattery, 66 Shreffler, Garrett, 151 SieMatic, 123 Siliken, 167 Silver Line by Andersen, 37 Simons, Thad, 72 Skyline Sky-Lites, 147 Smith, Benny, 39 Smith, Dan, 126 SmithGroupJJR, 149 Snarski, Nicole, 139 SolarWindow, 170 Sonneborn, 87 Southern Adventist University, 47 Southern Illinois Healthcare, 115 Spanfelner, Scott, 79 Spirit of Women Park, 97 St. Alexius Medical Center, 43 Stanford, Jonah, 174 State Employees' Credit Union, 151 Stevens, Clay, 21 Stewart, Tom, 115 Stockwell, Will, 57 StudioGee Architecture, 58 Surftech Laird Wood Paddle Board, 17 Swannack, Patricia, 34 SWT Design, 72 T TellEmotion, 57 Terra Nova Ventures, 160 Terrell Place, 138 The California State University, 176 The Department of Housing and Urban Development, 98 The Michaels Development Company, 38 The Ohio State University, 95 The Regen Group, 125 The Shape of Green, 12 Tompkins Bluestone, 118 Torcon Energy Services, 34 Tosh.0, 15 Trammell Crow Company, 86 Trane, 165 Trimble Rockies Office, 76 TRO Jung | Brannen, 152 Tryba Architects, 147 Tryba, David, 147 Tufaro, David, 160
U
Turner Construction, 82 Turner, Fred, 47 Tyroler, Evan, 138 United States Botanic Garden, 70 United States Navy, 34 UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership, 65 University of Iowa, 65 University of Minnesota Duluth, 134 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 144 University of the Pacific, 149 Urban Village Development Company, 27 V Van Atta Associates, 135 Van Atta, Susan, 135 Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, 36 Viracon, 147 Vitto, Richard, 64 Vondriska, Don, 70 W Wagle, Ralph, 30 Walbridge, 46 Walkscore.com, 98 Welch Allyn, 79 Wellspring Clubhouse, 129 Whole Foods Market, 58 Winters, Mike, 179 Woodward Design+Build, 125 Workshop8, 167 Writer’s Studio, 13 Wrynn, Jennifer, 140 Z Zipcar, 34
gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 12
14
19
Guest Editor
Chad Oppenheim on going 100% local Power Up
Harvest Power makes energy from garbage
21
scene
22
Notebook
24
26
gbdmagazine.com
Editor’s picks
Our favorite resources for urban design
Preview of AHR Expo 2013
Alan Oakes on a family’s view of green design Defined Design
Mack Energy Corporate Headquarters Defined Design
Sherbourne Common Pavilion
january–february 2013
11
UP FRONt
Editor’s Picks
So much of sustainability is just getting a little more creative with the ways we work. Whether its Audi’s international think tank or Lance Hosey’s new book on the intersection of design and psychology, people around the globe are solving big problems with small, simple changes. Of course, creativity requires inspiration, which is where we come in. A design firm to watch, a studio to study, a fabrication method to consider, even a website for downtime diversions—it’s all right here.
12
SHFT.com
Audi Urban Future Initiative
The Shape of Green
What do Van Jones and Andrew Bird have in common? The same thing as Urbio’s modular planters and the oceanic advocates at the TerraMar Project: SHFT.com. A Web platform devoted to sustainability culture, SHFT was founded by Hollywood producer Peter Glatzer and actor Adrian Grenier (yep, Vinny Chase from Entourage). The two are devoted activists, yet they aren’t interested in environmental fear-mongering, which is why they post Cornell University’s offer to pay $50,000 for an ivory-billed woodpecker right alongside a Technicolor pop-art fish made out of recycled plastic. To top it off, they make their own wine, sustainably of course. By all means, check out the website, but read our feature on p. 104 too. It’s not every day we get to talk to movie stars.
Remaking our cities is not at the top of every car company’s to-do list. But Audi saw that just as “the car shaped the city, the city will shape the car” and launched the Audi Urban Future Initiative in 2010, an interdisciplinary think tank that includes an architectural award, a symposium, and research teams. In August 2012, it teamed up with Architizer to send a blogger named Lindsay Rule across the United States with naught but a smartphone and a solar-panel-fitted backpack. No money. No car. The goal was to test the limits of social networks. Rule used Twitter, Facebook, Airbnb, and other networks to find beds, rides, and meals, and she arrived safe and sound in San Francisco (that’s her photo above) just 14 days after leaving Boston. Okay, Audi, you’ve got our attention. Let’s talk about the future.
“Picture two objects. One uses energy conservatively but is dull, unsightly, or uncomfortable. The other is gorgeous but a glutton for fossil fuels. Which is more likely to endure—the responsible one or the ravishing one?” In his new book, Lance Hosey gets at what he calls a fundamental design flaw: letting the need for energy-efficient buildings trump our desire for beautiful ones. Hosey, a veteran of sustainable design who served as a director at William McDonough + Partners and leads sustainable-production consultancy GreenBlue, makes a strong argument for intelligent buildings we also love. Smart, well-written, and accessible to professionals outside the design field, The Shape of Green is worth checking out—especially since the fractal pattern on the cover has been shown to reduce stress, just by looking at it.
shft.com
audi-urban-future-initiative.com
shapeofgreendesign.com
january–february 2013
gb&d
Photos: Courtesy of Audi; FACIT Homes; Elliott Kaufman (Writer's Studio)
Go ins ide SHFT’s swank y new ec o-stud io on p. 1 04!
UP FRONt
Cooper Joseph Studio designed a near-perfect place to work with its woodland Writer’s Studio in Ghent, NY.
New York writer’s studio
FACIT’s on-site fabrication
Rebar
Cooper Joseph Studio’s 525-square-foot Thoreaumeets-Brooklynite workspace in Ghent, New York, is just as natural as its woodland surroundings. In fact, most of the building is wood, which is also its main source of heat. An interior of walnut—used on everything from the polished floors and the furniture to the sliding doors and bathroom sink—is warmed in the winter by a stove that burns wood harvested on-site, helped by the black-stained cedar exterior, which absorbs solar energy. It’s a clean, clutter-free studio that’s perhaps a luxury for most working writers but also a showcase of smart sustainability.
Prefab homes are nothing new, but digital fabrication and 3-D printing technologies are growing so fast, we don’t even remember what they looked like when they were born. FACIT Homes, of London, caught our eye with its practice of bringing a CNC (computer numerical control) machine on-site and fabricating the building materials right there. Not only is there essentially no waste, but there also are no emissions or other environmental consequences that come from the logistics of shipping. It’s a process the company thinks is ideal for both self-builders and contractors, and it ensures an extremely airtight envelope, which will help homeowners keep warm air inside the house. With a growing list of clients, we hope the FACIT idea will continue catching on.
Here’s what we know about Rebar: It’s a design studio in San Francisco. It’s worked with the city’s planning department, the always great Carmel Partners, social game-maker Zynga, and TriMet, Portland’s transit authority, just to name a few. It’s behind PARK(ing) days all over the world, which turn parking spots into public spaces. It’s completed a band shell made entirely out of reclaimed materials, a pop-up garden in front of City Hall, and an armada of ceramic nests for the Rhinoceros Auklet, a nearly endangered seabird, on Año Nuevo Island, between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. City planners, jot this website down.
cooperjosephstudio.com
facit-homes.com
rebargroup.org
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
13
UP FRONt
Guest Editor Chad Oppenheim
14
january–february 2013
UP FRONt
Photo: Courtesy of Ian White (Daniel Tosh); NASA/JPL (Sun)
James Perse Limited Edition Ping Pong Table We just purchased the most amazing dining table for a house we are doing that converts into a regulation ping-pong table. This table is not only fun and functional, but it is incredibly elegant in its bold minimal form. Made of reclaimed teak, the table is gorgeous and green. James Perse is an amazing designer of lifestyle accoutrements such as clothing, furniture, bikes, skateboards, and other personal transporters. This table is his tour de force, and I believe it represents his relaxed and stylish aesthetic. I am looking forward to playing some matches on it soon. jamesperse.com
gbdmagazine.com
You can’t talk about leading architect Chad Oppenheim without talking about Miami, the home base of Oppenheim Architecture+Design. The city informs his designs, just as his buildings have transformed the city. Oppenheim holds a bachelors degree in architecture from Cornell University and a certificate in Industrial, Product, and Graphic Studies from Harvard, and his work has earned numerous awards from the AIA.
As gb&d’s guest editor, Oppenheim shared his five favorite things right now, reviewed the New World Symphony by Frank Gehry, and talked to us about civilization, earthships, The Fountainhead, and Miami’s intriguingly eco-friendly ethos—he says it’s been about “enhanced lifestyle since its conception.”
TOSH.0
The Sun
Comedy Central’s dirty little secret. I came across Daniel Tosh’s program after my TiVo malfunctioned and accidentally recorded some moments of his show before it recorded John Stewart as programmed. Beyond being insanely vulgar, he is insanely funny. His boy-next-door appearance and biting wit make his half hour show nonstop laughs to almost the point of tears. His curated tour of the Web is both high-tech and hysterical. It is sometimes painful to watch, as he is incredibly insulting to pretty much everyone, yet you have to keep tuning in for more.
I am very much into siting our buildings to optimize their interaction with the path of the sun. This could be to create exciting light and dark contrasts or to align the structure in ways similar to ancient civilizations, where they used architecture to register and record the passage of celestial bodies. The world has grown smaller and smaller as we connect globally in an instant, but we have somehow become disconnected from the Earth. Through our architecture, we are trying to reconnect man with its habitat and the wonderful beauty of moments as simple and sensual as sunsets and sunrises, where architecture simply becomes a means toward enhanced appreciation of nature.
tosh.comedycentral.com
january–february 2013
15
UP FRONt
Details Location Miami Beach, FL Completed 2011 Client New World Symphony Architect Frank Gehry Landscape Raymond Jungles
The New World Symphony has a huge white wall that is used for outdoor movie screenings.
16
january–february 2013
gb&d
UP FRONt
“Not since Cinema Paradiso has an outdoor theater been this much fun.” Chad Oppenheim, on the New World Symphony building
NEW WORLD SYMPHONY, MIAMI BEACH The New World Symphony is a simultaneously restrained and radical urban gesture from the man who brought form back into architecture. Situated in the center of Miami Beach, the New World Symphony is the only full-time US orchestral academy, preparing musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles. The building, which occupies roughly one third of a city block, maintains a stoic presence from the exterior. In typical Frank Gehry form, there are some amazing architectural gymnastics, but they are mostly contained within a simple box. This is incredibly refreshing, as Gehry’s form language is even more potent and powerful when foiled against a more subdued and situated backdrop. What is most amazing here is not the form of and in the building, but what Gehry is able to offer to the people of Miami. The beautiful, 2.5-acre public park, known as Soundcape and designed by the Dutch architectural firm West 8, has a 7,000-square-foot projection wall on which concerts, video art, and films are shown—free of charge. Not since Cinema Paradiso has an outdoor theater been this much fun. The park and its ‘Wallcasts,’ as they’re called, become the living room of the city, bringing together people from all walks of life. The scale of this space feels both intimate and vast at the same time. There is also a roof garden, designed by Miami’s own landscape superstar Raymond Jungles, that has one of the most beautiful views of Miami Beach. The fun also continues inside as Gehry is in full effect with his artistry of taking what could be a stagnant program and magically transforming it into full-scale Baroque sculptures. The magic culminates in the main auditorium where huge sails collect moving images during the masterful performances of Michael Tilson Thomas and his protégés. Miami Beach is not known for its cultural sophistication, but this building is a game-changer for the city at a global scale. And if you’re in the neighborhood, Herzog and de Meuron’s parkinggarage-on-steroids is only a few blocks away.
gbdmagazine.com
Local Materials I love using locally sourced materials in our architecture whenever possible. Typically this is mostly stone, wood, and metal, either new or reclaimed. These building materials are from the Earth, so it helps to make the architecture merge with its surroundings. I am a big believer that architecture outside of urban or developed areas should do everything possible to disappear within the landscape. We have reached a tipping point where we cannot afford to destroy any more natural vistas. Furthermore, local materials root the project in a particular place, which makes it highly site-specific as well as ecologically sensitive. Some of the most amazing local materials we use are in abundance and free— the sky, light, water, vegetation, and other natural resources.
SuRFTech Laird Wood Stand-Up Paddle Board I’m really crazy for stand-up paddle boarding and go out a few days a week on my Laird Wood Board. I’m usually out by 6:15 a.m. and cruise a few miles across the bay to an uninhabited island overlooking downtown Miami. Artists wrapped the island in pink fabric 29 years ago as part of a project. Though their artistic bravado isn’t there any longer, there are a number of birds in this native mangrove habitat. After a quick swim and some in-water meditation, its back on the board for the return trip home, where I jump in the pool with my two kids for a quick swim before school and work. Thankfully the climate is always amazing, so I get to do this all year.
surftech.com
january–february 2013
17
UP FRONt
Dialogue Chad Oppenheim
We asked our guest editor to tell us how he came to sustainable design, what’s most important to his architectural process, and what happens during a creative block. We learned a lot, including the fact that he doesn’t care for the term ‘sustainability.’ —Melanie Loth Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is a tricky word because ‘to sustain’ really means ‘to keep the same.’ What we’re trying to do with our work is to be regenerative, more restorative, so that the buildings are actually giving back to the environment and creating habitats. How did you come to sustainable, or regenerative design? I became interested when I was seven years old. My parents were building a house in the midst of an energy crisis, so they planned to put in a windmill and some solar panels. Unfortunately, our neighbors didn’t like the windmill too much. Another time was in 1992. I built an earthship out in New Mexico under this maverick environmental architect named Michael Reynolds. It kind of triggered that we can design in a way that is more sensitive and really be one with the land. I want architecture to not only revere nature but hopefully also help nature, because over the years, we have destroyed nature for our benefit. Your Cor Building is known for it’s obviously sustainable design. How do you want the visible design of a building to bring awareness of the environment? That building has become a bit of a poster child for green architecture, but for me, the idea was just to make the most ecologically responsible building for that site. This building had to be designed holistically; things aren’t clipped-on or greenwashed. Typically, in an urban condition, [green aspects] have to be more visible just because the buildings are taller. When we’re doing them in a rural setting, we want to really hide them so they don’t become visible, and then we try to hide the buildings so they aren’t visible either. It’s really contingent on the building and the location.
Cor Building, Miami How else does the physical environment of a project shape your design process? It’s what shapes it the most. We study the development of civilizations. I know it sounds kind of lofty, but we try to see how the first people inhabited these regions and built structures from the land, and we try to be inspired by them. Before technology, air-conditioning, climate-control, and heat, these people were able to live in relative comfort with just ingenuity—not technology. And then we study the climate, where the sun rises and sets. The site and the context is of prime importance to us and really the genesis of all our design moves. And living in Miami—how has that changed your design perception and ideas about the environment? Miami is a great place in that it’s a city that has been about enhanced lifestyle since its conception. That has been the focus of all design and all development in the city. The city’s very ethos has always been about creating a better way of living. The idea of creating this lifestyle has also become a basis of our work in that we are really designing for experience than merely what a building looks like. Being able to create an entire environment or atmosphere beyond the architecture has been a very important part of our work. Do you carry that aesthetic to projects in other cities then? I would say its more of a philosophy of living than an aesthetic. It’s how you do it and how you create the sensorial experience that is what you’re going
“Before technology, air-conditioning, climate-control, and heat, people were able to live in relative comfort with just ingenuity—not technology. We try to be inspired by them.”
18
january–february 2013
to remember, and the architecture doesn’t have to be complicated to be interesting or pleasurable. In fact, sometimes the more elemental and recessive the architecture can be, the more pleasurable the experience is. What is the best advice you’ve been given as an architect? Every couple years I read The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand’s epic novel, and I try to think, “What would Howard Roark do?” He is very true to himself, and he pursues his dreams because of his passion. What about advice for others? You have to love what you do. You have to be really passionate about it and have a philosophy that you can really support and chase after. We have a really cathartic and extensive process that we go through when we design a building. It’s almost anthropological in that we’re kind of uncovering the answer in an intense study of the site, intense investigations in the history of architecture. It’s a journey. And it’s the built environment; we need to make sure that what surrounds us is beautiful and helpful to people and moving society forward in a good way. Your buildings have so much creativity in the design. We’re curious, how do you push through a creative block? [Our creative process] is pursuing with great vigor whatever we think is the best solution. We keep investigating, and we keep going until we find what we’re looking for. We don’t know where it is, and many times we don’t even know if we’re going to find it (laughs). It’s very rare that we find it right away. It’s more, “Holy crap, how are we ever going to find this solution?” And we just keep going, stay optimistic, and it usually happens toward the end.
gb&d
UP FRONt
Photos: Justin Eckersall
Power Up Harvest Power wants what’s left of your lunch A renewable energy source doesn’t have to be any farther than a garbage can. Just ask Paul Sellew, cofounder and CEO of Harvest Power, an odd but innovative addition to the energy sector. “Unlike wind and solar energy, which are intermittent, we produce renewable energy 24/7.” Harvest Power makes energy by using anaerobic digestion to break down organic material such as food scraps, grass, and brush into biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, which can be used to produce electricity—at any time. Sellew started Harvest Power in 2008 with Nathan Gilliland, an industry executive who formerly managed $2 billion in utilities, power generation, and consumer product investments. “We felt that throwing organics out as waste materials was something that should change,” Sellew says. “We were dedicated to taking materials and repurposing them to higher and better uses.” Although all businesses are potential organic material providers, certain businesses, such as grocery stores, large restaurants, and industrial food processors, are particularly good candidates. The company also sells the nutrient-rich mulches, fertilizers, and soil by-products created during the process to professional landscapers and homeowners. Relying on a landfill-based waste-management system is a short-term solution to disposal and energy-source problems, Sellew says. “Those materials, from a value standpoint, are lost forever,” he explains. “The notion of putting waste on a truck and driving miles to a landfill, putting it in a hole, and covering it does not make sense.” Just a few months ago, Harvest Power opened two commercial-scale ‘Energy Gardens’—one in Richmond, British Columbia, and one in London, Ontario. The London facility processes 65,000 tons of organic materials per year; the Richmond facility processes 40,000 tons from both businesses and private gbdmagazine.com
65,000
Tons of organic waste Harvest Power can process—turning it into energy—each year at its plant in London, Ontario
POWER FROM TRASH? PLEASE EXPLAIN...
Paul Sellew
What is Harvest Power’s renewable energy made from? Food waste from grocery stores, restaurants, and industrial food processors, as well as leaves, grass, and wood brush. What’s the process? Anaerobic digestion, in which microorganisms break organic matter into methane and carbon dioxide, which can then be turned into electricity. Why create power this way? The EPA estimates that between 30 and 35 million tons of food waste is generated in the US each year. That waste could be used to create clean, renewable energy to power homes and other buildings.
january–february 2013
19
UP FRONt
2.5m
Food waste is broken down in large tanks like this one by microorganisms that release gases to be turned into electricity.
Number of homes that could be powered with just 50% of the USA's food waste
IN
year of materials that can be repurposed to make energy.” In 2011, Harvest Power was named to the Global Cleantech 100 list, produced by the Cleantech Group and the United Kingdom’s Guardian News and Media. The list denotes the top private clean-
DE
ROUP RS G OF
C
O
NIES
MAPL
PA
E
M
RE
residences to help power Vancouverarea homes. Sellew says most countries are taking their cues from Germany, which has been an anaerobic digestion pioneer. “Germany has created a good road map with the development of its renewable energy industry,” he says, “and to a large degree, the US has followed it.” With good reason. “By the EPA’s own admission, 30–35 million tons of food waste is generated each year in the US,” Sellew says. “Add in leaves, grass, and wood brush, and that’s 40 million tons per
YEARS
INTEGRITY IN BUILDING EXELLENCE Since 1967
Design/Build Construction Management P3 Project Delivery Maple Reinders is a construction company serving clients in the industrial/commercial/institutional, municipal infrastructure, and environmental sectors across Canada.
HARVEST POWER BIOGAS - RICHMOND, BC
KELOWNA WWTP
RCMP FACILITY (GOLD SEAL) - PRINCE GEORGE, BC
PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING - WEST KELOWNA, BC
Photos: Justin Eckersall
HARVEST POWER BIOGAS - RICHMOND, BC
energy companies—who provide environmental technologies or processes that offer competitive returns for investors and customers—that are poised to make the most significant impact in the next five to ten years. Power to ’em. gb&d —Erin Brereton
20
january–february 2013
gb&d
UP FRONt
Green Scene AHR Expo 2013
The AHR Expo, the world’s largest HVACR event is celebrating 83 years this month, and a lot has happened since the “International Heating and Ventilating Exposition” opened its doors in 1930. It’s grown from 273 exhibitors in its first year to more than 1,900 today, and it attracts nearly 30,000 contractors, engineers, architects, distributors, wholesalers, and manufacturers’ reps from across North America looking for solutions for a greener planet. We spoke with Clay Stevens, president of AHR Expo organizer International Exposition Company, about the exciting things going on at this year’s expo. Interview by Lynn Russo Whylly
ASHRAE puts on even more seminars as part of their Winter Conference held concurrently with the show. We manage a track ourselves on building automation. This year, we added a plumbing track. There is a solar track and one on building commissioning. Both BACnet International and Lonmark International offer tracks on how their automated control protocols work. We also have sessions run by the Cooling Technology Institute, the American Boiler Manufacturers Association, and the US Green Building Council, to name a few.
What is the Innovation Award? Stevens: This is a competition between exhibitors in 10 categories (software, How important is the role that susplumbing, green building, building autotainability is playing in HVACR? mation, heating, cooling, refrigeration, Clay Stevens: Very important. Sixty ventilation, indoor air quality, and air percent of the folks who came to last conditioning). Exhibitors submit a prodyear’s show in Chicago were specifically uct in one or more categories. A panel interested in high-efficiency of between 10 and 12 ASHRAE equipment, which figures into members are the judges. There Details sustainability. Indoor air qualis a winner in each category What ity is also high on their list. and an overall product of AHR 2013 Expo the year is chosen, which is When What type of educational considered the most innova Jan. 28–30 tracks can people attend? tive and useful. A presentation Where Stevens: AHR Expo offers ceremony takes place at the Dallas Convention Center, Dallas over 100 presentations, and show. gb&d
Getting Out What to see and do while at the AHR Expo in Dallas
A free self-guided art walk. A 3.3-mile route highlights 30 pieces of art and architecture in the Arts District and downtown Dallas. It starts at Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora St.) and includes Louis Kahn’s iconic Kimbell Art Museum (pictured). The Texas Discovery Gardens, which has 7.5 acres of diverse garden styles and botanicals. Native plants from around the world are on display along with a butterfly house and insectariums. Located at 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The Dallas Farmers Market, where local farmers sell a mouth-watering selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, and flowers. A perfect open-air market, at 1010 S. Pearl St., for a leisurely stroll and sightseeing.
photos: spirit of america / Shutterstock.com (pioneer plaza)
Web ahrexpo.com
Pioneer Plaza at Young and Griffin streets downtown. The bronze, larger-than-life steers and their cowboy escorts, adjacent to the Dallas Convention Center, are located on the actual Shawnee Trail Drive of the 1850s and compose the largest bronze monument of its kind in the world.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
21
UP FRONt
Notebook Alan Oakes: A family’s view of a green hospital
22
january–february 2013
Alan Bell, AIA, LEED AP, is the director of design and construction at Seton Network Facilities and is overseeing the new addition to Dell. He can easily list the new wing’s sustainable design features, which include a vast rooftop solar array and a remarkable air-purification system. Bell told me that because the hospital is
seeing a reduction in patient stays and an increase in staff retention in the new facility, it’s commissioned an analysis of how sustainable design is impacting patient outcomes. “Was it a result of the sustainable building or just being in a new facility?” Bell questioned. “This is hard to say without the data analysis.”
Lisa Molina’s son Thomas has battled leukemia since he was three years old. In 2007, he began treatment at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin.
photos: john durant photography
Whenever Thomas Molina asked me if he was going to die, he would follow up the question with a small, simple statement: “I don’t want to die.” Thomas was diagnosed with leukemia just after his third birthday. The cancer went into remission, but he was diagnosed again when he was 11 years old—old enough to know what was happening and to ask time and time again the same question: “Am I going to die?” I got to know the Molina family as a hospital chaplain when Thomas was first diagnosed with cancer; I have witnessed and been a part of their quiet struggle to save their son’s life. After the second diagnosis, Thomas went through another round of chemotherapy, which meant spending a lot of time in a hospital, just like during his first battle with cancer. Fortunately for the Molina family, the brand-new Dell Children’s Medical Center had just opened its doors in their Austin community in 2007. “I distinctly remember walking through Dell CMC with my jaw dropped in amazement, thinking how I wish this had existed when Thomas was in treatment from 1999 to 2002,” Thomas’s mother, Lisa, told me later. The medical center was founded with a grant from Michael and Susan Dell, and when it opened, it boasted bar-setting sustainable design and became the first medical facility in the United States to earn LEED Platinum status. The center was an immediate hit, so much so that the hospital will open a new tower in May 2013, increasing its total number of beds by more than forty percent. The new addition hopefully will become the first medical facility to secure Platinum status for LEED’s new health-care rating, which is pushing green technology in a medical setting as never before.
“The courtyards make it different from other hospitals I’ve been to. They also have the colored and stained glass, which I like a lot, and a lot of windows that allow more sunshine in.” Thomas Molina, Dell CMC patient
For Thomas, who is now sixteen and continues to fight for a full recovery, Dell CMC has become a second home. He still goes to the hospital two times a week. Because of his time in health-care facilities, he’s become a connoisseur of sorts. And he likes what he sees at Dell. “It looks much nicer, and the courtyards make it different from other hospitals I’ve been to,” he told me. “They also have the colored and stained glass, which I like a lot, and a lot of windows that allow more sunshine in. There’s also a game room where I can play video games to get out of my room.” “Dell doesn’t seem like a prison with low ceilings and artificial light and narrow hallways,” Lisa added. “Believe me, we’ve been there, done that, and it’s depressing.” The new tower at Dell will retreat further from any prison design, again featuring the garden-like courtyards that Thomas and his mother find so appealing. Lushly planted with native greens and flowing water features, the six different green spaces act as the lungs of the buildings, providing cooler fresh air to the sophisticated air-filtration systems as well as allowing 60 percent of indoor spaces to receive natural light. Bell said the design choices at Dell CMC were, of course, intentional. “It does not look like, feel, or smell like a hospital, which can all be traced back to design decisions made in support of the sustainable design,” he said. “Those factors take away the ‘scary’ for kids visiting the hospital.” Lisa understands how the design of Dell is a healing agent for Thomas and the rest of her family. “I especially love the natural light, open space, original art, and of course, the interior courtyards with the flowing water, which are just relaxing and healing,” she said. “I spent many days and weeks there, and I know in my heart that all these aspects helped me through very rough times. More importantly, they helped both my children. Thomas would love to go outgbdmagazine.com
The Dell Children’s Medical Center has outdoor gardens and stained glass windows to promote a happier, healthier atmosphere.
side to the courtyards when he was able, and my younger daughter considered the hospital a playground. She still asks to go play with the interactive art at the front entrance. I’m sure it helped her cope with the stress of Thomas’s treatment, and the fact that her life revolved around his for a very long time.” Too often when we think of green design, we can get lost in the technical achievements, but we have to remember that sustainable design ultimately serves our own very fragile human needs. The green design movement is explicitly linked to the health of humankind. Lisa and Thomas know this better than most. “Dell is incredibly beautiful and soulful, and even sacred,” Lisa said. “When you have personally known so many children there who have fought or are fighting for their lives or have taken
their last breath there, I personally try to be mindful of these kids and to feel their presence every time I go there.” Thomas is a true cancer warrior; unlike many kids his age, he’s had to confront his own mortality. Perhaps because of his own personal fight, he understands the fragility of life more intimately. It is why he believes his generation is so passionate about the environment—there are no guarantees in life. We must treasure what we have and fight to keep it. gb&d
Alan Oakes is an architectural historian, writer, documentarian, and regular contributor to gb&d. Drop him a line at alanoakes@gbdmagazine.com.
january–february 2013
23
Sustainable features of the Mack Energy headquarters include rainwater harvesting, reflective glass, efficient plumbing fixtures, and use of daylight and shading.
UP FRONt
Defined Design Mack Energy Corporate Headquarters In the green world, oil and gas can be dirty words, but the new Mack Energy offices in New Mexico are helping to smooth out those rough edges.
landscape’s native creosote bush, yucca, and cactus. The Mack Energy building’s color palette reflects the Chihuahuan landscape while a 33-foot-tall water wall inside feeds into a small interior pond.
details
in·te·grate (verb) \ˈin-tə-ˌgrāt\ to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole. Both pragmatically and aesthetically, the Mack Energy headquarters integrates industrialist functionality and modern architectonics to achieve a cohesive, contemporary workspace. The 50,000-square-foot building centers on a two-story atrium that features steel girders supporting a corrugated, warehouse-like roof while natural stone walls and indigenous wood elements provide enclosure.
Location Artesia, NM Completed 2012 Size 56,000 ft2 Client Mack Energy Corporation Architect Van H. Gilbert Architect Civil Engineer Bohannan Huston Structural Engineer Desert Eagle Engineering MEP Engineer Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers Acoustic Engineer Stan Roller and Associates General Contractor Jaynes Corporation
The two-story atrium lobby of the headquarters lets huge amounts of natural light into the building.
con·trary (adj) \ˈkän-ˌtrer-ē\ being not in conformity with what is usual or expected. The corporate headquarters of Mack Energy, an oil and gas exploration, development, and production company, appears contrary to popular opinion regarding the oil and gas industries. The dynamic structure maximizes daylighting via a double-volume atrium, captures rainwater on-site, and uses reflective roofing and pavement shading to reduce heat island effect, helping keep energy costs low and conserving vital New Mexican resources. des·ert (noun) \ˈde-zərt\ arid land, usually with sparse vegetation. Artesia, New Mexico is seated in the southeast part of the state and in the heart of the Chihuahuan Desert, an ecosystem whose approximately ten inches of annual rainfall are enough for the
state·ment (noun) \ˈstāt-mənt\ something stated, as a single declaration or remark. By volume and dimension, the Mack Energy headquarters makes a strong design statement to the surrounding corporate architecture. The gently oblique roof is suggestive of oil drilling rigs interposed on the desert landscape while the curtain wall brings transparency and natural light to the inner offices.
photos: Paul coulie photography
re·sponse (noun) \ri-ˈspän(t)s\ something constituting a reply or a reaction. In response to societal expectations and employee concerns, the building site features covered employee parking and walkways, as well as pecan trees, shrubs, and various ground covers, which complement the site-sensitive xeriscaping. Suspended walkways and a precast lobby staircase join administrative and research functions from separate floors to promote interaction. gb&d
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
25
UP FRONt
Defined Design Sherbourne Common Pavilion
Teeple Architects conceived the Sherbourne Common Pavilion as a representation of the lost stream that used to run through the historic site and into the lake.
details Location Toronto Completed 2011 Size 1,540 ft2 Client Waterfront Toronto Architect Teeple Architects Civil Engineer The Municipal Infrastructure Group Structural Engineer Quinn Dressel Associates MEP Engineer Cobalt Engineering LEED Consultant Cobalt Engineering Water Features Vincent Helton General Contractors Eastern Construction Co, MJ Dixon Construction
26
january–february 2013
art (noun) \ˈärt\ the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also works so produced. The Sherbourne Common Pavilion in Toronto represents the potential of public projects to function as works of art. The $27 million waterfront centerpiece was designed by Teeple Architects in collaboration with designer Phillips Farvaag Smallenberg and artist Jill Anholt, and the project earned both LEED Gold certification and an honorable mention from the Toronto Urban Design Awards, as well as a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. gal·va·nized (adj) \ˈgal-və-ˌnīzd\ (iron or steel) coated with zinc. The steel structure of the pavilion is completely galvanized. The zinc is not only a nod to the waterfront’s industrial past, but also an implicit recognition of the element’s mineral importance in public health. Anti-corrosive, the unpolished pavilion exterior will wear evenly as it ages, while the pavilion underside is polished to allow for maximal sunlight.
mi·cro·evo·lu·tion (verb) \ˈmī-(ˌ) krō-ˌe-və-ˈlü-shən comparatively minor evolutionary change. Seated on Toronto’s formerly industrialized waterfront, the pavilion is an early and integral microevolution within the greater transformation of Toronto’s waterfront. More than 13 acres of public space will be added around the site in the next decade, and plans include new space for 6,000 residential units and 3 million square feet of commercial space. prec·e·dent (noun) \ˈpre-sə-dənt\ something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind. Despite housing bathrooms, changing rooms, concessions, and mechanical operations for the park, the topographically distinct architectonics of the pavilion spite the often-used field-house pragmatism. It sets a strong precedent for new waterfront architecture and acts as both a view from the city to the park and from the park to the city. gb&d Photo: Shai Gill
Zinc is an essential mineral. It’s in our water, it’s in our food, and people of Toronto, it’s in your buildings. Teeple Architects’ new waterfront pavilion makes mineral magic.
gb&d
verbatim
“The amount of land that has been gobbled up with backyards, driveways, and roadways just doesn’t make sense.”
verbatim
When we came together to found Urban Village Development, it was kismet. Our philosophy is ‘live-workplay,’ and our idea for that was based off of a cluster-city model involving innovative neighborhood concepts by making community resources for work, play, and leisure all within walking distance. Based on that vision, our markets are focused in downtown LA, Long Beach, and San Diego. Two thousand ten was an interesting time in real estate. The market was dictating something different. We had an opportunity to create new space in some dense urban areas, and we’ve worked hard to build a lot of local relationships. For Urban Village Long Beach, for example, we worked with St. Mary—a hospital just across the street—to create a physician residencyhousing program, eliminating residents’ daily commute. We are in discussion with Zipcar and will provide bike sharing to reduce resident dependency on automobiles. We believe there is an art behind real estate development. Where you are should be a place you can call home, a place you can work, and a place you can play. But above all of that, we’re also interested in creating an experience. We spend a lot of time looking at how a person can gel in an environment. In Long Beach we worked with local artists and people behind the culture, and we put together a cool list of amenities: a gypsy den, ultra
ABOUT In 2011, Joshua Host and Brett Shaves teamed up to form Urban Village Development Company with one goal in mind: revolution. They call it the Live-Work-Play Revolution and are pushing for walkable communities throughout Southern California. Josh and Brett believe that holistic, transit-oriented, mixed-use development spells the end of suburban sprawl and the future of urban living. Their most recent project—Urban Village Long Beach—should be completed by 2013 and earn LEED Gold certification.
J oshua H ost & B rett S haves
gbdmagazine.com
The founding partners of Urban Village Development talk cluster-cities, creative collaboration, and their Live-Work-Play Revolution As told to Benjamin van Loon
january–february 2013
27
verbatim
josh host & Brett Shaves Up Close and Personal What was your first job? Josh: Construction. Brett: Real estate acquisitions. If you weren’t developers, what would you be? Josh: Surf bum. Brett: Iron Chef. What inspires you? Josh: Watching people grow. Brett: My father. Describe yourself in three words. Josh: Passion and fortitude. Brett: Faith, family, friends. What is your hidden talent? Josh: I’m good at misplacing things. If I could commercialize it, we’d be rich. Brett: Yet to be seen.
Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, LLC Providing state-of-the-art and integrated mechanical and electrical engineering since 1975! Supporting
Children’s Hospital Boston for 30 years!
www.brplusa.com
Boston | New York | Philadelphia | Miami | Washington, DC
28
january–february 2013
lounge, a 10,000-square-foot outdoor entertainment space with a DJ table, a pool, and a film festival area. We also teamed up with Jerome Chang of BLANKSPACES, who operates collaborative office spaces to encourage startups and freelancers. The development debuts a new model called the Urban Kitchen Concepts project, which works in the same way as BLANKSPACES, but to encourage new restaurant incubation. From a sustainability standpoint, Urban Village Long Beach has a target of LEED Gold, and involves greywater systems, solar power, and new green space. The village is also located only a hundred feet from the Long Beach Blue Line, which delivers on our idea of transitoriented development.
Our goal is to create more walkable environments. A lot of the communities have become so sprawled that some people are commuting well over two hours per day. The amount of land that has been gobbled up with backyards, driveways, and roadways just doesn’t make sense. These things take up space that could be much more appropriately utilized. There is resurgence toward urbanization as people are able to see the value in urban living. A lot of formerly blighted urban cores have been getting re-energized, and the current city-planning environment is conducive to what we’re doing. There used to be a lot of push back, but at this point, we’re seeking out areas that have plans for our type of developments. Only one person challenged Urban Village Long Beach, but the planning commission gave us a unanimous vote, and we got through it in less than five months. The key for us is understanding the culture of the area where the development is being built. We don’t want to deliver something that doesn’t meet the community’s needs. To do this, we continue working with like-minded companies to build out projects that deliver on the Live-Work-Play Revolution. gb&d
a message from sitescapes Sitescapes believes that the culture of the current generation not only appreciates, but expects environmentally conscious designs with style. We respond by creating unique spaces that maximize user flexibility. Incorporated within Urban Village is a reclaimed-wood bar with water feature, vintage truck bed “tailgate lounge,” “gypsy den,” and edible vertical garden.
gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 30
31
33
Design Rose-hulman institute of technology
Wooing students with green suites Curry Automotive Subarus for the public-transit crowd
housing authority of the city of pittsburg
34
monmouth university
34
Barre Housing Authority
Better living through walkability
Leading the way in renewable energy
Restorations that offer big savings
DEvelopment Conifer Realty
37
Award-winning amenities for Jersey seniors
38
The Michaels Development Company
Partnering for innovative financing
39
Food Lion
LEED scores shoppers understand
41
operations Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
43
43
Technology powers progress KANSAS CITY ROYALS Leading the league in solar
ST. ALEXIUS MEDICAL CENTER
The case for investing now
45
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
gbdmagazine.com
When kids become the teachers
january–february 2013
29
Approach Design
Bringing students back to a greener campus Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology woos students back to campus with its new LEED-certified residence hall Building project creates jobs in Indiana’s Wabash Valley A new residence hall was needed at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology because of growing enrollment, but choosing to make it LEED Silver-certified was an added bonus that proved the school’s commitment to sustainability. With an enrollment of approximately 1,950 undergraduate students, the school, in Terre Haute, Indiana, didn’t have enough on-campus housing to accommodate all of its students. Now, the new 240-bed, 75,000-square-foot residence hall satisfies the school’s desire to attract upperclassmen back to the benefits of campus life. Living on campus in a small-school environment has its advantages, says Dale Long, Rose-Hulman’s director of news services. “Many of our upperclass students lived in apartments two or three miles away, and those students did not have the same community experience of living on campus,” he says. “Living on campus leads to students taking full advantage of what the school has to offer.” Rose-Hulman will have doubled its campus residence living spaces since it opened a 217-student residence hall in 1999 and its first apartment-style residence hall, housing 240 upper-level students, in 2004. The new LEED Silver project is similar in program to the apartment-style residence hall but adds sustainable features. It is a four-story building that offers the latest amenities in residence living arrangements with apartment- and suite-style rooms. The project not only reflects Rose-Hulman’s commitment to sustainability, formal-
30
january–february 2013
Amount of building materials from local sources for the new dorm, providing a needed boost to local companies and craftspeople
ized in 2007 when the school signed on to the Presidents’ Climate Commitment, but also helps define standards the school can use on future projects. The new residence hall is a learning lab and a boon to the area. Ralph Wagle, president of Garmong Construction Services and his son, Jake, a project manager, are both Rose-Hulman civil engineering alumni and gave Rose-Hulman student groups tours throughout the project, showcasing the project’s sustainable aspects. Additionally, the $17 million construction project, designed by RATIO Architects of Indianapolis, was
Energy-efficient lighting, motion sensors, and energy monitors all contributed to the LEED Silver certification of this new residence hall at the Rose-Hulman Institute in Indiana. Outside, bike racks encourage students to leave the car at home.
gb&d
DESIGN APPROACH
Curry Automotive drives green movement “Every room [in the hall] has an operable window and individual thermostatic controls.”
photos: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology/Shawn Spence
Jake Campbell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
the largest construction project in Vigo County in 2012. It provided a significant economic impact to the Wabash Valley, with as many as 125 workers on-site during peak construction periods. Further supporting the region, the project utilized locally made materials including thin brick precast made by Gate Precast of Winchester, Kentucky, hollow-core precast by deAM-RON Building Systems of Owensboro, Kentucky, steel by Service Steel Framing of Butler, Indiana, drywall by National Gypsum of Shoals, Indiana, and cabinets by Haas Cabinets of Sellersburg, Indiana. Jake Campbell, the school’s manager for environmental health and safety, says natural daylighting is a vital feature. The building is constructed on an east/west axis to maximize southern sun exposure and natural ventilation. The building entry and stairwell is a dramatic wall of glass with curtain walls on two sides. The building has two wings that extend out at slight angles from the glass-enclosed central corridor. The first floor of the hall has been set aside as suite-style rooms for sophomore students. The top three floors have apartment-style living with common areas and individual bedrooms. “Every room has an operable window and individual thermostatic controls,” Campbell says. “The only rooms without daylighting are mechanical rooms and housekeeping.” gb&d —Scott Heskes gbdmagazine.com
New facility is the first sustainable auto dealer in its region LEED Silver building is sited to encourage public transit use With the completion of its new Subaru and Hyundai headquarters, Curry Automotive has become the first green dealership in New York’s Cortlandt Manor, roughly 50 miles north of New York City. “We’ve always been conscious of environmental concerns,” says Bob Carinci, COO. “When we got the opportunity to build a new building from the ground up, we knew we wanted to focus on sustainability.” Boasting a plethora of energy-efficient features, the new 30,000-square-foot building is targeting LEED Silver certification. New features include a roof insulation of bio-based spray foam, concrete block walls containing expanded polystyrene
(EPS) insulation, and high-performance, low-E insulated glass. Building systems also received the green treatment. “The restrooms are served by point-of-use water heating systems as an alternative to less-efficient centrally heated water,” Carinci says. He adds that the interior lighting systems use motion and daylight sensors, which turn off lights when natural lighting is adequate or areas are unoccupied. The roofing is light-colored and highly reflective, and a 256-square-foot rain garden of unfertilized native plants captures rainwater runoff, which filters through layers of soil before returning to the groundwater system. The landscaping has water-efficient native plants, which are doubly beneficial because they limit potentially invasive species and reduce the need for irrigation. Exterior light pollution into neighboring residential areas is reduced through the use of full cutoff luminaires, and outdoor lighting power densities are 30 percent lower than existing buildings. Locally sourced and manufactured materials were used throughout the project, including glass, gravel, concrete block, and steel, which contains a minimum of 92 percent recycled content. Carinci says many of the local materials cost the same or even less than expected, but the same wasn’t true of certain items. “We noticed a significant cost increase for the FSC-certified wood doors,” he says.
january–february 2013
31
Loftus Engineering, Inc. Environmental Design
• Mechanical Engineering • Electrical Engineering • Telecommunications Design • Construction Administration BIM Experience • LEED Accredited Professionals • Lighting Certified Professionals • D/WBE Certified
233 McCrea Street, Suite 700 • Indianapolis, Indiana 46225 317-352-5822 • www.loftusengineering.com
• Painting/Special Coatings
• Metal Studs
• Vinyl Wall Covering
• Insulation
• Epoxy Floors
• Drywall
• Sandblasting
• Plaster
• Access Floors “Tate”
• EIFS
• Acoustical Ceilings
• Carpet
• Resilient Flooring
• Rough Carpentry
• Rubber Floors
• Finish Carpentry
• Ceramic/Marble
• Fireproofing
• Wood Gym Floors
• Custom Cabinetry
cad@lakesideinterior.com 26970 Eckel Road • Perrysburg, Ohio 43551 Ph 419-867-1300 • Fax 419-867-9590 www.lakesideinterior.com
32
january–february 2013
Energy Efficiency
RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTS Commercial Buildings, Custom Residences, Additions & Alterations, Green Design, LEED Consulting, 3D Architectural Rendering, & Municipal Approvals call us to discuss your project today:
845.628.6613 www.arch-visions.com
916.434.9554 3610 Cincinnati Ave., Rocklin CA 95765
www.onlinejrp.com gb&d
DESIGN APPROACH
Pittsburg, CA’s Siena Court Apartments earned green points for including groundlevel retail and well-designed paths, both of which encourage walkability.
