Karen Weigert's plan for Chicago A bold vision for Silicon Valley Ken Yeang designs for happiness Five radical linear park projects G R E E N B U I L D I N G & D E S I G N S E P T E M B E R+ O C T O B E R 2 014
Guest edited by Rob Bennett
THREE THE CITIES ISSUE TO WATCH How Vancouver, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC, are setting the standard for sustainability
BEAUTIFUL. DURABLE. SUSTAINABLE.
pe Prints Steelsca
Camo
®
pe Prints Steelsca
Rustic
for rugged ge steel a Camoufla blinds, cabins, w ing d like hunt ng and si and roofi
e rust... without th application. ed steel any Weather armth to ns. w d an applicatio ension d siding adds dim roofing an Ideal for
Steelscape Specialty Finishes d Camo
Marshlan
coated steel provides innovative
02)
(XGRAMC
RAPO01)
a Rust (XG
Ponderos RABI01)
st (XG Burnt Ru
solutions for your building needs.
DC02)
mo (XGRA
Desert Ca
The right steel delivered to the right
Sedona Tamarack
place at the right time every time…
A01)
Rust (XGRAT
ors may
Actual col
vary slightly
ors may
Actual col
var
R01)
Rust (XPEBS
tographs.
from pho
5
that is Steelscape’s commitment
Steelscape Prints®
Metallic
to each and every customer.
Exceptional this multi-dim metal look without an exceptional ensional fin pr ish combine sheen of me s colors and ice... tal. Ideal fo the r roofing an d siding appli natural cations.
®
Prints Steelscape
Composite
® Prints Steelscape
Slate
ng to slate roofi t alternative ns. A lightweigh ll applicatio wa e tiv ra and deco
les asphalt shing cement for mental repla roof venting. The environ e tiv and decora Weathered
Zinc (XGRAWZ
01)
Antique Co
pper (XGRAAP
01)
Baltic
ck (XPEBTB01)
BBD01)
e (XPEBST01)
Sitka Spruc y shown on
Cinder Gra
Bark Dust (XPE
Twilight Bla
Rustic Coppe
r (XGRARC01) Gold Mine
9 Actual colo
tion a roof applica
rs may vary
slightly from
(XGRAGM01)
photographs.
Brimston U.S. Patent
(XPEBHB01)
y
Cinder Gra rs may vary
Actual colo
Woodland
Diamondback
e
(XPEBDB01)
Harbor Blu
rs
Actual colo
tly from may vary sligh
Timber
(XPEBWT01)
8
photographs.
(XGRACI01)
slightly from
photographs.
7
For more product information, literature, and samples: (360) 673-8660 │ www.steelscape.com │ Email: productinfo@steelscape.com
No. 8,617,691
.
SPECIALTY FINISHES
s®
o
ns applicatio olers, alk-in co ding.
PREPAINTED DECORATIVE SOLUTIONS d Camo
Woodlan
TruZaics
™ Textures Steelscape
C02) (XGRAW
™
Rawhide
character... s for added ucts, Tinted resin HVAC prod be used for n tions. ca ish fin this erior applica int r he ot d , an flex conduit
h... is steel toug ns. coating that m applicatio A textured unique custo d an , ing , sid ng ofi ro r fo ideal
AC02)
mo (XGRA
Arctic Ca
ry slightly
6
tographs.
from pho
Apache
t
Dark Walnu
Coal Black
Green
Blue Red
er
Chili Powd
Avocado
Ash Gray
Steelscape Prints®
Granite
Burnished
slightly from
rs may vary
Actual colo
ne Granite
nite (XGRABB
01)
Jadestone
photographs.
Vintage
Granite (XGR
AJS01)
Vintage ® (XGRABR01) Actual colo
rs may vary
Cascade Gra slightly from
from phot vary slightly
11
shown on
a siding
nite (XGRACA
Dazzle ® coated ste certified el is NSFfor food equipme 051 nt materia ls.
®
An aged metallic appear Ideal for roofing an ance without th e wait. d siding applicat ions. Brown Gra
rs may
Actual colo
Silver Metall
Rust
Slate
12 ographs.
ic
Polished sto ne aesthetics with the be perfect for nefits of ste roofing, sid el... ing, ceilin and column wrap applica g tiles, tions.
Black
Silver
Gold
Dazzle
® This radi an walk-in co t gloss finish is ideal for olers, kitc in dry eras te he rio n walls r appl e boards , or any cu , fresh food vend ications... ing machi stom appl nes, ication yo u can im agine.
Pewter
applicatio
Gloss
Copper
n
01)
Gloss
Bronze
photographs.
Gloss
10
3
Vintage ® Actual col
ors may
(close up
vary slig
photograp
htly from
h)
photograp
hs.
Garnet Gl
oss
Blue Sa
pphire Gl
Actual col
ors may
oss
vary slig
htly from
Emerald
photograp
hs.