Architectural Visions and GTL Construction both have experience designing and building auto dealerships and service centers, and Carinci knew their design recommendations and expertise on sustainable materials would be crucial. “They integrated Subaru and Hyundai corporate design intent and created a building that also met our needs and sustainability goals,” he says. Located only a quarter-mile from two public bus lines, the new building pushes sustainability beyond its own walls. “We encourage the use of public transportation as a way to reduce pollution,” Carinci says. The parking lot has also undergone an environmentally friendly transformation. Curry rewards eco-minded drivers by reserving those parking spaces closest to the entrance for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles. Curry Automotive isn’t stopping its green streak any time soon. “We’ve already started construction on our next LEED-certified building,” he says. “It’s for Toyota, and will be next door to this one.” Completion of the Toyota facility is scheduled for early 2013. gb&d —Julie Knudson
Amount of electricity Curry Automotive purchases from Greene-certified renewable sources
Urban infill a boon to the Bay Area Low-income senior housing provides high-volume energy savings 10,000 square feet of retail encourages accessible, urban lifestyle The goal is less carbon and more footprints. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburg (HACP), a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area, recently cut the ribbon on the $30 million Siena Court Senior Apartments, completed in partnership with Domus Development. HACP, which offers affordable housing to nearly 1,000 low-income families, also included 10,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level of the apartments in order to enliven the newly formed community, offer accessible retail options, and help subsidize operational costs for the facilities. Siena Court, an urban infill project on roughly two acres, was built as an extension of a downtown redevelopment initiative launched by the City of Pittsburg to foster a more pedestrianfriendly, urbanized downtown district. Meea Kang, founding partner and principal of Domus Development, says there had been a condominium project planned for the site, but after the economic collapse, the project went into bankruptcy. HACP approached Domus to help provide a new vision for the site. In 2009, Domus repurposed the 111unit development for senior residents
Photo: Dave Adams (Siena Court)
“This is a redeveloped infill property, [so] we earned a lot of green points for utilizing recycled materials and increasing walkability in downtown Pittsburg.” Meea Kang, Domus Development gbdmagazine.com
(55 years old and up) who are earning between 30 and 60 percent of the Pittsburg median income. Siena Court also includes a separate community building and parking structure with space for 100 vehicles, but the apartments also were designed to encourage residents to walk to nearby shops, reducing their reliance on vehicular transportation. The site is located at the heart of Pittsburg’s historic Old Town district, which was originally settled in 1839 and proclaimed by founder Jonathan D. Stevenson to be the “New York of the Pacific.” With only 63,000 citizens, the city doesn’t suffer the cosmopolitan congestion of New York City, or even Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh, but Kang says California is taking cues from East Coast developers. “Californians are realizing that we need to stop sprawling outwards and start working to be more efficient with the space we’re given,” she says. The systems and sustainable features of Siena Court put it 20 percent above Title 24, California’s energy standard. “Because this is a redeveloped infill property, we also earned a lot of green points for utilizing recycled materials and increasing walkability in downtown Pittsburg,” Kang says. The apartments are located near bus stops and a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station that is currently under construction. The proximity to public transportation encourages healthier living among Siena Court residents, who can reduce their carbon footprint by simply making real ones. As in many urban areas, water could not be overlooked. “Because of its january–february 2013
33
APPROACH DESIGN
“We’ve already added these solar panels to seven buildings, and we’ll add them to any building on campus with a flat roof.” Patricia Swannack, Monmouth University
proximity to the Delta Waterway, the building was designed to retain 100 percent of storm water received on-site,” Kang says. To accomplish this, Domus incorporated bioswales as part of the property landscape and on top of the two-story parking structure, which features a green roof that will help absorb rainfall. “We were able to work closely with HACP to rescue this property from foreclosure, retitle it, and begin building, all within a three-month period,” Kang says. “We did a lot with a little, and it’s been exciting to see how Siena Court has been part of the greater transformation of downtown Pittsburg.” gb&d —Benjamin van Loon a message from JR Pierce Plumbing We have been in business for over 80 years. We are known for quality plumbing and exceptional customer care in residential and commercial projects. We were involved in major projects at CSUS, HSU, West Village @ UC Davis and many assisted living projects. We team up with the owner, builder, MEP team to deliver the best, least polluting plumbing system for their project, including solar, hydronics, low flow fixtures and ultra low polluting water heaters.
Monmouth University pushes renewable energy Retired Navy officer turned university president leads the institution’s environmental charge Two new solar arrays save $80,000 per year and reduce carbon emissions Nine years ago, Paul G. Gaffney II became president of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and sustainability became a top priority on campus. As a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy and a former ocean-
34
january–february 2013
ographer, Gaffney had a strong science background and firmly believed that institutions of higher learning should not be complicit in the destruction of the environment. Gaffney was so serious about his dedication to sustainability that in 2009, Monmouth University became the first college in the state of New Jersey to enter into an agreement with the EPA. The agreement states that Monmouth will enhance its commitments to clean energy, energy efficiency, water efficiency, recycling, waste reduction, and cleaner vehicles and construction, among other commitments. Every six months, the university will voluntarily report its progress to the EPA. In 2005, the university undertook its biggest green project to date: installing multiple arrays of solar panels across its rooftops. The university began generating electricity through solar power in August of 2006; six years later, the college entered into a power purchase agreement with Torcon Energy Services to build rooftop photovoltaic systems that will generate more than 695,000 kilowatt-hours annually. According to Patricia Swannack, Monmouth’s vice president of administrative services, these systems will result in utility savings of $80,000 each year. “We’ve already added these solar panels to seven buildings, and we’ll add them to any building on campus with a flat roof,” Swannack says. “We’ve already reduced our energy usage. With our system in place, it’s the equivalent of taking 321 cars off the road each year—the equivalent of not driving a million miles each year. That really adds up.” The school is also in the process of replacing an old arts building, and it’s keeping sustainability in mind for the project. Monmouth hired local contractors to cut down on Rechnitz Hall’s carbon footprint; the new building will exclusively feature energy-efficient fixtures and sustainable building materials. There is a reason Monmouth University was named one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada in the 2012 edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges.” The school has covered most of its bases from watersaving fixtures and hydration stations to
All the energy that’s fit to produce Monmouth University’s two solar arrays together generate 1.1 million kWh
System ONE
System TWO
Capacity 454 kW Composition 2,392 PowerGuard Sanyo 190-module panels Square Footage 32,000 (across four buildings) Annual Generation 502,000 kWh
Capacity 700 kW Composition 2,766 Yingli-260 Ponda panels Square Footage 50,750 (across seven buildings) Annual Generation 695,000 kWh
on-campus Zipcar programs and yearly “lighting fairs” that enable students and employees to purchase energy-efficient light bulbs at reduced prices. But it has more in the works. “Not only do we want to set an example for our students, but we want our students to set an example for others,” Swannack says. “We’re really pushing to provide our students with more opportunities to learn about sustainability. Recently, we made it possible for our students to minor in sustainability because we feel it’s important to educate them on living responsibly and to create the next generation of sustainable leaders.” gb&d —Tina Vasquez
A green advocate for Vermont seniors In the town of Barre, a developer saves 225,000 kWh per year by modernizing existing stock Vermont is a picturesque state, full of lush green fields, robust forests, crisp air, and crystal blue waters. It is the place to get away from the hustle, bustle, and pollution of the big city. But Vermont does find its environmental challenges— in its man-made features that get out-of-date and need upgrades. gb&d
DESIGN APPROACH
More than 200 historic windows were replaced at the former Hotel Barre to increase efficiency and offer residents fresh air. Today, the 100-year-old building houses the BHA’s Washington Apartments.
Barre, Vermont, is a unique place. It includes a city with a population of 9,000 and a town with a population of 7,000. (The town actually encircles the city.) Setup aside, Barre is leading the way in many green practices regarding building improvements. The Barre Housing Authority (BHA) has been working feverishly throughout the past few years to improve energy efficiency and bring its outdated senior-housing residences up to the environmental standards one would expect in such a green state. The BHA made improvements to the 15-unit Avery Apartments by installing highly efficient insulation around the building, putting on a new roof, replacing old windows and lighting, and installing Energy Star-rated air conditioning units. The parking lot was rebuilt with new storm drains, which reduce rainwater runoff and land erosion.
Additional energy-efficiency upgrades were conducted at the Washington Apartments, a 49-unit, five-story highrise. The BHA rebuilt both the main and annex roofs to better hold snow loads after super-insulating the building and replacing more than 200 windows. “The building is more than 100 years old, so we had to work with the state historic preservation office every step of the way,” says Chip Castle, the executive director of the BHA. The preservation office allowed the BHA to replace the windows with more energy-efficient, aluminum-clad windows. “Now everyone can open them where they couldn’t before, and they look nice and neat,” he says, “They have a historic 1900s look to them.” In exchange for the upgrade, BHA agreed to refinish and restore eight large lobby windows, remove rot and decay from the building’s fascia, and install
Engineered Design Group was established in
two faux front entrances for look and appeal. Those replacements made the building reminiscent of its former self. “It looks like it did when it was the old Barre Hotel in the 1800s,” Castle says. “This kept us in compliance with restoring a historic building and also has made
Vermont Center for Independent Living
2002, and provides a wide range of engineering services – Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection and Refrigeration. AT EDG, we approach every project with one basic element – our goal is to ensure that our clients achieve their goals.
Vermont’s technical assistance and training providers* for the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act *National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
75 South Street | Freehold, New Jersey 07728 p 732-761-0108 | f 732-761-0109 | www.edg-ce.com gbdmagazine.com
VCIL
Vermont Center for Inde pendent Living
www.vcil.org january–february 2013
35
APPROACH DESIGN
228,000 kWh our residents of the Washington Apartments much more comfortable over the long Vermont winter.” The Washington Apartments also received a lighting upgrade that resulted in savings of 15,000 kilowatt-hours annually. That number comes from the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the economic and environmental costs of energy consumption through efficiency and renewable technologies. In addition to electricity reductions, all of these efforts combined will contribute to substantially reducing the property’s oil use. At North Barre Manor, an 11-story, 120-unit high-rise, grant funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were used to do a similar refurbishment on the windows, change out all lighting to efficient bulbs, and put in a new HVAC system. “The
Amount saved annually due to lighting retrofits and a new HVAC system at North Barre Manor
architect determined that the windows were in good shape and recommended resealing them rather than replacing them,” Castle says, noting that this approach also means less waste for the landfill. On the outside, large white panels that act as insulators below every window were replaced with new panels.” Here, too, the VEIC reports substantial annual savings, to the tune of 228,000 kilowatt-hours a year, thanks to a lighting retrofit and a new HVAC system, which includes air-conditioning, a new rooftop-ventilation system, and more energy-efficient fans in every apartment. Efficiency Vermont, a nonprofit that helps Vermonters reduce energy costs, also has facilitated large-scale direct installation of compact fluorescent light bulbs for the tenant fixtures at several BHA buildings. “In the affordable housing community, the higher cost of
CFLs can be a real barrier to installation, so tenant lamps often have incandescent bulbs,” explains Colleen Scarola, an energy consultant at Efficiency Vermont. Several projects are on the horizon, such as window and roof replacements at Green Acres, a 49-unit development, and will be rolled out as budgets permit. gb&d —Lynn Russo Whylly a message from Vermont Center For Independent Living Vermont’s accessible housing stock is inadequate. People with disabilities are on a constant quest for affordable housing that meets their physical needs. As housing providers struggle in the face of federal budget cuts to manage aging properties and provide the necessary accessibility, they must rely on funding from new community partners. In Barre City and Town, VCIL joined forces with the Barre Housing Authority and Vermont’s Community Development Program to grow the number of accessible units for elders, adults with disabilities, and low-income families. These partnerships are elemental to full inclusion of all persons in the life of our communities.
Energy Star Certification HVAC Design EAM Associates offers an extensive
Energy Code Compliance
portfolio of energy efficiency and Green
Home Energy Ratings (HERS)
Building consulting services. Our highly
Green Building Consulting
trained team approaches each “home as a system” to maximize environmental performance and energy efficiency. Our team’s
qualifications
include
NAHB
Green Home Verifiers, LEED for Homes Green Raters and LEED AP. As we enter our 20th year in business, EAM continues to provide clients with superior services delivered on time and within budget. Our commitment to customer satisfaction remains priority #1.
36
january–february 2013
www.eamenergy.com www.eamenergy.com gb&d
Approach development
Conifer Realty showcases green systems and smart growth Transit-oriented senior housing project earns developer award from New Jersey Future Senior citizens have a new place to call home in Camden, New Jersey, a place that’s not only comfortable, but environmentally friendly as well. Conifer Realty completed Conifer Village at Ferry Station in February 2012, a modern senior housing project that includes 40 onebedroom and 10 two-bedroom units and offers several green accoutrements. The project, developed, owned, and managed by Conifer Realty, a 35-yearold firm based in Rochester, New York, includes two high-efficiency boilers for hot water, 16 SEER central air-conditioning, and a 58-kilowatt solar system on the roof. The solar array will power at least three quarters of the common area, which includes management offices, a community room, and an exercise area. Sam Leone, project director for Conifer Realty, says that three months into leasing, the property was almost fully occupied. Most of what’s inside Conifer Village is green too. The appliances and lighting are Energy Star-rated, and Conifer installed low-flow fixtures, low-formaldehyde insulation, and low-E glass windows from Silver Line by Andersen. Cabinets are made from FSC-certified solid hardwood and meet the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers’ Association’s airborne toxic control measures. The carpet and padding are made from recycled material and are Carpet and Rug Institute Green Label-certified. Conifer also used ceramic tile in the bathrooms because it is more durable and healthier than vinyl tile. “It doesn’t have an off-gas,” Leone says. “Vinyl tile has an off-gas, particularly when it is first installed. Ceramic tile is also more resilient to moisture.” gbdmagazine.com
Conifer’s Sam Leone visits Ferry Station’s 58-kWh rooftop solar array. Other sustainable features include two highefficiency boilers and 16 SEER central AC.
Ferry Landing, a 48-unit family project adjacent to Ferry Station, also was completed in 2012 and features balconies that used a Trex-type of product that Leone says is both durable and made from recycled content. The first two of five buildings were completed in August; the others were ready for occupancy two months later. Conifer had experience in green building before Ferry Station. Gateway Village at Somerdale, in Somerdale, New Jersey, was completed in July 2011 and included many of the same green features as Conifer Village. The development—30 one-,
two-, and 3-bedroom apartments—was built in partnership with the Camden County Housing Association. “There was a prior developer that had received site approval and an allocation of tax credits, but the project didn’t work out, and we worked out a deal to take the project over,” Leone says. The rent-restricted property is part of a mixed-use redevelopment project that includes a shopping center with a Walmart. Residents are in walking distance of the shopping center, a movie theater, and a Philadelphia rail line. The project recently received a Smart Growth award from New Jersey Future, which celebrates sustainable development projects. january–february 2013
37
APPROACH DEVELOPMENT
New Jersey
Michaels Development uses solar panels at various properties to generate clean electricity and cut energy costs.
Philadelphia, PA Camden, NJ
Somerdale, NJ
Unlike Conifer Village, Gateway does not generate its own solar power, but it does have occupancy sensors in the common areas and tankless water heaters in the units. “There are some additional up-front costs for tankless water heaters, but we find them to be extremely efficient,” Leone says. “It also allowed us not to need so much mechanical space in the apartment.” Due to vinyl siding restrictions imposed by the municipality, Conifer used a product called fiber cement siding by Certainteed, which is made from cementitious fibers and does not have any of the toxic properties of vinyl. Gateway is landscaped with droughtresistant native plants. “The site’s on a hill and has some neat slopes in it,” Leone says. “We wanted to take the best advantage of what was there, and we wanted the green space to have an impact, so rather than plant grass, we used a ground cover that doesn’t have to be mowed.” Two varieties of noninvasive liriope, also known as lilyturf, were planted to help reduce erosion. “It was a more expensive upfront investment,” he says, “but there will be little landscaping expense to maintain it, and the residents like it.” EAM Associates rated the plans for both Ferry Station and Gateway to ensure they met all energy requirements. Gateway qualified for tier two of New Jersey’s Energy Star program with a score of 60. “That roughly translates to being about 30 percent more efficient than a typical home,” Leone says. gb&d —Lynn Russo Whylly
Gateway Village at Somerdale
38
january–february 2013
Affordable housing developer looks long-term The Michaels Development Company eyes ongoing operating costs In Lindsay, CA, xeriscaping alone brings water bills down 30% Save money today, or save money tomorrow? At The Michaels Development Company, the answer is both. Instead of only using low-cost, sustainable materials during construction, the team operates under the assumption that making smart choices now contributes to reduced operating costs later, which makes long-term sustainability a reality. Tax-credit programs increasingly require the incorporation of green practices, says Michael Boettger, the company’s vice president. But that isn’t the foundation of most of the company’s efforts. “Being affordable housing and having the lower rents than market-rate units, we typically are trying to reduce operating costs,” he says. For the team at Michaels, everything in a project, from landscaping to refrigerators, is evaluated on its long-term sustainability merits. Before a project gets off the ground, it needs the right lending vehicle. For financing options, Boettger says that Bonneville Multifamily Capital has been a knowledgeable and innovative partner. “They do the [Section] 538 program, which is for rural housing,” he explains. It’s a loan guaranteed through the United States Department of Agriculture, and the team at Bonneville has helped Michaels to obtain it and other low interest-rate loans. Sustainability starts at the beginning of a project, with thoughtful construction methods and materials. For example, the value of attic insulation has been increased in an effort to keep monthly
heating and cooling costs low, and solar vents are used for better ventilation. One project had a central boiler that Boettger says wasn’t making the grade. “We completely abandoned that system and installed one high-efficiency hot-water tank per building, each with a circulating pump,” he says. The surroundings also get a boost from Michaels with projects incorporating xeriscaping as a way to save money on water bills. “In a lot of the rural communities we’re in, water costs are just astronomical,” Boettger says. A recent project in Lindsay, California, was spending nearly $50,000 on water every year. After xeriscaping was adopted, those costs dropped by 30 percent. It’s easy to be taken in by next-generation thinking, but Boettger says that a focus on long-term costs can lead to new solutions. One project originally called for a cool roof, but after crunching the numbers, the cost analysis pointed down a different path. “We knew the pricing on cool roofs was high,” Boettger says. “Our energy calculations showed that if we increased the insulation, we could achieve the same benefit for the residents at considerably less cost.” Solar arrays are now being used in several projects, and in one southern California development it’s supporting much of the exterior lighting for the community room. “It doesn’t power the whole thing,” Boettger says of the array, “but it helps.” Because Michaels is an owner and generally tends to stay in its properties, the company has a long-term mentality. Because the solar array was powered up earlier this year, Boettger’s team doesn’t yet know its full benefits, but it’s already helping to offset costs. Within the units, carefully selected appliances boost savings too. “All of our refrigerators, air-conditioners, heaters— everything is high-efficiency,” Boettger says, adding that properties offer energyand water-efficient washers and dryers. “I think people need to focus on the longterm sustainability of these projects.” It’s all part of the “save today, save tomorrow” approach. gb&d —Julie Knudson gb&d
DEVELOPMENT APPROACH
A rendering of Food Lion’s new store in Williamsburg, VA, the company’s fourth LEED Silvercertified location.
Food Lion touts customer benefits of LEED LEED Silver supermarket expected to deliver energy savings as well as enhanced experience for shoppers Many grocery stores tout their sustainably produced foods, but at Food Lion, the building itself is the greatest green initiative. As part of Food Lion’s journey toward sustainability, it has explored environmental and energy-saving strategies for nearly a decade. The sustainable strategies selected are in the best interest
of the environment and the communities they serve. In 2009, Food Lion opened its first environmentally friendly grocery store in Columbia, South Carolina, which became its first LEED Silver-certified store. The supermarket giant opened its second and third LEED stores in April 2011, located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Hope Mills, North Carolina. In Food Lion’s quest to further its commitment to operate as a responsible corporation, the food retailer’s new Williamsburg, Virginia, store was construct-
ed with sustainable features intended to benefit the community. Energy-saving measures are expected to reduce the store’s energy consumption by at least 20 percent. Construction of the Williamsburg Food Lion store began in February 2011. The store opened nine months later as the grocer’s fourth LEED Silver-certified location. The 35,000-square-foot store was constructed from the ground up. Benny Smith, Food Lion spokesman, says that at least 20 percent of the building materials contain a high percentage of recycled con-
USDA’S 538 PROGRAM: A GREAT WAY TO FINANCE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING Bonneville is one of the largest USDA 538 lenders in the country
Bonneville has done 538 and HUD loans all over the United States. 801-323-1000 gbdmagazine.com
|
www.bmfcap.com january–february 2013
39
APPROACH DEVELOPMENT
“Food Lion is proud of all its LEED stores, which we feel offer extra benefits to our customers.” Benny Smith, Food Lion
LEED Silvercertified Food Lion stores throughout the East Coast. Its latest sustainably built location is in Williamsburg, VA.
a message from ai Design Group, Inc. a i Design Group congratulates Food Lion on its LEED-certified retail grocery store located in Williamsburg, VA, another successful implementation of innovative and sustainable solutions in the retail sector. ai Design Group, Inc. is happy to be a part of the Delhaize America team and support its push for more sustainable initiatives. Please visit www. aidginc.com for information on the architecture and interior design services and sustainable solutions we provide our clients, as well as examples of our work.
40
january–february 2013
tent. Other sustainable features include an energy-efficient roof and carbon dioxide sensors located throughout the store. “Our store also features LED lighting in the frozen food cases, low-flow and sensor-activated water fixtures in the restrooms, and a unique rainwater-harvesting system that captures rainwater from the roof and reuses it for irrigation,” Smith says. The Williamsburg store is expected to conserve water by at least 40 percent, thanks to its low-flow, sensor-operated water fixtures. The rainwater-harvesting system captures rainwater from the roof, therefore reducing the need for additional on-site water use. Although all of the environmentally friendly construction components delivered measurable energy savings, some of the sustainable features are more apparent than others. “Our Williamsburg store features a number of energy-efficient services, including an on-site recycling center, an educational kiosk, and preferred parking for carpool vehicles,” Smith adds. For the customers and associates that spend time in the store environment, Food Lion purposely used low-toxicity interior materials. Throughout construction, low-emitting sealants, paints, woods, and adhesives were used. The food retailer sought LEED certification for the Williamsburg location as part of its agreement with the county and because the sustainable practices are part of Food Lion’s overall strategy—protecting the environment and creating a better tomorrow for the communities it serves. “Food Lion is proud of all its LEED stores, which we feel offer extra benefits to our customers,” adds Smith. While the LEED-certified stores are four among the approximately 1,300 Food Lion supermarkets in the Mid- and South Atlantic states as well as Tennessee and Kentucky, the food retailer remains committed to numerous sustainability initiatives such as energy conservation and reducing its carbon footprint. “Our environmental and energy strategies are about doing what is right for our communities and the environment, but it is also the right business decision for our customers and shareholders,” Smith says. “We are always evaluating new opportunities to build energy-efficient stores.” gb&d —Jennifer Hogeland gb&d
Approach operations
Technology vital to DFW terminal renewal Apps, LEDs, and fan-wall technology will bring substantial energy savings and much-improved flyer experience The entirety of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is as big as Manhattan, so it gets to do things on a grand scale. The nation’s fourth busiest landing field is currently renovating four terminals and adjacent parking facilities, all built in the mid-1970s, and adding a rapid transit station. The $2.3 billion program will be completed by 2017, at which time significant reductions in energy and water will be realized. “When the airport built the new Terminal D in 2005, it saw that it used nearly half as much energy as the other terminals,” says Julie Ludeman, communications director for the Terminal Renewal & Improvement Program (TRIP). Those efficiencies are now being applied to Terminals A, B, C, and E, and several parking facilities are being consolidated into energy-saving facilities that will feature some noticeable customer-service innovations. The travel experience for most of us starts and ends with parking in the lots outside airports that seem to extend for miles with no end in sight. Answering the age-old problem of “Where did I leave my car?” will be a camera system that can answer that question through a mobile app. But just as meaningful, that same system can help arriving drivers determine where a space is without trolling the garage floor-by-floor. Of
56 million
Passengers passing through Dallas/Fort Worth International each year gbdmagazine.com
In 2017, when DFW’s massive renovation is complete, visitors will use mobile apps to find empty parking spots and to locate their cars upon return. The terminals will also feature rapid transit (right).
note, about three percent of spaces will be wired to accommodate electric vehicle-recharging. The millions of travelers passing through the airport will be guided by backlit way-finding signage that is easier to read than current static signage. Using LED technology, the signs will require 70 percent less energy and much less maintenance than the fluorescent tubes they replace. Throughout the horseshoe-shaped gate hubs, lighting is being configured to maximize natural daylight. Ceiling lamps have LED technology and use strategically distributed micro-grid sensors
to dim the lighting according to the amount of sunshine already in the space. Forty-year-old windows with low-E glass were replaced in the renovation, and fritting of the glass further reduces solar heat gain. Together, the initiatives save about 100 tons of cooling capacity per terminal. “We had to keep in mind the tasks of gate agents,” explains Tony Loyd, design lead on several segments of the project and managing principal from january–february 2013
41
APPROACH OPERATIONS
In the process of renovating four terminals, DFW is incorporating new wayfinding signage, LED lighting, and plenty of windows to let in natural light.
400
Tons of cooling capacity reduced during DFW’s terminal renovation
20
Number of new gates that will be added by 2017
Jacobs Engineering, which is the lead firm on the project. “Reflectivity of their computer screens was an issue for us, which required some experimentation.” Cooling of the terminals is also modernized with an innovative fan-wall technology that enables less temperature variation and easier maintenance. A test of the system in late 2011 identified a 35 percent decrease in energy for cooling the facility. Low-flow toilets and sinks with hand sensors reduced water use by 40 percent. Reclaimed water from Fort Worth is used for cooling in the airport’s Central Utility Plant and for watering landscaping, which is made up of native species of plants appropriate for airports (i.e., less habitable for birds, a hazard to air traffic). With all of these sustainable features, DFW might be the same size as Manhattan, but it is certainly working to be greener. gb&d —Russ Klettke
CAGE Inc. The Source for Technical Expertise in Baggage, Gate and Ground Support Systems
Baggage Systems
photo: Christopher Parypa / Shutterstock.com
Planning, design, construction management, commissioning, testing, training, maintenance program development and technical support
Gate Systems
Gate and passenger boarding bridge planning and layout, bridge and aircraft docking system planning, gate optimization, and asset evaluation
Ground Support Systems
Aircraft parking design, docking system planning, ramp surveying and layout, ground power planning, pre-conditioned air and potable water
CAGE Inc. • 6440 North Beltline Road, Suite 125 • Irving, Texas 75063 USA (972) 550-1001 • www.cage-inc.com
42
january–february 2013
gb&d
operations APPROACH
Royals lead the league in solar Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium boasts the largest in-stadium solar array in major league baseball No popular American sport is more driven by quantitative data than baseball. Statistics are used as metrics for success and failure, and numbers color the way players and teams are remembered. If you apply the same methodology to the environmental responsibility of baseball venues, then the home of the Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium, will be remembered well. The stadium’s new solar array produces 36,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually, enough to power four homes for a year or, to put it more appropriately, to cook 3 million hotdogs. “We are trying to be smart about how we do things,” says Todd Burrow, the director of ballpark engineering and maintenance at Kauffman. “Thirty years ago, you didn’t pay attention to power or water usage and how much trash you created.” In the summer of 2010, the stadium went through a significant renovation that brought many
of the systems up to date, and since that time, the stadium has focused on efficiency and tracking what the facility and its occupants use in regards to energy and water. The renovation was a $250 million investment that addressed all of the aging deficiencies, including new plumbing, a sophisticated electrical system provided by Mark One Electric Company in Kansas City, a computer-controlled lighting system, and advanced wet and dry fireprotection systems. The added technology has significantly reduced energy use, but the more important change has been cultural. “The clubhouses, the offices, food service, even how we use the scoreboard and the Water Spectacular—none of these things are used without thinking about how much energy and water it takes,” Burrow says. “We pay attention now, and it has made a huge difference in the utility bill.” The changes led to a 15 percent reduction in energy use during the first year after the renovation and an additional eight percent the following year. The most significant and visual upgrade that the park has made is the solar array located beyond the center field wall. The 28.8-kilowatt array contains 120 solar panels and is the largest stadium solar array of any venue in major league baseball. Its impact on the stadium’s carbon footprint is equivalent to planting 107 acres of trees or reducing the carbon produced from driving 1.4 million miles in an average car.
Amount of energy generated by Kauffman Stadium’s 120-panel solar array, enough power to cook 3 million hotdogs
gbdmagazine.com
As a way for the fans to interact with the solar technology, there is a kiosk in the outfield experience where patrons can read about the array and learn about solar energy. For Burrow, coupling the efficient engineering with the game is the best part of his job. “At the end of each day you walk out of your office and there’s a baseball game going on,” he says. “How can that be bad?” gb&d —Ashley T. Kjos a message from mark one electric Mark One Electric is a specialty contractor from Kansas City, Missouri, with over 30 years of electrical construction experience. Recently, they partnered with the Kansas City Royals to install the largest in-stadium solar array in MLB. They can be reached at: Mark One Electric Co., Inc., 909 Troost, Kansas City, MO 64106, 816.842.7023, or online at www.markone.com.
Hospital rewarded for longer payback St. Alexius Medical Center groups energy upgrades for savings New technology and education center cuts energy bills by 48% despite data center In Bismarck, North Dakota, where cold winters and hot summers can put energy bills on life support, St. Alexius Medical Center has a prescription for savings. The oldest health-care provider in North Dakota and a Level II trauma center, St. Alexius has opened a Technology and Education Center committed to reducing the hospital’s carbon footprint, and the 306-bed acute-care medical center has rededicated itself to improving efficiency. “We’re on the leading-edge of energy conservation,” says Doug Johanson, the director of facilities at St. Alexius, who has been with the medical center for 25 years, before the days of computers. Three years ago St. Alexius brought in Energy Service Group (ESG) of Wayzata, january–february 2013
43
MECHANICAL INC.
Specializing in Florida Education Dedicated to Safety and Preserving the Environment
Advanced Mechanical, Inc. has an experienced team of skilled professionals who provide complete service and install of residential, commercial and industrial HVAC and plumbing systems. Hill Middle & Brewster Technical HVAC Renovations
PRODUCTS
The Walbridge Florida Group
• AIR CONDITIONING UNITS • BOILERS • FURNACES
General Contractors / Construction Managers
• HEAT PUMPS • HVAC SYSTEMS • PLUMBING FIXTURES
Tampa 813-635-1071
Orlando 407-210-3927
• FIXTURES • SHEET METAL FABRICATION
701-222-0352
Safe / Reliable / Creative / Competitive www.walbridge.com
www.advanced-mechanical.com
CGC1514955
Toledo Mirror & Glass
Exceeding Our Customers Expectations Since 1918
Recreation Center
Outside Air Temp 81.4 °F
RTU-1
Mixed Air Damper Position Damper Min
5.0 % 5.0 %
Cooling Stage 1
Heating
Off
Stage 1
Off
Supply Fan On Call Amps 2.2 Amps
Space Information Space Temp 76.0 °F Setpoint Deadband 76.0 °F 1.0 °F
Cooling Heatng
74.0 °F
Economizer
Econ Flag
Change Over
Off
60.0 °F
Mixed Air
CONSTRUCTION • Curtainwall • Storefront • Aluminum Doors • All Glass Doors • Skylights • Canopies • Glass Railings • Translucent Panels SERVICE • 24 Hour Emergency Commercial Board Up Service • Commercial Door Repair • Glass Replacement Including Storefront & High Rise • Security/Safety Glass • Mirror Replacement & Installation • Other Specialties
Temp
Low Limit
76.5 °F 45.0 °F
Return Air
Temp
75.7 °F
Night Cool
Setpoint 78.0 °F
Night Heat
65.0 °F
1.0 °F Occupied On Status Off
Summer Optimal Winter Optimal
Freeze Stat
Off Off Off
Off
Discharge Air
Setpoint Temp
76.0 °F 78.2 °F
Elementary School
Outside Air Temp 84.4 °F
Heat Pump 29
Heat Pump 28
Heat Pump 21
Heat Pump 20
Heat Pump 19
Heat Pump 15
Heat Pump 17
Setpt
Setpt
Setpt
Setpt
Setpt
Setpt
Setpt
Setpt
Temp
71.8 °F 70.0 °F
Temp
73.4 °F 72.0 °F
Temp
TM&G RESIDENTIAL/SPECIALTY • Residential Window Replacement • Your Specialty Glass Replacement • Specialty Glass Repair 103 Avondale Avenue • Toledo, Ohio 43604 • Phone: 419-241-3151 Fax: 419-241-3122 • info@toledomirror.com • www.toledomirror.com
44
january–february 2013
73.0 °F 71.3 °F
120
Temp
73.4 °F 71.9 °F
124
122
Temp
126
72.3 °F 70.0 °F
Temp
73.9 °F 74.0 °F
Temp
73.0 °F 71.6 °F
Temp
73.5 °F 72.0 °F
128 Heat Pump 37 Temp
S. CUH’s
Network
Media Center
AHU-1/ERU-1
121
AUTOMATED ENTRANCE TECHNOLOGIES • 24 Hour Emergency Service • Repair of all types of Automatic Doors • Experience in Healthcare, Institutional & Commercial Applications • AAADM Certified Technicians • Distributor of record-usa & Horton Automatic • Educational Resources
Main Page
Middle Area Floor Plan
Heat Pump 30
123
125
Setpt
127
Temp Setpt
Heat Pump 31 Temp Setpt
72.0 °F 69.9 °F
Heat Pump 32 Temp Setpt
74.4 °F 73.5 °F
Heat Pump 33 Temp Setpt
72.3 °F 70.5 °F
Heat Pump 34
Heat Pump 35
Setpt
Setpt
Temp
75.4 °F 75.0 °F
Temp
73.7 °F 73.2 °F
73.2 °F 71.4 °F
Heat Pump 14
Heat Pump 36 Temp Setpt
75.3 °F 72.5 °F
Heat Pump 16 Temp Setpt
73.2 °F 71.6 °F
70.8 °F 70.4 °F
Heat Pump 18 Temp Setpt
73.9 °F 73.0 °F
Bismarck - 701-222-2999 Fargo- 701-232-6611 www.energytechsystems.com ETS has been serving the Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota area for over 25 years. Your certified representative of Andover Controls by Schneider Electric.
gb&d
303
operations APPROACH
Number of geothermal wells at St. Alexius, which benefit from North Dakota’s four-season climate The new Technology and Education Center costs St. Alexius $1.35 less per sqaure foot in average annual utility costs.
“That was the pitch. ‘Do it today, and we’ll save more than we spend.’ It wasn’t a hard sell.” Doug Johanson, St. Alexius Medical Center
Minnesota, to conduct a full retrocommissioning of the medical center. “We had been pecking away at projects one at a time, spending $300,000 a year, and it was taking forever,” Johanson says. “We decided to spend $3 million and tackle the more difficult stuff.” ESG’s team examined each air handler, chiller, valve, and gauge to ensure all systems were operating properly. The audit yielded recommendations to change lighting from halogens to efficient fluorescents, replace faucets and toilets with low-flow fixtures, and install variable speed drives on air handlers to save energy when buildings were quiet at night. The result was nearly $500,000 a year in energy savings, a 25 percent reduction in energy expenditures. “We could have continued the way we were, getting a two- to three-year payback on every project we were doing,” Johanson says. “But we looked at it over a 10-year period and saw we were giving away $2 million in savings. That was the pitch. ‘Do it today, and we’ll save more than we spend.’ It wasn’t a hard sell.” With a solid case made for spending money to save money, St. Alexius planned the new Technology and Education Center, a new building that would house support departments such as IT, pharmaceutical research, and marketing. Completed in December 2011, the 100,000-square-foot building is one of St. Alexius’s greenest projects to date. Bismarck’s climate goes through four seasons of weather, so a cost-effective geothermal system was a natural choice for the project. A total of 303 wells were gbdmagazine.com
dug to tap the Earth’s natural geothermal energy, and the system is sized to cover all of the heating and cooling needs of the building. A new data center located on the fourth floor is a big energy-user, but the building uses heat created by the data center to warm the facility. The building’s high-efficiency motion sensor lighting generates less heat and is designed to turn off after a person exits the room. The elevators are the first of their kind in the state; they use a steel band, not a cable to drive the elevators. The regenerative drive is 75 percent more efficient than conventional elevators and converts the energy into electricity, which is then fed back to the building’s power grid. The new building is operating at approximately a 48 percent energy savings over the rest of the St. Alexius medical campus. The average annual utility cost for all buildings at the medical center is $2.82 per square foot for electricity, natural gas, and water; the new Technology and Education Center is $1.47 per square foot. For its efforts, St. Alexius was recently named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2012 list of 100 Great Hospitals to Know. Throughout the St. Alexius campus, initiatives continue to address deficiencies, which can be plentiful with some buildings dating back to 1914. In 2011, the hospital system installed 60 variablespeed drives for air handlers to reduce usage during nonpeak hours and added more than 600 motion sensors in offices, conference areas, and meeting rooms. Johanson says the constant monitoring contributes to a better patient experience and, ultimately, lower health-care costs. “You can’t walk away from systems once you have them working correctly,” Johanson says. “You’ve got to go into the control side and see what it’s doing at all times, otherwise the savings goes away. You watch it, and it pays for itself.” gb&d —Laura Williams-Tracy a message from Energy Tech Systems Energy Tech Systems would like to congratulate St. Alexius Medical Center on its newly built administration building. Having worked together since 1990, we take pride in providing them with a facility management solution that is innovative, flexible, and reliable. We compliment them for a high-performance and energy-efficient building!
Energy education a $40 million priority In Tampa, FL, heavy AC costs require innovative solutions 192,000 students led by ‘energy mentors’ pitching in to cut back The students at Hillsborough County School District in Tampa, Florida, have an important assignment: save energy. The district has enlisted the right people to help the students with this work by hiring five ‘energy conservation mentors’ to teach students and faculty about energy conservation. Hillsborough is the eighth largest school district in the country, with 230 schools serving 192,000 students. Its annual electric bill has hit $40 million in recent years, mainly from air-conditioning costs because, not sure if you heard, it tends to be hot in Florida. Although the district has had an energy conservation program manager since the 1990s, it expanded its energy conservation efforts in early 2007 due to significant growth over the previous two decades. Part of those efforts involved hiring the energy conservation mentors. Their mission: conduct energy audits at each school by looking for leaky doors and windows and taking note of equipment that should be turned off when not in use. According to district energy expert P.J. Crespo, on the basis of kilowatthours per square foot, the district’s energy use has been reduced by almost six percent since the advent of the mentor program. “On a $40 million electric bill, that’s $2.4 million of avoided energy costs,” says Crespo, who also currently directs the mentor program. The district’s achievements are not only from energy conservation measures but also from better construction. For example, during the summer of 2012, the district’s construction department modernized the air-conditioning systems at 13 schools with the help of committed january–february 2013
45
APPROACH OPERATIONS
“The best life-cycle cost doesn’t necessarily give you the lowest energy cost but ultimately saves money in the long run.” Rory Salimbene, Hillsborough County School District
$2.4m
In Florida, the energy-conservation initiatives at the Hillsborough County School District involve the students as much as cutting-edge systems.
Amount, in total, that energysaving programs have saved the Florida school district
partners such as Walbridge, a general contractor performing some of the district’s HVAC projects. Most of the projects also include more efficient lighting and new lighting controls. While the district expects to reduce energy bills, its overall approach is guided by total life-cycle costs rather than a focus solely on either initial construction costs or annual energy use. To that end, the district commissioned a life-cycle cost analysis for each of the 13 projects it
worked on during the summer of 2012. “The best life-cycle cost doesn’t necessarily give you the lowest energy cost, but it ultimately saves money in the long run,” says Rory Salimbene, general manager of construction. Students and faculty also helped after being taught by energy mentors how to conserve, and schools certainly have an incentive to do so. The district began a competition for the schools to meet their energy targets based on past usage rates.
If they meet the goals, their school can share in the savings of up to $1,000 for elementary schools, $1,750 for middle schools, and $2,500 for high schools. It’s not just energy that’s being addressed. Five years ago, few of the district’s schools recycled materials such as paper and printer cartridges. Today that’s changed, and some schools’ fourth and fifth graders are taught to read utility meters and provide results to the classroom in math-like lessons. They’re also given the power to ‘write up’ classrooms that leave lights and computer equipment on. Students can win prizes for bringing in the most recyclable materials, but there are even bigger rewards with the money collected from selling recyclable materials: field trips and other events. “It’s all about the money,” Salimbene says. “When you can easily spend $40 million a year on energy, you have to take advantage of every opportunity to save the taxpayers’ dollars.” gb&d —Julie Schaeffer a message from Walbridge Walbridge traces its roots in Florida back to 1958 and has grown to become one of America’s largest privately owned construction companies. The company has expertise in several market segments, including: airports, education, automotive, commercial, government, health care, industrial process, manufacturing, and water/wastewater. We’re an industry pace-setter in the development of new ideas and methods for quality construction, staying safe, enhancing sustainability, lowering cost and maximizing long-term project value. Walbridge has 61 LEED professionals, 65 LEED projects, Walbridge GreenWISESM program, the world’s largest green roof, and the world’s largest LEEDcertified* industrial project (*pending certification).
Hillsborough County’s Strawberry Crest High School, opened in August 2009, conserves energy by using central water and cooling plants.
46
january–february 2013
gb&d
VERBATIM
“When LEED reached the Chattanooga area, I thought it was a fad. But it really grabbed a hold. There’s a domino effect going on here.”
verbatim
About Fred Turner, AIA, CDT, LEED AP BD+C, is the corporate architect at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, where he has worked since 1996. Turner strives to create intuitive designs that allow newcomers to guide themselves simply and smoothly through the building. His position gives him a channel to protect the campus’s natural environment, maintain fresh air, conserve water, save energy, and use materials and resources in a responsible way. His main hope is to contribute whatever he can toward “this gift of God’s world.”
F red T urner
gbdmagazine.com
The university architect discusses Tennessee’s discovery of sustainable design, and how to make do with what you have As told to Suchi Rudra
Back in 1995, I obtained my CDT [Construction Documents Technologist certification] when I was working at an architecture firm in Ohio that focused on designing retail facilities like malls and car dealerships. Since the job required a lot of overtime and weekends, I started looking into another career and called Southern Adventist University (SAU). The only opening at the university was for an architect with AutoCAD experience—the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. When LEED reached the Chattanooga area back around 2000, I thought it was a fad. But it really grabbed a hold down here, and the city has run with it. The riverfront development seems to be aiming toward LEED, and Chattanooga’s Volkswagen factory is the only automotive manufacturing facility with a LEED Platinum certification in the world. So there’s really a domino effect going on here. Most recently, since the SAU president decided on creating a more sustainable campus, he encouraged me to pursue my LEED AP BD+C certification, which I received in June 2012. All of Tennessee is going this way, so I decided to jump aboard the bandwagon. Hopefully, I will soon be able to utilize my LEED AP credentials as the campus continues to incorporate sustainable energy and building practices. Five years ago, when the university announced its intention to create a more ecofriendly campus, the costs of january–february 2013
47
VERBATIM
architecture
FMA
A High Efficiency Building for an Energy Conserving Campus The Hulsey Wellness Center has become the best recruitment center for Southern Adventist University.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Fred turner Up Close & Personal What was your first job? Detasseling corn in Indiana. If you weren’t in your current field, what would you be doing? Working on a dude ranch in Utah.
Architectural Services | Master Planning Programming and Space Planning Graphic Coordination | Rendering and 3d Modeling
Frank McDonald Architects is a full service architectural firm which designs and builds a wide variety of projects, headed by Frank McDonald, AIA. These projects have included medical and business offices, educational facilities and restaurants.
336 East 10th Street • Chattanooga TN 37403 • (423) 265-0026 fmcdonald@fma-design.com
JDRM Engineering, Inc.
Congratulations to Duket Architects Planners on your recognition. JDRM Engineering, Inc. is a consulting engineering firm providing professional mechanical, electrical, and technology engineering services to architectural firms, contractors, institutions, universities, hospitals, and industrial facilities. JDRM Engineering has diverse experience in the design and specification of building facility’s mechanical, electrical, and technology systems. Special in-house capabilities include audio/visual, arc flash hazard analysis, security, distance learning, telephone/data cabling, networking design, and geothermal HVAC design. JDRM Engineering, Inc. 5604 N. Main Street Suite 200 • Sylvania, Ohio 43560 Phone 419.824.2400 • Fax 419.824.2409
jdrm.com
48
january–february 2013
alternative construction were very high. The investments required kept administrators What inspires you? and many local contractors I always pray before I start any apprehensive of new green project. Nature inspires me, too. ideas. However, as sustainable design became more Describe yourself in three words. commonplace, a change in Articulate, spiritual, driven. attitude could be seen both in consumers and on campuses What is your hidden talent? like ours. As technology has Oil painting. improved, costs continue to drop, so the return on investment is greater than ever. One of the first steps we took was to change T12 fluorescent lights to T8s. And in the last couple of years, we’ve been trying to move toward highefficiency fluorescents and LEDs. But not all of our projects are on that small of a scale. In March 2012, we installed 832 solar panels on a warehouse roof, which is one of the largest solar panel arrays in the Chattanooga area. Right now, we’re wrapping up the renovation of the presidential wing of our primary administrative building, and we’ve been able to integrate a ceiling-mounted VRF [variable refrigerant flow] HVAC system. Compared to PTAC units, this system saves much more energy and does a better job of circulating air. During additional efforts to implement sustainable features, we have come across certain challenges. We tried to create a geothermal exchange, but when we drilled down, we hit a lot of cavities in the bedrock and realized it wasn’t feasible to continue. Another example is that right now we are talking to the landscape department about the possibility of harvesting rainwater from roofs for irrigation; however, maintenance and logistical questions are slowing that conversation. With record enrollment, classroom space is at a premium. A lot of professors say we need more buildings, but actually, we are simply under-utilizing existing space. We can definitely save on energy and cost of new construction if we reassess our current spaces, which is why we’ve hired a consulting firm to help us with this analysis. gb&d
a message from Frank McDonald Architects For 27 years, FMA has enhanced the mission of our clients through architecture and planning for facilities as large as 250,000 square feet and sites encompassing complex building relationships such as university campuses. Our pragmatic sustainable strategies are focused on energy efficiency, durable materials, adaptable interior spaces, and smart renovations.
gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 50
nashville
Remaking the Music City’s public spaces
56
Brooks institute for sustainability
When student interns take charge
58
whole foods market
Rolling out the next-gen store in Raleigh
60
BEREA COLLEGE
63
OCV Architects
65
Affordable housing you won’t recognize IOWA CITY
A Midwestern city with tricks up its sleeves
68
CROWDER COLLEGE
gbdmagazine.com
Where sustainable means simple
Innovation where you least expect it
january–february 2013
49
TRENDSETTERS
Nashville may be known as a musical
is also home to a vanguard of urban d one public space at a time.
50
january–february 2013
By Michelle Markelz
Beneath the restored building's water-efficient landscaping are geothermal wells that will efficiently heat and cool the extensive space.
Photo: Jim Roof
Nashville is all about country music. But if the city’s environmental advocates have anything to do with it, the city will soon be equally known to the world for its iconic architecture and commitment to sustainability. Several new people- centered hot spots have sprouted in the area, including the Bridge Building, known as NABRICO as a shorthand for Nashville Bridge Company, its historical tenant, and McCabe Community Center, the first such building to be LEED-certified in Nashville. Both projects were by Hastings Architecture Associates, whose smart, responsible designs complement the city’s increasingly health-conscious culture even as they stay true to the region’s roots. The Bridge Building’s dominant frontal feature is a seven-story rustred sculpture that enlivens the former NABRICO building and gives a face-lift to this artifact of turn-of-the-century Nashville. Formerly the site of the city’s barge-fabrication industry, it was transformed from a brownfield site into a sustainable showpiece that is a beacon for an expansive riverfront redevelopment initiative, which aims to revitalize the banks of Nashville’s Cumberland River. The investment was timely. “We had some significant public spaces, but some of them were becoming outdated,” says David Powell, a principal at Hastings Architecture. “So quite a few years ago the Nashville Riverfront Redevelopment master plan was adopted to address the need to have more greenways and public space.” The Bridge Building boasts a checklist of green features that puts it on track for LEED Platinum certification, including a geothermal heat-pump system, rainwater harvesting and filtration, solar water heaters, a building automation system, LED lighting, and optimal condition indicators, which determine when the weather is best to open the high-performance operable windows and when mechanical ventilation is most ef-
TRENDSETTERS
mecca, but the progressive hub esign, which is remaking the city A beacon of redevelopment in Nashville, the Bridge Building is lit with LEDs, which will help it reach LEED Platinum certification.
The Bridge Building The former hub of Nashville’s barge-fabrication industry, the Bridge Building got a revamp from Hastings Architecture. The brownfield site became a sustainable showpiece, and the building received a face-lift complete with a seven-story rust-red sculpture. The project brings the city one step closer toward its goal of revitalizing the Cumberland River, and with a geothermal system, rainwater harvesting, solar water heaters, and more, the Bridge Building is on track for LEED Platinum certification.
TRENDSETTERS Nashville
McCabe Community Center The city’s first LEED-certified community center, McCabe takes advantage of its unique site. Its amphitheater uses the existing hill for a natural stadium effect; rain gardens, pervious pavement, and a 2,700-square-foot green roof reduce storm-water runoff, as do the existing mature oak trees that were protected during construction. Newly planted cypresses and sourwoods provide shade and air filtration. The public benefits not only from McCabe’s basketball/ volleyball court, fitness class studios, indoor track, and fitness center, but also from its healthful materials, which include FSC-certified cedar siding and gymnasium flooring and high-performance glazing.
52
january–february 2013
David Powell, Hastings Architecture
since it opened in 2011. With a basketball court, dance studio, indoor track, and a neighboring baseball field and golf course, it’s a natural destination for recreation, but it also has an arts and crafts room and outdoor amphitheatre to attract patrons looking for a more relaxing experience. “It’s monumental and symbolic for the city to be the beacon for contributions toward outdoor space and activity,” Powell says. “You can’t quantify the benefits or contribution to the city. Numbers would be a footnote.”
The McCabe building responds to unique site constraints even as it invigorates its landscape. In fact, some of the most effective landscape features occurred naturally and merely needed to be preserved. Hawkins Partners’ landscape design is the picture of efficiency, with every feature providing function as well as beauty. Rain gardens, pervious pavement, and a green roof offer wastewater solutions, while mature oak trees that were protected during construction provide natural shade on the hillside. gb&d
Photos: Jim Roof (McCabe)
ficient. The building also houses a Metro Parks office and amenities that support the adjacent Adventure Play Park and Cumberland Park. “That the city would make the commitment to respect heritage but not let it stand in the way of the future and use it as an opportunity for progressive thinking is really significant,” Powell says. “It would have been very easy to restore the Bridge Building and walk away, or tear it down. There were a lot of questions about why it was still up. It was important to have this park and greenway system and take a chance to [create] a LEED Platinum building, for the city to say, ‘We’ll set the tone for the future.’” The McCabe Community Center also signals a healthier horizon for residents of the music city. It’s become a hub of activity and a hit with local residents
“You can’t quantify the benefits or contribution to the city. Numbers would be a footnote.”
TRENDSETTERS
The community center in north Nashville is organized around a central spine. The atrium’s two-story window-wall allows light to flood the main level.
Dialogue Gary Hawkins Creating a new urban experience requires visionary design, from its buildings to its streetscapes. The founding principal of Hawkins Partners weighs in on landscape’s role in renewing Nashville. How have you contributed to the reinvigoration of Nashville’s public spaces? We did the first green street in Tennessee several blocks away from the Korean Veterans Boulevard (KVB). Deaderick Street started out as a ‘patchthe-sidewalks’ project, but after working with the mayor and public works, we saw that something more valuable could happen. We created a highperformance green street. With the KVB, we were asked to do the same for a brand new, urban boulevard by examining pedestrian-friendly features and incorporating green infrastructure by using bioswales and native plants.
Additional sustainable features include FSC-certified cedar siding and gymnasium floor, materials with high recycled-content, and high-performance glazing. “I believe there’s a sense of pride among the residents of the neighborhood for the new community center because of its accessibility and amenities,” says Chuck Gannaway, an associate at Hastings Architecture. In 2012, McCabe received an Excellence in Design award from the Nashville chapter of the Urban Land Institute. Nashville’s surrounding cities and towns are similarly reinvesting in their public spaces. Just 20 miles south of Nashville, in the heart of historic downtown Franklin, Tennessee, the Franklin Theatre reopened in June 2011 with all the glamour of its 1937 debut but with far more advanced systems. (Fittingly, the restored venue screened Gone with the Wind on opening night.) In 2007, the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County purchased the theater with the intent of creating a state-of-the-art, multiuse venue. The design and reconstruction of the 320-seat theater manages to balance gbdmagazine.com
What’s unique about the design of the KVB? The boulevard uses a complete street design strategy, which allows for on-street parking, bikeways along the sides, and pedestrian walkways. Broad pedestrian sidewalks contribute to the strategy, and LED lights illuminate them with little electricity. Large planting strips along the sidewalks have been designed as rain gardens, and the landscape pallete used in the planters is very tolerant of urban conditions. The sidewalks have been engineered to include areas of pervious concrete pavement. How will Nashville benefit from this project? KVB is literally a gateway into the city and used to be named as such. Hundreds of thousands of visitors will travel from the airport to the new Music City Center using this boulevard. This ‘complete green street’ not only provides a tremendous boon to traffic management in the city, but it sets the framework for new building opportunities that weren’t there before. Hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment on private land will be stimulated by this public investment in green infrastructure.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment on private land will be stimulated by this public investment in green infrastructure.” Gary Hawkins, Hawkins Partners
TRENDSETTERS Nashville
Franklin Theatre The historic town of Franklin, Tennessee, which dates back to 1799, reopened its downtown theater in 2011 after a substantial sustainable restoration and modernization. The facility was revamped to be a state-of-the-art, multiuse venue, but the new design and reconstruction still balance the historical aesthetic of the 320-seat theater with new technologies and acoustics. Sustainability was an important part of the mechanical-system design, selection of finishes, and use of the existing structure, and the building is expected to become one of few historic theaters to receive LEED certification.
54
january–february 2013
a growing awareness of sustainability and energy use not only in Nashville, but all over,” Gannaway says. “We have a mayor who recognizes the importance of health and fitness. People are moving back to the city, so they have the option of walking to the neighborhood market or coffee house. Architecture can play a part. We do what we can to create spaces that contribute to a sense of place.” gb&d
The redone theater’s downtown location puts it closer to public transportation and other revitalized community spaces. Photos: Jim Roof
a historical aesthetic while upgrading technologies and acoustics. Sustainability played a key role, specifically in the design of the mechanical systems, the selection of finishes, and the reuse of the existing structure. Now, the Franklin Theatre is on target to become one of the few historic buildings of its type to receive LEED certification. “The grand reopening of the Franklin Theatre was such an anticipated event and celebrated with an overwhelming sense of pride,” Gannaway says. “I’d never witnessed the opening of a building that included a block party. It has also had a positive economic impact on downtown restaurant and retail businesses.” Nashville has laid a foundation that will help it become more architecturally significant as well as more sustainable—two things that make a city livable. The people at Hastings Architecture see this as a very positive development and are aware of the role they can play in the future of the city. “I think there’s
gb&d
Over 19 Years in Business Power Management Corporation is
a
full-service
consulting
engineering firm established in 1993. We offer HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection design and construction administration
services
Commissioning
as
well
Services
as and
LEED Facilitation Services. Power Management Corporation endeavors to stay on the cutting edge of sustainable design and building information modeling.
phone 615.383.6949 email mail.powermgmt.com
www.powermgmt.com
SERVICES
• Mission Critical Services • Building Systems Design • Facility Assessment Services • LEED Documentation and Facilitation Services • Commissioning Services
HEFFERLIN + KRONENBERG ARCHITECTS
COMMERCIAL • HEALTHCARE • INDUSTRY • INSTITUTIONAL • RECREATION • RESIDENTIAL • RETAIL • URBAN DESIGN
Hefferlin+Kronenberg Architects, PLLC | 525 West Main Street | Chattanooga, TN 37402 | PH (423) 266-3656 | www.hkarchitects.net
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
55
TRENDSETTERS
Brooks Institute for Sustainability Giving high schoolers real-world experience in renewable energy policy may just make their futures—and ours—a little greener By Annie Fischer
As is always the case with new technologies, the youngsters end up educating their elders. When it comes to sustainability, embracing this fact may be our best bet, which is what the Brooks School, a college preparatory school in North Andover, Massachusetts, did in June 2010, when a popular science teacher asked a select group of four students to stay on during summer vacation. As the inaugural class of interns for the newly formed Brooks Institute for Sustainability (BIS), the elite foursome was given this mission: find ways to produce solar energy on the 250-acre campus without costing the school money and recommend a project contractor to complete the work. After six weeks of meetings and research, the students determined that Brooks School could recover its initial capital investment within 11 years through three sources: the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC); market, federal, and state renewable energy incentive programs; and an annual $11,000 estimated savings from the operations budget provided by the solar energy itself. The team also projected that after 11 years, the school would begin to turn a financial profit from the project. Now the students just had to convince the administration and trustees. The interns presented the plan to key adults, and their tenacity paid off. In April 2011, Brooks made its formal foray into the clean energy world with the installation of an 80-kilowatt solar array on the school gym. A six-person crew from Waterline Companies installed 320 Canadian Solar photovoltaic panels on the west side of the gymnasium roof. For the inverter and monitoring system, the Brooks team chose a model from Solectria, based nearby in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The boarding school, which enrolls 370 students in grades 9 through 12, consumes approximately 4.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The
56
january–february 2013
Getting Involved The students, faculty, and staff broke ground on a community garden in 2010 to produce food for the school’s cafeteria and teach students about soil.
6,160-square-foot solar installation generates almost 100,000 kilowatt-hours annually, resulting in a two percent reduction in net power consumption. It was a modest success but an encouraging one; Brooks is now in the planning stages for a substantially larger second solar installation, one that could provide up to 50 percent of the school’s electricity. Will Collier was one of the interns that developed the original energy plan, and he says the experience helped prepare him for future leadership positions. “I had to take control and speak as a leader and as an equal with men my father’s age, who didn’t agree with the changes we were trying to make,” he says. “It made me understand the real nitty-gritty of trying to make a difference in terms of energy usage and sustainable practices.” Collier is now pursuing a major in environmental policy and planning and a minor in geography and political science at the University of Iowa, where he is also planning to get a sustainability certificate. He credits his teacher and BIS boss Brian Palm with reinforcing the authority of students. “We were given
the trust and ability to try and change some things that we thought needed changing,” Collier says. “We also knew we would be taken seriously, which, for a high school student used to being written off, is a nice thing.” Palm is the guiding light in all of the Brooks School’s sustainability initiatives. He joined the school faculty in 2001, after earning a masters degree in environmental policy and management from Oxford University. He teaches biology and advanced placement environmental science and acts as head of the science department. Three years ago, Palm stepped into yet another role—the director of environmental stewardship. From an operational standpoint, Palm identifies energy-saving strategies throughout campus, from eliminating waste in the dining halls to planting a living roof on the science center. He acknowledges, however, that the development of green technologies can only help so much—behavioral change is imperative. So in May 2009, Palm helped gb&d
TRENDSETTERS
“If you had asked me last year [about] a career in environmental practices, I would have probably said no. [Now] however . . . I have a serious interest in environmental practices.” Nick Gates, current Brooks student The Science Building at Brooks School is a 30,000-square-foot showcase of green building, featuring a green roof, solar hot water, and high-efficiency lighting.
the school launch Green Life Brooks, a program developed by TellEmotion that tracks and displays real-time energy consumption in campus buildings. In touch-screen monitors and online, an animated polar bear smiles when electric usage is low and grows increasingly unhappy in direct relation to the level of energy use. At peak energy times, the ice starts to melt and eventually cracks, and the bear falls into freezing water. The program toggles among animations, tips, graphs, and competition boards to cover all its rhetorical bases. Thanks to Palm, Brooks was the first prep school in the country to use the technology, which is employed in 25 buildings on campus, including 10 dorms. Last summer, Palm charged his BIS interns with determining additional sustainability measures for Chace House, a 30,000-square-foot, energyefficient dormitory set to open in fall 2013. The students spoke independently with companies, made off-site visits, What’s in a Bear? conducted research, The secret to greater savings. and performed TellEmotion’s animated polar bear numerous cost communicates to Brook School students by smiling when energy analyses. Once use is down. When it’s up, his they agreed on an iceberg begins melting, and he idea—a composting
eventually is dumped into the water. The animation, along with tips, graphs, and competition boards keep the students informed. It might just be the cutest energy display we’ve seen yet.
toilet and plumbing system for the dorm—they formally proposed it to select faculty members and John Packard, the head of the school. The administration took the students’ recommendation and added the system to the building plans. Will Stockwell, another former intern, says that the experience of presenting a plan to the school administration was intimidating at first but proved to be helpful. “When I was treated as an adult rather than a student, it was a very cool feeling,” he says. Current student Nick Gates agrees. Following his summer work with the
gbdmagazine.com
Brooks Institute, Gates joined the environmental club and became an environmental proctor in his dormitory, where he helped organize a new recycling program both in the dorm and throughout campus. “If you had asked me last year whether or not a career in environmental studies or practices would be in the cards for me, I would have probably said no,” Gates says. “However, from my experiences with the BIS, my time with Mr. Palm in his AP environmental science class this past year, and my work in the environmental club, I have a new appreciation and serious interest in environmental practices.” gb&d january–february 2013
57
TRENDSETTERS
Whole Foods Market
With roughly 500,000 residents, Raleigh, North Carolina, is nothing if not urbane—and an urbane market demands sophisticated offerings. Enter the newest iteration of progressive, Austin-based grocer Whole Foods Market. “The ‘Triangle’ [Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, NC] for us is a strong customer base, and we wanted to go for the gold with our North Raleigh store,” says Mike Farish, executive construction coordinator with Whole Foods. By “gold,” Farish means LEED Gold. The 40,000-square-foot, single-story grocery store was completed in March 2011 and received the certification in April 2012; it is the first LEED Gold Whole Foods in the region and the fifth in the nation. The idea of going for LEED Gold occurred to Farish and his team after the store’s developer decided to pursue Silver certification through LEED Core & Shell version 2.0. “Supermarkets and restaurants are the two highest energy consumers Percentage of both the average among commercial buildings, so we’re annual rainfall captured and the always trying to make amount of waste our buildings as susdiverted from tainable as possible,” landfills. Farish says. “We feel like our designs meet that criterion, but the only way to judge it is to get certification from a third party. It’s easy for us to say we’re sustainable—it’s another thing to prove it.” To get there, Farish says, “We really pushed ourselves on water conservation.” The building’s plumbing design
90
58
january–february 2013
incorporates an 11,000-gallon rainwater cistern—prominently displayed at the front of the store—that captures water that is then repurposed for flushing all of the building’s toilets and urinals. The cistern reduces potable water use The Golden Market by more than 80 Not all supermarkets are created equal. percent, says Rene The 40,000-square-foot LEED Gold Whole Ferandel, principal Foods Market in Raleigh, NC, was built in and director of conjunction with the US Department of architecture and Energy’s Commercial Building Partnerships, engineering servicwhich seeks to help new commercial es at Greenbergprojects achieve a 50% reduction in Farrow Architecenergy use over ASHRAE Standard 90.1ture, the architect 2004. “We wanted to look at more than of record for tenant just refrigeration and expand our efforts improvements. into heating, cooling, and lighting,” says executive construction coordinator Mike “Our primary Farish. Pre-construction energy simulations design approach predicted a 41% savings at the store; the focused on intestandard Whole Foods design, while good, grating sustainsees savings closer to 16%. able elements and practices throughout the site and the entire building,” says Ferandel. “Notably, we achieved exemplary performance by utilizing over 50 percent regional materials, including reclaimed barn wood for interior finishes; selecting over 90 percent Energy Star-rated equipment; and using advanced lighting controls to achieve a reduction in lighting power.” The store HVAC system uses 29 percent less energy than comparable baseline grocery stores, Farish adds, and its ambiFarish, StudioGee Architecture, and GreenbergFarrow designed a large wall tious recycling projects divert 90 percent display to explain the store’s green of the store’s waste from landfills. features—things like ceramic tiles, Community involvement also is an refrigeration tubing, and energy-saving important part of sustainability for lights. They also installed a television in Whole Foods. To engage customers, the market area that runs programming about Whole Foods’ sustainable efforts. The store is great for the eco-conscious “We wanted to look at more than Raleigh market, where consumers tend to just refrigeration and expand our efforts care where their food comes from. “They want their grocery store to back that up,” into heating, cooling, and lighting.” Farish says, “and they shop with us beMike Farish, Whole Foods Market cause they see we’ve made a commitment to sustainability.” gb&d gb&d
Photos: Kate Medley; Whole Foods Market (Mike Farish)
The grocery chain with a mean green streak does more than sell fair-trade coffee. As its construction coordinator says, ‘It’s easy for us to say we’re sustainable—it’s another thing to prove it.’ A new store in North Carolina takes on the task. By Julie Schaeffer
TRENDSETTERS
41
Percentage of energy savings at the Raleigh Whole Foods. A typical store’s savings are closer to 16%.
STUDIOGEE Architecture LLC is a design-focused architectural firm committed to creating environments that enrich the lives of our clients and the public life of the communities in which they are built.
Architecture 1214 West 6th Street, Suite 216 | Austin, TX 78703 | 512-322-0055 www.studiogee.net
11,000
Gallons of water that can be held in the Raleigh store’s cistern. Water is used in the store bathrooms and gives the market some highly visible sustainability street-cred.
Architecture Engineering Development Services LEED & Green Globes Consulting
gbdmagazine.com
877.686.1033 www.greenbergfarrow.com
january–february 2013
59
TRENDSETTERS
If you’re looking for the greenest college in the United States, you can forget about New England and California. Instead, hitch a ride to central Kentucky, where tiny Berea College has been an eco-pioneer for 150 years. By Seth Putnam
Back in 1855, Berea College was an unlikely school in an unlikely place. Founded by the abolitionist John Gregg Fee with the belief that all humans share the same blood, the school sprouted like bluegrass in the rich Kentucky soil. Among other decisions, the college opened its doors to black and white students alike, long before society valued policies of inclusion and nondiscrimination. Even more curiously, the college didn’t charge tuition, and instead simply asked its students to provide honest work for an honest education. “We believe there’s dignity in all labor,” says Steve Karcher, Berea’s vice president of operations and sustainability. “Doesn’t matter if you’re a teacher’s assistant, a custodian, or a grounds worker. It’s something you can learn from and use to contribute to the community.” And the scholars grew verdant alongside the bluegrass. Fast-forward to the roaring end of the 20th century. The past 150 years had seen the American economy undergo a drastic change. First, the evolution from agriculture to industry. Then, the makeover from an economy forged by manufacturing to one built on information. All the while, Berea has continued to guide itself based on its ‘Great Commitments,’ a package of mission statements with focuses on diversity, unity, faith, the liberal arts, and Appalachia. One segment of these core beliefs stands out from the rest: “…to encourage in all members of the community a way of life characterized by plain living, pride in labor well done, zest for learning, high personal standards, and concern for the welfare of others.” This particular credo has inspired the school’s leadership to turn its eyes toward sensitive and sustainable building practices to take the college into the modern world. The rest of the world calls it ‘green building’—for Berea, it’s just business as usual. They started small: turning off lights, covering the pools, filtering with
60
january–february 2013
For decades, Kentucky’s Berea College has made conservation a priority. After an energy audit from Aramark, the school identified ways to further improve its operations.
“We believe there’s dignity in all labor. Doesn’t matter if you’re a teacher’s assistant, a custodian, or a grounds worker.” Steve Karcher, Berea College
gb&d
TRENDSETTERS
50kW
Capacity of the solar array on Deep Green’s roof. It will generate close to 15 percent of the building’s electricity.
Photo: Kelsey A. Crim
Interior trim and furniture for the Deep Green Residence Hall are made from wood harvested two miles away at Berea’s 8,000-acre FSC-certified forest.
ultraviolet rays, installing low-flow sinks, toilets, and showers in dorms and offices. These are the kind of actions some companies are just now considering, but Berea has been tackling them for the better part of a decade. “We’ve pretty much picked clean the low-hanging fruit,” Karcher says. Invigorated by its first foray into the world of sustainability, Berea’s top brass decided to craft a manifesto. “We wanted to increase the emphasis and show evidence that we’re serious about sustainability at an executive level,” Karcher says. So they set about creating an updated mission statement. Building by building, they began a series of retrofit exercises and explored the next opportunities for energy savings by commissioning Aramark to perform an energy audit. The result was a $4 million bundle of potential improvement projects. “We wanted to approach this in two ways: both in dollar savings and energy reduction, but also as an educational opportunity,” Karcher says. Nowhere is this formal thrust more apparent than the school’s plan for its brand-new Deep Green Residence Hall. The three-story, 42,000-square-foot building will house 120 students in 66 rooms. It’s a bit of a departure from the college’s usual practice of rehabbing existing structures, but it’s with good reason. ““We don’t build new very often,” Karcher says. “We’ve been around long enough that we keep using and reusing gbdmagazine.com
“We’re holding ourselves to standards that go beyond LEED Platinum and beyond the LBI [Living Building Institute],” Karcher says. “What we’ve ended up with is this really interesting approach to a building that doesn’t require cuttingedge technology. And we think it’s going to be the greenest res-hall in the country.” Such thinking helped them arrive and renovating what we’ve got. [But] if at a building that didn’t boast just one we’re going to build something new, how feature as a crown jewel of sorts—more can we make sure it’s consistent with our like several gems that make the building commitments, and how can we educate a crown in and of itself. students about sustainability?” The Deep Green Residence Hall feaKarcher and his team started putting tures a centralized geothermal system the word out to attract suitable archi(six of Berea’s other buildings also incortects. After attending a conference in St. porate the technology), and despite using Louis, two Missouri firms were on their fairly traditional methods, the team short list: Hastings+Chivetta and Helldeveloped a highly effective building muth + Bicknese. Torn between the two, shell by keenly focusing on infiltration. they partnered with both and developed There’s a 50-kilowatt photovoltaic solar some intrepid ideas about integrating array on the roof that generates about challenge-based living into their new 14 percent of the building’s electricity. residence hall. “We wanted to work with There are no red-list chemicals or PVC, them as equal partners,” Karcher reand the recycled brick originates from members. “It made sense geographically, within a 500-mile radius of the school. and they were excellent engineers and Outside, there are rain gardens that architects. We were really trying to make incorporate native vegetation. The intethis a game-changer and be bold.” rior trim is made of wood harvested from The design they eventually landed on Berea’s FSC-certified forest, located two was reliant not on science-fiction bells miles outside of town. “We used some and whistles, but very sustainable techniques, on behavior that like mule logging,” Karcher would hit several says. “It was part of the educapetals of the Living tion process.” Building ChalDeep Green also incorpoMule Logging? lenge, a sustainrates what Karcher calls the ability rubric that “building dashboard.” The focuses on the display technology, offered building’s capacity by a company called Lucid You read that right—it’s a lowSystems, focuses on behavto educate as well impact practice in which mules ioral modification. It’s a as perform effiare used to remove logged trees real-time monitoring system ciently (in addition from forests, eliminating the already utilized in other areas to green construcneed for heavy machinery and leaving only hoof prints. across the campus, and it’s tion techniques designed to generate dialogue and materials). january–february 2013
61
TRENDSETTERS Berea College
ABOVE Berea College has pushed boundaries since its formation in 1855 when it offered education to both black and white students. Today, it’s on the forefront of green building—even without the use of new technologies.
Hawkins Partners Inc. landscape architects
greenroofs
green infrastructure
green streets
c o n n e c t i n g p e o p l e w i t h c o m m u n i t y | w w w. h a w k i n s p a r t n e r s . c o m
62
january–february 2013
around students’ actual energy usage in their own dorms. “In addition to screens around the school, there’s a Web interface, so you could be sitting in your room and pop on to compare your res-hall to others on campus, and even across the country,” Karcher says. “It’s an interesting way to foster competition.” But perhaps the idea most central to Berea’s sustainability mission has been the involvement of the students and local community. Take the furniture, for instance. It, too, is harvested from the school’s forest and built by students in the college’s craft department, and students were involved in both the construction and design of the Deep Green Residence Hall. As for the community, special precautions were taken to preserve the heritage of the land and its former inhabitants. The area has a rich history of American Indian tribes (and later settlers), so Berea professors used the Deep Green site for an archeological dig before construction began. Some of the artifacts they found were integrated into the building. Talking to Karcher, there’s a powerful sense of honor and sensitivity to those who came before. This land—this community—is immensely important to the decision-makers at Berea College. There’s a palpable commitment to taking the future and making it an homage to the past. Deep Green grew out of that. “This has been about getting people to think and to talk,” Karcher says. “Students are seeing what’s possible in green design. It’s been a long process, but it’s been worth it.” gb&d a message from Hastings+Chivetta Architects Hastings+Chivetta Architects is proud to serve Berea College as designers of the Deep Green Residence Hall. By targeting LEED Platinum certification, Berea is supporting sustainable practices and embracing its commitment to a culture of simple living. Founded in 1960, Hastings+Chivetta provides planning and design services to institutional, educational, and corporate clients throughout the United States.
gb&d
TRENDSETTERS
OCV Architects
Photos: Mary Ellen Cooper; Mireille Moga (inset)
As affordable housing adapts its strategies in a droughtlike economic climate, a team of 22 New York architects offers case studies in smart, social design By Benjamin van Loon
If there’s one thing to know about New York’s OCV Architects, it’s that the firm specializes in affordable housing and that, because of this, its 22-member team knows how to work in, and out of a tight spot. Since the early 1980s, OCV has provided low-income housing solutions throughout New York City, and as sustainability continues to revolutionize design philosophy across the industry, OCV can be seen as a microcosm of that evolution, creating greener housing throughout the city’s five boroughs. In 2005, OCV began work on Fox Point Terrace, a 54,400-square-foot, LEED Gold housing complex sponsored by Palladia Inc. and funded by the Homeless Housing Assistance Program, Homes and Community Renewal, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The project’s 48 units are for formerly homeless and low-income families, but what’s unique about Fox Point is that those units include amenities most likely foreign to many of its residents. Earning 70 percent of the possible points in LEED’s energy-optimization category, the units feature large, argonfilled, low-E windows and Energy Star appliances. The building as a whole—which includes various common areas and living units ranging from simple studios to three-bedroom apartments, all managed by a full-time support staff—has an incredibly efficient envelope and highefficiency equipment throughout. It also uses a microturbine to generate power and heat that ultimately reduces facility dependence on utility power. “When we began planning Fox Point, [we were] already implementing sustainable features in our projects, though the process hadn’t been formalized by outside certification,” says Mary Ellen Cooper, a project manager at OCV. “Palladia approached us after the schematic design and told us they wanted a LEED rating on the building. We were more than happy to take them up on that.” gbdmagazine.com
Fox Point’s community room, library, and computer room face the rear yard and play areas. The fenestration lets light into the spaces, and the operable windows let fresh air flow inside. The apartments have open kitchens, bamboo flooring, and low-VOC finishes.
The project was a first for the firm. “This . . . was the first project where we were responsible for all of the sourcing, documentation, and submittals necessary to achieve LEED status,” Cooper says. Which anyone can tell you is no small amount of work. The timeline of certification, too, can be arduous. Although Fox Point was completed in 2009, it was only awarded its LEED Gold designation in spring 2012. A good architecture firm will do what’s asked of it; a great one will push projects into even greener territory. It was originally planned that Fox Point
attain LEED Silver certification, but OCV saw that LEED Gold was feasible. The architects maximized open spaces and included two green rooftops and a vegetated yard, reducing urban heat island effect and decreasing storm-water runoff. “Controlling runoff is important from a municipal standpoint,” Cooper says. “[It] lessens the building’s impact on urban infrastructure systems.” Points were tallied for indoor environmental quality, thanks to low-VOC finishes and the controllability of individual systems. “Many of these individuals were homeless prior to arriving at Fox Point,” january–february 2013
63
TRENDSETTERS OCV Architects
2 Market Street, 4th Floor, Paterson, NJ 07501 154 West 14th Street 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011 P 201.255.2802 F 212.253.4165 C 917.715.4899 robert@lumen.us ̷ www.lumen.us
ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL
ELECTRICAL
0120607_ad_final.indd 1
P/FP
6/8/2012 1:51:42 PM
Personalized Business Greeting Cards Our manufacturing plant and headquarters has the highest rating for sustainability.
Tools for sustainable business www.postycards.com
64
january–february 2013
Cooper says, “so it was very meaningful for them to have control over their own environment.” Richard Vitto, a principal at OCV, emphasizes the synergies of green building’s goals with affordable housing’s. “Fox Point is a building constructed with less environmental impact at the local and global level,” he says, “and it employs technologies and design techniques that greatly reduce operational costs while providing an aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, and healthy place to live.” OCV sought similar synergies in its recent partnership with the Jericho Project—a New York-based living assistance organization—for the $14 million, 76-unit, 44,000-square-foot Kingsbridge Terrace Veterans Residence, which is targeting LEED Silver status. It’s the second veterans residence funded by the Jericho Project, strategically sited to be adjacent to the Bronx VA Medical Center. “For this project, we are taking everything we learned from Fox Point and planning on a repeat success,” Cooper says. Again, OCV is overseeing the LEED certification of Kingsbridge, which will feature green roofs, energy-efficient HVAC systems, Energy Star appliances, and recycled, rapidly renewable, and reclaimed building materials, as well as a microturbine similar to Fox Point’s. The site’s configuration allows for natural lighting and surprisingly grand views. Kingsbridge and Fox Point epitomize both OCV’s commitment to environmentally conscious design and a new, citywide standard for affordable housing that uses architecture and social services to assist residents while also giving back to the urban environment. gb&d a message from lumen LUMEN has been entrusted as a preferred engineering company by the American Designer and Architect community for the past 20 years. Highly skilled and experienced LUMEN engineers are prepared to apply state-of-the-art technology for fulfilling requested assignments. Our services are involved in all areas of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection.
gb&d
Rendering: OCV Architects
ABOVE Kingsbridge Terrace Veterans Residence in the Bronx has common rooms and gardens, as well as a wellness center and media lab to help foster community among residents.
TRENDSETTERS
If you only think ‘corn’ when someone says Iowa, you’re living in the past. Iowa City is a progressive bastion on the forefront of smart urban planning and sustainable design. By Michelle Markelz
Iowa City is a river city. Just as the flood plains are replenished each time the Iowa River runs high, the city adapts and develops with its ever-changing population of educated, eco-conscious residents. Unlike other urban centers in Iowa, the city is home to one of the state’s flagship universities, as well as a peculiar combination of young and old who demand progress from their city and each other. While the rest of the country knows them by their cash crop—corn—the locals take pride in their farmer’s market, which heads into its 41st season this May. The city is growing in rare defiance to the national trend of recession, but it is not without its challenges. Rather than shy away from opportunity, the city has faced it with three new trendsetting innovations.