Gloss 4
Work upwardly mobile with Decca Contract’s high fidelity design, craftsmanship and adjustable work surface. DECCACONTRACT.COM
FLOAT David Ritch, Mark Saffell 5d studio
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
In This Issue gb&d September+October 2014 Volume 5, Issue 29
24
36
90
154
168
Five spectacular projects from Philly to Atlanta set a precedent for how our cities make use of their outmoded transit infrastructure
One of America’s oldest design firms is becoming known for translating the visions of global brands into sustainable, engaging environments
Through a mix of public and private leadership, Vancouver, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC, have emerged at the forefront of sustainable innovation
In Chicago, chief sustainability officer Karen Weigert leads the implementation of a hugely ambitious city-wide plan
Malaysian ecologistturned-architect Ken Yeang discusses bioclimatic design, his ambivalence toward LEED, and how to design happier cities
Linear Parks
gb&d
HLW International
Cities to Watch
Second to None
Person of Interest
september–october 2014
5
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Table of Contents gb&d September+October 2014 Volume 5, Issue 29
Up Front
Trendsetters
Approach
12 Guest Editor
42 Greg & Charlot Malin
56 Empowered Aerospace
Rob Bennett
14 Editor’s Picks
Happier cities
16 Events Preview
Fall 2014
18 Launch Pad
GreenLancer
20 Notebook A Universal Story
GE Aviation’s EPISCENTER goes for LEED Gold
44 Incorporated
59 Roxul in Mississippi
Three architects combine their separate strengths
The insulation maker has a new green facility
48 El Centro Campus
60 Austin Paves the Way
Northeastern Illinois University’s new billboard
IRONSMITH’s Paver-Grate solves tree issues in Texas
52 Anthony Fieldman
62 CSX’s Green Office
Q&A with the cofounder of RAF|T Architects
The Florida-based railroad company steps forward
67 Next in Net-Zero Marketing
Shea Homes sells a green lifestyle, not just homes
Kingspan joins a rising industry collective
71
Startups Outgrow the Garage
The Cleantech Open gives green startups a leg up
68 Networking Intelligence
64 A Transit Vision
72 Vital Pieces of the Solar Puzzle
Heffner & Weber work to create an airport city
Rethinking the financial side of solar projects
65 Big Data, Smart Design
Inside Cosentry’s efficient new data center
PHOTO: PETER AARON / ESTO (RUTGERS)
80
Bay Area’s finest show off their finest work
6
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
112
Inner Workings
Spaces
76 Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building
112 The Living Treehouse
Maryann Thompson’s Foote School triumph
80 Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy
A bird-friendly high school prototype in Chicago
85 150 Second Street
Elkus Manfredi Architects reimagine ‘smart’ building
86 Whole Foods Market Garden Roof
American Hydrotech helps the grocer grow local
This Boy Scout’s dream retreat is pure green
120 Overlooking History
Ikon.5’s Monmouth museum prizes history
122 Artfully Engineered
New Mexico State builds a LEED Gold arts center
126 Critical Conditions
A new landmark hospital in British Columbia
A $2 billion health center makes good on every cent
130 Hospital of the Future
132 Cure for the Common Cancer Center SwedishAmerican pushes
Next
135 Pushing Buildings Forward
Rohrbach Associates tackles energy efficiency
138 High-Octane Office
Ken Block’s 17-piece modular workspace
143 New Life on Millionaire’s Row
Victory Center spurs health-tech innovation
146 How to Construct a Canyon
Spirae develops game- changing software
160 Disruptive Design
Silicon Valley gets a much- needed shot in the arm
163 Educator in Chief
Ezra Garrett leads PG&E in community relations
165 A Manufacturer’s Methodology
McDonough’s new green Method Products facility
An artificial slot canyon brings real benefits
150 Book It
158 Supply and Demand
Billings builds a new LEED Platinum library
green design in Illinois
Punch List
171 Discussion Board
Creating neighborhoods of the future
173 Trend Watch
Evolving green roofs
174 Material World
“[What makes] cost-effective green design possible isn’t rooted in technology or new materials. It’s just these age-old traditions that have been around forever.” 44 gb&d
Concrete 2.0
176 On the Spot
Rob Bennett
september–october 2014
7
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Masthead gb&d ®
Green Building & Design
Media Inquiries
Guerrero Howe Custom Media
gbdmagazine.com
gbdmagazine.com/media-kit
guerrerohowe.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
CEO / PUBLISHER
Christopher Howe chris@gbdmagazine.com
Laura Heidenreich laura@gbdmagazine.com 312.447.2394
Christopher Howe
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Laura Heidenreich laura@gbdmagazine.com VP OF PRODUCTION
Karin Bolliger MANAGING EDITOR
Timothy A. Schuler tim@gbdmagazine.com ART DIRECTOR
Aaron G. Lewis aaron@gbdmagazine.com
EDITORIAL INQUIRIES
Timothy Schuler tim@gbdmagazine.com 312.256.8487 REPRINTS / BACK ISSUES
Stacy Kraft stacy@guerrerohowe.com 312.256.8460 CUSTOM MEDIA SERVICES
PRESIDENT
Pedro Guerrero UNDERWRITES DIRECTOR
Justin Joseph justin@guerrerohowe.com REPRINTS DIRECTOR
Stacy Kraft stacy@guerrerohowe.com CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR
Cheyenne Eiswald
Jen Illescas jen@gbdmagazine.com 312.256.8483
SENIOR CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Mokena Trigueros
Steven Arroyo
For a free subscription, please visit gbdmagazine.com/sub
DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING & RETENTION
DESIGNER
MAILING
PR DIRECTOR
PHOTO EDITOR, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Caleb Fox COPY EDITOR
David Owens STAFF WRITER
Mary Kenney CONTRIBUTORS
Matt Alderton, Brian Barth, Amy Coombs, Peter Fabris, Emma Janzen, Brian Justice, Russ Klettke, Amy Martino, Alan Oakes, Christopher James Palafox, Lindsey Howald Patton, Joann Plockova, Kathryn Freeman Rathbone, Mary Beth Rohde, Julie Schaeffer, Tina Vasquez, Maureen Wilkey, Jessica Woolliams ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Eric Henley, Alexandra Martinez, JB Martinez, Gina Sabatino, Hannah Seligson, Anna Swiontoniowski, Steven Zucker SALES EXECUTIVES
Green Building & Design 825 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60642 Green Building & Design (gb&d) magazine is published bimonthly by Guerrero Howe, LLC in Chicago, IL. Reprinting of articles is prohibited without permission of Guerrero Howe, LLC. Green Building & Design® is a registered trademark of Guerrero Howe, LLC.
Rebekah Pappas STAFF ACCOUNTANT
Lauren Miller Vianni Busquets EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Cassie Rose RECEPTIONIST
Amanda Paul
Green Building & Design (gb&d) magazine is printed in the United States on FSC® certified paper with 10% post-recycled content using only soy-based inks. The magazine is also available in digital formats through the Apple® App Store or at issuu.com/guerrerohowe.
Drew Armer, Kyle Evangelista, Brendan Healy, Brian Wolff MARKETING SPECIALIST
Jen Illescas
8
september–october 2014
Correction: July/Aug 2014 On p. 118, the landscape design of Travis Price’s Bruneel Residence was incorrectly attributed. The landscape design was by Laura Hassell of NatureLink Design. gb&d regrets the error.
gbdmagazine.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Editor’s Note Scar Tissue
PHOTOS: MARTIN TESSLER, COURTESY OF PERKINS+WILL (COVER); SAMANTHA SIMMONS
As a Kansas farm boy, I didn’t spend a lot of time in cities until high school. Even then, my brother and I had to beg our parents to take us to Seattle or Chicago or New York for that year’s family vacation. How they hated our pleading! To them—farmers who grew up among the statue-like grain silos of western Kansas—cities were hellish places, gratingly loud and oppressive in their density. Although many American cities are becoming more livable, my parents still prefer a tent in the Rockies or a cabin in the Ozarks. I will always appreciate the plains but find myself even more fascinated by urban prairies, steep-walled waterways once crowded with tankers and barges, schools constructed from the bones of former power plants. These interstitial spaces and cyborg-like creations are everywhere in cities. In a city, one constantly engages with history. Manmade, it confronts us with our own mistakes. Polluted rivers, defunct rail lines, vacant lots leftover from more prosperous times. Like scar tissue, the evidence of our cities’ wounds are gnarled and conspicuous. But these scars very often present opportunities. In fact, in many cases, the urban tissue can be healed, reanimated. One of the most exciting trends in urban planning today is the creation of linear parks. Fueled by the success of New York’s High Line, these urban greenways are cropping up in St. Louis, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York (take two!). In almost every case, the vegetated paths for pedestrians and cyclists are being built from the bones of abandoned transportation infrastructure. As Lindsey Howald Patton writes in her exploration of five radically different linear parks on p. 24, “They all share a common understanding—that this is a crucial moment in the tale of adaptive reuse. Because who knows? In a hundred years it may be our abandoned interstate highway system under deliberation. Remove or revive? Abandon or preserve?” What makes a city great? This question can be, and has been, debated vigorously, and new rankings gb&d
are published almost weekly. Comparing things as complex as cities is hard to do, and I tend to think it sometimes devalues the unique narrative of each place. So for our Cities Issue this year, we chose three cities with a story worth telling. They aren’t necessarily list-toppers, but each has something to teach us. Vancouver for instance, is leveraging its rich educational and business culture to create sustainability incubators that, in turn, invest in new green technologies and urban ideas (p. 102). Washington, DC, has focused on transit and municipal policies that are helping to evolve the very nature of the city (p. 96). And a post-recession Las Vegas has become a desert hub for entrepreneurs and startups and a model for aggressive water efficiency (p. 90). Cities are not static, and neither is the way we approach them. In our conversation that begins on p. 12, guest editor Rob Bennett and I discuss two recent developments with far-reaching implications: the Ocean in Portland, Oregon, and Kaka’ako in Honolulu. Both represent a departure from traditional models of real estate development. As Rob says, “I think the reset of the economy has yet to be understood as far as how entrepreneurialism takes root, especially with young people.” In other words, what happens next is anyone’s guess. Cheers,
Timothy A. Schuler, Managing Editor tim@gbdmagazine.com ON THE COVER Few projects better illustrate Vancouver’s recent investment in green building hubs and environmental entrepreneurship than the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability. Martin Tessler’s photo perfectly captures its stunning architecture and urban setting.
september–october 2014
9
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Index People & Companies
# 1 Hotel, 45 A Agensys, Inc., 37 Aguirre, Lia, 141 Akindele, Anthony, 81 American Hydrotech, 86 Architectural Applications, 72 Area Design, 141 Arup, 50 Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., 32 B Baca, Stephanie, 40 Bayer MaterialScience, 69 Benfield, Kaid, 99 Bennett, Doug, 92 Bennett, Rob, 12 Benroth, Gabriel, 45 Berry, Thomas, 20 Bertram, Paul, 68 Bio-Tecture, 78 Black, Jason, 65 Block, Ken, 140 Bluebird Bio, 85 BNIM, 114 Boy Scouts of America, 114 Brantwood Consulting, 105 Breaking Ground Contracting, 64 C California Department of Education, 164 Canada Green Building Council, 105 Capital Bikeshare, 99 Capps, Scott, 65 Carr, May, 147 Carrier, 65 Cassias, Casey, 114 CEI Architecture, 127 Ceres, 163 Cherian, Sunil, 158 Chicago Infrastructure Trust, 156 Chiotti, Roberto, 20 Chivetta, Chris, 56 CitiesAlive, 16 City of Austin, 60 City of Chicago, 154 City of Fort Collins, 158 City of Las Vegas, 92 Clark Construction, 100 Cleantech Law Partners, 72 Cleantech Open, 71 Coady, Teresa, 108 Colorado State University, 158 Connolly, Brendan, 114 Conrath, Doug, 39 Cosentry, 65 Costanzo, Jennifer, 82 CRB, 39 CSX Corporation, 62 D David Nelson and Associates, 119 Divvy, 155 Dourlein, Peter, 147 Downtown Project, 90
10
september–october 2014
Drake, Nettie, 159 E Eastern Michigan University, 152 Eat, 90 Echelman, Janet, 107 Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, 133 EcoCommercial Building, 68 EcoDistricts, 13 EcoFactor, 72 Elkus Manfredi Architects, 85 Elston Windows, 49 Emanuel, Rahm, 154 Emerson, 65 Enermodal Engineering, 128 Envision Solar, 165 ET Solar, 49 Evans, Glenn, 132 FANWALL, 85 F Fieldman, Anthony, 52 FH Paschen, 80 FortZED, 158 Foss, Martha, 76 Foster + Partners, 160 Foundation Medicine, 85 Francis, Allan, 127 Friends of the Rail Park, 26 G Garson, Scott, 143 Gehl Studio, 136 General Electric, 56 Georgia Institute of Technology, 33 Gerhardstein, Carl, 62 GLHN Architects & Engineers, 147 Goodland, Helen, 102 Gravel, Ryan, 33 Gray, Vincent, 96 Green City Growers, 86 GreenLancer, 18 H Habitat for Humanity, 163 Hahs, Sharon, 49 Hastings+Chivetta, 56 Hayden, Richard, 86 Heffner & Weber, 64 Heffner, Sam, 64 Heider, Beth, 99 HH Angus, 130 HiVE Vancouver, 102 HLW International, 37 HOK Architects, 161 Hoonigan Racing Division, 140 Hsieh, Tony, 90 Humanscale, 38 I Ignite Clean Energy, 71 Ikon.5 Architects, 120 Incorporated, 45 Interisland Terminal, 125 International Facility Management Association, 16 IRONSMITH, 60 J J. Craig Venter Institute, 145