Photos: Tom Jorgensen (aerial)
lookING out for families The US Census has approximately threefourths of Iowa City’s more than 68,000 residents at ages between 18 and 65. This makes for a competitive housing market, especially close to the University of Iowa, where a handful of college students can outbid a family of five. Community development coordinator Steve Long and a team from the city recognized this as an exceptional problem that required a unique solution. The UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership is a counterweight to the tipping scales of home ownership. The city and the university teamed up to launch a letter campaign gauging the interest of more than 450 landlords in selling their properties to the city. With an overwhelmingly positive response, a committee toured 100 homes—varying in level of upkeep—and purchased 26. Materials salvaged from homes torn down after the 2008 flood helped alleviate costs, but in order to stay within budget, the city couldn’t spend more than $250,000 on the purchase and renovation of each home, so efficiency and safety were top priorities. gbdmagazine.com
DETAILS ‘UniverCity’ In a nationally poor housing market, it might seem crazy for a municipality to start flipping houses, but Iowa City did just that. Spurred by a goal of encouraging a shorter, greener commute for local residents, the city acquired 26 homes, renovated them, and sold most of them to University of Iowa staff and faculty wishing to live close to campus. Funded by state, city, and university funds, the $5 million project’s payoff has been twofold as neighboring homeowners have caught the remodeling spirit to pick up a paintbrush and do their own repairs.
january–february 2013
65
TRENDSETTERS Iowa City
As Long and his team began gutting and buffing the historic gems back into shape, they started to notice contractor’s trucks parked alongside their own and ladders leaning against neighboring houses. It turned out the remodeling was contagious, Long says, and ended up spurring the transformation of entire blocks. In some places, where neighbors have kept to themselves for years, block parties are now sprouting.
housing and health care Two of the city’s most recent civic investments directly benefit the group that perhaps needs them most. The Aniston Village Limited Partnership project and the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic were designed to transfer all the benefits of superior green design to the city’s incomesensitive residents without passing on an economic burden. From its proximity to amenities and resources to the color of the sidewalks, Aniston Village was planned to be as efficient and ecologically responsible as possible. The 22-home project, designed by architect John Shaw, AIA, LEED AP, is a noteworthy innovation, even for progressive Iowa City. With more than 60 various features that benefit residents and details iowa city free clinic The Iowa City Free Clinic provided services to almost 2,500 people throughout the 2010-2011 fiscal year, in a new, sustainable building that incorporates environmentally friendly and readily renewable materials.
the environment, Aniston Village should earn high marks for its low impact when certification time comes around. The proof was in the utility bills when Shaw’s water-conserving appliances and highly resistant thermal envelopes were put to the test. After their first winter, the handsome homes are seeing remarkably low energy costs. The Iowa City Free Clinic didn’t have the advantage of being designed from scratch, and its 45-year-old frame had to be considered. “There’s an old saying,” says Shaw, “that the greenest building is an existing building.” By overhauling the façade and envelope—which included the use of zinc and aluminum, highperforming windows, and LED lighting— Shaw was able to optimize space and minimize waste. “This renovation has extended the useful life of the building,” Shaw says. “Had it been demolished, the embodied energy that went into the original structure would have been lost, and its materials would have gone in the landfill.”
AN East SIDE green outpost In 2010, Iowa City was chosen by the EPA as one of five communities in the United States to receive assistance in revitalizing its brownfield areas, and coupled with dozens of nonprofits and a rapidly filling landfill, the city was primed for change. Enter Shive-Hattery, with a plan for a comprehensive reuse-and-recycling cen-
ter that would double as a classroom and LEED-certified landmark for the community. Besides handling a portion of the city’s recycling operations, the recently completed East Side Recycling Center also houses a drop-off center for electronics and oil, a salvage barn for building materials, a furniture-exchange facility, a pick-up for compost, storage for salt and sand, and a water-distribution station. The entire facility is powered by clean energy and not a watt is lost on the lighting and plumbing fixtures, which are outfitted with occupancy sensors and automatic shut-off and flushing mechanisms. Solar panels power the south-facing sunscreens, and wind energy generated on-site contributes five percent of the building’s power. “In a city that’s very well-educated and concerned about environmentalism,” says Shive-Hattery architect Mark Seabold, “this gives the public a beautiful campus to centralize those ideas.” gb&d a message from Architect John F. Shaw Ecologically responsible design and construction will have its full effect upon a sustainable future when accepted as an essential component of all projects, large and small. Meeting green criteria in projects of modest scope, from single-family homes to the renovation of existing structures, will establish green building and design as common practice.
66
january–february 2013
gb&d
Photos: AJ Brown Imaging; John F. Shaw (clinic)
“In a city that’s very well-educated and concerned about environmentalism, [the East Side Recycling Center] gives the public a beautiful campus to centralize those ideas.” Mark Seabold, Shive-Hattery
TRENDSETTERS
Architect
John F. Shaw
AIA, LEED AP, INC
SUBSTAINABLE PRIORITIES ACCOMPLISHED DESIGN 221 1/2 E. Washington | Suite #305
PERSONAL
Iowa City, IA 52240 | info@johnfshaw.com
COMMITMENT
319.338.4344 | www.johnfshaw.com
DETAILS east side recycling center
ARCHITECTURE
INC
The East Side Recycling Center has fulfilled its mission since breaking ground on day one. When abandoned farm equipment, tires, and the axle of a pickup truck were found embedded at the project site, the team disposed of materials responsibly, avoiding the local landfill. Since then, the center has become more than just a recycling center; it’s a multipurpose drop-off and salvage site, as well as a community classroom. Targeting LEED Platinum certification, the building hovers over the ground to reduce the impact on the bioswale surrounding it, and project architect Shive-Hattery even added skylights in the restrooms to fuel the solar-powered sinks.
Photo Credit – Mike Sinclair Davidson Hall completed by Paragon Architecture and Creative Ink Architects
Davidson Hall Heath & Sciences at Crowder College LEED Gold Certified / FEMA 361 Community Tornado Safe Room Paragon Architecture utilizes the Paragon Approach executing innovative thinking, and quality, sustainable design that enriches the community. Focused expertise in: • Education • Healthcare • Public Safety / Justice • HighTech & Commercial
Springfield & Joplin Missouri
gbdmagazine.com
|
(417) 885-0002
|
www.paragon-architecture.com
january–february 2013
67
TRENDSETTERS
Crowder College Who knew so many firsts happened in Neosho, MO? How a small-town school made a name for itself on the international stage of sustainability. By Benjamin van Loon
Most people haven’t heard of Neosho, Missouri. The town has a population of 11,835 and is located roughly halfway between Springfield, Missouri, and Tulsa, Oklahoma—central to almost nothing. Almost. Crowder College—a school established in 1963 on the site of the former Fort Crowder in Neosho—is a national focal point of alternative energy research and education. It’s completed one LEED Platinum project, and it’s working on another as part of the same initiative. Art Boyt, a professor at Crowder from 1978 to 2008 and the program chair of the college’s alternative-energy studies, says that the agrarian and independent ethos of the region has lent itself to the success of Crowder’s efforts. In other words, sustainability isn’t remotely a new idea for the 5,400-student college. In 1984, a small team from Crowder was the first to design, build, and drive a solar-powered car across the United States. The achievement was spearheaded by Boyt, and it set a new national record, established a distinguished standard for alternative energy innovation, and made
ore Read m e th t u o ab Center MARET 63 on p. 1
68
january–february 2013
Crowder a key player in the international sustainability scene. Today Crowder’s reputation is well established, its progressive research initiatives continually championed by the school and the growing team of sponsors and researchers who support it. “The programs and the solar competitions we participated in from early on brought a lot of relationships and resources into the college from well outside the community,” Boyt says. “We were working with companies from around the world. The reputation and notoriety of the college spread well beyond what you’d expect from a smalltown college.” It was this notoriety that earned the school an integral designation from the State of Missouri in 1992, which established at Crowder the official Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) Center. “It added to the momentum of everything we were doing,” Boyt says. “Photovoltaic application, solar competitions, and creating new career and certification programs in response to a growing profession.” In 2002—the same year Crowder participated in its first Solar Decathlon—the college began the first phase of construction on the MARET Center building, which would host an array of diverse alternative energy, green building, and sustainable programs. Phase I was completed in 2012. The 10,000-square-foot, LEED Platinum project includes geothermal wells, an ERV system, a 65-kilowatt Nordtank wind turbine, and various sustainable materials. Phase II, currently underway, will add an additional 17,000 square feet of classroom, auditorium, and demonstration space.
counting up the firsts . . . Crowder College’s major-league milestones from the ’70s to today 1978 Offers first solar design and practicum courses 1984 Builds the first solar-powered vehicle to cross the continental US 1990 Selected as one of 32 teams to participate in the General Motors Sun Race, in which Crowder places fifth overall but first in innovative design 1992 Designated as the Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) Center 2002 Wins first place in Energy Balance and sixth place overall in the Solar Decathlon in Washington, DC 2008 Sponsors and organizes the North American Solar Challenge, a 2,000-mile solar-car race from Dallas to Canada 2009 Breaks ground on the now LEED Platinum-certified MARET Center facility
The MARET Center building also includes a 286-panel rooftop photovoltaic system installed by Boyt’s new company, SolSource Greenbuild, which he founded in 2008 when he ‘retired’ from Crowder. “I still do work at Crowder, but from the other side,” Boyt says. “It’s really cool doing things from the commercial end; it brings things into fruition I couldn’t do from the teaching side.” Executive director Russell Hopper describes the MARET Center as a test bed of new technologies, including alternative types of solar panels, solar heating systems, battery systems, and energy storage. “It makes the technology accessible and hands-on,” he says, “which is integral for our programs.” gb&d
“We were working with companies from around the world. The reputation and notoriety of the college spread well beyond what you’d expect from a smalltown college.” Art Boyt, SOLSOURCE GREENBUILD gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List
70
Corporate headquarters novus international
76
TRIMBLE ROCKIES
79
WELCH ALLYN
82
Automation meets collaboration
Letting its light shine
BASF NORTH AMERICA
Built from its own foundation
86
DAVITA WORLD HEADQUARTERS
gbdmagazine.com
Quality of life by design
Zen at work
january–february 2013
69
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
Case study
Inside Five Healthy Headquarters Can an office improve your well-being? Several global corporations say yes, and experts agree. Greener workplaces mean healthier employees through nontoxic environments with fresh air and outdoor spaces for exercise. With sustainability on the rise in corporate circles, new HQ projects are considering ways to save the planet and people. Here are five offices we envy.
70
january–february 2013
Novus International Quality of life by design By Kelli McElhinny It’s a sign of greener times that clients, not just architects or developers, are seeking a sustainability certification even stronger than LEED Platinum. Novus International, the global provider of animal health and nutrition solutions, wanted to reach ‘platinum’ status not just for its building, but for its new headquarters’ entire site, says Don Vondriska, a retired Novus employee who served as a consultant on the project in St. Charles, Missouri. The company eventually found the perfect solution in the relatively new Sustainable Sites Initiative, or SITES. SITES, developed by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, and the United States Botanic Garden, offers voluntary guidelines for land design, construction, and maintenance to create sustainable landscapes. The rating system parallels LEED in certain areas—using regional materials, reducing waste, and minimizing energy use—but was designed for outdoor areas. The Novus headquarters became one of three pilot projects chosen from more than 150 submittals to provide the earliest tests of the SITES guidelines, and the company made the most of it. “We applied for every category that SITES had,” Vondriska says. “We worked . . . to test the breadth of the certification.” As a result, the landscape at Novus earned three out of four stars, making it the top-rated project among the three that have been certified. gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
Photo: Alise O'Brien
Novus strives to meet the global need for nutrition and health by improving agriculture and food systems, and its new headquarters in the St. Louis-area improves employee well-being through features that have been shown to reduce stress.
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
The LEED Platinum and SITEScertified Novus headquarters has nine acres of wildlife habitat, native plant life, and walking trails.
Interacting with the environment A chance encounter introduced Novus to the SITES certification process. Vondriska and Novus president and CEO Thad Simons were attending a dinner at which the company was receiving an award for the new building; they eventually struck up a conversation with Hunter Beckham, ASLA, PSA, a principal at landscapes firm SWT Design. Beckham served on the board that developed the SITES guidelines and suggested that Novus pursue the certification. The company did so, hiring Beckham’s firm to lead the effort. The result is a nine-acre campus that features an impressive number of diverse habitats and environments, complete with numerous species of wildlife and native, drought-resistant vegetation that doesn’t require irrigation. In fact, native habitats were reclaimed on more than half of the site. One particularly impressive feature is the former collection pond that was transformed into a habitat for various aquatic animals, such as waterfowl, amphibians, turtles, and even water snakes. The property has a vegetable and herb garden—the only landscape feature that needs additional sources of water—as well as beehives. The Novus headquarters, the building portion of which was designed by Forum Studio and built by Clayco, includes spaces designated as venues for outdoor meetings and offers employees opportunities to engage with the environment. Novus personnel monitor water quality and the butterfly population and can attend monthly bird walks. “It’s helped people to better utilize the outdoor spaces and encourages them to think about how they interact with the environment,” says Ellen Dierenfeld, Novus’s manager of global sustainability. Some elements of the new headquarters, such as the office layout or the walking trail around the property’s perimeter, contribute to employee wellness, and the benefits aren’t just physical. “The aesthetics here help with stress relief,” Dierenfeld says. This is partly because every single employee can stand up at their workstation and see outside, and despite being CEO, Simmons has a workstation like everyone else. “We traded private space for public space,” Vondriska says.
PROJECT
GREEN
LOCATION St. Charles, MO Size 90,000 ft2 Completed 2008 Program Office space, research laboratories, employee and customer training center, fitness center, cafeteria
CERTIFICATION LEED Platinum, SITES 3 stars Materials Recycled content including countertops that use recycled milk jugs Energy 5,000-square-foot solar array, renewable energy credits, personalized workstation controls Landscape Restoration of natural habitat, drought-resistant native vegetation, walking trails Waste 98% of construction waste diverted from landfill
TEAM CLIENT Novus International Architect Forum Studio Landscape Architect SWT Design General Contractor Clayco
A higher quality of life Employee wellness is an extension of Novus’s mission to help feed the world affordable, wholesome
72
january–february 2013
gb&d
PhotoS: Alise O'Brien
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
In addition to its sleek, daylit open spaces, the Novus headquarters features a fully equipped gym, exercise classes, and an on-site cafeteria that offers healthful options at no cost to employees.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
73
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
“These same conservation principles are all part of sustainable agriculture as well.” Ellen Dierenfeld, Novus International
ment of animal health and nutrition for Novus, whose products enhance efficiency and reduce carbon footprints by reducing animal waste, for example. “The only way we’re going to be able to produce enough food is with sustainable practices,” Vondriska says, explaining that the new headquarters allows Novus to promote important agricultural practices, such as slowing and filtering water runoff. Dierenfeld notes this synergy, explaining, “These same conservation principles are all part of sustainable agriculture as well.” gb&d A MESSAGE FROM SWT DESIGN SWT Design, a planning and landscape architecture firm out of St. Louis, became a global leader in sustainable site design in January 2012 when the Novus International campus earned a 3-star rating by SITES, making it the highest-rated landscape project in the world. SWT Design led the site design and construction of the nineacre campus, setting a new standard in sustainable development. The firm works nationwide and is known for its innovative design and project leadership.
LEFT The new Novus offices feature small vents at all workstations, allowing for individualized temperature control. ABOVE Beautiful, drought-resistant landscaping replaced manicured turf and nonnative ornamental plants, and a collection pond (inset) was converted into aquatic habitat. The office grounds also have a walking trail for employees.
For more on SITES, check out the cover story of gb&d’s Oct—Dec 2012 issue, or go online to gbdmagazine.com.
74
january–february 2013
gb&d
photos: Alise O'Brian (interior)
food and achieve a higher quality of life. “It ties directly to the overall mission of the company,” Dierenfeld says. “The company’s mission is to make a clear difference in sustainably meeting the growing global need for nutrition and health.” To that end, the headquarters features a fully equipped gym and a number of exercise classes, while the on-site cafeteria offers a host of healthful options at no cost to employees. Employees have access to natural daylight through untinted glass (a curtain on a computerized timer controls that daylight as needed), and smoking is prohibited throughout the property. During construction, air quality was a significant focus, and Novus purchased renewable credits that accounted for 100 percent of energy used. The construction team diverted 98 percent of waste from landfills and reused 98 percent of the existing building. Sustainability is an essential ele-
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
With almost $4 billion in LEED certified construction nationally, we are applying innovative construction practices that favorably affect costs and the environment. We created the “Think Green. Build Blue.®” program, allowing us to further support our clients with the development and implementation of high performance construction and operations practices. www.jedunn.com
Proud builder ofWestminster Trimble Campus © 2012 JE Dunn Construction Company
TECH MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGIES GROUP
MTech Mechanical is leading the way to sustainablity using Trimble Navigation technologies. We are honored to be partners in the construction of your new office building.
INNOVATION | INTEGRATION | BALANCE BEING
A GLOBAL LEADER IN SUSTAINABLE
Energy Service Offerings • Energy Audits
D E S I G N TA K E S C O L L A B O R AT I O N .
• Re-commissioning
IT REQUIRES THINKING FROM THE
• Utility Rebate Partner
[OUTSIDE IN]
• Energy Star Technical Support • Certified Energy Managers • LEED Accredited Professionals • Professional Engineers • Building Information Modeling
SWT DESIGN IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS, HIGH DESIGN, PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FIRM. 7722 BIG BEND BLVD., ST. LOUIS, MO 63119 WWW.SWTDESIGN.COM | WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SWTDESIGN | P. 314.644.5700
gbdmagazine.com
12300 Pecos Street | Westminster, CO 80234 | 303.650.4000 | www.mtechg.com
january–february 2013
75
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
Trimble Rockies Automation meets collaboration By Kelli McElhinny
Trimble seeks to use its positioning technology solutions to help businesses and governments change the world, but the company is starting the revolution at home. In the construction of ‘Trimble Rockies,’ its offices in Westminster, Colorado, the company is using smart planning to eliminate wasteful activity. A focus on efficient processes naturally reduces construction’s environmental impact because fewer resources are used in terms of manpower and energy. When the company identified the need for a new building in Westminster, its own products played a central role in the effort to streamline various construction components. For example, the Trimble 3D GCS900 Machine Control System, which involves GPS devices placed on graders, dozers, and excavators, controls the blades automatically,
slashing the site preparation time in half, and thus reducing carbon emissions from the equipment. After construction is complete, the building’s orientation will further minimize resource consumption. The building is long and narrow, situated facing east and west to maximize daylight and reduce heat load. “The structure is doing as much as possible to be productive and efficient,” says Jarrod Krug, Trimble’s building construction communications manager. The incorporation of extensive daylighting, with shaded high-performance Solarban 70XL clear glazing and integral light shelves, will be a major factor in the building’s projected LEED Gold status, says Rick Petersen, a principal with OZ Architecture and the project’s lead designer.
The original Trimble building had minimal daylight and standard cubicles, but its new home maximizes daylighting, moves private offices to the interior, and uses wide aisles to encourage gatherings.
76
january–february 2013
gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
“The building is organized in a very flexible, modular, systemic matter. It will never be thrown away.” Rick Petersen, OZ Architecture
PROJECT LOCATION Westminster, CO Size 120,000 ft2 Completed 2013 (expected) Program Office space, research and development facilities, fitness center
TEAM CLIENT Trimble Architect OZ Architecture General Contractor JE Dunn Structural Engineer SCI MEP Engineer BCER Civil Engineer Martin/Martin Landscape Architect Sandi Gibson (Outside LA) Mechanical Contractor MTech Electrical Contractor Encor Electric Site Preparation OE Construction
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Gold (expected) Materials Recycled steel, minimal structural walls Energy Indirect/direct evaporative HVAC systems, maximum use of natural daylight, motion sensors for artificial lighting Landscape Inclusion of native vegetation
a message from encore electric At the center of Encore Electric’s differentiating strengths is our culture to embrace and apply technology throughout all our construction processes, and more importantly, putting it into the hands of our craftsmen. Trimble’s innovation and products continue to make them the true leader of this historical and dynamic change to our industry.
gbdmagazine.com
In addition to earning LEED points, the daylighting is expected to give employees a mental boost, as will the beautiful view of the Rockies in the distance. “There is a lot of psychological benefit that comes from access to sunlight,” Krug says. Trimble also added a fitness center and bike racks to encourage employee wellness. But the new building’s greatest benefit for employee well-being might be the enhanced opportunities for employee collaboration and camaraderie. The building will have a transformed layout that incorporates many more communal work spaces, including a covered patio, central atrium, and wide aisles between workstations that accommodate shared work spaces. “We’re doing more than a box containing a bunch of cubes,”
Petersen says. “The building really fosters more of a sense of community than they’re used to.” As Krug points out, this emphasis on unity is important to Trimble, which is regularly acquiring other companies and bringing their employees into the fold. The group work spaces will help facilitate assimilation. “The reason we’re doing this is to create a home for people to work together,” Krug says. That home is intended to stand for decades as well. As Petersen notes, the most sustainable building is one that will stand the test of time. “The building is organized in a very flexible, modular, systemic matter,” he says. “It will never be thrown away. It is really going to be a lasting, functional home for Trimble.” gb&d
a message from JE dunn Construction J E Dunn Construction is a general building contractor with 20 offices in 15 states. Currently constructing the Trimble Westminster Colorado Campus, we are utilizing the latest Trimble technology tools to deliver a sustainable facility. With more than 391 LEED professionals and more than 160 LEED-certified projects around the country, JE Dunn is a nationally ranked sustainable contractor striving to be the best client-centered building partner in the United States in its pursuit of building perfection.
a message from BCER Engineering, Inc. BCER Engineering, Inc. is a mechanical, electrical, energy, life safety, and fire protection engineering firm whose philosophy is to maintain the best relationship with customers. Thanks to their huge experience in each of those disciplines, BCER’s engineers have been involved in this tremendous project: the LEED Gold-certified Trimble Westminster Building.
january–february 2013
77
Traditional Values, Innovative Techniques
At Encore Electric, we are committed to excellence in service, our employees, and our customers in providing quality preconstruction, construction, and maintenance services in a safe, timely, and cost effective manner. Encore Electric, Inc. is a Colorado based company that focuses on delivering to its customers a wide array of electrical construction projects and maintenance services. Encore has earned the reputation of high quality, innovation and customer satisfaction throughout Colorado. Encore provides design/build and design/assist services including extensive pre-construction cost analysis and constructability reviews.
• NEW CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION • SERVICE & MAINTENANCE • ENERGY SERVICES • BUILDING TECHNOLOGY SERVICES • GOVERNMENT SERVICES Englewood 303-934-1234
78
january–february 2013
Colorado Springs 719-685-8800
Avon 970-949-9277
Basalt 970-927-5201
www.encoreelectric.com
gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
After the redesign of the Welch Allyn headquarters, 95% of all office occupants have access to natural light due to the windows that wrap the building.
Welch Allyn Letting its light shine By Jennifer Nunez
gbdmagazine.com
The health-care product and technology provider Welch Allyn always has focused on helping people help others, but when it came to remodeling its headquarters in Skaneateles Falls, New York, the 100-year-old company had a rare opportunity to directly help one specific entity—the environment. In recognition of the company’s commitment, the new building recently was awarded LEED-NC Gold certification, earning 43 points under version 2.2, currently the highest point total earned by any manufacturer in the state of New York according to the USGBC website. The quest began in 2007 as a simple addition to the 30-plus-year-old building, but it quickly transitioned to a complete remodel. “This was an opportunity to have the building better match what we feel is our company culture and brand meaning, as well as provide an outstanding work environment for our employees,” says Scott Spanfelner, director of operations at Welch Allyn.
Layout and lighting were the two most visually altered components of the project. What used to be a typical 1980s rectangular building filled with cubicles, stuffy hallways, and dark rooms, has been transformed through predominantly glass walls, sky lighting, and lighting controls. “When customers visited, they were presented with a lot of walls and hallways and really could not get a sense of all that went on here or the dynamics of the company,” Spanfelner says. Now, guests enter through a lobby and are transitioned into an atrium where they can see a variety of functions from one vantage point, such as the manufacturing floor, customer service area, product development, and open conference rooms. Everyone in the building has access to natural light through perimeter glass, skylights, and strategically placed hallways. “We developed what we call the baseline energy model,” Spanfelner says. “We took the original design of the building january–february 2013
79
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
“It made us think more broadly about environmental responsibility. It was a way to continually help us measure where we were throughout the process.” Scott Spanfelner, Welch Allyn
PROJECT LOCATION Skaneateles Falls, NY Size 160,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Office space, meeting rooms, lobby, cafeteria, fitness center
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Gold Site Preferred parking for lowemitting and fuel-efficient vehicles Water Low-flow fixtures and waterless systems in bathrooms and cafeteria Materials Recycled 70% of construction debris, recycled content in 25% of building materials Energy Lighting controls, reflective roof materials Landscape No irrigation required, 100 mature trees relocated
and used that model to make choices. Every time we made choices regarding window glass or roof treatment or ceiling tiles or lighting systems, we put that data back into the same model, and it would output what our improved efficiencies would be, which ultimately led to the exceptional results we are getting from an energy consumption perspective.” Partnering with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Lighting Research Center, the company added sensors to all lighting systems that perceive the amount of natural light coming into the building; the electric lights automatically turn up and down accordingly. “It not only saves energy but creates a nice even lighting condition throughout the space,” Spanfelner explains. “Our central atrium is about 11,000 square feet, and there is hardly a light bulb on in there. Even on a cloudy day, the skylights give you a great lighting situation.”
One of the most unique features of the renovation are the light shelves that are mounted to the exterior glass. These redirect light that would otherwise be disruptive onto highly reflective ceiling tiles, filling the space with light—no blinds necessary. “They had to study where the sun was at all times during the day throughout the year to design these shelves so they are optimally located,” Spanfelner says. In the summer, the light is reflected more to save energy on air-conditioning, and in the winter, the light is soaked into the building to create natural heat. As a bonus to the healthful, daylit new headquarters, the LEED requirements helped Welch Allyn reassess its environmental contribution. “It made us think more broadly about environmental responsibility,” Spanfelner says. “It was a way to continually help us measure where we were throughout the process.” gb&d
A MESSAGE FROM STEELCASE, INC. S teelcase, Inc. and Stevens Office Interiors wish to thank Welch Allyn for the wonderful partnership that spanned more than three years as it completed its LEED Gold global headquarters new construction/renovation project. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Welch Allyn around the globe for years to come.
80
january–february 2013
gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
Light was a major part of Welch Allyn’s renovation—it even led the company to create the Green Series exam light, a sustainable option for medical applications.
ABOVE The renovated Welch Allyn offices take advantage of natural light through glass-enclosed offices and skylights, and employees are purposefully situated near their closest colleagues.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
81
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
BASF North America Built from its own foundation By Suchi Rudra
ABOVE BASF North America, a project led by the Rockefeller Group, joins BASF’s portfolio of five other LEED-certified facilities.
82
january–february 2013
When the German chemical corporation BASF needed a new North American headquarters, in typical fashion of most European countries today, it had to be green. So the company enlisted the help of the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation, and vice president Clark Machemer and his team got to work designing a building that would reflect the spirit of BASF. The resulting structure, located in Florham Park, New Jersey, is modern and sustainably built, emphasizing connectivity in the workspace and the minimization of water and energy consumption. Completed in May 2012, the BASF headquarters is one of only five buildings in the country with dual LEED Platinum certifications, having earned top marks under both the Core & Shell and Commercial Interiors ratings. Its energy consumption is estimated to be 20 percent less than conventionally designed buildings. Machemer points to three driving factors in the creation of the five-story, 325,000-square-foot office space: sustainability, BASF’s people, and BASF’s products. It is the last that is noteworthy for its inventiveness. When the Rockefeller Group suggested the idea of using BASF products—even those that had not previously been used in construction—BASF immediately agreed. All told, the team managed to integrate more than 100 of the company’s products into the building. “That became the driving force of the project,” Machemer says. Most building projects are challenging enough in terms of dealing with the given costs and time frame, not to mention the added work associated with green certifications, but Machemer says it was worth the effort to prioritize the special products. “We wanted to represent who they are as a company by incorporating BASF products into the building but also make it cost-effective,” he says. Key sustainable features of the building include a polyurethane spray-foam insu-
lation, porous pavement in the outdoor patio, and BASF’s own Elastospray highperformance SPF roofing and Elastocoat elastomeric roof coatings. It was in one of the Rockefeller Group’s design meetings with Turner Construction that Machemer realized how cutting-edge the building really was. Representatives from Turner mentioned that implementing the unique underfloor-air HVAC system was something new for them. “That really opened up my eyes,” Machemer recalls. This innovative system improves air quality because air coming through the floor, rather than diffused through the ceiling, reduces the dispersion of air contaminates. The contemporary design includes a façade with 20-foot cantilevers at both gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
Seventy-five percent of the interiors at the BASF headquarters are daylit, and 90% of the space has access to a window or outdoor view. Of course, the artwork is cool, too.
The BASF Inside The North American headquarters for BASF features more than 100 of its own products. Here’s a sampling. a Greensense/Tetraguard concrete additive s Greenstreak Swellstop controlled-expansion water-stop d Senergy EIFS enclosure material f National Gypsum sound-break panels g Sonneborn joint sealants h Silicoferms and Nanogrout stone tile and countertop j Chip Foose paint for metal cladding by BASF k Zero-VOC acrylic polymer in Natura zero-VOC paint l Ucrete low-VOC concrete flooring system
gbdmagazine.com
ABOVE The BASF headquarters, which earned two LEED Platinum ratings, has a building envelope that is 20% more efficient than conventionally designed buildings.
january–february 2013
83
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
“Once the building was fully occupied, I spent 30 minutes driving around it, watching the people inside collaborating. You can really see it happening.” Clark Machemer, Developer
PROJECT
GREEN
LOCATION Florham Park, NJ Size 325,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Office space
CERTIFICATIONS LEED-CS Platinum and LEED-CI Platinum Materials BASF-made products, locally sourced materials Water 40% reduction via low-flow fixtures, filtered rainwater used for toilets and irrigation Mechanical Under-floor-air HVAC system Energy 20% reduction compared with conventional office building Landscape Native and noninvasive plants that require 85% less water
TEAM DEVELOPER Rockefeller Group Development Corporation Client BASF Corporation Architect Kohn Pedersen Fox Interior Architect Gensler General Contractor Turner Construction Lead Consultant Design Management Services
84
january–february 2013
ABOVE The Rockefeller Group added BASF products to this outdoor dining area. Beneath those striking chairs, the porous pavement features the chemical company’s Elastopave binder for water conservation.
gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
Within the building’s contemporary, Gensler-designed interior are materials chosen for their recycled content and, in many cases, for their ability to be locally sourced.
ends, coupled with vertical stone fins and horizontal sunshades on the building’s exterior to reduce heat load from the sun. Low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce indoor water use by 40 percent, and rainwater is filtered, cleaned, and reused both as irrigation and as the primary water source for the building’s toilets. The landscaping features native and noninvasive plants that require 85 percent less water than typical plantings. Overall, the building integrates sustainable interior and exterior elements; it’s a new class of Class A building, Machemer says. And yet, “It’s what gbdmagazine.com
is within the walls that’s important,” he adds, referring to the 1,400 BASF employees who will spend a substantial portion of their weekdays inside the new building. “You don’t want to lose sight of that while you’re on the project,” he says. “You’re building a structure where there will be people.” The Rockefeller Group never lost sight of those individuals. The interior is laden with bright and open spaces and amenities for meetings and breakout sessions. Machemer says that you can see people working from the outside because of all the windows. “Once the building was
fully occupied, I spent 30 minutes driving around it, watching the people inside collaborating,” he says. “You can really see it happening.” During its construction, too, Machemer took a walk through the building every few weeks and, even then, never once had to use a flashlight since 75 percent of the building is lit by natural light. This and many other green features are the details that combine to create a positive and energizing vibe within this new corporate headquarters—precisely the experience one would expect from the company it houses. gb&d january–february 2013
85
GREEN TYPOLOGIES corporate headquarters
DaVita World Headquarters Zen at work By Kelli McElhinny
ABOVE The DaVita World Headquarters is pursuing LEED Gold certification as part of a larger sustainable commitment that has included opening the first LEED-certified dialysis center and offsetting 100% of its energy from corporate business by buying renewable energy credits.
86
january–february 2013
Zen doesn’t describe the typical office building, but DaVita Inc., the Denverbased kidney-dialysis provider, has a new headquarters that promotes health, wellness, and inclusiveness through ‘Zen rooms,’ ‘front porches,’ and a top-floor herb garden. “At DaVita we are a community first and a company second, which shapes how we approached anything that will affect ‘The Village’ and our teammates,” says Rebecca Griggs, vice president of value creation for DaVita. This sense of cooperation is wellreflected in the 270,000-square-foot, 14-story building, which was completed in August 2012 and will house 900 employees when fully occupied. “We did a lot of things that focused on developing community in the building,” says Jack Mousseau, partner, principal, and director of design at MOA Architecture, which designed the DaVita project in partnership with developer Trammell Crow Company. “DaVita didn’t want to
have the top floor owned by the executives. They wanted to have it owned by teammates. You don’t have to be an executive to have access to the views.” Instead of C-level offices, the building’s top floor features the DaVita Marketplace: a full-service kitchen and dining area, plus a 5,000-square-foot outdoor terrace—all of which are open to everyone. The building’s core is also open, rather than occupied by mechanical systems, to give employees better views and access to natural daylight throughout the space. Six of the workspace floors are paired off, sharing two-story atria that help encourage employees to move about the building. Additionally, collaborative work spaces dubbed ‘front porches’ are scattered throughout the building in appealing locations with proximity to large windows. With a goal of creating numerous open-air spaces to give employees access to fresh air and views of the Rocky gb&d
corporate headquarters GREEN TYPOLOGIES
“At DaVita, we are a community first and a company second, which shapes how we approached anything that will affect ‘The Village’ and our teammates.” Rebecca Griggs, DaVita
PROJECT
Look, walk, meditate
High- and low-tech
LOCATION Denver Size 270,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Office space, training facilities, fullservice cafeteria
In addition to encouraging collaboration, the new headquarters is intended to provide a healthful work environment. “For all of the time and energy teammates give DaVita, it is our responsibility to make sure we give them every opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilled work life,” Griggs says. Employees have access to a full-service fitness room, along with shower facilities, and each floor has a ‘Zen room,’ a quiet contemplative space that can be used for meditation. As Mousseau puts it, “Everybody needs a Zen room, don’t they?” The building encourages movement as well. A main stairwell is equipped with ample lighting and decorated with murals so that teammates will consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and open stairs are located within each two-story atrium, providing convenient connections between floors. “It helps to encourage a healthy lifestyle and a healthy approach to work,” Mousseau says. Part of this is healthy food; employees maintain planters dedicated to herbs and vegetables on the outdoor terrace while the Marketplace menu features a broad array of healthful lunch options.
A building’s overall design decides the vibe of the work environment, and Trammell Crow, MOA Architecture, and DaVita created a true piece of architecture. “It’s a noticeable building,” says Bill Mosher, a senior managing director in Trammell Crow’s Denver office. “It’s got some personality and character to it.” Clad in high-performance glass from Viracon—glazed with a blue tint as a nod to one of DaVita’s corporate colors—the building is pursuing LEED Gold certification and incorporates an impressive collection of sustainable features. “We wanted DaVita’s new headquarters to be reflective of our stance that caring for our environment is part of being a good corporate citizen,” Griggs says. Green materials, such as the headquarters’ low- or no-VOC coatings and finishes from Sherwin-Williams and Sonneborn, bolster the company’s goal of employee wellness. High-efficiency boilers by Harsco Industrial Patterson-Kelley, economizer systems, carbon-dioxide monitoring, and variable controls for nighttime heating and cooling are just a few of the systems and solutions employed throughout the building, which in the end should use roughly 31 percent less energy than a comparable facility. Sophisticated lighting controls from Setpoint Systems and ample LEDs will help cut electricity use, and Denver’s climate is part of the equation too—the building's interior is designed to bring in as much of the Mile High City’s plentiful sunshine as possible. Likewise, water consumption is reduced through low-flow fixtures, dual-flush toilets, and native landscaping, including grasses and perennials.
TEAM DEVELOPER Trammell Crow Company Architect MOA Architecture Client DaVita General Contractor Saunders Construction
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Gold (expected) Site Readily accessible by mass transit Materials Low- or no-VOCs, locally sourced materials, certified wood products Water Low-flow fixtures, dual-flush toilets Energy High-efficiency boilers, economizer systems Landscape Native grasses and perennials
Mountains, Mousseau and his team also included exterior plazas and terraces designed to maximize views and enhance the buildings placement along Denver’s renowned 16th Street Mall.
DaVita didn’t want the top floor of its new headquarters reserved for executives. Instead, it will be home to an eatery with a landscaped and furnished terrace.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
87
GREEN TYPOLOGIES Breweries
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2011, MOA ARCHITECTURE is ranked among the top architecture and design firms in America. MOA offers full-service architectural and planning expertise dedicated to excellence in design, technical execution, and project management. Located in Denver and Casper Wyoming, MOA’s expertise includes commercial, retail, industrial, K-12 education, higher education, healthcare, senior living, and recreation projects across the US. Committed to sustainable design best practices, 86% of the firm’s professional employees are LEED Accredited Professionals.
www.moaarch.com
COLORADO
WYOMING
821 17th Street Suite 400 Denver, Colorado 80202 p 303.308.1190
302 South David Street Suite 210 Casper, Wyoming 82601 p 307.268.9890
Atlanta Gateway Designers (AGD) created a collaborative design effort between Gresham, Smith and Partners and Duckett Design Group, AGD was www.greshamsmith.com
the architect and project manager for the new 1.2 million square foot LEED Silver registered Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
www.ddesigngroup.com
88
january–february 2013
International Airport.
ABOVE The new DaVita building is meant to be enjoyed. The cafeteria features numerous healthful options, while the project team ensured stunning views of the Rocky Mountains and Denver’s 16th Street Mall via floor-to-ceiling windows.
All a site can offer The building’s site wasn’t accidental. “We chose the building location because of its proximity to mass transit, which helps . . . reduce our carbon footprint in the local community and beyond,” Griggs says. Adjacent to Denver Union Station, all forms of public transit, including light rail and buses, are readily accessible, and many employees allegedly are selecting housing based in part on proximity to rail stops. Shrewdly, the architects included a mere 260 dedicated parking spaces at the headquarters— meaning just more than a quarter of employees can drive and park—as a way to encourage greener transit options. As a new addition to Denver, DaVita World Headquarters should get attention from developers, designers, and builders to see the building as a model for greener office space with more healthful amenities. After all, doesn’t everyone need a Zen room? gb&d gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 90
terminal b
Efficiencies and Air Chairs in San Jose
95
James cancer hospital & solove research institute Medicine meshes with stellar design 98 Fairmount avenue homes
Tennessee’s ‘reverse gentrification’ 100 POSTY CARDS
gbdmagazine.com
A LEED Platinum home for greetings
january–february 2013
89
INNER WORKINGS
“It was the first airport terminal in the nation to achieve LEED Silver. It was the most sustainable terminal in the country.” Mark Rothman, Fentress Architects
san jose international airport
PROJECT
GREEN
Certified LEED Silver for New Construction
LOCATION San Jose, CA Size 140,135 ft2 Completed 2010 Program Boarding gates, retail, restaurants, baggage claim area Awards Best of 2010, Overall Top Project, California Construction; 2010 Best of the Best, Transportation, Engineering News-Record
CERTIFICATION LEED Silver Materials Recycled content, diamond-polished concrete, 94% of demolition waste diverted Water Low-flow fixtures, recycled water used for toilets and irrigation, low-maintenance plantings Air Efficient cooling via Zoeftig Air Chairs Consolidated car rental Efficient operations, 25% reduction in airport traffic, 1-mW solar array
Site Water Energy Materials Air Quality Innovation TOTAL
36
C
S
G
P
TEAM CLIENT Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Architect Fentress Architects Design/Build Hensel Phelps
90
january–february 2013
gb&d
INNER WORKINGS
Terminal B When San Jose International’s new addition achieved lift off, it propelled air travel from the ‘Casablanca era’ into the 21st century— and gave the world a brand new type of eco-friendly chair
Unlike cramped and crowded terminals with retrofitted security checkpoints and shoehorned concessions, Terminal B at the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) was designed from the ground up for air travel in the 21st century. The $1.3 billion modernization gave the United States its first LEED Silver-certified airport facility and noticeably put health, passenger comfort, and sustainability at the forefront. We talked to Vicki Day, the airport’s director of marketing and customer services, about the numerous interesting and environmentally conscious ideas employed in the new addition. By Jeff Hampton
See the inspira for San tion Jo façade se's on p. 178
Site Solution At SJC, space is at a premium. “The airport is land-constrained at 1,110 acres and is hemmed in by freeways on the north and south and the Guadalupe River,” Day explains. With no more room to stretch out, how would the airport increase and improve operations? The only solution was to make better use of the space it had. The airport’s outdated Terminal C was torn down and replaced with the new, highly modern Terminal B. Terminal A, built in 1990 and still serviceable, got a much-needed makeover in the process.
photos: Jason A. Knowles © Fentress Architects; Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing
Modernized Layout
ABOVE Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose International is within 12 miles of many of the world’s tech giants, including Apple, eBay, Google, Intel, Cisco, and Yahoo!. RIGHT Leveraging Silicon Valley’s ample sunshine, the architects incorporated windows and skylights to harness the natural light.
gbdmagazine.com
Terminal C needed to go. Built in 1965, it was designed in what Day calls the ‘Casablanca era,’ when air travelers still walked out on the tarmac to board flights. When new security requirements and baggage screening came into the picture, they were crammed into the facility wherever they could fit. Terminal B resolves that cramped inefficiency by incorporating the nownormal functions of a modern airport into its design. “Improving efficiency was a big factor in the design,” says Richard Lewis, a project manager for Hensel Phelps, the airport’s design/build contractor. The process was equally efficient; the airport added 12 new gates without interrupting the operations of the existing airlines. january–february 2013
91
INNER WORKINGS San Jose Airport International
Glass is an important part of Terminal B’s green story. Low-E glazing and sunshades reduce heat gain, as does the six-degree angle the architects employed for the exterior glass wall.