Jacobs, Scott, 160 Jamieson-Ricca, 144 Jenn-Air, 67 Jensen, Richard, 151 JGMA, 48 Jonaitis, David, 48 K Kamehameha Schools, 125 Kaplan, Susan, 37 Kasian, 108 KDENT, 135 Keeton, Gene, 135 Kingspan Insulated Panels, 68 Klein, Les, 27 Kocak, Fulya, 100 Kohler Ronan Engineers, 123 L Landbank Investments, 160 Landry, Paul, 130 Larkin Architect Limited, 20 Ledcor Review, 109 Lembo, Steve, 123 Lesny, Daryl, 81 Lewis, Colby, 80 Lindberg, Chris, 102 Line Hotel, 45 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 73 Louis E. Page, Inc., 87 Lowry, Adam, 165 Lucid, 72 M MacDonald, James, 64 MacFadyen, Iain, 128 Madan, Shiraz, 72 Malin, Charlot, 42 Malin, Greg, 42 Martin, John, 85 Maryann Thompson Architects, 76 McCabe, Patrick, 18 McDonald, Morgan, 109 McDonough, Bill, 165 McLaren, Leslie, 59 Method Products, 165 Miller Electric Company, 64 Mithun, 114 Morelab, 136 Moreno, Juan, 48 Morris, Paul, 32 Motorola Mobility, 155 Mueller, Thomas, 105 Murphy, Leah, 26 Musk, Elon, 67 N NAI Daus, 143 National Park Service, 144 Natural Resources Defense Council, 99 Nature Conservancy, 165 Nelson Byrd Woltz, 114 Net Impact, 164 New Belgium Brewing, 158 New Mexico State University, 122 New Mexico Travertine, 124
Nexlight, 37 Nia Architects, 80 Northeastern Illinois University, 48 Northen, Rex, 71 NRG Energy, 159 P Pacific Gas & Electric, 163 Panasonic, 37 Park, Kibum, 28 Parkin Architects, 127 Passive House Institute US, 16 Perkins+Will, 33 Perrigo, Tom, 92 Platte River Power Authority, 159 Q Quadrangle Architects, 27 R RAAD Studio, 28 RADIUS Ventures, 102 RAF|T Architects, 52 Rain Bird, 87 Ramsey, James, 28 Read Custom Soils, 86 Rebar, 136 Recover Green Roofs, 86 Red Fire Farm, 87 Retrofit Chicago, 156 Rey, Humberto, 60 Richard & Bauer Architects, 147 Ringland-Johnson Construction, 132 Robertson, Gregor, 105 Robinson, John, 105 Rockwind, 165 Rockwool International, 59 Rohrbach Associates, 135 Rohrbach, Steve, 135 Rolston, Adam, 45 Ross Barney Architects, 31 Ross Barney, Carol, 31 Roxul Inc., 59 S Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, 133 Sacramone, Kim, 37 Saint Gabriel’s Passionist Church, 20 Santos-Brault, Eesmyal, 102 Schickendantz, Roger, 165 Sharber, Michael, 18 Shea Homes, 67 SHIFT, 94 Simon Fraser University, 102 Skanska, 99 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 52 Smith, Ryan, 67 Soak, 136 Solar City, 67 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 27 Southern Nevada Water Authority, 92 Spilman, John, 72
Spirae, 158 Stark, Nick, 130 Starwood Hotels, 45 State of Illinois, 165 Stewart, Drew, 45 STR Partners, 80 Studio Bryan Hanes, 27 Sumner, Dennis, 158 Surrey Memorial Hospital, 127 Sustainable Capital Finance, 72 SwedishAmerican Health System, 132 Swope Construction, 118 Sydell Group, 45 T Tappouni, Mary, 62 Tattoni, Joe, 120 TED, 107 Tesla Motors, 94 Texas Stone Quarries, 124 The Foote School, 76 Thompson, Maryann, 76 Trane, 67 Tregoning, Harriet, 96 Trolle, Peter, 62 Troon Pacific, 42 U Uber, 94 United Nations, 72 University of Arizona, 147 University of British Columbia, 105 University of Dayton, 56 University of Iowa, 135 University of Montreal, 130 US Department of Energy, 158 USGBC, 99 V Vancouver Technology Centre, 105 VanMeter, Paul, 26 Vavrina, Brian, 60 Vegas Tech Fund, 94 Vinci, Michael, 133 Vrajitoru, Cosmin, 50 W Walke, Greg, 122 Ware, Zach, 90 Water Conservation Technology International, 65 Weber, Mitch, 64 Weigert, Karen, 154 Weight Watchers International, 37 Whole Foods Market, 86 Will Bruder + Partners, 151 William McDonough + Partners, 165 Winterer, Mark, 86 WORKSBUREAU, 151 Y Young, Natalie, 90 Z Zappos, 90 ZGF Architects, 145
gbdmagazine.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
12 Guest Editor
EcoDistricts CEO Rob Bennett talks community organizing
14 Editor’s Picks
Our recommendations for making happier, healthier cities
16 Events Preview
Highlights from this fall’s top events
18 Launch Pad
Startup GreenLancer is hoping to streamline energy projects
20 Notebook
A spiritual exploration of Roberto Chiotti’s ‘eco-theology’
september–october 2014
11
Rob Bennett is the founder and CEO of EcoDistricts, a nonprofit neighborhood-centered urban sustainability organization based in Portland, OR.
UP FRONT
Guest Editor Rob Bennett
Rob Bennett caught the community development bug early. As a kid, Bennett thought he might become a boat builder—a majority of his Massachusetts family and friends were somehow involved in the trade—but at 22, with a master’s degree in landscape architecture and regional planning from the University of Massachusetts– Amherst, Bennett swapped coasts and professions. He got involved with community organizing and witnessed the transformative power of people working together for a common purpose. The power of strong neighborhoods. After working to shape municipal green-building policy from inside city government, both in Portland and Vancouver, Bennett founded the Portland Sustainability Institute, an incubator for green ideas and actions. In 2013, the group changed its name to EcoDistricts and made what had been just one of many initiatives its central focus. As the CEO of EcoDistricts, Bennett’s mission is to “accelerate sustainable district- and neighborhood-scale regeneration.” By focusing on the neighborhood, the nonprofit leverages a long-overlooked but powerful urban actor and leapfrogs past institutions focused solely on greening single buildings. Combining youthful energy with a shrewd intellectual understanding of policy, development, and design, Bennett is building a movement whose denizens are anyone and everyone. For this issue, Bennett selected Washington, DC—which hosts the EcoDistricts Summit this month—as our third city to watch (p. 96), curated our Editor’s Picks (p. 14), and much more (see below). —Timothy Schuler, managing editor
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett
PART 1 GOOD FRICTION gb&d: Tell me about your community organizing days. Where were you living when you started? Bennett: I was brand new to Portland. Portland has a very unique neighborhood governance model in that the city helps support local organizing at the neighborhood level, meaning they support professional staff who then are in service to the neighborhoods. I broke into that when I was 22 years old. I was drawn to Portland for its neighborhoods, for its planning, for its community ethos. I did that for a couple years before I went to graduate school. It really set the tone for my interest in how neighborhoods work and don’t work, and sort of who shows up to participate and who doesn’t.
PHOTO: EUGÉNIE FRERICHS
gb&d: What got you into the idea of advocacy and organizing? Bennett: I just had a real intellectual interest in the intersection of community development, sustainability—before we called it “sustainability,” issues of urban environmentalism—and social justice. Having witnessed and grown up in a part of the world that I think is more stratified economically, and oftentimes racially [than other parts of the US], what was interesting in Portland and in the neighborhoods I was working in was that they were economically diverse and, to a certain extent, they were diverse from a gender, race, and age perspective too. I saw a lot of friction in these neighborhoods—good friction, meaning people were rubbing up against one another and were actively trying to deal with issues of conflict and that kind of togetherness. I really liked that. I saw a rich environment in which to work. I guess, in a way, I saw what neighborhoods bring to the table. In addition to selecting Washington, DC, as our third city, Bennett helped curate this issue’s Project Spotlights and commented on the green innovation happening in Las Vegas and Vancouver.
gb&d
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT 1. Impressed by Las Vegas, p. 90 2. Vancouver’s rapid change, p. 102 3. Future neighborhoods, p. 171 4. A net-zero lab building, p. 145 5. The gb&d questionnaire, p. 176
gb&d: Since we’re talking about Portland, how do you adapt something that’s being tested in Portland to cities with different The conversation continues on p. 16
september–october 2014
13
UP FRONT
Editor’s Picks Happier Cities Text by Rob Bennett
14
TECHNOLOGY PENCIL BY FIFTYTHREE
RESOURCE EARTH (THE WEBSITE)
PRODUCT SILICON ENERGY SOLAR PANELS
BOOK HAPPY CITY BY CHARLES MONTGOMERY
PERSON KEVIN CAVENAUGH
PLACE ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Pencil is a stylish Bluetooth stylus for the iPad that looks like a carpenter’s pencil. When paired with FiftyThree’s Paper app, it becomes a powerful tool to bring design ideas to life. fiftythree.com
Earth is an online visualization of global weather conditions designed by Cameron Beccario using Java script. It is incredibly useful explaining climate phenomena to design teams, especially regional scale wind flows like the shamal winds in the Persian Gulf. You can wind back the clock to recent dates and times to track the course of weather events. Hypnotic and cool. earth.nullschool.net
These are simply the best and most carefully designed solar panels to date. All are made locally in the Seattle area from almost all local materials. Plus, they come complete with an ILFI Declare label. silicon-energy.com
Award-winning Canadian journalist Charles Montgomery’s fascinating new book examines how lessons from psychology, neuroscience, and design activism can help us fix broken cities and neighborhoods and improve our quality of life in an increasingly urban-centered world. He speaks at the EcoDistricts Summit in Washington, DC, on September 25. thehappycity.com
The owner of Guerrilla Development reflects the best of Portland’s collective values related to place-making. An architect, developer, and mad scientist rolled up into one, Kevin takes a wholly different approach to how neighborhood vibrancy is conceived. guerrilladev.co
Rotterdam is hell-bent on turning the image of the gritty port city on its head, using sustainability as the driver for change. Europe’s largest port and one of the world’s worst offenders when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the city has a bold plan to remake itself through the application of green building and infrastructure strategies to enhance livability and resiliency and protect against rising sea levels.
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: ARTUR BOGACKI (ROTTERDAM)
Clockwise from top left
Tork
®
The Preferred Premium Towel More class A building employees prefer* Tork MB572 Premium Hand Towel over Kleenex 01500 and Signature 23000. ®
®
®
Feel for yourself. Start a free trial at torkusa.com/feelfree *In third-party conducted blind comparison tests with Class A building employees, Tork MB572 preferred vs. Kleenex 01500 and Tork MB572 preferred vs. Signature 23000
© 2014 SCA Tissue North America LLC. All rights reserved. Tork® is a registered trademark of SCA Tissue North America LLC, or its affiliates.
UP FRONT
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett Continued from p. 13
challenges? I’m thinking specifically about diversity and minority communities, since Portland is seventy-five percent white. How do neighborhoods there compare to, say, neighborhoods in Washington, DC, or Atlanta or Texas? Bennett: That’s a really rich and difficult question. I would say a couple things: One, as it relates to how Portland is relevant, it is seventy-five-percent white, but it’s going through a lot of changes from a diversity perspective. It’s quite a diverse city when it comes to economic [status], religious affiliation, etcetera. It’s a bit of a false setup to suggest that Portland doesn’t struggle with issues of diversity and diverse thinking because that comes in all shapes and sizes. I think economic stratification is one of the biggest challenges we have. In a city like Portland, which is poorer than the average city in the US and suffers from higher levels of poverty and childhood hunger, those issues are right here to deal with. I think that makes Portland relevant. Sustainability action here is not something born out of a Portlandia skit.
“It’s a bit of a false setup to suggest that Portland doesn’t struggle with issues of diversity and diverse thinking.” As far as the framework goes, it’s a loose-fit framework. If the goal is to create more sustainable, more robust, vibrant, resilient—however you want to describe it ecologically—and supportive and friendly neighborhoods, we felt you can’t narrow that down to a set of prescriptive strategies and sort of reductionist metrics. You have to build it around process. And if you’re building it around process, you’re building it around either good process or lousy process. Good process means it’s inclusive. We think there’s a lot to learn from corporate sustainability strategy. Companies that have been successful around sustainability goals have done so because they’ve deeply embedded it and engaged their stakeholders, their clients, and their employees and created an inclusive strategy that transcends different business units. That kind of thinking is where we start with the EcoDistricts framework. If we take a
Events Preview Fall 2014
IFMA 2014 World Workplace As the International Facility Management Association’s (IFMA) flagship event, the World Workplace Conference and Expo has big plans for New Orleans this year. From September 17-19, facility management professionals, educators, authors, students, and exhibiting companies from around the world will convene to network and learn managing practices and leadership skills under the theme of “FM + Strategy x Innovation = Your Formula for Success.” CEO and founder of ChangeLabs and author of “Generation Y” Peter Sheahan will give one of four keynote presentations, and four new learning labs have been added to the roster of events. worldworkplace.org 2014 EcoDistricts Summit The EcoDistricts Summit returns for its sixth annual appearance this September 24-26. Last year’s Summit in Boston attracted over 400 attendees from 114 cities around the globe to the three-day event that highlights how leaders of all kinds can come together to transform cities through sustainable neighborhood- and district-scale development. Washington, DC, is this year’s host, with local active projects such as the SW Ecodistrict, DowntownDC Ecodistrict, and St. Elizabeth’s/Congress Heights providing attendees a chance to see first-hand how community-driven sustainable development projects work in the nation’s capital. ecodistrictssummit.org
CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference Did you know Nashville was named a top destination for green meetings by Greenbiz.com this year? Sounds like the perfect excuse to visit. The 12th annual CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference will take place there this November 12-15 and will feature over 75 speakers, a trade show, and much more. Attendees can participate in a Net Zero Water boot camp that explores practical tools for harvesting, using, storing, and reusing water on site; hear an irrigation discussion led by industry veteran Lynda Whiteman; and eat local barbeque at the Whiskey Bent Saloon. citiesalive.org North American Passive House Conference Passive House Institute US will present the ninth annual North American Passive House Conference in the San Francisco bay area from September 10-14 (see below). Keynote speakers include William Rose, the senior research architect at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Achilles Karagiozis, the director of building science at Owens Corning. A tour of Passive House projects in the Bay Area will also take place on the 14th. naphc2014.phius.org