“The design is responsive to the technological innovation that is Silicon Valley. We wanted it to be an icon for the region.” Mark Rothman, Fentress Architects
92
Air Chairs
Baggage Handling
One of the most interesting innovations used in Terminal B are its 1,200 Air Chairs. “This is the first installation of Air Chairs in the United States,” Lewis says. “They were created by Zoeftig specifically for San Jose International, and now they are part of their regular furniture line.” How do they work? The seats include diffusers to cool and heat the concourse right where the passengers are sitting. Instead of circulating air from ceiling registers—an inefficient practice because it conditions large volumes of air that will never reach the passenger level—the chairs provide fresh air from underneath. And they have individual power outlets and USB ports for charging laptops and mobile devices.
A key to the airport’s increased accommodation is an in-line baggage system with eight new machines that have doubled the throughput of baggage. “At completion, the terminal had the most sophisticated baggage-screening system in the world,” says Mark Rothman, project manager with Fentress Architects, who designed the new terminal. This element, though less exciting than other design features, is one guests are sure to notice.
january–february 2013
Evocative Façade
Sustainable Materials
Aesthetically, Terminal B salutes the culture of Silicon Valley with an exterior of curved steel that cuts away in swooping arcs to reveal giant glass walls. The whole thing resembles, intentionally, a computer cable with some of the sheathing peeled away. “The design is responsive to the technological innovation that is Silicon Valley,” Rothman says. “We wanted it to be an icon for the region.”
Helsel Phelps recycled up to 94 percent of the materials from the demolition of Terminal C, and the new materials used to build Terminal B have high recycled content. “Ongoing terminal maintenance and cleaning will be green,” Lewis adds. For example, though terrazzo floors usually require heavy chemicals to maintain a shine, the Terminal B floors were diamond-polished so that they can be cleaned with soap and water.
gb&d
INNER WORKINGS
photos: Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing; ken paul
The consolidated-rental-car facility at SJC boasts a 1.12-mW solar array on its roof that provides 20% of the structure’s power load.
ABOVE The high-tech design of Terminal B also reflects the agricultural past of Silicon Valley, with plants arranged in rows reminiscent of the area’s orchards. BELOW and RIGHT SJC’s cutting-edge rental-car facility is conveniently located across from Terminal B and enhanced with a 1,200-foot, seven-story pixelated mural of more than 50 Silicon Valley residents’ hands welcoming travelers to the airport.
Designing Green
Rental Benefits
Agricultural Landscaping
Many of Terminal B’s design features came out of the project’s pursuit of LEED Silver certification. “It was the first airport terminal in the nation to achieve that, and at the time it was the most sustainable terminal in the country,” Rothman says. Strategies contributing to its LEED Silver status include low-flow toilets and sinks, recycled water for toilets and landscape irrigation, low-E window glazing and sunshades, a six-percent window cant, or angle, that helps reduce heat build-up, and automatic lighting controls that eliminate unnecessary electrical lighting on clear days.
Just outside Terminal B is a new consolidated-rental-car center that is bringing efficiency and environmental benefits in its own way. The three-story facility allows vehicles to be cleaned, fueled, and repaired without ever going outside, and it is easily accessible by travelers, who can simply walk from Terminal B or ride a shuttle powered by compressed natural gas from Terminal A. The result? More efficient operations for the rental agencies, a reduction in auto-related emissions, and a 25-percent reduction in traffic on the airport roadways. Topping it off is a one-megawatt solar array that provides 20 percent of the facility’s energy needs.
Although Silicon Valley is known as a technology mecca, the surrounding Santa Clara Valley is tied historically to agriculture and agribusiness. “[The] landscaping pays tribute to that with plants arranged in orderly rows much like an orchard,” Day says. With a nod to environmental stewardship, the landscape design by Orsee Design Associates incorporates low-maintenance and low-water plants. Rothman says there’s no equivalent. “San Jose International is the best landscaped airport in the country,” he says. “These rows are remarkable to see.” gb&d
a message from ALFA TECH Alfa Tech’s services include mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and technology-engineering design and project delivery, with special expertise in BIM/3-D modeling, lighting, and sustainable and energy-efficient design. Our experience includes a vast portfolio of projects in a variety of markets, including public, mission critical, high-tech and advanced technology, biotech, education, health care, and corporate campuses.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
93
Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, LLC ONE SOURCE SOLUTIONS
Established in 1987, Alfa Tech Consulting Enterprises has successfully provided Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Lighting, Energy Solutions and Technology Design Engineering and Project Delivery services in a variety of markets throughout the US and internationally. We have the resources and experience to successfully complete your projects.
Proud to be project team members of the Ohio State University Wenxer Medical Center Expansion providing state-of-the-art and integrated engineering services!
Innovation | Experience | Proven Success www.brplusa.com
www.atce.com
Boston | New York | Philadelphia | Miami | Washington, DC “If it can be imagined, we will find a way to design it.”
Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport San José, CA
Daybreak Corporate Office Center, South Jordan, UT 1st LEED Platinum Building in the State of Utah
©Takata Photography
ENGINEERING SERVICES • Mechanical • Plumbing • Fire Protection • Electrical
• Built Ecology • Sustainable Engineering • Lighting Design • Information Technologies
• Security • Commissioning • Infrastructure • Building Information Modeling
405 Howard Street, Suite 50 0 San Francisco, CA 94105 T: 415.398.3833 F: 415.433.5311 New York | San Francisco | Boston | Seattle | Las Vegas | Houston | Washington DC
94
january–february 2013
innovation REAVELEY ENGINEERS + ASSOCIATES 675 E. 500 S., Ste. 400, Salt Lake City, UT 84102 P. 801.486.3883 www.reaveley.com gb&d
INNER WORKINGS
James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute OSU’s Wexner Medical Center prepares for a predicted 21% increase in patient admissions with sustainable design
A positive mental outlook can have a great impact on the recovery of those in need of prolonged medical care or treatment. This was always at the forefront as The Ohio State University (OSU) developed its ongoing $1.1 billion expansion of the Wexner Medical Center, the largest portion of which is the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute and Critical Care Center designed by HOK. The fragility of recovering patients mirrors that of another living system in need of repair and care—our shared ecological environment. “It’s a very high priority for us,” says Bernard Costantino, OSU’s architect. “[Throughout] the last five years, we’ve moved in a strong direction toward sustainability.” We went inside the design and found the future of sustainable health care. By Ashley T. Kjos
The HOK-designed cancer center at OSU will house twin facilities within one structure: a treatment hospital and research institute.
Planning Patient Care
Water and Windows
OSU’s Wexner Medical Center expansion was preceded by a lengthy planning phase that included a projection of future care needs based on the population of Ohio, the Wexner Medical Center’s service area, and development metrics. The results indicated that there would be a 21 percent increase in patient admission over the next ten years; this helped inform the strong financial consideration applied to the expansion. The largest portion of the project, which will cost approximately $745 million, was designed with two separate care models in mind: The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute sits directly atop the Critical Care Center’s larger floor plan and creates two buildings in one tower serving two different types of patients with different care needs.
The treatment of glass was an important aspect of the design process. “We wanted the rooms to be vibrant from a livability standpoint and for them to receive as much light as we could get,” Costantino says. The use of glass is most noticeable on both the north and south sides, and all the windows were looked at with energy control in mind. In addition, a new 30,000-ton chiller plant built to support the expansion project will eventually supply most buildings on the medical campus with chilled water. Projections show the medical campus will have 30 percent energy savings by centralizing chilled water.
Renderings: Encore
a message from BR+A Founded in 1975, BR+A has been providing integrated and coordinated MEP/FP consulting engineering, technology systems design and building commissioning services to a variety of Healthcare Clients nationwide. In the last 5 years alone, we have designed over 25,000,000 SF of healthcare facilities, including Cancer Treatment and Proton Therapy Centers nationwide.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
95
Windows were incorporated across the north and south façades to let in as much natural daylight as possible, a benefit for recovering patients.
LOCATION Columbus, OH Size 1.1 million ft2 Cost $1.1 billion (current expansion) Completed 2014 (expected) Program Treatment facility, patient rooms, offices, operating rooms
TEAM CLIENT The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Architect HOK Associate Architect Moody Nolan General Contractor Turner Construction Engineer BR+A Consulting Engineers
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Silver (expected) Site Garden terraces on north and south sides of building, creation of open green spaces Materials Rapidly renewable materials such as bamboo used for interiors Water Rainwater-runoff catch basin, low-flow plumbing fixtures Energy Heat recovery wheel for mechanical systems, thermal efficient exterior glass Landscape Drought-tolerance and indigenous plants
96
january–february 2013
Positivity Through Design OSU was cognizant of the important role that a positive attitude plays in recovery and the innate human affinity for nature that helps to foster that positive mood. “Green roofs are a very important part of the project,” Costantino says. Those green roofs are all observable from patient rooms, and one will be accessible. In addition, a new park will be created in an area just south of the tower, and it will occupy a city block with an area for children, a food court, and a rehab garden. “The park will be a dramatic addition to the green space at our medical center,” Costantino says. “We think this is critical to the well-being of patients. A positive attitude and a positive environment are going to contribute to healing.”
gb&d
Images: Encore (exterior renderings); HOK (diagrams); MSI Design (site plan); Crystal AG (interiors); Illustration on Demand (top interior)
PROJECT
INNER WORKINGS
Form & Function Composition
Spandrel Glass Low Emissivity Glass reducing heat loss Translucent Glass diffusing light & reducing glare
Spandrel Glass reducing perimeter heat gain & heat loss, improving overall thermal performance, and reducing energy load
Spirit of Women Park
Building a Floodplain
More than a decade ago, a tribute park was built to honor women who have lost their battle with cancer. It involved tiles that represent artwork created by family members. During the course of the expansion, the park has been recreated and rebuilt. The new Spirit of Women Park sits in an existing 1.6-acre quadrangle at the Wexner Medical Center and features glass panels that duplicate the art in the original tiles. These glass panels sit in a pool to be viewed through the water and lit at night. “It’s a very special place on our campus,” Costantino says.
Plans are in place to improve the Olentangy River, which runs through OSU’s campus. Currently, a parking lot inhabits the floodplain adjacent to the river; site plans involve removing the parking lot, moving a road above the floodplain, and turning the river into a larger, floodable green space available to patients of the Wexner Medical Center. “It’s going to take some time,” Costantino says, “but we envision the riverfront to be part of the learning experience on the academic campus, part of the healing experience for our patients’ care, and a recreation space for all of our students, faculty, and staff.” gb&d
TOP These diagrams show the building layout and energy strategy. The latter uses triple-glazed spandrel and low-E glass to reduce heat gain inside the building. ABOVE Renderings show the extensively daylit interior spaces, including the arrival lobby (top) and surgery waiting areas (bottom), and the large, landscaped roof terrace (middle). LEFT The pick up and drop-off entrance area will boast an impressive canopy formed by undulating fins.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
97
INNER WORKINGS
Fairmount Avenue Homes HUD finds a perfect project in Hefferlin + Kronenberg’s strip of LEED Platinum affordable housing townhouses in Chattanooga
Only thirty-six projects from across the United States were selected to receive grants for building sustainable and affordable homes from the 2009 American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Fairmount Avenue Development in Tennessee was one of them—and it’s an attention-getter. Designed by local firm Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects, the 18-unit townhouse project is built in the saltbox vernacular common to the American South—with long, sloping roofs perfectly angled for photovoltaic panels. Principal Craig Kronenberg walked gb&d through the special circumstances of the development. By Russ Klettke
LOCATION Chattanooga, TN Size 25,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Affordable housing, with 2and 3-bedroom unit townhouses
TEAM ARCHITECT Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects Client Chattanooga Housing Authority Landscape Architect Sara Hedstrom Design Engineer March Adams Consulting Engineers General Contractor Lee Adcock Construction Company
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Platinum (expected) Topography Stepped walkways encourage pedestrian/recreational use of hilly terrain Siting Buildings oriented to capture sunlight actively and passively Materials Reflective roofing, polished concrete floors, pervious paving Energy Photovoltaic array, Energy Star appliances, natural daylighting Water Storm-water retention via cisterns for irrigation Landscape Native plantings, natural rocks for character and play
98
january–february 2013
Springboard Start
Fitting the Neighborhood
This project drew together three organizations with complementary goals. The Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) provides affordable housing to families, the elderly, and the disabled. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was the conduit for the stimulus-act funding, which was awarded according to criteria written by Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), a 30-year-old national nonprofit. Since 2004, ECP has partnered with HUD to channel $1 billion in public and private funding toward building 20,000 homes. The organization says that green, affordable homes in vibrant communities can be a springboard to a good life, and the Chattanooga project met that criteria.
An initial design for two three-story buildings met community opposition because they would’ve comprised nearly 50 units, so Hefferlin + Kronenberg redrew the project as an 18unit development of two- and three-bedroom townhouses, one of which is handicapaccessible and one usable by the audio or visually impaired. The topography of the project location, in North Chattanooga, enabled the buildings to both make use of sunlight and provide shade where needed, even as they’re situated on a steep, curving hilltop road.
Walkability These homes have an enviable perch in a panoramic setting of hills and trees. The city is nicknamed ‘Scenic City’ for its position between the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau, yet the general location ranks a relatively low walkability score—a 40 out of 100 from Walkscore. com. So the designers incorporated stepped pathways, some on segmental retaining walls, that enable pedestrian access to two bus stops, three churches, two schools, a park, a daycare center, a convenience store, and medical offices all within a half-mile radius of the site. “The project had to comply with HUD’s Green Communities Criteria for connectivity—that’s the reason for the pathways,” says Kronenberg, noting that the community is just a few miles from downtown. “I foresee the site ... becoming a destination for the athletes at Normal Park School next door and children and parents walking to school, church, and the store.” gb&d
Photos: Bruce Cain
PROJECT
INNER WORKINGS
These solar panels provide roughly 10% of the affordable Chattanooga townhomes’ total electrical needs. The houses also were oriented to maximize daylighting and passive solar heating to further reduce the load on the grid.
Effective Materials
Water Works
All units use sealed concrete floors on the first level and linoleum upstairs. “Concrete is just trowelled well and sealed, about $1 per square foot,” says Kronenberg, comparing it to the cost of carpet ($2 per square foot, plus “forbidden” by HUD), wood or bamboo (starting at $5.50), and linoleum ($4.50). Enterprise Green Communities has studied the impact of sustainable housing on such things as childhood asthma and found that children’s symptoms in a test program in Seattle improved dramatically with the installation of eco-friendly materials; children living in healthful, green public housing had 60 percent more symptom-free days and a 67 percent reduction in the use of urgent clinical care.
This region of Tennessee is prone to heavy rainfalls as well as hot summers. Fairmount’s Kynar-coated, standing-seam metal roofs direct runoff to a cistern that feeds an automatic sprinkler system, which waters the native landscaping—plants that can tolerate both wet and dry conditions. Natural rocks above the buildings were intentionally kept for children’s recreation, which adults can supervise from each of two porches that accompany their homes. “The rock outcroppings rival the rocks in New York’s Central Park,” Kronenberg says. “It will be a fun place to play.” gb&d
gbdmagazine.com
Pervious Paving
Passive for Platinum
Perhaps the material with the greatest impact is the development’s exterior paving, most of which is pervious to allow the capture and infiltration of storm water on-site, minimizing runoff and subsequently used for irrigation. “It was a big deal to get this progressive design feature approved by the city engineer,” Kronenberg says. The coated, standing-seam metal roof was selected for its high-albedo emissivity, or reflectivity, and carries a 40-year warranty, though Kronenberg says it will probably last a century.
The project is registered for LEED certification and will probably reach the Platinum level under the LEED for Homes rating as well as comply with ECP criteria. Many of the green strategies are passive ones. “We used techniques such as smart framing, [which] led to savings,” Kronenberg says. “The roof form naturally provides attic insulation, and the design maximizes access to natural light.” And the roof’s slope is perfect for the 189 photovoltaic panels that convert the Tennessee sunshine into electricity.
january–february 2013
99
INNER WORKINGS
Posty Cards In business since 1948, a Kansas City card-maker celebrates its LEED Platinum production facility
PROJECT LOCATION Kansas City, MO Size 45,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Production facility expansion
TEAM CLIENT Posty Cards Architect MSM Architects General Contractor Turner Special Projects MEP Engineering PKMR Engineers Civil Engineering SK Design Structural Engineering KH Engineering
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Platinum Site Extant urban site, proximal to urban infrastructure Materials Insulated metal panels, dual-pane windows Water Rainwater capture and solar water-heating systems Energy Rooftop photovoltaics, highefficiency mechanical systems Landscape Water-capture system for irrigation
Urban Site Postlethwaite relegated production to rented industrial spaces until 1987, when he and his son-in-law, Lance Jessee, built the original 22,000-square-foot Posty Cards factory in the light industrial office park east of downtown Kansas City that still serves as the company’s home. The acreage was located on a flat plain of land originally used by commercial and residential structures, though it’s been dedicated to industry since the 1970s. LEED credits were awarded to the expansion project for its proximity to extant urban infrastructural systems and accessibility to freeway, road, and public transit resources.
Water Capture Rather than letting the large flat roof go unused, Posty Cards installed a comprehensive water-capture system. Rainwater is diverted to an 8,300-gallon tank, which is processed by a filtration and sterilization system and then used for flushing toilets and irrigating the landscape in the courtyard area. Water from the office, south factory, and north factory all goes to bioretention basins around the site. The parking lot is constructed on top of a five-foot-deep gravel bed lined with geotechnical fabric to prevent silting. “We have some nonnative, well-adapted plants in our courtyard area,” Jessee says, “and we use the water to make the plants a little more lush than what you traditionally see in the park around the facility.”
Photos: Aaron Dougherty
Named for businessman/newspaperman/cartoonist Carl ‘Posty’ Postlethwaite, Posty Cards has long been a major player in the greeting card business. The company was officially incorporated in 1948 with Postlethwaite at the helm; more than 60 years later, Posty Cards has built one of seven LEED Platinum manufacturing plants in the United States. It was a 45,000-square-foot, $6.4 million renovation and expansion that doubled the size of the Kansas City, Missouri, facility. “We’re not only committed to promoting sustainability in our own business,” says Erick Jessee, the company’s president, “but also to educating other small businesses that you don’t have to be big to be green.” By Benjamin van Loon
To aid natural daylighting, the building addition at Posty Cards was constructed on the south side of the original facility.
100
january–february 2013
gb&d
INNER WORKINGS
The so-called ‘bridge’ at the Posty Cards headquarters connects the manufacturing plant to the offices. It features floor-to-ceiling windows to let in natural light.
Expanding & Conserving
An 8,300-gallon water-reclamation tank, located in the courtyard, collects rainwater used for flushing toilets and watering the landscaping.
Posty Cards uses its facilities for every aspect of its business, and as it added new services and people over the years, it needed to expand. Although the renovation and expansion of the warehouse doubled its size from 22,000 to 45,000 square feet, the new facilities only use five percent more energy than the old facilities. “We’re a small business on a budget, so we used conventional off-the-shelf materials, complemented by high-efficiency HVAC, plumbing, and photovoltaic systems that would earn us the energy efficiency we needed,” Jessee says. The facility’s walls and roof are made of insulated metal panels, its windows are double-paned, and a 198-panel rooftop photovoltaic system generates 44 kilowatts of power, which accounts for more than 11 percent of the factory’s annual power use. Posty Cards was aiming for LEED Gold, but the building’s innovative design earned it LEED Platinum upon delivery in 2011. gb&d
All cards at Posty Cards are printed with soy ink, and much of the paper is FSC-certified or contains recycled content.
“We’re not only committed to promoting sustainability in our own business, but also to educating other small businesses that you don’t have to be big to be green.” Erick Jessee, Posty Cards
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
101
Todd Evans LEED AP BD+C
Project Architect Black & Veatch Corporation
“Having the LEED AP BD+C credential put my resumé at the top of the pile during my job search, and I was hired within a month. ” Learn how Todd’s LEED AP Building Design + Construction credential sets him apart at www.gbci.org/Todd.
green building & design
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 104
SHFTING PERCEPTIONS
Actor Adrian Grenier and producer Peter Glatzer show off SHFT’s new studio in the W Hollywood
108
gbdmagazine.com
THE FLIP SIDE OF PARADISE
114
Hawaii’s LEED Platinum Kaupuni Village is home for a forgotten population
Discussion Board
How do we responsibly develop blighted urban areas?
january–february 2013
103
Two Hollywood bigwigs, their blog, and how they plan to change sustainability culture
SHFTING PERCEPTIONS
FEATURES
Welcome to SHFT.com. Here, photographs of majestic landscapes stand shoulder-toshoulder with quirky animated shorts, mini documentaries highlighting do-good innovators, and articles about the latest sustainable clothing line. Delicate flakes of organic maple sugar, high-end lighting fixtures crafted from salvaged cardboard, and kid-sized bamboo toothbrushes are all for sale. SHFT sprang from a partnership between two friends, the independent film producer Peter Glatzer and Hollywood actor and documentary filmmaker Adrian Grenier in late 2010. At first glance, all the maple flakes and Icelandic music videos might seem part of a collection of rather erudite Internet memes, but the wider vision at play is what SHFT really is—a smart, obsessively curated, deeply thoughtful project with an ever-expanding mission to change the public’s perceptions about the environment. Not long ago, gb&d was treated to a tour of the latest iteration of that mission— SHFT Studio, housed in a penthouse suite atop the luxurious, LEED Silver-certified Residences at W Hollywood. Shortly after, I caught Glatzer on the phone between meetings, to talk about wine, SHFT’s partnership with Ford, and why fear-based environmentalism doesn’t work. —Lindsey Howald Patton gb&d: I’m curious how something like this starts. You had this idea of bringing sustainability into the mainstream in a more friendly, subtle way than what you were seeing from hardcore environmentalists. How did you decide the Web was your platform? Peter Glatzer: We were both coming from a very independent filmmaking background, and I would stress the ‘independent,’ where the creative control had always been in our hands. So it really came out of wanting to, for both of us, control the way we created our content and our messaging and have that independent vision. And we were both very intrigued by where media was heading at the time. This was six, seven years ago, mind you—so not only before new media skyrocketed and digital platforms exploded, but it was also before An Inconvenient Truth came out, before the sustainable space was even on the map. gb&d: You would be hard-pressed to find a public service announcement on SHFT.com. So, because there is so much of that green PSA stuff out there, what kinds of curatorial questions are you asking yourself before you put up content?
104
january–february 2013
Glatzer: We get asked a lot, ‘What are the five things that anyone should do to lighten their footprint or have a greener lifestyle?’ And I find that those questions really go against the grain of what SHFT stands for, which is that what’s right for me to do isn’t necessarily right for you to do. I think the overarching narrative of SHFT—you find this, I think, in everything that we’re doing, whether it’s our home base here at the W, or the shop that we curate very carefully, or the content that we make—is that the need for us to react to climate change issues can be tackled by tapping into the creative spirit that we all have as human beings. So our criteria are very elastic, because we want to be able to see just an artistic video or just a gorgeous piece of architecture. It may feel insignificant on its own, but in the context of the article or product it’s sitting next to, it actually rounds out something. We say no to things that feel daunting or angry, because one of the big things that promulgated founding SHFT in the first place was the idea that everything felt so dark and dreary and there was so much fear-based environmentalism going on: ‘If we don’t do this, then that will happen.’ And it’s true, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. It gb&d
FEATURES
Peter Glatzer
Adrian Grenier
Cardboard pendant lights by Graypants
gbdmagazine.com
STUDIO W SHFT’s home base is an adapted penthouse suite at the Residences at W Hollywood, part of a mixeduse development that is one of the largest LEED Silver residential buildings in the US. Designed by HKS, the 525,000-square-foot W comes with a highly-efficient irrigation system, drought-tolerant plants, low-flow fixtures, and views of the outdoors from 90 percent of its interiors. Plus, its rooftop happens to be perfect for SHFT parties.
january–february 2013
105
FEATURES SHFTing Perceptions
Crafted from leather and stainless steel, the SHFT Lounge Chair, a collaboration with Los Angeles-based designer Steven Kenn, blends the feel of a Barcelona chair with a military vibe.
THE CRIB SHFT Studio is (not necessarily in this order) an office, party venue, meeting space, movie theater, pop-up art gallery, product showroom, and live-music venue. Playing host to organic tequila tastings, film screenings, or day-to-day meetings conducted on chairs by favorite sustainable designers, Grenier and Glatzer envision SHFT Studio as an ever-changing experience reflecting the aesthetic of SHFT.com.
Eames shell chairs by Herman Miller
106
january–february 2013
Recycled-content wallpaper by Astek Wallcovering
IN DETAIL SHFT Studio showcases a belief in ‘design-first, sustainability-second.’ Walls feature recycled, woodcut-patterned, lead-free wallpaper by Astek Wallcovering (above), while vintage pieces share the floor with furnishings from Herman Miller; Valley Forge, which up-cycles glass bottles to make fabric; and Graypants, which creates lighting from corrugated cardboard (left).
gb&d
FEATURES
“The need for us to react to climate change issues can be tackled by tapping into the creative spirit that we all have as human beings.” Peter Glatzer, SHFT
doesn’t move the culture. It doesn’t shift us into a place where we’re more aware or want to do more—it makes us afraid. We never wanted to do that. gb&d: Since launching your house wine, do you guys have plans to put out other products that have SHFT’s brand on it?
the way we live. It posits that we’re in a paradigm shift right now much like the Industrial Revolution. But unlike the Industrial Revolution, this surge in innovation and technology is taking the planet into account. gb&d
Glatzer: Well, we’ll see! We’d never private-labeled anything before—why would we need the SHFT baseball hat, or a SHFT backpack? Even if it’s made sustainably, it’s the kind of thing that might sit in a closet somewhere. We were just anti-excessive stuff. The wine seemed like a logical first extension of our brand, because it was decadent and wine represents just a wonderful thing in life. And if there’s a narrative behind your wine that you’re sharing with people, it can spark conversations. We’re open to other things that fit that criteria for us.
Photos: Augusta Quirk
gb&d: You also partner with some major corporations, like Ford and Virgin Airlines. Tell me about those partnerships and what you’re creating out of them. Glatzer: Well, one of the things we noticed over the years since we started is that companies are waking up. They’re taking note of consumers pushing for change, but it’s also the triple bottom line where companies are saving money by mitigating waste. When we launched SHFT we thought, ‘Let’s build our own platform and find sponsors whose corporate messaging aligns with ours.’ A company like Ford is a really great example. They launched five electric vehicles, and when Adrian and I were approached to work with them, it just made so much sense. The company that brought the middle class the Model T, with the idea that everyone in the country should be able to afford and drive a car, was now doing five electric vehicles. The content we’re creating with them, The Big SHFT, is about innovators who are changing gbdmagazine.com
CHEERS SHFT House Wine SHFT teamed up with winemaker Mark Adams from 3Finger Wine Company to create a fruit-forward red wine sourced from the up-and-coming Pasa Robles region in California. It’s organic and sustainable, comes in recycled glass, and has a high-end feel—it checks all of SHFT’s boxes. The blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Tempranillo grapes come together to make something Glatzer and Grenier clearly enjoy describing as “hedonistic.”
What Not to Miss on SHFT.com according to Adrian Grenier After our chat with Glatzer, we persuaded SHFT cofounder and Entourage star Adrian Grenier to take a break from the set and talk us through a few of his favorite SHFT.com offerings. SEE Fay Yu’s Photographic Dreamland “The image of Fay Yu playing with bubbles in a grassy field is the kind of thing we love. Whimsical, childlike and beautiful. The essence of the work is that you need to stop and smell the roses. That’s a very SHFTy tenet.”
WATCH The Big SHFT Van Jones “Van Jones has to be one of the most inspiring badasses out there. He’s been a pioneer of green jobs for the ‘havenots’ and has merged an environmental imperative with a way to keep capable, at-risk young people out of trouble and in jobs.”
SHOP SHFT House Wine
“How could I not plug our wine? At $25, it will make you sing.”
january–february 2013
107
FEATURES tk
ACROSS THE ISLAND The west side of Oahu is hardly Waikiki. In Waianae, per capita income is less than half of what it is in Honolulu. To meet residents’ needs, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands built a LEED Platinum, net-zero community exclusively for native Hawaiians.
108
january–february 2013
gb&d
FEATURES
THe FLIP Side of Paradise Every utopia has its privation, and Hawaii is no exception. Native islanders face unique challenges, including healthful housing. Enter the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, whose LEED Platinum Kaupuni Village uses everything from solar panels to clotheslines to raise a onceforgotten population’s quality of life. By Benjamin van Loon
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
109
FEATURES The Flip Side of Paradise
its residents identify as Pacific Islander, compared to the eight percent living in Honolulu. It wasn’t hard for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to see that it had some work to do in Waianae. The answer, or at least one part of it, was Kaupuni Village. “Kaupuni Village is one of our smaller developments, so we wanted to try something different with it,” says Kimo Kai, special assistant to the Office of the Chairman at the DHHL. In cooperation with local architecture firm Group 70 International, the planning team began to articulate plans for what would become the first LEED Platinum, net-zero housing subdivision in the country. The Need for A HomeLand The conditions of today’s Hawaiian natives have roots more than a hundred years old. By 1892, the entire social landscape of the Kingdom of Hawaii had been upended by a century of modernization and colonization. Americans saw opportunities for themselves in the annexation of the islands as a US territory. A coup in early 1893 set those wheels in motion. As a US territory, Hawaii had some say in Congress, namely through a delegate, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole, who soon recognized the need for a policy to ensure the rights of the kanakas, Polynesian or Hawaiian natives. Kalaniana‘ole cultivated the idea of ‘Hawaiian Home
Oahu is home to some of Hawaii’s finest natural and commercial offerings, yet it also represents the manifold disparities faced by both the immigrant and indigenous populations. 110
january–february 2013
Lands’ in 1898, a precedent that would award and reapportion tracts of Hawaiian land to the kanakas for posterity. Expounding on this idea, in 1921, the federal government officiated the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA), the primary purpose of which was “to enable native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency . . . and the preservation of the values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians.” The act awarded roughly 313 square miles of land—five percent of Hawaii’s total land—to nontransferable native settlements in 61 separate census-designated zones throughout the islands. By the time Hawaii was officially inducted as an American state in 1959, however, federal and private entities illicitly occupied much of the acreage. And so, it wasn’t until the state created the DHHL in 1960 that it was able to effectively administer solutions and begin fulfilling its vital vision. Clotheslines for Kama’aina The 3.5-acre site of the new housing development—an empty piece of land sitting a few shallow feet below the flood plain—previously was owned by the Consuelo Foundation, a nonprofit organization serving disadvantaged families in the Philippines and Hawaii. In 2004, the DHHL acquired the plot for a single dollar—with a single stipulation. “The one stipulation was that we use the site to build affordable housing for people 100 percent below median income,” Kai says. (To achieve certain tax breaks, the DHHL ultimately went with 80 percent and below median income.) To qualify for residency in Kaupuni, households need to make less than $65,920. Prior to beginning vertical construction on Kaupuni, the DHHL moved hundreds of tons of coral and dirt on the site, raising foundation levels by up to five feet above the flood zone. After letting the new earth settle, DHHL began gb&d
Photos: Group 70; Ken Kelly, courtesy of DOE/NREL (family) data: US Census bureau
H
onolulu is located on the 600-square-mile island of Oahu, the third-largest and most populated island of the archipelago. The city’s 950,000 residents make up roughly 70 percent of the total state population, and though Oahu is home to some of Hawaii’s finest natural and commercial offerings, it is also representative of the manifold disparities faced by both the immigrant and indigenous populations. Although the cost of living in Honolulu is technically lower than that of San Francisco or New York City, cost-of-living calculators fail to adjust for other costs associated with island economics, like a tax burden upped by state-provided education, health care, and social services. This is partly offset by a booming tourist economy, but islanders earning between $48,001 and $150,000 nonetheless pay up to 8.25 percent on their annual income. If you make $70,093—the median income for Oahu in 2010—$5,783 of that goes to the State. In Honolulu, where the median household income is about $91,000, the need for affordable housing isn’t nearly as apparent as in Waianae, 34 miles to the west. Here, the median household income is $63,408, and 27 percent of
FEATURES
2,200
Kaupuni Village
By the Numbers
1,900
Square footage of 3-bedroom/2bathroom home
Residents
The Demographics of Oahu
Waianae Honolulu Kaneohe
Kaneohe
2010 Population *median values
$31,668
$38,770
$18,097
34,597
38,635
13,177
3.01
Waianae
Honolulu
$65,920 Households below this line qualify for Kaupuni Village
Per capita income
$ 7 74 ,000 $622,300 $302,800
80,927
0 – 250 251 – 500 501 – 1000 1001 – 2836 No Population
STARK CONTRAST Economic struggles don’t skip paradise. Even on an island as small as 600 square miles (roughly half the size of Rhode Island), income disparaties are quite apparent.
$91,083
Concentration of Native Hawaiians
HAWAII
gbdmagazine.com
Kilowatts supplied to each home by the PV arrays
$63,408
DIVIDED paradise
80
6.2
3.04
Homes
Solar panels provided for each home
4.24
19
26
Square footage of 4-bedroom/2bathroom home
Persons per
HOME VALUE*
household
household
(OCCUPIED UNITS)
income*
january–february 2013
111
FEATURES The Flip Side of Paradise
RECLAIMING LAND The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the agency behind the LEED Platinum Kaupuni Village, exists to ensure that enough Hawaiian land is set aside for those who identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
construction in 2010, and, not including the landscape, total cost for construction totaled $6 million. The four-bed/two-bath and three-bed/two-bath options sold for between $322,000 and $260,000 and were all occupied by Hawaiian natives by mid-2011. Federal subsidies helped prices reach as low as $212,000, compared with $559,000, the median value for occupied homes on Oahu. Each home is stocked with Energy Star appliances, solar hot-water heaters, water-recycling systems, and 26 solar panels that provide 6.2 kilowatts of power per home. Hawaiian Electric provided monitors in each home to monitor in-home electrical usage. And the driveways for the homes are made of pervious concrete, which absorbs excess rainwater. In addition to the community center, funded in part by Kamehameha Schools, one of Kaupuni’s 21 lots was left empty, to be used as an educational resource for the community. It will be used to teach residents how to build and maintain their own farms and gardens using aquaponic and hydroponic systems. In addition to promoting sustainable living and net-zero lifestyles, the mini-farm also corresponds to the greater mission of native self-sufficiency fostered by the DHHL. “In addition to the community garden,” Kai says, “we
112
january–february 2013
Waianae is a struggling, leeward outpost. It has three times the Pacific Islander population of Honolulu, while the median income is 30 percent lower than the capital city’s.
also provided each home with a cage on the exterior, which allows space for the residents to build and utilize their own aquaponics units.” The locals, or kama’aina, were appreciative of the sustainable and cost-saving elements, but the design gesture most appreciated was Group 70’s decision to include space for clotheslines in the design. “It’s a small and seemingly insignificant detail, but it’s an important part of the Hawaiian culture, and a lot of new developments don’t allow for them,” Kai says. “It saves on money, and it’s a gesture of respect for the native community.” Sustaining the islands It’s the big gestures and the small ones that make the DHHL’s ongoing commitment important for native Hawaiians.
Receiving funding from state and federal subsidies, as well as private resources, the DHHL works to deliver on the mission for self-sufficiency set forth in the HHCA, though it has also spent considerable effort claiming new acreage and reclaiming illegitimately occupied Hawaiian Home Lands. In an investigation partly fueled by efforts from the DHHL in the early 1980s, the State began to recognize the illegitimacy of various federal and private land holdings. In 1984, state and county orders transferring holdings away from the Hawaiian Home Lands were cancelled and 28,000 acres were returned to the trust. Consequently, the Hawaii State Act 14, passed in 1995, awarded $600 million payable in $30 million annual installments over 20 gb&d
FEATURES
Not all classrooms have walls By working together, organizations, schools and communities lay the foundation for learning to happen anywhere.
data: us census bureau
years to the trust for state accounting oversight between 1959 and 1988. The Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act was also passed in 1995, which resolved Hawaii State claims against the US Navy. The act awarded the DHHL with $80 million in surplus federal land and also apportioned 950 additional acres to the DHHL holdings across the islands. Leveraging steady capital from the State Act and cooperating with the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, the DHHL is able to develop old land as well as acquire new, habitable acreage in underrepresented areas like Kaupuni Village in Waianae. Compared to the DHHL’s other projects—like the 49-lot subdivision in Kekaha, Kaua’i, or the 104-unit Villages of Leiali’i in Maui—Kaupuni Village is relatively small, but it encapsulates the fundamental and ongoing mission of the DHHL. “Around 80 people live in Kaupuni, and many of them are children,” Kai says. “They’re learning about these sustainable building and living systems firsthand and are then able to share these ideas throughout the community. This is what DHHL is all about.” As Hawaii’s population continues to grow, services for the native and underrepresented populations will continue to be vital for ensuring the quality of life and the continuity of a culture which, if left untended, would be lost in the economic and commercial wilds of modernization. By innovating affordable housing alternatives and providing sustainable living solutions, organizations like the DHHL are working to preserve native Hawaii, one home at a time. gb&d a message from Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools is a private, educational, charitable trust. Since its founding in 1887 by Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty, Kamehameha Schools has graduated over 27,000 students while supporting 40,000 more through community programs.
gbdmagazine.com
27%
Portion of Waianae’s residents that identified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander in the 2010 Census. In Honolulu, however, that number is significantly less at 9.6%. Providing affordable housing for native families is what DHHL is all about.
www.ksbe.edu
THERE’S MORE TO cutting costs … achieving sustainability … earning LEED certification …
than meets the eye. Talk with us.
CHELSEA GROUP, LTD. (800) 626-6722 // chelsea-grp.com january–february 2013
113
FEATURES
discussion board how do we responsibly develop blighted urban areas?
Craig Kronenberg, Hefferlin+Kronenberg Architects, p. 98
“We cannot displace current residents. Before policy, investment, or action, we must have the political will and moral vision to prevent this displacement. Our industry leaders—and our political leaders—must share this vision.”
“Locate affordable housing in urban neighborhoods that are already affluent. Our Fairmount Avenue Townhouses will rent for 50 percent of the prevailing rate. It’s reverse gentrification.”
John F. Shaw, AIA, LEED AP, p. 65
Lourdes Castro Ramírez, San Antonio Housing Authority, p. 172
“Market-rate units must become more affordable. Smaller unit sizes and fewer on-site amenities can help, as well as co-locating near public transit where residents can save on vehicle expenses, which cost the average American $9,500 per year per vehicle.” Jared Riemer, Urban Village Development Company, p. 27
“Integrate buildings, people, and economic opportunity. A jobs-to-housing relationship generates demand and meets sustainability goals that include transit, schools, and recreation.”
Joseph Basilice, Oceansafe, p. 125
“Use existing community assets: abandoned hotels, surplus warehouse space, etc. Focus on building better housing made affordable through efficiency.”
“For [us], the answer is simple: return native Hawaiians, many of whom fall below federal poverty guidelines, to their ancestral lands to reconnect them to their cultural values.” Kimo Kai, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, p. 108
Michael Boettger, The Michaels Development Company, p. 38
“Utilize social-service programs that promote the skills lacking in impoverished communities. Altering the cycles can help break the trends we see in many blighted urban areas.”
114
january–february 2013
gb&d
VERBATIM
“One thing we’ve done differently from many hospitals [is] when it comes time to add a wing or plan a renovation, we already know what the impact will be.”
verbatim
About Tom Stewart has spent his entire professional career at Southern Illinois Healthcare, where he is currently the corporate director of facilities. He was key in earning the three-hospital health-care system national recognition for energy efficiency and bottom-line gains that cemented the organization’s reputation as one of the first hospital systems to show how an efficient physical plant contributes to improved patient care. Tom is also a cofounder of the Southern Illinois Chapter for Healthcare Engineering and is a regular speaker at health-care industry conferences.