DON’T MISS gb&d’s 2014 Passive House Special Edition Take a tour of the Passive House movement in San Francisco, check out Seattle’s first Passive House, and learn about the case for climate-specific energy metrics in the United States. All this and more in this one-of-akind special edition, the official publication of the 9th Annual North American Passive House Conference. Didn’t get a copy? Email Stacy Kraft to order yours! stacy@guerrerohowe.com
The conversation continues on p. 18
16
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
UP FRONT
Continued from p. 16
collaborative-governance and collective-impact approach, we can get stakeholders and investors who work at the neighborhood level to a common understanding and, ultimately, to common goals. That can happen in Detroit, that can happen in New York City, that can happen in Portland. gb&d: It’s interesting to hear you say that some of that process is borrowed from corporate sustainability strategies, given that sometimes that gets a bad rap, like, it’s just a PR thing or it’s greenwashing. I’m sure there are plenty of community organizers out there who don’t want to hear what corporate America has to offer. It sounds like you’re approaching it by listening to what works, not judging something based on stereotypes. Bennett: Exactly. I mean, let’s be honest, I’m not talking about greenwashing—I’m talking about companies that have made progress around the Global Reporting Initiative and BCorp and that are taking it seriously. Just like in green building, there’s plenty of earnest and rigorous work going on and plenty of greenwashing—and in community organizing and planning, there are those who take a more authentic approach to engagement, and there are those who take an approach of a professional presenting scenarios but ultimately coming with predetermined decision-making, which frustrates everybody. PART 2 DUDE, NEED MY CAR? gb&d: A philosophy of mine is that everything comes down to relationships. When we know someone and are in relationship with them, trust comes really naturally. Collaboration comes naturally. Listening comes naturally. But we become so adversarial with strangers, whether we’re walking down the street or sitting in a community meeting. It gets messy very quickly. EcoDistricts, by definition and by design, is all about relationships—between buildings and between people. Do any moments come to mind where you saw things click and you saw people get past things that could have held them back from making progress? Bennett: I think that happened in a variety of large and—well, mostly small ways. We witnessed some of that happening on the Olympic Village project [in Vancouver]. There was great continuity and great cohesion on that project up until the moment the The conversation continues on p. 21
18
september–october 2014
Launch Pad GreenLancer
This Detroit-headquartered but cloudbased engineering company may revolutionize the field By Tina Vasquez Starting a company with a friend can be a scary thing. After all, a good friendship doesn’t necessarily translate into a strong business partnership. Thankfully, Michael Sharber and Patrick McCabe had a solid foundation on which to build when starting GreenLancer, a Web-based engineering company that facilitates the design of green energy systems via the cloud.
The pair met while attending elementary school in Metro Detroit and grew up playing sports together. In college, they developed entirely different skill sets, manifest in their current roles: Sharber as CEO, McCabe as chief technology officer. GreenLancer connects freelance renewable energy engineers with companies and contractors looking for green expertise. GreenLancer’s founders are breaking down the industry’s project-development process by turning each step into a standardized, technical document capable of being ordered online. When a customer orders one of these documents, the company’s cloud-based platform mobi-
“What we’re offering is a total overhaul, and that can be difficult to adapt to.” Patrick McCabe, GreenLancer
PHOTOS: DOUGLAS ELBINGER
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett
UP FRONT
Medical Devices
Energy
Information Technology
lizes green-energy experts, drastically reducing the soft costs associated with developing sustainable projects. “Our website operates like a virtual assembly line, making engineering both quick and affordable,” Sharber says. One of the company’s biggest initial challenges was a little unusual for a startup: GreenLancer was simply too innovative. Disrupting the status quo can be a difficult process, especially in an industry as old as engineering. Needless to say, not everyone embraced the company, especially in the early stages. But things have shifted. Clients now recognize the value of the service GreenLancer offers, especially those who don’t live in centers of solar energy development. “The pushback was understandable because what we’re offering is a total overhaul, and that can be difficult to adapt to,” McCabe says. “What also makes us unique is our emphasis on customer service. Even if we’re working ‘in the cloud,’ we’re still very much about customer service. We’ve actually double-downed on gb&d
Michael Sharber (above) and Patrick McCabe at the GreenLancer offices.
it. In traditional engineering, customer support is pretty low on the totem pole in terms of what’s important. We’re flipping the paradigm.” GreenLancer is currently in the midst of launching what may be another game-changer: GreenLancer U. After completing a series of online programs, participants can be certified through GreenLancer, which enables them to take on their own GreenLancer projects, expanding their business and reach. “We qualify our freelancers on accreditation, education, and work experience,” Sharber says. “From there, we group them into talents pools based skillsets. These talent pools are like digital unions. We offer training for the different talent pools, which helps participants expand their skills and develop best practices. Through training and education, we’re helping people move up the solar industry and no one benefits more than the clients.” gb&d
Providing Quality Worship Furnishings Since 1919 In The United States and Canada
AJ & J Furniture Inc. 1-866-813-8515 | andrew@ajjfurniture.com www.ajjfurniture.com
New Holland Church Furniture www.newhollandwood.com
The conversation continues on p. 18
september–october 2014
19
UP FRONT
Notebook A Universal Story By Alan Oakes
The ceiling of Saint Gabriel’s Passionist Church in Toronto hovers above the worship space like a billowing tent. As its horizontal line moves beyond the south-facing curtain wall of glass, it entices the worshipper’s gaze to move outdoors, where the canopy extension of the ceiling bends dramatically upward, revealing a naturalistic garden beyond and the sky above. The visual and spatial qualities were well considered by the parish’s designer, Roberto Chiotti, who believes humanity’s connection with nature and the complex, life-giving dynamics revealed in the evolution of the universe are where architecture can engage transcendence. The worship space at St. Gabriel’s is a manifestation of this understanding. “Over billions of years, nature has figured it out and does it much better,” says Chiotti, the principal architect of Larkin Architect Limited. “There is so much to learn from the Earth. It is only through arrogance that we would choose to ignore this reality.” Chiotti relied on the eco-theology of Passionist Father Thomas Berry to inform his design choices for St. Gabriel’s—indeed, his entire approach to architecture. Berry’s writings, Chiotti says, demand a re-examination of the basic premise that humans are all-important and everything else is to be exploited for our benefit. What is essential in our modern era, he says, is the need for a radical rethinking of how we relate to our world. “We need to embrace a new cosmology based upon the universe story, which will help us to relinquish our exploitive relationship with the
“Transcendent architecture isn’t just religious architecture. Any building that transports us to a sense of something bigger than ourselves is transcendent.” Roberto Chiotti, Larkin Architect Limited