T om S tewart
gbdmagazine.com
The stalwart engineer explains the intricacies in connecting energy efficiency and patient care As told to Laura Williams-Tracy
I’d like to say we were brilliant and creative, but we were at the right place at the right time. I’ve been [at Southern Illinois Healthcare] for a long time—38 years, which I know is unheard of these days. In the late ’70s we had expansion plans at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. Prior to the expansion we did an engineering study with a great firm in St. Louis, McClure Engineering, to look at developing a centralized heating-and-cooling system. About the same time, the federal government had a grant program for schools and hospitals to help pay for actual improvements in energy systems. With the study already done, we were a step ahead, and the grant paid for 50 percent of the improvements. It set the stage. We installed the core of a central chiller plant that allowed us to centralize what had previously been a fragmented system. [It meant] a failure of individual equipment didn’t negatively impact the hospital operation. There were only two hospitals in Illinois that received grants, so we received some good publicity. The success of that program created interest from the C-level. It became part of the business of our organization to save energy with support from senior management. Like a lot of hospitals, we constantly have renovation work in progress, but we’ve developed and maintained a mechanical and electrical master plan that works in january–february 2013
115
VERBATIM
Herrin Hospital is part of the lauded Southern Illinois Healthcare system.
TOM STEWART Up Close & Personal
COMMITMENT TO
SUSTAINABILITY
Lawrence Group is proud to be a corporate member of the U.S. Green Building Council and has over 20 LEED accredited professionals on staff.
Southern Illinois Healthcare Breast Center
314.231.5700
www.thelawrencegroup.com
St. Louis Austin Carolinas New York Philadelphia
Architecture Interior Design Town Planning Landscape Architecture Graphic Design Development Construction
116
january–february 2013
parallel with the architectural master plan—that’s one What was your first job? thing we’ve done differently I grew up on a dairy farm, so I had from many hospitals. When it a job as soon as I was old enough comes time to add a wing or to carry something. I gained plan a renovation, we already mechanical skills and learned that if know what the impact will be you don’t get it done today, you have on the air-conditioning and to do it tomorrow. I was taught by my heating capacity or the emerfather to never use the word “can’t.” gency power system. In the mid-’80s we installed If you weren’t in your current field, a heat-recovery system that rewhat would you do? duced gas consumption by 40 I enjoy teaching and am a faculty percent. After that the Energy member for the American Society Star program for health-care for Healthcare Engineering. I teach a facilities became available, boot camp designed for people who and we decided to participate. are new to the field. As a result of our efforts, we were among the first three What inspires you? hospitals in the country to I like a challenge. As an optimist, my receive the Energy Star label. glass is always half full. I enjoy that in 38 years I have yet to have two days If you have a building you that were alike. think is already efficient, there may be potential for Describe yourself in three words. even more gains. Recently, Humble, honest, and loyal. we’ve been retro-commissioning our buildings to make What is your hidden talent? sure everything is operating I play guitar and sing folk music. as it should. Our local utility There’s a local venue that has an has a program to share in the open mic night that I like to go to. cost of this engineering study and to help pay for upgrades. We anticipate we can reduce energy consumption by 8 to 10 percent at each of our three hospitals, and if we save a dollar in energy, that’s a dollar we add to the bottom line. Our maintenance staff does rounding with patients every day; they stop by rooms, greet the patients, and make sure everything is working correctly. [They] also make sure the lights are not left on in unoccupied areas and oxygen or vacuum regulators are not leaking, which all use energy. I’ve worked at this for 38 years and due to the size of our facilities, I’ve had the opportunity to gain experience in a lot of different areas. In the summer of 2011, I received the Crystal Eagle Award from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering. It’s a lifetime achievement award and quite a humbling experience and quite an honor. gb&d gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 118
Live 41 BOND
Verdant condos raise eyebrows in NoHo
122
indigo park
125
sunshower house
126
Eco-luxury on South Carolina’s Kiawah Island
A heavy-duty prototype for the Delta SONOMA Family farm
Off-the-grid yet fully wired
129
rockhill personal care building
Where faith meets stewardship
play 132 rancho valencia
A $30 million renovation honors the Earth
134
bagley outdoor classroom
Playing together in the northern woods
work 135 hilton foundation Headquarters
Van Atta’s mirroring landscape
138
TERRELL PLACE
A LEED Platinum anchor for downtown DC
learn 140 marshalL conant building
A modern home for math and science
144
LUPTON LIBRARY
145
NEWBERG CENTER
146
HISTORY COLORADO CENTER
149
How to design for more than books
Portland-style, LEED Platinum learning
Celebrating local stone and history
DUGONI SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY
A shrewd renovation means more smiles
150
HEAL SECU CANCER CENTER
154
Mission Health builds for the cure ANDERSON PAVILION
Health and happiness in Los Angeles
156 seattle Children's bELLEVUE CLINIC
gbdmagazine.com
A creative, daylit space for Seattle children
january–february 2013
117
spa c e S l i v e
41 Bond Street raises questions about how to live more sustainably. And then it answers them. By Russ Klettke
PROJECT Location New York City Size 30,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Townhomes, duplexes, floor-through residences
TEAM DEVELOPER DDG Partners Architect of Record H. Thomas O’Hara Lighting Fritzmartin Electric Structural Engineer Robert Silman Associates
GREEN certification Not applicable Site 1,200-square-foot landscaped rear yard Exterior Native bluestone façade Vegetation Irrigated exterior planting system, green marquee and terrace screens Energy Daiken HVAC system, radiant heat, green screens for solar shading
118
january–february 2013
41 Bond Street, a NoHo Historic District building of full-floor and duplex condominiums, is essentially a growing medium. The eight-story building’s striking bluestone façade is punctuated on the front with four deeply inset windows per floor, each with a modern interpretation of the traditional window box. Sprigs of green, red, and cream spill from each fenestration, the products of various plants: alba (clematis montana), nana (ophiopogon japonicus), pencil point (juniperus communis), and vision in white (astilbe chinensis). Complementary plantings from the building’s top-floor brow, plus the roof of its street-level marquee, show that this is a building that celebrates nature inside and out—a welcome respite from the city’s dense built environment. The back of the building is swathed in plants on an even grander scale, which has a lot to do with the journey Peter Guthrie, head of design and construction at DDG Partners, a real estate development and architecture firm based in the West Village, and his colleagues took to get 41 Bond approved by the district’s landmarks commission. Guthrie wasn’t just selling an environmentally conscious building or one clad in an unusual material. What most concerned the commission, initially, was that 41 Bond would have balconies on its backside that
faced neighboring residences. “From day one, we had to make the case for design to the commission,” says Guthrie. “But we had experimented with green roofs and wall planters in projects in Brooklyn and Tribeca.” The developer painstakingly presented to the commission what this building could do for its neighborhood. The bluestone, its primary material, is a utilitarian one, more typically used in sidewalks, patios, and window lintels in brownstones. “It bridges the gap between the industrial buildings already on the street and this contemporary building,” Guthrie says. The team built a full-scale mock-up of the process by which the stone would be fashioned by local craftsmen. (The material was sourced from Tompkins Bluestone quarry in upstate New York.) The balconies, 28-foot-wide terraces actually, worried some people who thought it would be a place to park outdoor barbecue grills and little else. But the subway grating used for the terrace railings would come with growing habitats (now planted with clematis and other climbing plants). Interestingly, the landmarks commission’s review of 41 Bond’s proposed balconies brought to light an important question: does the district want only closed-off spaces where no one sees his or her neighbors? “The debate raised an interesting discussion on the life of the city,” Guthrie says. “Thankfully, there were several architects on the commission who understood this and what we
“The inside-out nature of the window plantings creates a foreground for looking at the street.” Peter Guthrie, DDG Partners gb&d
Above the awning over 41 Bond’s entrance is a green roof. On its underside, the mirror creates disorienting angles that liven up the pedestrian experience.
Photo: Francis Dzikowski
DDG Partners installed plant habitats inside its deep-set windows, which spin around so residents can clean them.
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
“Good design makes a 1,000 percent difference in selling faster and at better prices.” Peter Guthrie, DDG Partners
The contemporary interior of 41 Bond is far from simply beautiful; DDG Partners contends that smart design can make or break a building.
The street’s industrial history, evoked through 41 Bond’s bluestone façade, includes many cast-ironfaced buildings that now serve as artists’ lofts.
120
january–february 2013
unbelievably romantic.” His team added bluestone around the fireplace and in the guest bathrooms, further blurring the lines between the building’s interior and exterior spaces. Craftsmanship and ingenuity are evident. The windows pivot 180 degrees on a center axis, making for easy maintenance, while glass-hugging gaskets preclude the need for weatherproof overlapping trim. Credit for the success is shared between a dedicated team. Brooklyn-based Fritzmartin Electric engineered the lighting, including the dramatic illumination of the back balcony plant screens. Carrara marble in the master baths and kitchen counters was cut and fabricated by Antonov Stone Work, also from Brooklyn. Robert Silman Associates, a structural engineering firm, “willingly participated in creative dialogue,” Guthrie says, “including [about] the fantastically cantilevered marquee.” And H. Thomas
A MESSAGE FROM H.T.O. Architect
H.T.O. Architect, PLLC, is one of New York City’s premiere boutique architectural firms. Established in NYC in 1997 by architect Henry Thomas O’Hara Jr., H.T.O. has worked with developers DDG Partners on projects throughout Manhattan, such as 345 West 14th Street and 41-43 Bond Street. The companies are currently working together on the new residential building 12-14 Warren Street. H.T.O. specializes in construction of new high-rise residential and hospitality buildings, as well as conversion and/or renovation of existing buildings. Exceeding their clients’ expectations has been the long-standing key to H.T.O.’s success.
gb&d
Photos: Francis Dzikowski
could do with plants to establish a certain degree of privacy. You’re not looking at railings. You’re looking at a fantastic array of green.” 41 Bond Street was approved and built for occupancy in 2012. All units sold within a month. The penthouse closed at $8.4 million at $3,100 per square foot while lower-floor apartments averaged around $2,500 per square foot. Shortly thereafter, several Big Apple real estate writers noted that such prices mark a post-recession resurgence at the upper end of the market, and Guthrie admits that many were surprised with the project’s success. Timing of both the land purchase and the sell period worked in DDG’s favor, Guthrie says, adding that the price point would probably have been lower if his team hadn’t taken extra care with the design. “The inside-out nature of the window plantings creates a foreground for looking at the street,” Guthrie says. “It’s
O’Hara Architect (HTO Architect), the architect of record, worked out the integration of water and plant growth into the masonry construction, as well as the permitting necessary throughout the project. Typically, developers are not known for pushing the envelope of design. But DDG upends that notion, in part because it begins with a very fundamental factor: who provides their financing. “We work with a unique group of investors who a re supportive of progressive design,” Guthrie says. “Many are involved in multiple projects.” The German word gesamtkunstwerk, or ‘the total work of art,’ is how Guthrie describes DDG’s strategy. “Good design makes a 1,000 percent difference in selling faster and at better prices,” he says. “This has worked for us in New York straight through the recession.” Which is a work of art in itself. gb&d
SPACES
Assisting DDG to get where they belong- on top Congratulations Peter Guthrie
i s p ri vi l e g e d t o wo rk with
Martin Loetterle, President
TM
DDG Partners
Fritzmartin Electric, Inc.
41 Bo nd
345 W 14th
12-14 War ren
3 7 0 S e ve nth A ve nue S ui te 2 2 0 N e w Yor k , N Y 1 0 0 0 1 212 695 3117 : p 212 695 3118 : f w w w.h to- a r c h i te c t.c om
Licensed Electrical Contractor
(718) 624-2255 76 DEGRAW ST. • BROOKLYN, NY 11231
GEA is proud to have assisted DDG Partners not only as the MEP Engineer, but also as Commissioning Agent for this exciting and environmentally progressive project.
17
CE LE BRATI NG
Years of DISTINCTIVE ARCHITECTURE
GEA specializes in the innovative design of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems for large-scale retail, hospitality, residential, mixed use, commercial, light industrial and institutional projects. 545 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
www.gea-pllc.com gbdmagazine.com
Tel: 212.643.8006
13 SUMMER ISLAND KIAWAH ISLAND, SC
CHARLESTON, SC 843•559•7670 PH
www.christopherrosearchitects.com
ASHEVILLE, NC 843•559•7670 PH
january–february 2013
121
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
Marshlands Majesty Candace Dyal’s Indigo Park offers luxurious living while preserving the natural landscape of South Carolina’s coastland Interview by Seth Putnam
When Candace Dyal established Dyal Compass, a real estate developer with a special focus on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, she did it to make sure hulking condominium developments didn’t take over the little island hamlet. Her latest project, Indigo Park, continues that mission. We spoke to Dyal about the land she loves and her homes’ green features. Dyal Compass describes itself as “responsible living practices with a conscience.” What does that mean to you? Candace Dyal: Our very first project [109 Flyway Drive, in 2007] was an old Georgian on an oceanside double lot. A normal developer would have knocked it down, sold the lots, made some money and moved on. I chose to keep it as a double lot so there was less building on the island and to save the old Georgian and turn it into a green Adirondack home. That’s developing with a conscience.
after living there for many years, and when I showed my son the potential, he said, “That’s risky.” I knew then and there—as a parent, as a mentor, as a citizen—what I should do, because I don’t think enough of us go out and actually take risks. What kind of risks does Indigo Park take? How does it advance the responsible-living cause? Dyal: In 2009, when stocks were shutting down and credit was frozen, Kiawah was exploring the possibility of building 54 condo units on this most gorgeous, prime location—I call it the Central Park of the island. I thought, “Really? No, no, no. Let’s keep honoring Kiawah.” It’s about 70 percent nature, and it’s not built up like the Hamptons. I want to help keep it that way. So this project is very much about the spirit of the land.
Dyal: Exactly. And the land is a spirit. So I contacted Kiawah Partners and said I wanted to save this. I told them, “I’m not a big-time developer; I couldn’t do huge condos if I wanted to, and by the way, I don’t want to. But I can help a little.” Long story short, I ended up owning the whole thing. There’s an American tendency to go big, but I felt it would be best to go with 16 homes, all overlooking the marsh, not a gazillion apartments. And we donated the best piece of property on the parcel to the Kiawah Island Conservancy to be used as a park. We went with three models called the Azalea, Sweetgrass, and the Camellia. There’s also an option for a 500-squarefoot guesthouse. We’re all about flex. As you go through life, sometimes you need a bigger space for kids. Then they The Azalea is one of three models available at Indigo Park in South Carolina. All are eco-friendly, including the use of SieMatic cabinets, considered Europe’s greenest.
Dyal Compass is a very mission-driven company. What made you decide to take the plunge? Dyal: You mean to invest a serious amount of my own money and go crazy? (laughs) I have a real estate background; my parents would renovate and sell homes as a hobby. And it was always a “pay-attention” mentality instead of a “slap-it-on” approach. So that’s what I did on Saturdays instead of going to the mall. I had just moved back from London
“There’s an American tendency to go big, but I felt it would be best to go with 16 homes, all overlooking the marsh.” Candace Dyal, Developer 122
january–february 2013
gb&d
SPACES
“Kiawah is about 70 percent nature, and it’s not built up like the Hamptons. I want to help keep it that way.” Candace Dyal, Developer Like all of Indigo’s models, the Sweetgrass features local materials and water- and energy-efficient systems that contribute to what the developer hopes will be LEED Platinum status.
go away, and you may need a guesthouse for the grandkids, or the in-laws, or the outlaws (laughs). This is a project that’s aiming for LEED Platinum status. Any favorite green features? Dyal: We’re doing geothermal, so the heating bill will be about 50 percent less, and the carbon footprint will be pretty close to zero. The aluminum roofing reflects heat unlike copper, and it lasts longer than cedar shake shingles. We installed reclaimed floors; the railings are totally recyclable; NuCedar siding with a lifetime warranty; SieMatic kitchen cabinets, the greenest in Europe. We used local craftsmen for the cabinets, the beams, the framing, the furniture. I said, “You gotta find someone in the Carolinas that can do this.” It took a while, but sure enough, we did.
Candace Dyal on Life on Kiawah Island
And the result is a beautiful, responsible product that focuses on living. Dyal: Have a life. Have time for your friends. Have time for your family. gb&d
Site plan indigo park
Community Park
“My history in Kiawah began around 1998. I rented initially, then bought a home a couple of years later. There are two things that make Kiawah unique. First, there’s an incredible amount of diversity here. It’s a place where your neighbors could be from London, from New York, or from right here in South Carolina. You talk to the sales clerks, the shop owners, and the contractors, and you get a feel for the pulse of the community. The nature is the other big spirit in Kiawah. It’s a pure place. You smell the ocean air. You get to see the Loggerhead turtles and the 750 alligators and the bobcats. You realize: It’s okay. They’re all here together, and they like it that way.”
Indigo Park includes just 16 homes because Candace Dyal didn’t want to crowd the property. She even saved one of the best parcels to be used as a community park.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
123
Making your Home beautiful and Energy efficient
inside and out before installation
custom made Windows and Doors Passive House certified design | engineering | installation
after installation
R-4 R 4 to R R-10 10 triple insulated Energy rated Installation Materials
C a l l for more i n for m at ion : 5 40 • 937 • 5796
SPACES
Home Sweet Indestructible HomE
A SSIP manufacturer challenges architects to create a super durable, sustainable house. The winner is a beacon of hope for New Orleans.
By Erin Brereton
A panel of green experts gave the Sunshower House top marks for being heavy duty yet affordable. The cool design is a plus.
When OceanSafe, a steel-structuralinsulated-panel (SSIP) manufacturer with offices in New York and Louisiana, challenged eight architects to create a sustainable home as part of its 2010 design contest, all participants were given an identical building material list. “We gave each architect the exact same pieces and parts so their creativity would come through in their design,” says Joseph Basilice, the company’s president.
Do-it-all design The regulations stipulated that the home should cost between $120,000 and $160,000 and should be capable of withstanding severe environmental conditions, including floods, earthquakes, and 160-mph hurricane winds. The design was supposed to be able to collect enough rainwater and generate enough electrical power to support a family of five for up to seven days at a time between sustainable sun, wind, and geothermal ‘recharging’ periods. Architects were asked to only use approved building materials, including OceanSafe’s SSIP panels, which, because they’re made of steel and firmly lock together into one unit, provide durable protection against tornados, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.
Making it happen With all participating architects based in New Orleans—chosen due to the city’s Hurricane Katrina experience—the winning design came from Tulane University architecture professor Judith Kinnard and assistant professor Tiffany Lin. With the help of more than two dozen New Orleans construction professionals and vendors—product manufacturers donated all custom cabinetry, windows, doors, and other items—their Sunshower House design was constructed in the city’s Lakeview neighborhood between August 2011 and March 2012. After the construction was completed, OceanSafe invited government officials gbdmagazine.com
from around the world to come to New Orleans to see the winning design. Government entities can view the Sunshower House and all other competition entries to see how SSIP homes can offer defense during a natural catastrophe and help countries meet urgent housing needs. “They are looking for something sustainable and green that they can stockpile [in preparation] for a disaster,” Basilice says. Governments from ten countries, including Haiti, Romania, Japan, and the Dominican Republic, plan to travel to New Orleans to discuss the competition entries with each architect.
Providing protection SSIP structures protect against the elements, and they are mold- and termiteresistant and provide up to 70 percent more energy efficiency than standard homes. Basilice estimates a homeowner with a $400 electric bill could see costs reduced by $300 by moving into a SSIP home. “It’s like a structural walk-in freezer,” Basilice says. “Once the temperature is where it is, it stays there.” Homeowners could receive insurance discounts for SSIP homes located in flood
or high-wind zones. “The Earth may rattle, and the unit may sway or move, but the structure won’t collapse,” Basilice explains. And it can be built right out of a box; building-kit components come in a 42-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide cargo container.
SSIP revolution OceanSafe, competition cosponsors Woodward Design+Build and C&G Construction, and sustainable design consultant The Regen Group have now formed REOSE, a company that packages and sells home-building kits with donated materials. OceanSafe SSIP residences are currently being built in Louisiana, New York, Mississippi, Alabama, South Africa, and Iraq. The assembly time can vary, but construction typically takes four to five days for a 1,000-square-foot shell. The company will also connect building-industry professionals, if needed. “We can work with any architectural drawings,” Basilice says. “If you have a building you want to look like a lighthouse, a Southern plantation, or a multistory condominium complex, we send it to our engineers, and they design it.” gb&d january–february 2013
125
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
Sonoma Sophisticate
The curved trellis connecting the residence and the pool area will soon be covered with flowering vines to create a shaded passage.
Are ‘smart farms’ the future? Marrying today’s technology with California’s passive past, this net-zero residence is simplicity plus a microchip. By Ashley T. Kjos
PROJECT LOCATION Sonoma, CA Size 6,516 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Private residence, guest house, pool and pool house, organic farm
TEAM ARCHITECT DSA Architects Interior Design Navarra Design Landscape Sentient Landscape Doors Liberty Valley Door Company General Contractor Hammond & Company
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Platinum (expected) Materials Recycled trim and finishes, doors salvaged from Douglas firs Water Cistern converted from old pool, greywater system for orchard irrigation, solar hot water Energy Seasonal heat storage, ground-source heat pump, automated natural ventilation Walls Insulated straw-bale walls with natural hydraulic lime plasters Landscape Living roof, site designed to maximize farmland
126
january–february 2013
P
assive solar design with a microchip. That’s how Dietmar Lorenz describes the Sonoma Family Farm, one of the most recent and most imaginative residential project from Daniel Smith & Associates Architects (DSA Architects), where Lorenz is an associate. The people at DSA Architects have been designing high-performing homes in California for 30 years and have always had an interest in passive strategies as a method to address energy use. The addition of active elements, mechanical systems, and how those two are integrated is what takes the Sonoma project to the next level. The project is registered under LEED for Homes and is aiming for a Platinum certification, but it turns out that there isn’t room in the rating system to account for all of the project’s innovations and its exemplary performance.
Sonoma Valley is known for the mild climate that facilitated the emergence of the California wine industry. While there are periods of severe temperatures, sunny winters make a natural environment for successful passive-solar homes, and summer heat can be mitigated with night venting. With this Sonoma site, Dan Smith, a principal at DSA Architects was interested in taking the performance of the project beyond what could be described as merely ‘efficient.’ “We are aiming to offset all the energy use, not just the heating and cooling but the entire plug load and domestic hot water as well,” Smith says. “Our goal is net-zero operating energy.” In addition, DSA Architects always considers ‘embodied energy,’ the energy intensity of building materials and the construction itself. “These ideas have been around for a long time, but it takes dedication to do it right,” Smith says. “It gb&d
SPACES
To protect the extensive living room glazing from the low afternoon sun, the trellis extends beyond the southwest corner of the living roof.
“Everything rides simply on the land, but it also has very sophisticated solar engineering and technology.” Dietmar Lorenz, DSA Architects A planting area, living roof, and strips in the patio will blend the hardscape of this Sonoma farm with the surrounding California landscape.
takes idealistic and committed clients to go the whole way. The last push is tough, but we want to enable people to get to that level.” This required the integration of sophisticated technology with passive solar ideals all while maintaining a level of creative and aesthetic continuity. “A lot of effort went into making the buildings comfortable and beautiful but understated,” Lorenz says. “Everything rides simply on the land, but it also has very sophisticated solar engineering and technology.” On the site are three main structures: the primary residence, a pool house, and a guesthouse. A barn and caretaker cottage are clustered nearby; the spaces are split so that each doesn’t have to be conditioned when not in use. All primary living spaces were laid out to take full advantage of the passive solar design; in addition to the 14-kilowatt photovoltaic array on the roof of the main house, the gbdmagazine.com
south-facing pool house roof is covered with 12 Heliodyne solar collectors that capture heat for domestic hot water, pool heating, and in-floor heating. The main residence also features automated natural ventilation; when the night temperature is cool enough, the transom windows automatically open and flush the building with cool air. The building site is situated between a pond and a creek, two bodies of water that played into the theme of the design. “The design concept places the buildings along a green pathway that connects the creek and the pond [by] casually grouping buildings,” Lorenz explains, “each responding to their unique settings.” The placement of the residence leaves the bulk of the land available for the organic farm, which, just like the residential grounds, will implement the highest water conservation standards and sustainable practices. Much of the project was designed with a California vernacular, utilizing open-air spaces, blending the indoors with the outdoors, and using a rural typology of simple gable roofs. A connective walkway is covered with a living roof, which “becomes the ligament connecting the buildings together and defining the circulation space,” Smith says. For water conservation, an abandoned pool has been converted into a 20,000-gallon cistern, which is dedicated to living-roof irrigation and toilet flushing, while a greywater system directs shower water to supplement orchard irrigation. All interior trim and finishes
were made from salvaged construction material, and the reconstituted doors come from salvaged Douglas fir. “From the ground up there has been a comprehensive intention to mitigate environmental impact,” says Bruce Hammond, owner of Hammond & Company, the general contractor and homebuilder on the residence. Such an approach is in line with the company’s values; Hammond & Company was an early adopter of green building strategies—even by California standards—and claims among its credits a solar test home in 1982. “We’ve been very involved in green building both on the advocacy side and with the delivery of projects,” Hammond says. “It’s the language we live and breathe.” Sustainable material selection is also a trademark of interior designer Kathleen Navarra, principal at Navarra Design, who specified recycled content or salvaged components and kept an eye out for local production. The project included various consultants and trades and frequently pushed the envelope. It was essential that all systems and materials be integrated within the style of the house. This, Smith says, is an exciting and ongoing challenge. “Architecture is the convergence of art and function,” he says. “Today there is a whole new set of things that a house is asked to do: ‘Be a net-zero . . . home. Fit into the landscape. What is a comfortable aesthetic for a net-zero house? How do you integrate it all?’ It’s a critical frontier for the design professions, and we find inspiration in this challenge.” gb&d january–february 2013
127
GREEN BUILDING PROFESSIONALS PROJECT PLANNING DESIGN / BUILD SERVICES CONTRUCTION MANAGEMENT TEAMWORK
490 WEST SCHOOL ST. COTATI, CA 94931 v 707.795.6045 f 707.795.2202 www.hammondandcompany.com
SPACES
The 30,000-square-foot Personal Care Building has sunshades on its windows to reduce heat gain from daylighting.
Long-time stewards of the environment, the Mennonite community raises a LEED-certified Personal Care Building in Pennsylvania
Photos: Alan Karchmer
By Benjamin van Loon
gbdmagazine.com
T
he Rockhill Mennonite Community shows its religious affiliation just by its name, but its new senior housing organization has another affiliation to the Earth that is not so easily apparent. “Part of our value is to be good stewards of the Earth,” says Ron Sawatsky, CEO of Rockhill. “This translates to us being good stewards of the way we run our operations.” Espousing an ethos of peace and holistic care, the newly expanded, LEEDcertified community evinces a smart sense of modernism; it defies simplistic notions of Mennonite life and reinforces the role of the community within the greater context of elder care throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. Originally established in 1935, Rockhill sits on 44 pristine acres in Bucks County, and the new three-story, 30,000-square-foot, 20-
unit Personal Care and Adult Day Services Building addition brings Rockhill’s total coverage to include 217 independent living residences, 53 personal care residences, a 90-bed health-care center, and a 35-person adult daytime services program. The campus is large, but it is all connected through a C-shaped formation with a landscaped internal courtyard. The new Personal Care Building is an extension of that formation, connected by a 45-degree angle to an assisted-living care structure built in 1998. Documentation for LEED certification on the expansion, with a target of LEED Silver, was submitted for review in Summer 2012. LEED certification was only the next step in a long tradition of sustainable practices at Rockhill. In 2009, Rockhill partnered with an outside mental-wellness organization, Wellspring Clubhouse, to build a separate building on january–february 2013
129
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
floor plans
1 Day program 2 Mechanical 3 Medical suite/classroom 4 Fitness 5 Massage 6 Resident rooms 7 Living area 8 Den 9 Dining
PROJECT LOCATION Sellersville, PA Size 30,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Continued care and adult daytime services
TEAM CLIENT Rockhill Mennonite Community Architect SFCS Architects General Contractor Wohlsen Construction
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Silver Site Built as addition to existing site infrastructure Materials Brick and Trespa wood grain building exterior Water Low-flow toilets and plumbing Heating 44 geothermal wells harness natural energy Energy Participation in EnerNOC energy-reduction program
6 7
2
1
8 3
9
Ground Level
Lower Level 5 4
campus that uses geothermal systems. Additionally, the entire Rockhill campus participates in the EnerNOC program, which turns down the energy usage on hot days to lessen the impact on the power grid. It also implemented watercooled air-conditioning that is powered by wells and domestic water sources. Extending these practices to the Personal Care Building, Rockhill drilled 44 wells to provide the heating and cooling needs for the building, though there are electric radiators under the windows in case of a heating failure during the cold winter months. The building also includes significant natural lighting, low-flow toilets, low-energy fluorescent lighting, and foam insulation. Entrance overhangs include green roofs planted with succulents. “Because we have done so much with sustainable systems on our campus already, it was challenging to achieve high LEED scores for the new building,” Sawatsky says. “It was thus more realistic for us to have a goal of LEED Silver.” As an extension of the project, Rockhill is also constructing a standalone, 450-square-foot chapel in the courtyard at the center of the C-shaped formation. “The chapel attends to the emotional, physical, social, and spiritual needs of our residents,” Sawatsky says. “It’s a place to meditate and spend time focusing on the spiritual and emotional aspects of what happens in our lives.” Although Rockhill is an organization sponsored by the Mennonite church, its services are accessible to people of all backgrounds and denominations, which
corresponds with the Mennonite mission emphasizing the principles of community, mutuality, and service. And insofar as Mennonitism promotes charity to extend toward the greater surrounding community, the faith community eschews the separatist principles championed by the Amish, who, once close relatives of them, are often confused with Mennonites. The continuing care retirement services offered by Rockhill are an extension of the Mennonites’ deeply ingrained ethos of stewardship. “Stewardship of the gifts we have received from God is a key ingredient of what we do,” Sawatsky says. “We’re always working hard to practice this in everything we do. We believe we have a responsibility to care for the Earth and all who live on it.” gb&d
“Stewardship is a key ingredient of what we do. We believe we have a responsibility to care for the Earth and all who live on it.” Ron Sawatsky, Rockhill Mennonite Community 130
january–february 2013
gb&d
Photos: Alan Karchmer
Rockhill’s unique layout is a signal of its commitment to health, community, and environmental stewardship.
Rockhill Personal Care Building SPACES
The resident rooms have 10-foot-wide windows to provide significant natural light that can be controlled with window shades.
Personal Care Project Rockhill Mennonite Community Architect: SFCS Architects Construction Manager: Wohlsen Construction Company
Wohlsen Construction Company values it’s relationship with Rockhill Mennonite Community and is proud to have played a role in the success of it’s personal care project.
WohlsenConstruction.com
DRAFT ABOVE Rockhill’s new Personal Care Building uses substantially less energy than a typical structure of its size thanks to geothermal heating and cooling. LEFT The building includes common areas, a kitchen, and dining spaces for its senior residents.
a message from wohlsen construction company Founded in 1890, Wohlsen Construction Company offers construction management, general contracting, and design/build services. A specialist in constructing health-care facilities, Wohlsen has completed major projects for more than 53 senior living communities and more than 24 acute care hospitals in recent years. Today Wohlsen maintains a staff of approximately 250 full-time employees operating in the Mid-Atlantic states.
gbdmagazine.com
Ameresco is pleased to partner with GHA to help achieve its sustainability goals by improving its energy and water efficiency.
Savings through the HUD energy performance contract (EPC) program have provided GHA nearly $6 million in equipment upgrades. Over 40 public housing authorities nationwide have selected Ameresco to enhance their portfolios.
866.AMERESCO | ameresco.com © 2012 Ameresco, Inc. Ameresco and the Ameresco logo, the orb symbol and the tagline “Green. Clean. Sustainable.” are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All rights reserved.
january–february 2013
131
spa c e S P L A Y Rancho Valencia is reshaping the high end of green by purchasing 80% of its food and beverage products locally and getting rid of plastic water bottles.
Interview by Tina Vasquez
Long considered a hidden gem, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa’s $30 million renovation seeks to prove that luxury can go green Tucked away in the hills of California’s Rancho Santa Fe lies the intimate Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, a full 45 acres of spa-land that creates the perfect indulgent getaway. For 22 years, the resort has been the go-to spot for those in need of a getaway, and the resort’s long-standing commitment to sustainability has been an added bonus. Some tend to consider ecofriendly design ‘rough around the edges’ or too ‘granola,’ but Rancho Valencia is out to change all of that. In March 2012 the resort began a massive, six-month, $30 million renovation, and when gb&d got the scoop, we discovered that it can be called only one thing: eco-chic. Here, general manager Simon Chen and director of marketing Nicole Sharp walk us through the makeover.
132
january–february 2013
Many who regularly visit Rancho Valencia have said that the renovation seemed unnecessary because the property was already so beautiful. Why did you decide to move forward with the overhaul? Simon Chen: For many years Rancho Valencia has been known as one of the top resorts in the country, but it’s sort of a hidden gem because of the privacy it provides. In order to keep that reputation we have to continue improving. The property was built in the late 1980s, but it was purchased by four investors in 2010, and they always planned to renovate it. Essentially, it hadn’t really been changed since the ’80s. We want to keep the same feel of the resort while fixing some issues and making it more modern.
The landscape of the resort is a big part of its allure. Will you be making any changes to it during the renovation? Chen: It was never our goal to have manicured gardens. The buildings are very much informed by the natural landscape, so we’ve always carved out the space we’ve needed but never done much more than that. It’s simple, natural landscaping and the plants and trees that surround the resort are found in the surrounding habitat. Even our watering methods are green. The landscaping water system is humidity-controlled, so if plants don’t need watering, they won’t be watered. How has the resort’s commitment to sustainability evolved over the years? Chen: When you make your way into the resort, the natural beauty that surrounds you is amazing, and we want to protect that. Our approach has always revolved around respecting the local environment. When you think of luxury hotels, they usually
don’t go hand-in-hand with being green, but we’re here to prove that you can be sustainable while being luxurious. Nicole Sharp: Every year we add more and more sustainable practices. Eighty percent of our food and beverage products come from California. We’ve started a new initiative that has us donating all of our used cooking oil to a local school district, so that they can use it to fuel their new school buses. We’re adding six beehives and a chef’s garden, so more of our food can come directly from the resort. Pretty soon we’ll be doing away with plastic water bottles entirely. Tell me about some of the resort’s newest green practices. Sharp: We’re currently developing our own line of all-natural, organic bath-andbody amenities for exclusive use at the resort. We have an on-site composter and a recycling program. We have a green committee that ensures all of our environmental initiatives are in place. gb&d
SPACES
CAMPBELL-ANDERSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Cost & Project Management
“The buildings are very much informed by the natural landscape. We’ve always carved out the space we’ve needed but never done much more than that.” Simon Chen, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa Who was on the building team and how did they help the resort’s vision come to life? Chen: R. Douglas Mansfield was the original architect of the resort, and he also designed the spa that was added in 2000. It felt very natural to bring him on board again because he’s responsible for the Hacienda style of the resort, and we wanted to keep with that design. CampbellAnderson & Associates are our project managers, and they keep us on track for our big reopening. It’s very much a working partnership. If we have an idea and they don’t agree, they let us know, and we figure out the problem together. They challenge us to take things to the next level so that we can remain iconic for the next 20 years. gb&d
PROJECT LOCATION Rancho Santa Fe, CA Size 130,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Resort, spa, office space
Since 1989, Making a Difference Today for the Built Environment of Tomorrow 22 years in business in Southern California CAA specializes in providing Construction Management Services to owners on project types such as: hospitality, educational, biotech, medical, religious, museums, and retail. CAA provides a full range of services including: • Design and Construction Phase Administration and Management • Detailed Cost Management/Value Engineering Services • Preconstruction Constructability Reviews • General Contractor Selection/Bid Negotiation Services
TEAM CLIENT Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa Architect R. Douglas Mansfield Architect Construction Management Campbell-Anderson & Associates Interior Design ABA Design Studio, Mr. Important Design, Diarq
GREEN CERTIFICATION Not applicable Water Humidity-based sprinkler system, low-flow fixtures Landscape Native bougainvilleas and rosemary, and orange, olive, and pepper trees Energy Dual-pane windows, energy-efficient kitchen appliances
Campbell-Anderson & Associates, Inc. 4660 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 775 • San Diego, CA 92122 Graham C. Anderson, Principal gcanderson@campbellanderson.com • p (858) 455-8086 • f (858) 597-6015
www.campbellanderson.com
Hannon Electric, Inc. Licensed in MA, RI, NH, ME, and VT 15 Commerce Way • Norton, Massachusetts 02766
Rancho Valencia uses a humiditycontrolled landscape-watering system that can monitor whether or not plants need to be watered.
Hannon Electric is pleased to be working in conjunction with the New Bedford Housing Authority in reducing their energy consumption. Our “Energy Solutions” division engineered and installed a total savings of 1.3 million KWH and a $282,000 annual savings for New Bedford. How can we save your city?
hannonelectricinc.com
january–february 2013
133
These solar panels, which are well integrated into the building’s exterior, generate 90% of its energy.
S P O T L I G H T P L AY
Bagley Outdoor Classroom David Salmela Architect
The green roof atop the structure only adds more green space to the 55 acres of woodland surrounding it.
Photos: Paul Crosby
An old, unused volleyball court was the perfect place for a new LEED Platinum building at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Though the Bagley Nature Area, designed by architect David Salmela, offered students and the public 55 acres of forests and ponds for running, hiking, exploring, and research, there never was a building in which people could gather. The Bagley Outdoor Classroom answers that need, offering, among other things, geographical studies, teacher education, and children’s activities. The facility boasts a 100-percent low-VOC indoor environment, composting toilets, and reused, regional, or renewable materials, as well as a green roof. Plus, 90 percent of its energy is generated on-site via solar panels. We can’t imagine the university will miss its old volleyball court anytime soon. gb&d
134
january–february 2013
gb&d
spa c e S W O R K
A canvas ready for green. The Hilton Foundation’s new building will soon boast two green roofs—the larger covers 3,400 square feet, while the smaller one, on the lower level, will be populated with stones and moss gathered from the building site.