20
september–october 2014
DETAILS
Earth, and which will inspire us toward a relationship that is mutually enhancing,” Chiotti says, explaining Berry’s imperative. Through studying the 14.5 billion years of the universe’s evolution, Chiotti believes architects can discover unlimited creative solutions about sustainability and the interdependence of systems. “As architects, we cannot help but be creative because of all the creativity that exists within the natural world around us,” he says. If that sounds too complicated, Chiotti tries to boil it down. “We’re trying to make buildings that promote the love of nature and—taking that big-picture perspective—designing as if the Earth was our client.” Some would call this biomimicry, but Chiotti isn’t content with this notion. “I think ‘biomimicry’ is too limited of a term,” he says. “What is required is nothing less than ‘biophilia,’ a deep and intimate understanding, appreciation, and love for what the Earth provides for the human community and for us as designers.” St. Gabriel’s, completed in 2006 and the first worship facility in Canada to achieve LEED Gold certification, is a catechesis of
LOCATION Toronto, Canada Program Church, parking structure, park area Size 21,614 ft2 Completion 2 007 Architect Larkin Architect Limited
the principles of eco-theology. By clearly illuminating the beauty and value of the materials used in its construction, the facility promotes a consciousness around responsible use of non-renewable resources. The design incorporates passive solar energy and daylight and storm-water harvesting, facilitating a connection between interior and exterior worlds. “Sacred space is meant to reground us, recenter us, and reorient us—to give us a sense of meaning and purpose as we live out our lives,” Chiotti says. The architect believes healthy environments that sustain and nurture all life are transcendent, regardless of their programmatic function. “Transcendent architecture isn’t just religious architecture,” he says. “Any building that connects us with the collective, the community— the interconnection of all things—and that transports us to a sense of something gbdmagazine.com
UP FRONT
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett Continued from p. 18
developer was chosen and they brought their set of expectations and new experts to the table. We really had to mediate and negotiate, and it wasn’t a pretty process. But we all had to stick with it, and, ultimately, decisions got made. There’s a lot of juice in the EcoDistricts movement, broadly, a lot of excitement, and a willingness to roll up the sleeves. That’s not to say that many of the same power dynamics don’t exist—they do. We’re talking about a model [that is] about sharing power and sharing decision-making. These are things cities don’t do particularly well. gb&d: Do you think car-sharing and some of the other budding ideas around communal living have helped prepare people for this movement?
bigger than ourselves—the great mystery of existence—is transcendent.” Chiotti says architects must begin to challenge the presuppositions of a worldview that has inextricably led us to the ecological challenges we face today. “Ultimately, the health of humanity is wholly dependent upon the health of the planet,” he says. “I feel compelled to make sure that whatever I design contributes to continuing differentiation and diversity in a way that honors and celebrates the building materials that the Earth provides us. Everything has value and subjectivity and therefore should be used in a sustainable way. Eco-theology has helped me come to appreciate that true sustainability can only be achieved when we acknowledge the sacred dimension of not just the human, but of all creation.” gb&d
ALAN OAKES is an architectural historian, writer, documentarian, and regular contributor to gb&d. He lives outside Austin, Texas.
THIS SPREAD Saint Gabriel’s Passionist Parish incorporates passive solar energy and other natual featues to create a connection between the building and the Earth. Its use of light reinforces the intended transcendent experience.
Bennett: I think it has. I think there’s so much innovation and new models of collaborative consumption, the sharing economy, that underpins a willingness—I think social media is playing a very interesting role in that, obviously. It’s providing new mechanisms for people to connect in ways that might be more comfortable for them. The rap on cohousing, for instance, was always, “Oh god, you’re gonna spend ten years deciding on the paint scheme.” [People think] everything has to be done in a very deliberate and democratic way. Well, there are new models that are accelerating that and allowing people to feel, in a very real way, that they are plugging in and participating,
“The sharing economy is providing new economic models to take all these appreciating assets we have and make better use of them.” but not necessarily with the level of intensity that some of these earlier models suggest. I think the sharing economy is providing new economic models to take all these appreciating assets we have and make better use of them. In the process, it’s helping to bring down a lot of barriers about, you know, what does it mean to have some dude hop in my car and drive off? What’s it mean to have people constantly come in to my basement suite or even into one of my bedrooms? On my way to this call with you, I biked by a great project here called the Ocean. The conversation continues on p. 171
gb&d
september–october 2014
21
WHEN CHOOSING BETWEEN QUALITY AND COST. DON’T.
The Vitocrossal 200 CM2 is the premium product that you expect from Viessmann, at prices you might not. Learn how you can spec the best heating solution for every budget and application at viessmann-us.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
LINEAR PARKS
25 Rail Park
An elevated greenway plays off the industrial history of a Philly viaduct
27 Gardiner Green Ribbon
A radical proposal to put four miles of green roof over a Toronto expressway
28 The Lowline
Unique skylights could bring life to an disused Manhattan trolley terminal
30 The 606
Chicago’s elevated thoroughfare adds new green space and bike lanes
32 Atlanta BeltLine
The most ambitious project of its kind will circle an entire downtown area
september–october 2014
23
TYPOLOGY
The great railroad dynasties of North America have waned, leaving stations, rail spurs, and viaducts rusting away in our post-industrial cities. Tearing them down is one way of dealing with them, but it’s an expensive, inefficient, and environmentally harmful option that erases significant pieces of transportation history. Several visionaries have chosen another route. Following the opening of the High Line in New York in 2009, the concept of the linear park as a new use for this infrastructure has swept the North American continent.
24
These parks are the passion projects of volunteers, architects, startups, and others. Some are, after years and even decades of advocacy and fundraising, finally coming to fruition. Others are still only on the drawing board. But they all share a common understanding—that this is a crucial moment in the tale of adaptive reuse. Because who knows? In a hundred years it may be our abandoned interstate highway system under deliberation. Remove or revive? Abandon or preserve? These five linear park projects are setting precedents right now that may determine how we deal with those questions. september–october 2014
By Lindsey Howald Patton 24
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
TYPOLOGY
LINEAR
1
PA R K S
Rail Park In Philadelphia, a first-phase design plays off of a railroad viaduct’s industrial history and enticingly illicit vibe of the 1990s
The full scope of Philly’s Rail Park project spans three different sections with three different owners, but a successful first phase may spark the full green makeover of the Reading Railroad viaduct.
gb&d
september–october 2014
25
TYPOLOGY
T
he Viaduct may have been abandoned in downtown Philadelphia, but it wasn’t forgotten. Overtaking the wooden ties and metal rails of the once-mighty Reading Railroad are native grasses, fledgling trees, and flowering weeds, which rooted in the rock ballast after train services ceased in 1984. During the 1990s, this lopsided, wishbone-shaped section of passenger and freight—which has various alternate names—became a favorite trespass for Philadelphians. Artists, photographers, landscape designers, and urban adventurers alike celebrated this slice of rusting, graffiti-covered infrastructure overcome by hardy greenery.