A New Home F OR Hilton Reflected in the soon-to-be-built Hilton Foundation headquarters are the organization’s laudable mission and Agoura Hills’ stunning landscape By Matt Alderton
W
hen Conrad Hilton established the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1944, the Hilton Hotels founder instructed the organization to “relieve the suffering, the distressed, and the destitute.” For more than 65 years, it’s done exactly that by providing grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged people around the world. Today, the Hilton Foundation has
gbdmagazine.com
expanded its ideology to help not only people, but also the planet. President and CEO Steven Hilton, Conrad’s grandson, made sustainability a major theme when the foundation decided to build a permanent home. “The Hilton Foundation’s mission is to help the poorest of the poor,” explains Susan Van Atta, president of Van Atta Associates, the landscape architect chosen for the new Hilton Foundation headquarters. “So, it seemed appropriate to Steve that if you were to build a new
office building, that you would do it in a way that’s sensitive to the environment and conserving of resources. It was his dream for the foundation to have its own office building, and for that building to be a reflection—directly or indirectly—of its values.” Hilton’s dream became a reality when he acquired 61 acres at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains in Agoura Hills, California, approximately 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles. “The existing setting is really beautiful,” Van Atta says of the building’s site, which rests at the bottom of a foothill known as Ladyface Mountain. “Especially for someone like Steve Hilton, who loves the California native flora. There was a lot on the site from which to derive inspiration.” But Hilton wasn’t the only one who found the site inspirational; the city did too. When it approved the Hilton Foundation headquarters in March 2011, the Agoura Hills City Council did so on the condition that the foundation replace 1,000 rare plants from the site at a 2-to-1 ratio. At that point it was clear: landscape architecture would be a huge part of the project’s design. Enter Van Atta, whose seven-person firm has specialized in sustainable landscape design since its founding january–february 2013
135
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
PROJECT Location Agoura Hills, CA Site 70 acres Completed 2012 (Phase I) Program Offices, conference center
TEAM LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Van Atta Associates Client Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Architect ZGF Architects General Contractor Matt Construction
GREEN Certification LEED Platinum Plus (pending) Site Slope stabilized to reduce erosion, oaks transplanted to strategic locations Landscape Native plants include oaks, coastal sage, herb garden, and fruit trees Water Rain gardens for natural filtration, cistern for rainwater capture, passive irrigation Roof Dual native-plant green roofs total nearly 4,000 square feet Renewable Energy Solar panels double as shade structures
The building becomes the landscape. At the Hilton Foundation’s halfsubmerged offices, rainwater is captured in catch-basins and stored in a 20,000-gallon cistern for irrigation.
in 1985. In order to meet city requirements, Van Atta’s first focus was stabilizing and grading the slope, which allowed the city to safely widen the thoroughfare that provides access to the site. Second, unsurprisingly, was water management. Because one of the foundation’s strategic initiatives is to “increase sustainable access to safe water for people in severe need in developing countries,” the site of the new headquarters needed to serve as a model for sustainable water-use and storm-water design. The landscape team chose a passive irrigation system that uses bioswales and rain gardens to capture, store, treat, and use all water that falls on the site. Assisting this process is a computer-monitored controller with low-volume irrigation heads, which will save up to a million gallons of water every year. Separately, roof runoff is captured in a subsurface Firestone EPIC System that irrigates the native turf area above it. Even the ornamental fountain is powered by rainwater. “Our overall approach to watershed man-
“Steve [Hilton] went out of his way to find a beautiful setting for an office building that was natural as opposed to urban. That’s unique.” Susan Van Atta, Landscape Architect 136
january–february 2013
agement has to do with celebrating it and making it beautiful and obvious, as opposed to putting it in pipes and hiding it,” Van Atta says. What Hilton did want to hide—or camouflage—was the building itself, in order to help the structure blend into its natural surroundings. The building uses glass and rock, and it has a low profile that hugs rather than obstructs the view of Ladyface Mountain. “In an augmented way, it’s as though this building is tucked into a natural landscape,” says Van Atta, who designed two green roofs whose materials reflect the Santa Monica Mountains for the office building. The first green roof, which covers 570 square feet on the lower level, is composed of rocks and moss gathered on-site. The second, a more extensive system nearly six times the size of the first, uses pre-grown sedum trays to minimize the heat island effect and naturally cool the building below. The philosophy that drives the green roofs is evident throughout the site, which is lush with vegetation, including native grasses, coastal sage, chaparral species, and oaks. “We love oak woodlands here in California,” Van Atta says. “They’re a really attractive plant community. So, we’ve created a new oak woodland between the parking lot and the building. We’ve planted hundreds of new trees, which provide shade and some screening from the street.” gb&d
Hilton Foundation Headquarters Landscape SPACES
Consulting Engineers www.kpff.com
“Our overall approach to watershed management has to do with celebrating it and making it beautiful and obvious.” Susan Van Atta, Landscape Architect
Old trees are just as important as new ones. Although many preexisting oaks had to be removed for construction, several were saved and placed conspicuously around the landscape. One, for instance, is in the center of a closed courtyard that’s used for special events. “The courtyard really celebrates that oak tree, which would have been lost if we hadn’t transplanted it,” Van Atta says. Other features might not be as pretty as the oaks but serve important purposes: solar panels in the parking lot shade cars and help make the building net zero in terms of energy, and on the south side of the structure is an edible garden with fruit trees and herbs. It’s a far cry from the foundation’s previous headquarters, which was a leased space in Century City. “They didn’t have anything to say about the landscape as people who leased their space,” Van Atta says. “Century City is very urban and car-dominated. Steve [Hilton] went out of his way to find a beautiful setting for an office building that was natural as opposed to urban. That’s unique.” Hilton Foundation’s plan for growth is just as sustainable as its headquarters’ landscaping; the building completed in fall 2012 is only phase one of a fourphase project that will be constructed over the next 25 years. “This new home in Agoura Hills will prepare the Hilton Foundation for the time it will double in size and staff,” reads a statement on the Hilton Foundation website. “My father, Barron Hilton, [85], has pledged his intent to follow in the footsteps of his father, Conrad Hilton, and contribute 97 percent of his entire net worth at the time of his passing. This new project will allow us to grow accordingly into the future.” gb&d A MESSAGE FROM KPFF KPFF is a nationwide firm established in 1960 specializing in structural and civil engineering services. We are composed of more than 800 structural and civil engineers who thrive on designing innovative solutions for projects of all scales.
gbdmagazine.com
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Agoura Hills, CA
LEED Consulting/RCx Project Platinum LEED® Certified Terrell Place, Washington, DC
ENERGY & FACILITY AUDIT SERVICES | LEED CONSULTING | RETRO-COMMISSIONING | GREEN ENERGY
GFS is proud to suppor t Cassidy Turley’s commitment towards greener buildings. 301.829.1642 • info@gfsolutionsllc.com • GFSolutionsLLC.com january–february 2013
137
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
Downtown DC’s LEED Anchor
The LEED Platinum Terrell Place sets a green precedent for the nation’s capital By Benjamin van Loon
The old Hecht Company Building at 575 Seventh Street in Washington, DC, is one of the East End’s preeminent architectural mainstays and now has the unique distinction of being the first multitenant office property in the city to achieve LEED Platinum certification for existing buildings. Originally built in 1924 by Jarvis Hunt, the Hecht Building forms the cornerstone of the presentday Terrell Place, a 522,000-square-foot, multiuse development made of the 650 F Street Tower, South Wing, and 575 Seventh Street wings in downtown DC. In 2010, affiliates of Beacon Capital Partners and General Electric Pension Trust purchased Terrell Place, and soon engaged Cassidy Turley, a national company with local roots, to oversee its leasing and property management. After assuming management, Cassidy Turley supported its ownership’s goal to achieve LEED Platinum certification for the building by implementing energyefficient initiatives and other sustainability efforts. The improvements would help Terrell Place maintain its role within the East End landscape while setting a precedent for large-scale, LEED-EB certifications in the city. “Our goal was to work with Cassidy Turley to find a cost-effective, nonintrusive way to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability within the building,” says Jeff Kovach, a managing director at Beacon. Evan Tyroler, vice president of Cassidy Turley, adds, “As part of the improvements, we worked closely with Beacon and created an aggressive energymanagement plan that involved retrocommissioning of the existing building systems.” The energy solutions implemented at the building led to Energy Star certification for two consecutive years. Because Terrell Place is a prominent downtown DC landmark, it had been well-preserved aesthetically, but it was important to take a detailed look at the operations of all systems compared to the intended design. “The in-depth retro-
138
january–february 2013
Terrell Place is the first Trophy Class LEED-EB Platinum building in Washington, DC.
PROJECT
GREEN
LOCATION Washington, DC Size 522,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program Trophy-class office building
CERTIFICATION LEED-EB Platinum Energy Efficiency Retro-commissioned existing systems Renewable Energy Renewable energy credits offset 100% of energy use Water Updated water fixtures
TEAM OWNERS Beacon Capital Partners, General Electric Pension Trust Management Cassidy Turley Retro-commissioning Global Facilities Solutions
gb&d
SPACES
Cassidy Turley and Beacon partnered to develop an energy management program that made the 85-year-old building as efficient as possible.
“Terrell Place shows that even large trophy office buildings can achieve high-level LEED status.” Jeff Kovach, Beacon Capital Partners commissioning allowed the owner to assess and ensure that all systems in the building were running as efficiently as possible,” says Nicole Snarski, sustainability project coordinator at Cassidy Turley. Education also plays a major role in Beacon’s and Cassidy Turley’s LEED initiatives. The tenants at Terrell Place are not only understanding of the building’s sustainable goals but are active in articulating their own contributions. “Many of the tenants at Terrell Place are incredibly engaged with our efforts and, among other things, incorporate sustainability into their individual office practices,” Snarski says. Terrell Place is Beacon’s third LEED Platinum building in the country. “Beyond the environmental impacts,” explains Fred Seigel, president and chief operating officer of Beacon, “we believe that the LEED program rewards our tenants with better infrastructure,
enhanced control of indoor climate conditions, more efficient use of energy and water resources, and more consistent operating expenses.” Beacon enrolled Terrell Place in a renewable energy program, where 100 percent of the building’s energy consumption is offset through the purchase of renewable energy certificates, inputting an equal amount of sustainable wind energy into the national power grid and carbon offsets. By implementing sustainability into the best practices of the building’s operations, Beacon Capital Partners and Cassidy Turley have been able to ensure the continued distinction of Terrell Place within its historic East End context. “Terrell Place’s LEED-EB Platinum certification has been a key project for Cassidy Turley and the City of Washington, DC,” Kovach says, “because it shows that even large trophy office buildings can achieve high-level LEED status.” gb&d A MESSAGE FROM GLOBAL FACILITIES SOLUTIONS Through services such as LEED consulting and retro-commissioning, Global Facility Solutions (GFS) is proud to support Cassidy Turley’s commitment toward greener buildings. GFS operates without product affiliation as an independent and objective solutions provider. GFS provides customers with energy and facility solutions to help optimize building and environmental performance.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
139
spa c e S LE A R N
Gree(N ) 4
Bridgewater State University modernizes its science department with the slim, daylit Marshall Conant Science Building Interview by Benjamin van Loon Bridgewater State University (BSU) is nearly 175 years old, but it’s still finding ways to make its campus cutting-edge through the use of new green building practices. We recently sat down with Jennifer Wrynn, project manager of facilities management and planning at BSU, to learn about the university’s newly expanded, $98.7 million Marshall Conant Science Building, and what this new LEED Silver-certified building means for the future of BSU.
When did BSU start to recognize that it needed to update the old science building? Jennifer Wrynn: Bridgewater State University has expanded its campus immensely in the past 10 years with the number of buildings on campus as well as growing student enrollment. That’s really what inspired the need for an updated science and mathematics facility. The existing building, constructed in 1964, was state-of-the-art at the time of its construction, however, with the changing academic needs and larger student population, it was necessary to build a larger, more modernized science and mathematics facility. How was the old program set up? Wrynn: The program in the existing building included biology, chemistry, geography, physics, and geology, which is everything the new building includes, with the exception of computer science
140
january–february 2013
and mathematics. Some issues concerning the existing building layout regarded the program being scattered throughout the building. Also, the observatory of the physics department was located off-site, which made it difficult for students and faculty members to use the observatory efficiently. As a whole, the building contained poor ventilation, a considerable amount of hazardous material, and outdated classroom layouts. It sounds like it was time for a new science building. Wrynn: It was. We started forming the plan for the new building in 2005, when the legislature approved a $2 billion higher education bond bill. We started construction in 2009, opting to separate the project into two phases, since we still had to use part of the old building while constructing the new one. The first phase involved the total construction of the new 168,300-square-foot addition, which was completed in August 2011. Once that was done, we started Phase II in September 2011, where the team did a selective demolition and renovation of the old, 43,000-square-foot structure and small connecting addition. We received the certificate for occupancy for the whole project in July 2012. How did the project allow you to reformulate the programs for the Conant building? Wrynn: The project, designed by Bostongb&d
SPACES
The building’s slim profile allows extensive daylight penetration, mitigated smartly through the use of characteristic sunshades.
After seven years of planning, the completed science complex adds green space on the ground level as well as on the roof.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
141
PROJECT LOCATION Bridgewater, MA Size 211,000 ft2 Completed 2012 Program Classrooms, laboratories, offices
TEAM CLIENT Bridgewater State University Architect Payette Architects Construction Management Barr & Barr Project Management Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Silver Site Expands upon existing structure Daylighting Narrow building profile for maximum daylighting Air Demand-control ventilation Water Rooftop water capture feeds green roof and ground-level landscape Energy Energy Star equipment and appliances
142
january–february 2013
based Payette Architects, was conceptualized around the idea of increasing interdisciplinary collaboration between each department while also allowing each department to establish itself separately. A glass atrium unites the three wings, and there is a botanical feature under the main staircase. By separating the programs, we were able to create specialized labs and sections that the undergraduates didn’t have access to in the old building. Some green features of the new building include a rooftop observatory, rain gardens, a greenhouse, horizontal sun shading, greywater systems, and occupancy sensors. We are also able to use the rooftop observatory for after-school and community outreach programs, which helps to educate not only the students but residents of Bridgewater and Southeastern Massachusetts about the building. What are some of the other sustainable new elements you added to the building? Wrynn: There are 35 teaching labs, 19 specialty labs, and 17 classrooms in the building; some of the specialty labs include teaching for cellular research, botany, and ecology. The geography department has an updated wind tunnel lab. The greenhouse has water collection spouts and barrels, which water the various ground and rooftop landscaping on-site. All of these features are open, so students can interact with them and learn from them.
Is Conant the first LEED-certified building at BSU? Wrynn: Crimson Residence Hall, which opened in 2008, was the first LEED project on campus. We created two more LEED-certified residence halls in 2009 and 2010, but Conant was the first academic building to achieve LEED certification. For future projects, such as the 500-bed Weygand Residence Hall, we’re going to keep aiming for this level. It’s something we’re trying to introduce throughout the campus to educate the students. What made Conant different from your other projects? Wrynn: In the pre-design phases, we worked really closely with the faculty. We wanted to involve them and worked diligently with them to figure out what their needs were for their own programs. It’s rare to use this tactic on a project of this scale, but I think the team members from Payette Architects and Barr & Barr were just as interested in the needs of the faculty. More importantly, the students are really excited about the building, and it brings BSU’s academics to an entirely new level. gb&d a message from barr & barr Barr & Barr has been very fortunate to partner with Bridgewater State University on the East Campus Parking Garage and Marshall Conant Science Building. We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with the university and helping to provide its students with the finest possible educational experience and opportunities.
gb&d
Marshall Conant Science Building SPACES
“In the pre-design phases, we worked closely with the faculty. That’s rare on a project of this scale, but I think Payette Architects and Barr & Barr were just as interested in the needs of the faculty.” Jennifer Wrynn, Bridgewater State University
,
Building with integrity, for 85 years. Bridgewater State University: Marshall Conant Science Building
Photo: Warren Jagger
Bridgewater State’s new science center improves academics through state-of-the-art labs and open gathering spaces. And above it all is a green roof.
Barr & Barr is proud to be the builder of choice for Bridgewater State University’s state-of-the-art Marshall Conant Science Building. Congratulations to the entire project team for a job well done.
ACADEMIC
HEALTHCARE
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
COMMERCIAL
HISTORIC RESTORATION
260 Cochituate Road, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701 T E L 5 0 8 . 8 79. 575 0 | FAX 5 0 8 . 8 79. 5 470 | w w w. b a r r a n d b a r r.co m
P.O. Box 248, 799 E. 11th St. Chattanooga, TN 37401 423-266-2821 phone gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
143
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
Beyond Books
The new library at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga centers on people rather than book storage. Lisa Darger discusses the intersection of academics, technology, and building systems.
The ongoing conflict between preservation and progress is being waged on college and university campuses across the country. When the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) resolved to build a new and more efficient library, it wanted to do so while keeping the traditional academic feel intact. This mix resulted in an environmentally responsible and technologically savvy learning center that will be a source of community pride for years to come. Lisa R. Darger, sustainability coordinator at UTC, spoke to gb&d about balancing the old and new. Interview by Ashley T. Kjos
and set to reduce usage during evenings, weekends, and holidays. The occupancy sensors in the larger rooms are not only for lighting but for heating and cooling as well. Data ports and outlets also were strategically located to allow for flexibility in furniture and equipment arrangements.
Why was the timing right to build a new library? Lisa Darger: The Lupton Library building is one of the most heavily used on campus, with close to 9,000 users per week during peak periods. In 2000, it was identified by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission that the library, which was built in 1974, was deficient by nearly 60,000 square feet. The project had actually been on the UTC Capital Project list since 1989, and we finally received the funding in 2007 and construction began in 2011.
What materials were used in construction? Darger: It was important for recycled and reconstituted materials to be used. We really tried to maximize using the materials that came from local and regional sources. On the site they focused on using certified wood and rapidly renewable materials. There was also an effort to use low-emitting adhesives and sealants as well as low-emitting paints, coatings, and floor coverings.
In literature put out by the university, the vision for the library is said to be “stately, but awesome.” How do you accomplish that duality? Darger: Part of it is bringing a more modern feel to the library environment. We included taller ceilings, meeting spaces, and more glass; it doesn’t have that older stodginess of a traditional library. A key component is focusing on people as the library centerpiece, rather than book storage. The easy-to-navigate layout is spatially designed to provide open, comfortable gathering spaces for group study and collaboration, quiet
nooks and crannies for individual study and research, and window seating. There is also a small café that has a green roof, which will be another learning component since the green roof will be accessible to the students. We’ll be using it as a resource center with an emphasis on technology while at the same time having a solid book inventory. It will be a university center—not a social center but a learning center. What were the lighting considerations you employed in the design? Darger: The building has a relatively narrow footprint, and we maximized use of natural lighting, particularly in the common areas. Interior glass brings that light deeper into the building, supplemented with task lighting in work areas. There are also individual controls and occupancy sensors to reduce energy use. How was the approach to energy influenced by electrical information, the Internet, educational technology, and being open 24 hours? Darger: We have everything on a digital control system, so we can control different zones. The system can be controlled
Were there any special requirements for the delicate materials in the archives? Darger: This was a question that came up. They wanted a big area for the library archives, and we were able to maximize the space while reducing the square footage that had to be climate-controlled. Certain special collections areas will have a separate, energy-efficient HVAC unit. The remainder of the building is on the university’s central plant, which has been outfitted with maximum efficiency boilers and chillers, resulting in more than 67 percent reductions in electricity and natural gas usage over the past decade. gb&d a message from MEP Engineering MEP Engineering, Inc. is fortunate to have been included in the upgrading of the UTC campus mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems. The forward thinking of operations/facilities staff of UTC, together with our engineers and designers, has significantly reduced the costs of building services and the accounting thereof.
144
january–february 2013
gb&d
SPOTLIGHTLEARN
Newberg Center Hennebery Eddy Architects
Portland is no stranger to green building, so when the city’s community college entrusted Hennebery Eddy Architects with the design of a new campus building, it would settle for nothing less than LEED Platinum. The Portland Community College’s Newberg Center opened for the Fall 2011 semester as a net-zero-ready facility and later achieved LEED Platinum certification. With just five classrooms, the building is notably not huge, but that will make it easier to achieve net-zero energy once solar panels are installed. To heat and cool the building, louvers draw fresh air from outside while five stacks along the building’s central spine release hot air. All said and done, the Newberg Center is substantially green—even in the land of green building. gb&d
Five stacks along the building spine release hot air from the space as it’s naturally cooled.
Photos: Nic Lehoux (top); Stephen Miller (middle and bottom)
The interior maintains an even temperature throughout the year via radiant heating in the concrete floors and walls that act as a thermal mass.
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
145
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
The dynamic cantilevered roof on the History Colorado Center is a nod to Mesa Verde, the home of the Anasazi cliff dwellings. The pine and fir timber used in the history center are both local Colorado species. Not a single wood type came from out of state.
A redesign for renewed interest. Coloradans are clearly in love with the History Colorado Center. Annual attendance at the old facility hovered around 45,000, but 30,000 visitors showed up at the new location just in the first three months.
PROJECT
GREEN
LOCATION Denver Size 200,000 ft2 (approx) Completed 2012 (Phase I) Program Public exhibits, artifact collections, offices
CERTIFICATION LEED Gold (expected) Site More than 20% is vegetated open space Materials All woods native to Colorado, recycledcontent materials (steel, terrazzo), 85% of construction waste diverted from landfills Water 45% reduction in use via low-flow fixtures and other strategies Energy 24% energy cost savings via consolidated mechanical and HVAC systems Landscape Native Colorado plantings, aspen trees shade school-bus drop-off
TEAM CLIENT History Colorado Architect Tryba Architects General Contractor Hensel Phelps Developer Trammell Crow
146
january–february 2013
gb&d
SPACES
Walking into Colorado
The History Colorado Center is a showcase as natural as the state’s renowned wilderness
By Kelli McElhinny
a message from MKK Consulting Engineers, Inc. Since 1959, MKK Consulting Engineers, Inc. has designed and engineered MEP systems, security, and specialty lighting for new construction, renovations, and expansions. We also provide a full range of energy services including commissioning, energy audits, and energy modeling. History Colorado Center implemented numerous energy-saving concepts designed by MKK.
gbdmagazine.com
T
he experience begins as soon as visitors set foot in the firstlevel atrium. Guests of the new History Colorado Center in Denver step onto a 40-foot by 60-foot terrazzo state map made of recycled materials. “It invites you to explore Colorado under your feet,” says Kathryn Hill, chief operating officer of History Colorado, previously known as the Colorado Historical Society. Visitors then go on to enjoy a number of hands-on, interactive exhibits geared toward families. “It’s not just an array of 800 arrowheads,” Hill says. The new building celebrates Colorado fully: from the outdoor terrace, a visitor can see from Pikes Peak to Mount Evans on a clear day, and the building’s most noticeable design feature, its cantilevered roof, is a nod to Mesa Verde, one of the state’s most recognizable natural formations. History Colorado’s primary mission is to engage people in Colorado’s heritage. Its new home in Denver fulfills that goal while promoting another of the organization’s focus areas: sustainability. “We thought about our role as a gathering space and a hub of civic engagement,” Hill says. Previously, exhibits primarily were housed in an underground space; now, they are above-ground and thematically organized and inviting. The upgraded design, sustainable features and all, seems to be working—a typical year saw 45,000 visitors at the old space, and yet more than 30,000 people came through the new facility in its first three months. Hill says the organization wanted the building to evoke the spirit of Colorado, including the building’s environmental impact. The facility is projected to attain LEED Gold status, and locally sourced materials helped in that effort. “We were very thoughtful about where materials came from,” explains Amy Fisk, director of communications for project architect Tryba Architects. The studio used beetle-
kill pine for the ceilings and strand-woven Aspen for the millwork, and there’s actually not a single type of wood in the building that isn’t Coloradan. One notable exception to the incorporation of local materials is the Indiana limestone used in the façade, but even that choice was a sustainable one considering its durability in comparison with Colorado sandstone. Sunlight is everywhere, which doesn’t exactly make it local, but it’s certainly renewable. The building is mostly open and lit by daylight and contains few perimeter offices, and though History Colorado initially had concerns about the cost, the organization eventually agreed to add a skylight to the atrium. The skylight was custom-made by Skyline Sky-Lites of Colorado Springs and has a sawtooth design that lets daylight pass through without permitting the sun’s rays to penetrate the building. “They get the light, but they don’t get the damaging rays of sunlight,” Fisk says. Vertical and horizontal fins manufactured by Kawneer North America, along with Viracon glazing were included to control the sunlight. Eventually, the center will install solar panels on the roof to continue to maximize the sun’s resources. The building’s program presented a significant challenge in pursuing LEED. “Museums often make for difficult LEED projects because they tend to have very demanding and precise requirements for temperature and humidity control, as well as extensive lighting requirements,” says David Tryba, Tryba Architects’ lead design principal. He and his team were able to overcome the obstacle by stacking programmatically similar spaces to maximize climate-control efficiency. For example, all of the collections containing fragile samples and artifacts are housed in one area of the center. When it came to the HVAC requirements, the center was able to consolidate its mechanical systems and incorporate them in a nontraditional fashion with january–february 2013
147
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
“It feels like it’s a place that’s meant to be around for a long time.” Amy Fisk, Tryba Architects
the help of MKK Consulting Engineers. The system should contribute to energy cost savings of more than 24 percent in comparison with other similar buildings. As of summer 2012, roughly one-third of the gallery space was open to the public; History Colorado will keep opening new sections between now and 2015, and yet that will only be the beginning. “We were really thinking about the building’s life cycle,” Fisk says. “It feels like it’s a place that’s meant to be around for a long time.” gb&d
Innovation inside. The educational aspects of the eco-friendly elements within the History Colorado Center are expected to earn a LEED innovation credit.
Energy modeling and quick systems assessment helped the University of the Pacific Dugoni project team reach early consensus for the best balance of re-use, renewal, and replacement.
Integrated solutions for complex and large-scale projects worldwide. CONTACT
LLOYD MARINER
Business Development Director, San Francisco
415.764.3779 direct 415.764.3700 main lmariner@aeieng.com
aeieng.com 148
january–february 2013
gb&d
SPACES
10,000 Smiles
The Dugoni School of Dentistry’s shrewdly sustainable renovation will benefit thousands of lower-income patients
SmithGroupJJR’s choice to reuse a building for the University of the Pacific’s new dentistry building will save at least $15 million.
Rendering: Courtesy of University of the Pacific
By Russ Klettke
Three key factors determined the relocation of the University of the Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry: enhanced geography, more flexible learning environments, and better designed dental clinics. The promise of these things lured the school from its current home in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco to the city’s South of Market district, where it plans to open in 2014. For the school’s 10,000 lower-income dental patients, the new location means easier access by way of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the San Francisco Municipal Railway, and city bus lines. Geometric happenstance— a square building—enabled an affordable renovation of this 40-year-old building to meet the city’s strict seismic and green building codes. All California structures built or renovated since July 1, 2012, have to adhere to CALGreen codes. But in San Francisco, commercial-scale structures (25,000 gross square feet or larger) have to meet LEED Gold standards and withstand the inevitable earthquakes. This complicates both the building and renovation processes, but in the case of Dugoni, all contractors—general, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire protection—collaborated with the architects to produce surprisingly innovative outcomes. The building selection was a big part of meeting those codes while also staying under budget. To the surprise of the project architect—the newly renamed SmithGroupJJR of San Francisco—the selected building’s square footprint offered a distinct cost advantage. The original structural engineers built it to be nine stories tall, two more than what was actually constructed, so the existing building met current seismic codes, which helped them avert expensive structural remediation with steel bracing. “We worked this through a rigorous peer-review process,” explains Marianne O’Brien, a principal with SmithGroupJJR. gbdmagazine.com
In order to bring in more sunlight and update the building, SmithGroupJJR added a glass façade. The existing building, purchased in 2011 for $47 million, had a decidedly 1970s aesthetic with small windows set in precast concrete facing its street corner. “It was important to make people comfortable and welcome there,” O’Brien says. The firm will replace the façade with a glass curtain that opens the school and clinics to a street view. Fritted glass will allow appropriate degrees of privacy and lend subtle color, while the high-performance material carries a solar-heat-gain coefficient of .29 in the winter and .26 in the summer. Though the site does not allow for much green space, planters and a greenscreen are designed to be water-efficient, plus the school will use low-flow faucets throughout. The building’s existing mechanical systems are being fine-tuned, with new air handlers and filters and revamped refrigerants. Recharging sta-
tions are provided in the parking facilities for electrical vehicles, along with car-sharing services. Throughout, special attention was given to improving indoor air quality. An effective building renovation saves money and overall reduces use of resources, and at the soon-to-be-built Dugoni School of Dentistry, the numbers are clear. The projected cost of renovation is $120 million, which may sound substantial, but new construction would have easily reached $135 million. “This renovation is roughly a $15 to $25 million savings versus new construction in a comparable location,” O’Brien says. That’s something to smile about. gb&d
a message from AEI Engineering, LLC The Dugoni School of Dentistry set LEED Gold performance standards for the adaptive reuse of an existing seven-story building. AEI was challenged to assess the capacity and efficiency of the existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and it created an energy model that would guide both the gut renovation planning and design and the creation of a new façade. AEI’s work informed major decisions related to the building’s mechanical systems within 60 days of the project start. These included whether to retain floor-by-floor HVAC or to locate major HVAC on the roof and create new air shafts, assess number of stairwells needed, and add fire protection water storage. In establishing project MEP criteria, AEI helped the project team reach consensus for the best balance of reuse, renewal, and replacement to ultimately meet the goal of LEED Gold for an intended complex mix of end-users in a campus-in-a-building-type facility.
january–february 2013
149
spa c e S h e a l
B ui ldi ng for t h e cure
The SECU Cancer Center in Asheville, NC, may not cure cancer by itself, but it’s combating every ugly thing that accompanies the disease—and with sustainable style
Photo: John Warner
By Benjamin van Loon
The SECU Cancer Center was funded in part by the State Employees Credit Union and other generous donors in what campaign director John Locke calls the “largest, most successful campaigns in the region during the past decade.”
150
january–february 2013
gb&d
SPACES
The rooms at the SECU Cancer Center look out over the mountains in western North Carolina. Views and daylight can help the healing process.
C
ompleted just more than a year ago, the new SECU Cancer Center at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, was awarded LEED Gold certification in April 2012, making it the third Gold-certified cancer center in the United States and the largest certified facility of its kind in the state. Construction on the $38 million, 120,000-square-foot center was funded in part by a $5 million grant provided by the State Employees' Credit Union for which the center was named. Garrett Shreffler, a project manager for the Facility Project Management Department at Mission Health, says the planning for the cancer center began in late 2006. “At the time, the center was in conjunction with our master plan for the Biltmore Avenue Campus,” he says. “After numerous site studies and programming efforts, we started . . . construction in April 2010.” LEED was relatively young in 2006, but Shreffler says three things led to the center seeking certification: First, because patients in the SECU Cancer Center are often afflicted with compromised immune systems resulting from the treatments of their illnesses, a clean and efficient air and ventilation system is vital for mitigating the risks of airborne illnesses. Second, the cost savings fostered by the systems and standards enforced by the LEED certification checklist allow for realized savings and the possibility for dollars to be allocated to other important services and initiatives. Lastly, the hospital is a central and long-standing institutional resource for the community, so a LEED certification both reflects the interests and needs of the community and establishes a precedent for other health-care facilities throughout the state. One reason might have been enough, but with three, LEED status became a no-brainer. “The community has a very active interest in environmentally friendly,
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
151
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
The white roof on Asheville’s new cancer center will soon be green, once the vegetative portion is installed. Yet even the white roofing prevents heat gain.
This large outdoor waterfall serves as a centerpiece to the garden area and uses recycled storm water.
“[Asheville] has a very active interest in environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and sustainable design.” Garrett Shreffler, Mission Health
LOCATION Asheville, NC Size 120,000 ft2 Cost $38 million Completed 2012 Program Patient rooms, offices, waiting rooms, treatment rooms
TEAM CLIENT Mission Health Architect TRO Jung | Brannen General Contractor Brasfield & Gorrie
GREEN CERTIFICATION LEED Gold Construction 90% of materials recycled during construction Plumbing Low-flow fixtures save 125,000 gallons annually Water 21,000-gallon underground storm-water retention tank Roof Partially planted and reflective
152
january–february 2013
automated lighting system controls light usage throughout the center after hours. The trustees of Mission Foundation raised $15 million for the construction of the center, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total project cost. The foundation initiated its campaign when construction on the center began in 2010 and was immediately jump-started by the SECU Foundation, whose $5 million contribution earned them the naming rights for the center. “The campaign is one of the largest, most successful campaigns in the region during the past decade,” says John Locke, Mission Foundation campaign director, in a statement. “It shows that when our region feels passionately about ‘taking care of its own’ they step up and give generously.” gb&d a message from brasfield & gorrie Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a variety of markets, including health care, commercial, institutional, federal, municipal, industrial, and wastewater treatment. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 32nd among the nation's “Top 400 Contractors" for 2012. a message from TRO Jung | Brannen TRO Jung | Brannen, celebrating over a century of inspired design, is an award-winning architectural, engineering, and interior design firm that is consistently ranked highly and offers regional, national, and international influence through a vast portfolio of work. Client service and a commitment to designing extraordinary environments is what we are called to do. The firm has been recognized with more than 55 awards, and has designed nearly two dozen LEED-certified and LEED seeking certification facilities.
gb&d
Photo: John Warner (TOP)
PROJECT
energy-efficient, and sustainable design,” Shreffler says, “so we designed and built the facility with the intention of being good stewards of our responsibility to the community.” TRO Jung | Brannen designed the building to be 25 percent more energy efficient than comparable buildings, and plumbing systems in the building use 40 percent less water than standard cancer treatment facilities, saving 125,000 gallons annually. During the building process, helmed by Alabama’s Brasfield & Gorrie, more than 90 percent of on- site construction debris was recycled, which diverted 6,000 tons of waste from local landfills. The landscape surrounding the five-story center suits adaptive and drought-tolerant vegetation because it is built around a high-efficiency irrigation system that is supplied from storm water retained on-site in a 21,000-gallon subterranean tank. The reservoir also supplies an exterior water feature: a waterfall implemented as a background feature for soothing patient anxieties in the garden area. The roof, a portion of which includes a vegetative roof system, is coated with a reflective material to prevent excessive in-building solar heat gain. The exterior nighttime lighting was designed to eliminate unnecessary upward radiance and reduce light pollution. The floor plan for the building maximizes daylighting possibilities and reduces reliance on electric light fixtures, many of which are moderated by occupancy sensors, and an
Mission Hospital Cancer Center Asheville, North Carolina LEED Gold Certified A New Standard in Cancer Care Mission Hospital’s Outpatient Cancer Center Asheville, North Carolina LEED Gold
B U I L D I N G green S U C C E S S S T O R I E S Originally slated for LEED® Silver certification, Mission Hospital Cancer Center has recently achieved LEED Gold certification. Currently one of the largest LEED-certified healthcare facilities in the state, the Cancer Center is one of only three Gold-certified cancer centers in the nation. Congratulations to Mission Hospital and our Brasfield & Gorrie team.
ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING INTERIOR DESIGN MASTER PLANNING
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
bra s f i e l d g o rri e. co m
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
S P E C I A LT I E S
Technology Group
» IT Strategy
Forward thinking solutions Headquartered in Irvine, California, Thinkbox Technology Group (Thinkbox) is an independent consulting firm providing IT and AV strategy, design, planning, and project management services to executives, IT operations, facility managers, and the architectural and construction community. Our clients benefit from our expertise and resources, allowing them to focus on their core business. Thinkbox offers a team of experienced, passionate and ecologically sensitive professionals with a vast knowledge of today’s IT and AV environments and technologies. Our business partners value our in-depth knowledge of industry trends and economically responsible initiatives that provide you with solutions for today as well as the ability to adapt to future technologies.
» Data Center » IT Cable Infrastructure » Network Infrastructure » VoIP Solutions » IT Program/Project Management » Audio Visual » IT Staffing
(949) 407-5110 gbdmagazine.com
|
info@thinkboxtg.com
|
www.thinkboxtg.com january–february 2013
153
SPACES LIVE PLAY WORK LEARN HEAL
Not just for toddlers. The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles treats children with complex illnesses from infancy through adulthood, which means Liz Cochran, VP of construction and design, and her team have to create spaces that can be used by everyone—from infants to teens.
PHOTO: Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing; ZGF Architects LLP (rendering)
What’s in the walls matters. To ensure that a new building or renovation doesn’t negatively affect patients’ health, the hospital uses only safe, nontoxic, childrenfriendly materials.
Let the kids have a say. Cochran and her team conduct focus groups with children to get a better feel for what to build. One thing children told them was that staring at white ceiling tiles was boring, so new tiles feature colorful, whimsical designs. Each child also painted a tile, which can be seen in the new hospital’s restrooms.
154
january–february 2013
gb&d
SPACES
Safe & Sustainable
Liz Cochran keeps her finger on the pulse of green building materials to help make the children of Los Angeles healthier and happier
PROJECT Location Los Angeles Size 460,000 ft2 Completed 2011 Program 317 in-patient beds, emergency room, cardiology clinic, cath-labs, diagnostic radiology, conference center, cafeteria, playground Awards Los Angeles Business Journal, Commercial Real Estate Awards, 2012 Project of the Year–Medical; Modern Healthcare, 2011 Citation Award; Los Angeles Business Council, 2011 Community Impact Award
TEAM CLIENT Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Architect ZGF Architects General Contractor Rudolph & Sletten
GREEN CERTIFICATION Not applicable Natural Cooling Campus framed by public garden, light colored roof, canopy trees for shade Materials Forbo Marmoleum, polished concrete (Sunset Pedestrian Bridge), 20% of materials purchased locally Water On-site storm-water collection via hydrodynamic system Air Building uses 100% outdoor air Landscape Features a meditative garden with outdoor connections for IVs Energy No mechanical heating or cooling used within pedestrian bridge
By Tina Vasquez
When Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) drew up plans for a new building in 1999, Liz Cochran wasn’t a part of the original planning process because she wasn’t hired as the associate vice president of construction, design, and facilities until 2008. But she didn’t waste any time putting her stamp on the project. Although the 460,000-square-foot Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion was designed prior to LEED’s inception, the building is a sustainable beacon. Cochran talks about why going green is particularly important in hospital settings and why she’s excited about the hospital’s new Sunset Pedestrian Bridge. When constructing green buildings the emphasis is clearly on the environment, but does being green take on a new importance in a hospital setting? Liz Cochran: Aesthetically, it’s more pleasant to be in, and that’s an important factor that can’t be overlooked because this is a children’s hospital. We strive to make our environment less cold; clinically this is important. Sustainable features make the hospital a healthier place for patients, families, and the staff. The Anderson Pavilion has a great deal of natural lighting. Linoleum floors and carpets can typically leave a large percentage of environmental contaminants in the air, but that won’t be an issue with the sustainable flooring we’ve installed. Anytime you can use green materials, it’s healthier, and that’s obviously ideal in a hospital setting. How did the Sunset pedestrian bridge come about? Cochran: Sunset Boulevard is one of the busiest highways for cars in Los Angeles, and it has become very unsafe for pedestrians to cross the street between our campuses, even when using the crosswalk. This is the first pedestrian bridge of its kind in this area. There will be elevators on each end and the actual
gbdmagazine.com
bridge itself will be three stories above Sunset Boulevard. The bridge will be encased in tempered glass walls, so during the day there’s no energy required, and on particularly hot days, fresh air will be circulated in. The bridge will be done in February 2013. Tell me more about the Anderson Pavilion’s sustainable features. Cochran: The primary metal is structural steel, which has about 85 percent recycled content. The acoustic ceiling tile is 69 percent recycled. Storm water is collected on-site using a hydrodynamic system that filters out solids before it releases it into the public storm-water system. Hospitals are not subject to any energy code in the state of California, but one of the major factors with respect to energy use in health care has to do with the air circulation inside the building. The building was designed to use 100 percent outdoor air. This is advantageous because it both prevents the recirculation of contaminants into the building and allows for four levels of air filtration, the final of which is HEPA and charcoal filtration for gas contaminants. Are these projects just a taste of what’s to come in terms of the hospital’s commitment to sustainability? Cochran: CHLA is committed to looking for ways make our environment greener with each project, and everything we do is going to be as sustainable as possible. In situations like ours where resources and funds are limited, sustainability may sometimes fall low on the list due to initial costs, but we find ways to utilize green materials as much as possible. This requires passion and awareness of new products and systems. It’s also about communicating the benefits of sustainability and being as green as you can when you’re able to. gb&d
january–february 2013
155
Wrapped in glass, the clinic features abundant natural light, an element that helped the project reach LEED Gold certification.
SPOTLIGHTHEAL
Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic NBBJ Architects
The green roof not only reduces storm-water runoff and urban heat island effect, but also earned the clinic a $500,000 rebate.
156
january–february 2013
gb&d
photos: Sean Airhart/NBBJ
With operations running 24/7, hospitals are notorious energy hogs. Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic, however, has windows and artwork throughout to create a cheerful atmosphere for patients and visitors, and those windows let in tremendous amounts of daylight, thus cutting back on energy use. The building also uses efficient HVAC equipment and lighting and a green roof that earned the clinic a $500,000 rebate from its utility company. The $40 million project designed by NBBJ Architects even upped its expected certification from LEED Silver to Gold without spending an extra penny. It’s time we realized that the economics of green building are paying dividends, even, or perhaps especially for the most energy-intensive facilities. gb&d
VERBATIM
“The issues surrounding climate change are going to be some of the most challenging that we as a species are going to face.”
verbatim
My career journey has been an unusual ride. After getting a masters degree in ancient near eastern and eastern Mediterranean archeology from University College London, I returned to the United States. I had some building industry experience and ended up working for Briggs Engineering and Testing for a couple of years as a third-party qualitycontrol representative doing client relations and building oversight for large-scale building and development projects. It was there that I became passionate about sustainability and read the LEED 2.2 manual cover to cover before self-testing and passing the exam. Shortly after that, I met Bill Sweet, the vice president of engineering construction for Price Chopper Supermarkets’ parent company, the Golub Corporation. He said the company was embarking on a LEED green-building program, and he asked me to interview with them. The issues surrounding climate change and material resource usage are going to be some of the most challenging that we as a species are going to face. There is a real immediacy required to address these issues effectively, and the time for pushing off responses or the development and implementation of solutions has certainly come and gone. Before I was hired, [Golub] had done an exploratory package of four supermarkets under the LEED for Retail Pilot Program. Now the program has evolved into a top-down
About Joseph Berman, LEED AP BD+C, currently serves as the environmental certification specialist at Golub Corporation, where he oversees corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives. He is a member of the Clean Cities Coalition and the New York Upstate chapter of USGBC and is the private-sector expert in sustainable building for the University of Albany business school’s G3 masters of business administration program.
J oseph S . B erman
gbdmagazine.com
The environmental certification specialist explains how he helped turn Golub Corporation’s exploratory program into one of the most robust commitments to LEED in the country As told to Julie Knudson
january–february 2013
157
VERBATIM
LeChase Construction is proud to partner with the Golub Corporation Congratulations on achieving LEED® Gold Certification!
1473 Erie Boulevard Schenectady, NY 12305 www.lechase.com
LeChase. Building Partnerships.
Design for corporate buildings requires knowledge of the corporate work environment and the technical systems that users rely upon. Owners expect quality services, responsiveness to corporate goals, and added value for the complete project. E/B/E has the required knowledge and skills.
Services include, but are not limited to: • Plans and Specifications • Electrical Engineering • HVAC Engineering • Plumbing Engineering • Fire Protection Engineering • Energy Modeling • LEED Services • Investigative Reports
24 Greenway Plaza, Suite 601 Tel. 713.840.0177 Houston, TX 77046 Fax 713.840.8677 Website: www.ebeemce.com
158
january–february 2013
corporate commitment that all new ground-up construction will be minimally LEEDcertified. We’ve registered 12 buildings with the USGBC and have certified four in this year alone—two Golds and two Silvers. Our small exploratory program turned into something that is, as far as I’m aware, one of the most robust commitments to LEEDcertified sustainable building of any commercial retailer in the United States. One of the defining accomplishments of our sustainable buildings program is our Gold-certified new Price Chopper corporate headquarters. It’s a very public statement for an organization like Golub when you make your corporate value structure manifest in the built environment. At this time Price Chopper Supermarkets is listed as one of the top 20 retail purchasers of green power in the United States. We are currently purchasing 3.44 percent of the overall company’s electrical utilization from 100 percent Green-e-certified renewable energy credits (RECs). That’s equivalent to 5,995 metric tons of carbon emissivity on an annual basis. It’s roughly similar to taking 2,000 average American homes off the grid on a yearly basis. Many of our sustainability efforts are motivated by a real desire to help minimize environmental impact and provide public benefit. Our Price Chopper Electric Vehicle Charging Station Infrastructure Development Project, for example, is installing alternative fuel pads at five of our locations in the New York State Capital Region. Our long term goal is to install this alternative fuel pad format at 129 store locations in six states—that’s every single one of our stores. This year Price Chopper is endeavoring to put together its first corporate social responsibility report. We’ve on-boarded a firm called Corporate Reports Inc.; this first report will address corpo-
JOSEPH BERMAN Up Close & Personal What was your first job? I was a timekeeper at a hockey rink outside Boston. If you weren’t in your current field, what would you do? I’d probably be doing archeology. What inspires you? Progressive, wise, and compassionate leadership. What’s your favorite type of book to read? I read a lot of Zen Buddhist literature. What is your hidden talent? Over the course of my life, I have done a lot of hiking and backpacking, and as a result I have developed the ability to survive in the woods for prolonged periods of time.
rate social responsibility and environmental sustainability over the arc of the organization, and we will communicate that out to the public for the first time in our history. I think what people would find surprising is how much our industry is actually paying attention right now to sustainability and to corporate social responsibility generally, and how the industry is beginning to look at just about every single element of the business model from a sustainability perspective. We look at buildings, water, packaging, waste, energy consumption, materials, traceability of food, local and sustainable sourcing—the list goes on and on. The supermarket industry is developing a very sophisticated awareness of what sustainability can and should constitute. gb&d A message from LeChase Construction LeChase is committed to incorporating energy efficiencies and developing sustainable construction strategies. We are proud to partner with Golub Corporation to support its wishes for a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient new corporate headquarters. Integrating green building practices into our buildings protects the needs of future generations.
gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List
160 Mount Vernon Mill Adaptive reuse is a boon for Baltimore 163 maret center A vital hub for energy research 166 PAISANO GREEN COMMUNITY The nation’s first net-zero affordable housing
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
159
TOUGH BUILDS
in progress From Mill to Mixed-Use
Who Terra Nova Ventures What Mount Vernon Mill Where Baltimore, MD
1873
Year of construction for the two oldest Mount Vernon Mill buildings
PLACE
Northwest Baltimore, the south side of Hampden, just north of Remington. Flanked on the west by the expansive Druid Hill Park and the narrow Wynam Park greenway on the east. In the shade of the loading docks and weedy overgrowth lining the Jones Falls stream that extends from Lake Roland six miles north through the industrial maze of Baltimore and into the bay. At the gravelly bend on Falls Road where Chestnut Avenue comes to a T: The Mount Vernon Mill.
160
january–february 2013
HISTORY
In 1847 Mount Vernon was a cotton mill, one of the nation’s premier producers of cotton duck, or canvas. A fire destroyed the campus in 1872, at which time the Mount Vernon Company began construction on what would make up the present, 10-acre mill complex. The site consists of four separate buildings: Mount Vernon Mill No. 1, a three-story brick mill house originally built in 1873; Picker House, a two-story, L-shaped brick building also built in 1873 with an expansion added in 1879; a two-story brick Store House, circa 1881; and a later-reinforced concrete warehouse, circa 1918, connected to Mill No. 1 via a pedestrian bridge. In 1973, the Mount Vernon Company relocated to North Carolina and sold the old property to a hobby retailer and supplier, which kept the buildings busy and wellstocked into the early 2000s. Mill No. 1 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, and the retailer began to decrease operations toward the end of the decade. Then, in 2009, David Tufaro of Terra Nova Ventures entered into an option contract to acquire the site and identified an opportunity for the mill’s adaptive potential by converting it to a modern, mixed-use development while preserving and strengthening its historical importance.
gb&d
Company/Project TOUGH BUILDS
All of the windows at the mill were bricked over around 1950. Terra Nova Ventures will reopen them to reveal the original window design.
92
Apartments to be created on-site
BUILD
STRATEGY
Specializing in difficult historic-realestate revitalization and development, Tufaro and Terra Nova Ventures saw the adaptive reuse of the mill as a green project and also as a strategic opportunity to bring new life—environmental and economic—to the Jones Fall throughway. When Tufaro ran for mayor of Baltimore in 1999, urban development was one of his primary campaign initiatives, and though he ultimately lost the vote, he stayed true to his promises. “You need to present a really good case if you want to take down an old building, and people generally don’t do this,” Tufaro says. “I like old buildings especially because many of them were so well-engineered, and I like to see them reused.” gbdmagazine.com
SPACE
After Terra Nova executed the contract in 2009, it spent the next year and a half acquiring financing for the project, officially beginning renovation in early 2012. The project is converting the 4,000-square-foot boiler room and 4,400-square-foot Picker building into restaurant spaces with exposed stone and brick walls, vaulted ceilings, and views overlooking the stream. More than 40,000 square feet of office space will also be created, alongside 92 apartments averaging 908 square feet per unit. “Though a mixed-use plan for a site like this is always a good idea, our decision was partly motivated by parking and financial constraints,” Tufaro says. “The constraints were a challenge, but led us to make some interesting decisions about the project.”
The primary sustainable element of the revitalization has to do with the overall character of the project, which features no new construction aside from an extra pedestrian bridge connecting the warehouse building to Mill No. 1, substantially reducing project costs and withdrawing the need for an expanded building footprint. Recycled building materials, energyefficient appliances and HVAC systems, automated lighting, and low-glazing windows also are being used, and the concrete warehouse building will feature a green roof. “We’re abiding by the Baltimore city LEED-equivalent green building standards,” Tufaro says, “and we’re not increasing any non-pervious surfaces on the site.” Complementing the work at the mill, Terra Nova is also working to create biohabitats with nonprofit organization Blue Water Baltimore on a separate Jones Fall stream restoration. “The work we’re doing on the Mount Vernon Mill is really the most representative of the work we’re doing at Terra Nova,” Tufaro says, “and it has been really exciting to engage the community with the project.” gb&d —Benjamin van Loon
200,000
Aggregate square footage of Mount Vernon Mill in Baltimore
january–february 2013
161
• Heating Ventilating & Air Conditioning • Building Automation/ Environmental Controls • Energy Management/ Economic Analysis • Sustainable Green Design
Integrated Energy Solutions
• Geothermal Systems Engineering • Site Utilities
Engineered Solutions and Energy Economics for our Essential Environment 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
162
january–february 2013
• Plumbing Design • Fire Protection Systems • Power Distribution • Power Conditioning & Protection • Lighting Design • Life Safety Systems • Fire Alarm Systems • Information Technology • Multi-Media Systems • Security Systems
INTRODUCING PROVEN HYBRID PV-THERMAL SOLAR
• Cogeneration of electricity & hot water • Cools PV panels for more electric power • Available for nearly all types of PV panels • Doubles energy output of the solar collector Our proprietary Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal (HPVT) system is the next-generation improvement in solar performance. HPVT produces BOTH hot water and electricity with the solar panel, more than doubling total energy production from the same collector area. 20480 Panda Road | Neosho, Missouri 64850 | 417.597.4829
site.solsourcegreenbuild.com gb&d
Net Plus a nucleus for energy research Who Crowder College What MARET Center Where Neosho, MO
The 120-foot-tall wind turbine at Crowder College generates 65 kW at a speed of 33 mph.
TOUGH BUILDS
“The technology we’re using on the building today was developed—if not invented—from the ‘hybrid’ solar panels we built in 2002.” Russell Hopper, Crowder College Water reservoirs on the roof of the MARET Center are used for stormwater management.
Conditions
be able to respond to climate change in and beyond the Midwest. Originally barely a blip, in 1984 Crowder College put Neosho on the map for good. A research team at Crowder became the first to design, build, and drive a solar-powered vehicle across the United States, and since then, Crowder has consistently won or placed in various international solar and alternative-fuel competitions, beating even top-tier universities from around the world. [For more on this trend-setting college, see p. 68.] Capitalizing on the success of its programs and its designation as Missouri’s premier energy-education center, in 2002 Crowder began the first phase of construction on a 27,000-square-foot, LEED Platinum headquarters for its Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy
The uniformity of the Great Plains is what lends to their subtle beauty. The dynamic, climatological complexity native to the Midwest isn’t represented by its visual parity. In other words, it looks boring—but it’s not. The area around Neosho, Missouri, experiences a four-season humid continental climate, like much of the surrounding area, and it’s also situated at the heart of ‘Tornado Alley,’ a multistate junction where divergent wind patterns from the Rocky Mountains, the Sonoran Desert, and the Gulf of Mexico collide. While this creates powerful and dangerous tornadoes, it also leads to necessary developments in education, safety, and energy research, all of which are vital to
Technology (MARET) Center building. The new facility offers space for research, education, and certification in the fields of green construction, solar energy, wind energy, and biofuels.
286
Number of HIT-220 solar panels on the academic building’s roof
27,000 ft
2
Total area of the MARET Center once all phases are complete
MARET Center at Crowder College TOUGH BUILDS
The MARET Center, a net-plus building, is a working lab where students build and test renewable-energy technologies. The center features a building automation system installed by Charles D. Jones Co.
Design
Phase I of the MARET Center included a 10,000-square-foot building powered and maintained by rooftop photovoltaics, a wind turbine, and a comprehensive geothermal system and was completed in 2012. Such features were not only natural, but necessary. “Firstly, MARET focuses on training,” says executive director Russell Hopper. “Secondly, we are focused on applied research and development, and our third focus is on economic development. From 1992 onward, Crowder has been focused on training and education, and the construction of the MARET Center is the next step for that.” Interestingly, the new building’s systems are informed by the school’s involvement in the 2002 Solar Decathlon, specifically the various photovoltaic technologies. “The technology we’re using on the building today was developed—if not invented—from the ‘hybrid’ solar panels we built in 2002,” Hopper says. This hybrid technology consisted of a photovoltaic paneling system that pulled the heat from the coils on the backside of the units to provide heat for the building interior via radiant floor panels. “From the beginning, the MARET Center was designed to be a net-positive energy generator,” Hopper says. “There are 286 solar panels on the roof, and at peak, each panel generates 220 watts, for a total of around 62 kilowatts. We also tied a 65-kilowatt Nordtank wind turbine into the electric system.” The building features a serrated rooftop engineered to maximize south-facing roof surfaces without increasing shadow or unused interior space. The north wall of the center is made from isolated concrete forms that house the accessible hydronics room, all of which showcase various green building features that can be used to educate students about the implementation of these systems. gbdmagazine.com
The other walls of the center are composed of structural insulated panels, or SIPs. Hopper says that the combination of these various sustainable construction features creates a structurally sound and energy-efficient building with a tight envelope that allows them to use the ERV system primarily for dehumidification, fresh-air exchange, and carbon dioxide removal.
Read more a bout Crowd er Colleg e, p. 68
Systems
Heating and cooling of the interior is maintained by a ground-source heat pump and radiant ceiling panels provided by Trane that service both heating and cooling needs. Crowder also worked with Charles D. Jones Co., which provided all of the sensor controls for the building systems. Inspired by the versatility of the HVAC systems, MARET is also running an on-site experiment split between its two separate geothermal fields—‘hot’ and ‘cold,’ respectively. “After a full-season cycle, we will have dumped all of the heat of the summer into the ‘hot’ field, and all of the cold of the winter into the ‘cold’ field,” Hopper explains. “During the next seasonal cycle, we’ll pull our fluids from these fields and not need to burn any natural gas to supplement climate control.” Phase II of the MARET Center, which will serve as both an addition and extension of Phase I, is currently underway. “The plans for Phase II are already drawn up,” says Hopper. “All we need to do now is raise money and start on the process again.” Aside from adding office, class-
room, and community space, the second phase of the project will also incorporate a central auditorium to serve as a lecture hall, demonstration center, and intellectual incubator for continued research and development. The MARET Center represents the next step in Crowder’s ongoing leadership in alternative energy research and makes Neosho not only a thoroughfare, but also a strategic, international focal point. “We’ve learned a lot from Phase I of this project,” Hopper says. “We’re really excited to begin Phase II and are already planning ways to make it even better.” gb&d —Benjamin van Loon january–february 2013
165
TOUGH BUILDS
Net Zero The New Model for Affordable Housing
Who Housing Authority of the City of El Paso What Paisano Green Community Where El Paso, TX
640
Number of solar panels spread across Paisano’s four buildings
40%
Reduction in water consumption via water retention and limited turf use
166
january–february 2013
92%
Existing materials reused or recycled during building phase
gb&d
190kW
TOUGH BUILDS
On-site power generation via solar and wind
LEFT Paisano Green Community's buildings are on the perimeter of the site to create a strong set of edges and form a protected central garden running the length of the development. At the north end of the garden is the ‘Jewel Box’ community building, a large roof terrace shaded by a steel structure supporting solar panels.
photos: Jesse Ramirez Commercial Photography
OVERVIEW
gbdmagazine.com
ACTIVE
On a completely flat, 4.2-acre parcel of silt devoid of trees just half a mile from the busiest international port of entry along the US-Mexico border is an unusual site, and one that will prove to be quite historical: the location of the first-ever net-zero public-housing community in the nation. In the intense sun and wind of the Chihuahuan Desert, the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) transformed a vacant, 46-unit lot into the Paisano Green Community, a 73-unit, net-zero community that uses zero fossil fuels. Gerald Cichon, CEO of HACEP, is optimistic that the project will receive its LEED Platinum certification and become Enterprise Green Community-certified.
In order to bring the Paisano Green Community to life, HACEP launched a national design competition and eventually chose Colorado’s Workshop8 to implement its plans. The primary strategy was to capitalize on El Paso’s greatest natural resource: the sun. El Paso gets 302 days of sunshine per year, making it an epicenter of solar energy generation. As a result, the Paisano Green Community is powered by 170 kilowatts of expandable on-site solar generation thanks to 640 solar panels produced by Siliken. The property also features two Xzeres 442SR wind turbines that each generate up to 10 kilowatts of electricity, making the total capacity of on-site generation 190 kilowatts.
NET ZERO
PASSIVE
Many of the Paisano Green Community’s requirements were dictated by the housing project’s funding sources, most notably the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This meant that all materials had to be sourced from US companies, and in order to meet the LEED Platinum standards, HACEP had to receive at least 80 points across the five main categories, plus an additional six points for Innovation in Design and four points for Regional Priority. It wasn’t Cichon’s initial goal to achieve net-zero status; that didn’t occur until a full year after the project began, when the team realized that net zero was a possibility with just a small expansion to the budget. Once the team learned more, they wanted to do more. “Our standards became much more stringent as the project went forward,” Cichon says. “We were introduced to innovative technology and design solutions, many of which were literally hitting the market as our plans unfolded.”
LEFT The Tapestry Garden provides a serene and secure oasis for the seniors who call Paisano home. The paved plaza in the foreground will serve as a venue for outdoor dining and community events.
Passive design was as important as ‘active’ renewable-energy systems. “While the on-site electricity generation captures most of the headlines, the real energy savings that will enable us to attain net-zero certification is through the airtight construction of the units,” Cichon says. “Four different insulation systems were used, along with high albedo roofs that reflect a larger portion of the sun’s energy rather than absorbing it into the material.” To minimize solar gain during the summer and maximize it during the winter, solar orientation became crucial. The Paisano Green Community doesn’t have many east- or west-facing windows; all windows are positioned to the north and south. Because of all the technological and design strategies employed, some of the seniors who will live in the Paisano Green Community will pay as little as $8 per year in energy bills. The community also utilizes mini-split air source heat pumps and energy recovery ventilators that bring in fresh air and capture the energy in the interior air before it is exhausted. These units are low-noise, and they reduce allergens and toxins and provide high-efficiency heating and cooling. Even more impressive, all connective spaces, such as hallways and stairwells, are open-air environments that don’t have to be heated, cooled, lit, or ventilated. january–february 2013
167
TOUGH BUILDS Paisano Green Community
“Building Your Vision”
Delivering Quality Mutifamily Communities With Purpose
Construction Management & General Contracting
Paisano’s colorful canopy wall uses perforated metal panels as a radiant barrier to protect westfacing walls and courtyards from intense sunlight.
Design-Build Design-Assist Pre-Construction Management Renovations & Capital Improvements LEED & Sustainable Program Contractor Consultation
WORKSHOP8
WORKSHOP8 architecture | planning | design
architectu
creating exciting solutions that inspire, enrich and transform lives
ARCHITECTURE rehabilitation and adaptive reuse net-zero energy and LEED design civic, commercial, multifamily, residential PLANNING development services urban planning entitlements public art planning and design DESIGN residential and commercial interiors finishes and specification space planning sustainable design graphics and environmental design
303 442 3700 WORKSHOP8.us
168
january–february 2013
POWER
Another critical strategy for the success of the Paisano Green Community was to engage in net metering so that energy could be purchased at night from the grid at the same rate energy on the grid was sold during the day. Due to different billing structures for peak and off-peak rates, Cichon and his team tasked a local elected delegation to grant them an exemption under the Public Utility Commission; the exemption essentially allowed them to purchase and sell at the same rate. “Affordable housing consumes significantly more energy per square foot than private housing,” Cichon says. “This not only pollutes the environment, but also puts an unfair burden on the millions of low-income households that sacrifice necessities such as food and medical care in order to meet monthly energy and rent payments. Everyone who has been involved with this project has a great deal of passion and commitment because they know that projects such as the Paisano Green Community are redefining affordable housing in the United States.” gb&d —Tina Vasquez a message from workshop8 WORKSHOP8 assists municipalities, commercial and retail developers, business owners, residential developers, and homeowners to create innovative solutions through great design. W8’s values-based studio is driven by the idea that design should engage the community and the end-users in a visionary, bold, and elegant manner. Our experienced team is dedicated to providing architecture, planning, and design services that are beautiful, sustainable, and energy-efficient. WORKSHOP8 is named for its workshop approach and eight guiding values: artistry, collaboration, exploration, integrity, leadership, passion, sustainability, and viability. We challenge each other and our clients to produce projects of the highest quality, and we are currently seeking clients who share our values and mission to create exciting solutions that inspire, enrich, and transform lives. a message from Pavilion Construction F or the past five years Pavilion Construction has been committed to building quality, enduring communities for our clients. We are very proud to have been selected by the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso to construct their one of a kind affordable housing development, the Paisiano Green Community.
gb&d
photo: Jesse Ramirez Commercial Photography
4801 Lang Avenue NE, Suite 110 • Albuquerque, NM 87109 505.346.0085 • License NM 353433 • www.pavilionconstruction.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Approach Trendsetters Green Typologies Inner Workings Features Spaces Tough Builds Punch List 170
171
172
TOOLBOX
New products for a new year Material World
Colbond lays the foundation for green roofs Greater good
San Antonio creates gardens for gathering
174
Architects to Watch
Vahid Mojarrab & Jonah Stanford
176 supply chain
C&L Supply greens bathroom after bathroom
178
Show & Tell
gbdmagazine.com
From computer cable to terminal in San Jose
january–february 2013
169
PUNCH LIST
Toolbox New Year, New Styles
The green-building world made a few New Year resolutions, it seems. From Nadurra’s collection of bamboo flooring to New Energy’s powergenerating window spray, 2013’s building projects have access to an enviable goodie bag of sustainable products. Here’s our roundup of not-to-miss innovations.
170
Interface FLOR ‘Urban Retreat’
Nadurra Eco Collection
Bulbrite Thread Series
SolarWindow
Correspondent to MR 6 and EQ 4.2 and 4.4 LEED qualifications, Nadurra’s Eco Collection composites are sourced from FSC-certified bamboo forests. Ultra-thin shredding and compression makes these composites twice as dense as red oak.
Looking for an antique lighting aesthetic with contemporary, energyefficient technology? Bulbrite Thread Series offers three 40-watt bulb types that have up to 140 lumens of brightness. Even the 25-watt chandelier T6 bulb creates 3,000 light hours. It’s modern-day Edison.
Developed in a worldwide licensing agreement with the University of South Florida, New Energy Technologies’ latest is a see-through pane coated in an electricitygenerating veneer. The veneer is a spray-on product that generates electricity from both natural and artificial light sources.
nadurrawood.com
bulbrite.com
newenergytechnologiesinc.com
january–february 2013
Photos: Interface (Urban Retreat); New Energy Technologies, Inc. (solar window)
Aesthetically inspired by natural urban and geological textures, ‘Urban Retreat’ offers nine different styles of eco-conscious flooring. The line is made of 80 percent recycled content and comes in duotone colors to add an extra pop to a floor. interfaceflor.com
gb&d
PUNCH LIST
Material World Green Roof Foundations
Colbond USA’s Enkadrain 3000R Series addresses draining, water retention, and aeration for green roofs, and it’s been used in Europe for 30 years. So what are we waiting for? By Benjamin van Loon In the green roofing world, drainage is often overlooked. Colbond, a subsidiary of the European engineered-materials manufacturer and supplier Low & Bonar, is the North American producer of a diverse range of high-performance, nonwoven, and three-dimensional matrix geosynthetics, including the Enkadrain 3000 series for green roofs and the Enkamat soil-holding layer and drainage/ventilation underlayment for metal roofs. Robin Gregory, marketing communications manager for Colbond, says Colbond’s products contribute to LEED points both through the actual materials and through their application. Enkadrain and Enkamat products are used in the Millennium Park green roof in Chicago, Chicago City Hall’s green roof, the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton, New Jersey, and Union Square in San Francisco. The material is flexible, moldable, and open and contributes to rooftop vegetal growth, storm-water reduction, urban heat island effect reduction, energy efficiency, and aesthetic development. “Enkadrain has been used in the European green roof market for over 30 years, so the technology has been refined,” Gregory says. As green building becomes more popular and accessible, the implementation of smart roofing solutions, such as those offered by Colbond, will no doubt continue growing in kind. gb&d
Enkadrain 3000 products are made of a post-industrial recycled polypropylene core, which is 95% breathable. The mats eliminate ‘roll memory,’ which allows them to be rolled out flat.
On a planted roof, the EnkaRetain & Drain mat sits between the drainage system and vegetative layer and above the roof membrane, root barrier, and solid substrate to provide a root-reinforcement layer.
The Enka 3000 series includes multiple EnkaRetain & Drain and Enkadrain iterations, including the 3601W, a new white drain with a thin profile.
The spongy, tangled composition provides an air layer for better insulation and also allows the vegetation to take root.
Case Study EnkaRetain & Drain at East Medical Center
Photos: Samantha Simmons
Owner Cheyenne 1 Development Group Location Webster, TX Size 14,559 ft2 Product EnkaRetain & Drain 3111 Core Material 40% post-industrial, recycled, entangled filament polypropylene Water Retention Fabric 100% post-industrial recycled, nonwoven polypropylene Water Retention Approx. 73% Material Cost Savings Approx. $250,000
gbdmagazine.com
The Enkamat 7010 and 7020, made of 40% recycled nylon, can be used to stabilize soil and reinforce roots in landscaping applications.
january–february 2013
171
PUNCH LIST
Greater Good Senior housing gets hip to urban gardens In San Antonio, affordable-housing residents create community and healthier living conditions by growing fruits and vegetables. By Julie Schaeffer When your average income is between $9,000 to $18,000 per year, sustainability is vitally important. That’s the premise of the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), whose 27,000 households fall into the low end of the economic spectrum. And yet sustainability comes in different forms, including vegetables. SAHA currently has eight community gardens at various senior properties, and their importance can’t be overlooked. These gardens give residents the opportunity to interact and to put healthful food on their tables. “We have
a public housing property with a community garden next to our central office,” says Lourdes Castro Ramírez, president and CEO of SAHA, “and when I leave at night, I see residents out there looking at their vegetables and talking to other people.” Veronica Guevara, director of construction services and sustainability, adds, “The gardens get people excited and moving. Gardening isn’t just about growing a zucchini—it brings real purpose to our residents’ lives.” This sense of community is most obvious at SAHA’s poster
community, the Lewis Chatham Apartments, which were built in 1973 and rehabilitated in October 2011 using $7 million of funding received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The four-story, 119-unit building has all of the green bells and whistles. It was built with ecofriendly materials, and it has a tight envelope, an energyefficient HVAC system, and Energy Star appliances. It features a low-water garden, designed by University of Texas at San Antonio architecture students, with native plants and the community garden. It is the first multifamily retrofit in San Antonio to be certified Build San Antonio Green Level 2, a local green-building standard. “Inside and out, the Lewis Chatham Apartments are a model of how we want SAHA made space for community gardens in several of its elderly and disabled communities to improve residents’ quality of life by increasing physical activity, reducing chronic disease, and improving nutrition.
to do things moving forward,” Guevara says. The Lewis Chatham Apartments also show the willingness of the SAHA community to accept change. It was the first SAHA complex to implement a building-wide non-smoking policy when it opened in October 2011. A few months later, SAHA extended that policy to all of its 6,322 public housing units. “Sustainability really resonates with the families we serve,
172
january–february 2013
and residents have been very involved,” Castro Ramírez says. “It’s important that residents be partners with us in these initiatives, and we spent a great deal of time educating to raise awareness. “We understand the families for whom we provide housing have limited income, so we make our buildings more efficient and reduce energy costs to the extent that it provides our residents with more disposable income,” she continues. “It also reduces our own expenses, and we can reinvest our savings into housing or resident programs.” This approach is the result of sustainability standards adopted by the SAHA board of commissioners in 2010. “Many of our public housing properties were built in the 1940s and 1950s and aren’t energy-efficient,” Castro Ramírez says. “So our policy now requires our development partners to meet . . . Build San Antonio Green Level 2 whenever they rehabilitate existing housing or develop new complexes for us.” Sustainability, however, is more than meeting construction standards—it’s about creating healthy communities, ones that offer reduced energy usage, fewer emissions, drought-resistant landscaping, and, notably, a sense of community that facilitates interaction, which is why the community gardens are so important. Next up for the SAHA is the ongoing development of a mixed-income housing community on the east side gb&d
PUNCH LIST
“Gardening isn’t just about growing a zucchini—it brings real purpose to our residents’ lives.” Veronica Guevara, San Antonio Housing Authority
Franklin
Development
founded
in
1996
was
by Aubra
Franklin. The Franklin Companies are a full service development, management,
and
construction
firm specializing in multifamily and senior developments in and around
Built in 1973, the Lewis Chatham Apartments underwent a $7 million modernization in 2011 to become certified as Build San Antonio Green Level 2.
Texas.
Franklin
has
developed over 3,500 units of multifamily and 1,000 units of Senior Housing and currently has a portfolio of over 2,500 units.
For more information, contact Ryan Wilson at (210) 694-2223
All
www.franklindevelopment.net
Sutton Oaks II is the second phase of a SAHA redevelopment, featuring 208 new units, all designed to achieve local green certifications. Construction began in 2012 and will continue into early 2014.
of San Antonio: Sutton Oaks II, one of SAHA’s oldest communities. The revitalization began three years ago, and in 2011, SAHA secured financing for Phase II, which will add 208 units to the development. gbdmagazine.com
It is currently under construction by Franklin Development, and it also will meet Build San Antonio Green Level 2 standards. But this is just par for the course for San Antonio Housing Authority. “We’re taking a look at all of this,” Castro Ramírez says, “because, ultimately, we want to do our part to have an impact not just on our city but on our world.” gb&d
a St
m oa F r
Albuquerque, New Mexico Quality EPS Products EPS Fabricator/Distributor
Under Slab Insulation Vapor Barrier Laminated EPS Tapered and Flat Roofing EPS Insulation Architectural and Decorative EPS Products
1701 Aspen NW P.O. Box 90385 Albuquergue, NM 87104
Tongue and Grove Insulation
505.243.2271 phone 505.243.2280 fax
Insulated OSB laminated Panels
www.allstarfoam@qwestoffice.net allstarfoam@qwestoffice.net
Different Densities of EPS foam for specific R-Value
EIFS and Flat EPS Boards
SERVICING THE SOUTHWEST january–february 2013
173
PUNCH LIST
Architects to Watch Vahid Mojarrab & Jonah Stanford
In 2009, Vahid Mojarrab and Jonah Stanford won Santa Fe’s International Alto Street Design Competition and quickly launched a studio of their own. They called it MoSA. Now, 16 months later, the architects talk to gb&d about Passive House techniques and our need for large-scale green infrastructure. Interview by Erin Brereton What was your first project together? Jonah Stanford: VolksHouse was the first official MoSA project. The challenge was to design a zero-energy house built for less than typical construction costs by crews with no previous experience with high-performance buildings. We’re proud to say we met every single requirement on the project, including the Passive House certification.
a dent in energy use, we have to develop ways of reducing it in existing structures. That’s very important to us. What do each of you think is the other’s biggest strength? Stanford: Vahid has extensive experience doing large-scale neighborhood planning and subdivision development, which is not something I have a strong background in. That level of understand-
ing of the larger picture is something Vahid brings to the firm that’s pretty tremendous. Mojarrab: What Jonah really brings is an understanding of mechanical systems and building science. Because of his indepth knowledge of energy conservation and the Passive House approach, people in our industry look to him for input. What advice would you give an architect just starting out in the field today? Stanford: Follow your passion. If you do what you love, you’ll be really good at it. Mojarrab: It’s a tough profession. As Jonah said, you always have to stay centered. gb&d “We both have two kids, and this project came about from us rethinking, ‘How can we design something we would like to live in that won’t feel cramped?’” Vahid Mojarrab
What kind of time commitment does your work involve? Stanford: We always try to exceed our clients’ expectations on the project, and sometimes that leads to working long hours, but I’d have to say we enjoy it and get as much out of our work as we put into it. We’re partners because we like each other. Sometimes we sort of forget to maintain a personal relationship, but sometimes Vahid and I have lunch or get together after hours to talk about the future of the firm, what is important to us creatively, and different projects. What types of projects are you interested in? Vahid Mojarrab: Jonah and I believe shared resources in one infrastructure are the way of the future. The cost is very reasonable as opposed to everyone doing their own photovoltaic or water-catchment systems. We’re also getting tremendous amounts of rehabilitation projects, where people want to improve and apply more energy conservation solutions to existing buildings. Stanford: For most people in our industry, doing a remodel doesn’t sound all that sexy. But we recognize that to make
174
january–february 2013
Small House, Passive House The Passive House approach is heating up (passively, of course). In 2008, a mere five Passive House-certified homes had been built, but two years later, that number had jumped to 16, with more underway. Plus, 200 consultants had been certified in Passive House design, including MoSA principal Jonah Stanford, a former board president of the Passive House Institute, a nonprofit based in Illinois. In 2011, Stanford and MoSA cofounder Mojarrab created the design for a
495-square-foot home dubbed Small House that could be assembled from recycled materials and prefabricated components and would generate its own water and power supply. Although the design is complete, Small House isn’t yet a reality because of financial constraints. MoSA is currently looking for production funding. “The economics are that we need to get three orders before we start manufacturing,” Stanford says. “We’d like to build a prototype.”
gb&d
PUNCH LIST
“Jonah and I believe shared resources in one infrastructure are the way of the future. The cost is very reasonable.” Vahid Mojarrab, MoSA Architects
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
175
PUNCH LIST
Supply Chain Secrets of the Lavatory
The ultra-efficient XLERATOR hand dryer is just one of many eco-friendly products available through C&L Supply. When it comes to greener restrooms, you got a guy (or, rather, a gal). By Jennifer Nunez The now-familiar jet-engine sound emanating from public restrooms all across America is arguably one of the best improvements in hand-drying technology. The 15-second dry time of an XLERATOR hand dryer is far superior to dryers of the past, and what started as a startlingly loud noise, is now just part of the background soundscape of public life, simply because it is everywhere—thanks to companies like C&L Supply. The XLERATOR is the most well-known product offered by C&L Supply, which was established more than 30 years ago a Waterless No-Flush Urinal This urinal requires no water to operate, except when it’s time to change the Eco Trap cartridge, which is every three to four months or about 7,000–10,000 uses. Green Cred • When flushing for liquid waste, the toilet uses 30% less water than a conventional flush
176
january–february 2013
when it primarily dealt with wholesale plumbing supplies. Now, having established relationships with innumerable manufacturers, C&L is helping to create a touch-free restroom that lowers operating costs, conserves water, reduces waste, and saves energy. Carmela Bass, C&L’s president, says many products are sought out by customers who may have seen them somewhere else and want to learn more about energy- and waterefficient systems. The XLERATOR is as popular with building owners and designers as it is with lavatory visitors; it uses 80 percent less energy and dries hands three times faster than conventional dryers. It also is the first dryer to be Green Spec Listed, and qualifies for several LEED credits, including energy efficiency, material and resources, and even innovation in design with custom digital image covers designed with sustainable messages. “It turns into an educational green product,” says Bill Gagnon of Excel Dryer, who makes the product. The economic case for the XLERATOR has been more than made as well; the dryer provides a 95 percent cost savings versus paper towels. “In almost every case, it is less than a one-year return on investment,” Gagnon says. And
it has a less-than-one-percent failure rate and a decade of proven quality performance. C&L supplies environmentally friendly products but also partners with facilities to enhance energy efficiency. C&L worked with Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to outfit more than 80 automatic faucets for various sections of the stadium. This included working with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to calculate the water savings potential of converting their manual faucets to automatic faucets. The water savings was calculated to be more than two million gallons a year. Through the program, Dodger Stadium earned $8,500 as an incentive amount for implementing these devices. “It’s gratifying knowing
d XLERATOR High-speed unit by Excel Dryer completely dries hands in 15 seconds or less and uses 80% less energy than a conventional hand dryer. Green Cred • First hand dryer to receive Green Spec approval • Qualifies for LEED credits in up to three categories • Only hand dryer certified “Made in the USA”
we can help a facility meet certain goals and, in some cases, earn incentives [and] rebates through programs available while meeting those goals,” Bass says. The California State University tested the XLERATOR, gb&d
PUNCH LIST
“‘Saving our natural resources one restroom at a time’ was somewhat of a funny expression then, however, [it] holds true to what our company has evolved into today.” Carmela Bass, C&L Supply
s AMTC Dual Handle Flush-valve handles are replaced with AMTC Dual handles: push down for liquid waste, pull up for solid waste. Green Cred • Saves between 20,000 to 40,000 gallons of water per year per urinal
Waterless No-Flush urinals, and T/C auto faucets in its Northridge Student Union
with the help of Bass and her team. After years of troublefree use, the university decided to use all three products in its new Student Recreation Center. C&L’s products, as well as photovoltaic panels, energyefficient lighting, Solatubes, natural ventilation, and other eco-friendly products, all helped the recreation center achieve LEED certification. “The first introduction of our product line to CSU was 10
years ago, which makes us even more proud to have our product line part of this stateof-the-art and environmentally friendly facility,” Bass says. Bass says her father used to quip that her company was “saving our natural resources one restroom at a time.” “It was somewhat of a funny expression then,” she says, “however, [it] holds true to what our company has evolved into today.” gb&d
a message from excel dryer New XLERATOR HEPA Filtration System delivers 99.9% pure air. XLERATOR high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryer is now available with a proprietary HEPA Filtration System. HEPA Filtration removes 99.9% of bacteria and particulates from the air stream, delivering a powerful flow of filtered air that dries hands completely in 10 to 15 seconds. Excel Dryer is the only hand dryer manufacturer to offer a washable pre-filter and features easy, snap-to-fit installation for retrofitting the filtration system into existing XLERATOR hand-dryer units.
99.9%
Pure Air. n e w X l e r AT o r ® h e PA F i lT r A T i o n S y S T e m hePA done righT. xlErATor’s new HEPA filtration system settles the debate about hand dryer hygiene. xlErATor’s Patent Pending HEPA filtration system removes 99.9% of bacteria from the air stream, delivering clean, filtered and purified air as only xlErATor can – fast and efficient. The HEPA filtration system is a retro fit kit that can be purchased with a new xlErATor hand dryer or for an existing one!
Time To Throw in The Towel ExcEl DryEr inc. • 1.800.255.9235 • www.ExcElDryEr.com
gbdmagazine.com
january–february 2013
177
PUNCH LIST
Show & Tell Cable Connections
Architect Mike Winters elaborates on the inspiration for the cutaway façade of San Jose International’s Terminal B The airport should be an iconic gateway to a city or a region, serving as both a welcome and farewell to travelers. At its best, it culturally and geographically expresses its local context and provides travelers with a sense of place. That philosophy is the driving force behind all my airport designs in which I’ve played a part, and emphatically so in the case of San Jose’s Terminal B. San Jose and Silicon Valley as a whole are at the core of the 21st century’s economy. The concept of a coaxial cable, a technology central to the region’s development, was suggested to us by the city of San Jose when we took on the Terminal B project. The idea was a natural fit because the site on which the building was to be located was extremely long and narrow. It was by literally deconstructing a coaxial cable in our studio that we arrived at Terminal B’s aesthetic direction. Peel back the outer shell of the cable and you’ll find layers, including a complex woven copper sheath that protects the core and is quite visually interesting. Thus, the building’s perforated aluminum skin likewise peels away into curvilinear forms that meet at critical focal points. The visitor standing outside can see various materials used in the interior. The reverse is true for the visitor standing inside, who has an immediate visual connection to the outside world. Since many people experience the exterior of Terminal B only from a passing car or bus, the building was designed to be visually dynamic by changing its form as people pass it. gb&d —Mike Winters
178
january–february 2013
Like a cable, the terminal is, programmatically, a long, narrow space.
“It was by literally deconstructing a coaxial cable in our studio that we arrived at Terminal B’s aesthetic direction.”
See mo of San re J Interna ose tion on p. 9 al 0
These woven copper sheaths inspired the terminal’s curving, perforated aluminum skin.
Coaxial cables, among other uses, are feedlines to connect computers to the Internet.
gb&d
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
PUNCH LIST
Index Advertisers
A Advanced Mechanical, 44 AEI, 148 AHR Expo, 6 ai Design Group, 40 Airware, Inc., 180 Alfa Tech Consulting Enterprises, 94 All Star Foam, 173 Ameresco, 131 Architectural Visions, 32 Atlanta Gateway Designers, 88 B Barr & Barr, 143 BCER Engineering, 78 Bonneville Multifamily Capital, 39 BR+A Consulting Engineers, 28 Brasfield & Gorrie, 153 C Cage Inc., 42 Campbell-Anderson & Associates, 133 Charles D. Jones Co., 162 Chelsea Group, 113 Christopher Rose, 121 E EAM Associates, 36 Encore Electric, 78
Engineered Business Environments, 158 Engineered Design Group, 35 ETS Systems, 44 Excel Dryer, 177 F Frank McDonald Architects, 48 Franklin Development, 173 Fritzmartin Electric, 121 G Glickman Engineering Associates, 121 Global Facility Solutions, 137 GreenbergFarrow, 59 H Hammond & Company, 129 Hannon Electric, 133 Hastings+Chivetta, 62 Hawkins Partners, 62 Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects, 55 Henselstone, 125 HTO Architect, 121 J J.R. Pierce Plumbing, 32 JDRM Engineering, 48 JE Dunn Construction, 75 John F. Shaw, 67
K Kamehameha Schools, 113 Kinsley Construction, 162 KPFF Consulting Engineers, 137 L Lakeside Interior Contractors, 32 Lawrence Group, 116 LeChase Construction, 158 Loftus Engineering, 32 Lumen Architectural Engineering, 64 M Maple Reinders, 20 Mark One Electric Company, 42 MEP Engineering, 143 MKK Consulting Engineers, 148 MOA Architecture, 88 MTech, 75 P Paragon Architecture, 67 Pavilion Construction, 168 Pepco Energy Services, 179 Posty Cards, 64 Power Management Corporation, 55 R Reaveley Engineers + Associates, 94 S Shive Hattery, 2 Sitescapes, 28
SolSource Greenbuild, 162 Steelcase, 78 StudioGee Architecture, 59 SWT Design, 75 T Tell Emotion, 55 Thinkbox Technology Group, 153 TK DEPARTMENT HAWAII TK, 113 TK RANDOM AD HAWAII TK, 113 Toledo Mirror & Glass, 44 TRO Jung | Brannen, 153 U USGBC, 101 V Vermont Center for Independent Living, 35 Vinokur Pace Engineering Services, 162 W Walbridge, 44 Wohlsen Construction, 131 Workshop8, 168 WSP Flack + Kurtz, 94
An Energy & Water Conservation Program Should Save More Than Just Kilowatts and Gallons. It Should Provide Your Agency With Some Real Economic Benefits.. There’s much more to energy conservation than squiggly light bulbs and high-tech toilets. From financing programs that pay for capital improvements from the energy savings created to government incentive programs that help reduce overall expenses to training programs that teach residents how to use less energy, Pepco Energy Services helps Public Housing Authorities find the best ways to optimize their budget. If your Public Housing Authority would be interested in a no-cost, no-obligation preliminary energy assessment, contact: Shawn McMillin, PHA Business Development Director at 720-810-6173 or on line at smcmillin@pepcoenergy.com.
1-800-ENERGY-9 gbdmagazine.com
www.pepcoenergy.com january–february 2013
179
Airware, Inc.
Trust but VerifyTM
www.airware-inc.com
The new and effortless approach to re-commission installed gas sensors without the need for standard gases! • Greatly reduce maintenance costs • Maximize service contract profits
Visit our 2013 AHR Booth No. 5431