It didn’t take long for some of them to start talking about preserving the old byway. The late garden designer Paul VanMeter was one, leading tours of “Philly’s Secret Urban Jungle” and founding VIADUCTgreene in 2010. The group rebranded as Friends of the Rail Park, then merged in late 2013 with another dedicated, artist-led preservation effort: the Reading Viaduct Project.
THIS PAGE T he curving, quarter-mile first phase of Philly’s Rail Park creates several access points and pedestrian paths flanked by new and existing vegetation. “It’s already a garden up there,” says Leah Murphy, president of Friends of the Rail Park.
DETAILS LOCATION Philadelphia Previous Use Railroad viaduct Status In planning, expected opening 2016 Length 0.25 miles (Phase 1), 3 miles (total) Owner/Advocate Friends of the Rail Park Architect S tudio Bryan Hanes
26
september–october 2014
“They understood that this derelict structure was actually an asset to the city, rather than a liability,” says Leah Murphy, an urban designer and president of Friends of the Rail Park today. Hopes for the park are larger than the quarter-mile-long Phase 1, which breaks ground within the year; there are actually three miles of potential linear parkland available. Interconnected and highly dynamic, the east Ninth Street Branch and west City Branch shift from soaring elevations to un-ceilinged valleys 30 feet below street level, offering diverse views of historic Philadelphia architecture and coming parallel with some of the city’s greatest cultural attractions, including the Barnes Foundation, Rodin Museum, and Philadelphia Museum of Art. The gbdmagazine.com
TYPOLOGY
“Over and over again people have said, ‘The High Line is not what we want,’” Murphy says. “The design has to be gritty and wild and spontaneous, not polished and slick. Our project has to be Philly.”
catch? Three different sections of rail belong to three different owners. While the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), owner of the Phase 1 section, has given its piece over to the parkland vision, the others haven’t yet cooperated. Rather than wait, the park’s longtime advocates hope that completing even this small section, designed by Studio Bryan Hanes, will illustrate the project’s potential and leverage political support for the rest. Studio Bryan Hanes’s design for the SEPTA spur plays off the Viaduct’s industrial history and enticingly illicit vibe of the 1990s. North of Phase 1, artists once guerilla-installed swings so people could soar from the catenary supports. “They’re really cool,” Murphy says with a laugh. So, Studio Bryan Hanes followed suit by creating public swings amid the park’s grassy swells, pedestrian pathways, and outdoor learning spaces for the nearby community college and primary schools to use. To achieve a lower cost-per-squarefoot and a passive landscaping strategy, the design highlights the wild urban flora that sprouted during two decades of neglect, as opposed to removing it. “It’s not going to be this formal, decorative approach to planting,” Murphy says. “It’s already a garden up there. There’s thistle, plantain, mullion, lamb’s ear—it’s beautiful.” Like all those galvanizing efforts to create linear parks in the United States and beyond, New York’s High Line looms large as a success story. But for Philadelphians, the Rail Park is truly a homegrown project. “Over and over again people have said, ‘The High Line is not what we want,’” Murphy says. “The design has to be gritty and wild and spontaneous, not polished and slick. Our project has to be Philly.” gb&d gb&d
LINEAR
2
PA R K S
Gardiner Green Ribbon A radical proposal for a Toronto expressway would create a four-mile greenway and solve some of the structure’s biggest issues
A ABOVE The Gardiner Green Ribbon would create 3.6 million square feet of green roofing for Toronto and heal the eyesore of the city’s massive, outdated expressway.
behemoth of midcentury structural engineering, Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway perches high on aging steel columns, carrying a daily blur of high-speed traffic along the lakefront. But on just one day each year, during the Ride for Heart fundraiser, the Gardiner closes to cars and gives cyclists exclusive access to its beeline into the city’s heart. It was on one of these bike rides, in 2008, that Les Klein came up with the idea of a park that is actually a roof. And not just any roof, but one that sits right on top of the highway. “I’m an architect, so I have about a hundred ideas a day,” says Klein, who founded Quadrangle Architects
in 1986. “But the more I examined this one, the more it made sense.” Many of the structural issues faced by the Gardiner—issues that have caused factions in the city to call for the expressway’s demolition—are weather-related. A covering would protect the road from the elements, reducing corrosive salt and heavy snowplows during the winter. The Gardiner’s east-west orientation is also a safety hazard, with sun glares impairing visibility for commuters. Klein’s elevated park could be an effective sun visor. Covered in plant life, the roof also would reduce heat island effect. “Urban agriculture, too,” Klein says. “Opportunities for display of art. Filming. Charity september–october 2014
27
TYPOLOGY
walks, runs, and rides.” His passion project, the Gardiner Green Ribbon, was born. Quadrangle Architects has become known for adaptive reuse projects, so reinventing the city’s existing transportation infrastructure is right in Klein’s wheelhouse. “I happen to love the Gardiner as a piece of engineering,” he says. “I love its iconographic history as well. When it was built, it was considered a symbol of progress. It meant that Toronto had finally arrived. But now, after years of benign—or maybe not-so-benign— neglect, it has suffered from no improvement, no maintenance other than the bare minimum, and it looks old and tired.” Because the Gardiner Expressway is already operating at structural capacity, the Green Ribbon would be structurally independent, supported by a bridge-like series of columned supports made accessible by elevators, ramps, and stairs at every major intersection and elevated up to 80 feet. The flora-filled swath would cover nearly half of the Gardiner’s 11 miles, creating 3.6 million square feet of green roof in the process. Bike paths and pedestrian meanders would traverse the landscape, and cafes, shops, galleries, and other amenities might be sprinkled throughout it. A photovoltaic system would provide enough energy to light the ground, expressway, and Green Ribbon levels, as well as melt snow on park paths. But Klein’s dream isn’t yet a reality—and may never be. Of all proposed options for the Gardiner’s future, interests backing demolition currently hold the most sway. A quantity assessment agency pegged the Green Ribbon’s current cost at $700 to $800 million, which Klein says is half of the cost of demolishing the Gardiner and building a massive surface highway in its place. Despite a lack of major political support, he hasn’t given up. “This is a big idea,” Klein says. “And Toronto, I believe, needs big ideas, but practical ones. We need to show the world how we can reuse our urban infrastructure in a responsible, creative, and proactive way.” gb&d
28
september–october 2014
‹ DETAILS LOCATION Toronto, Ontario Previous Use Expressway Status Proposal Length 4.35 miles Architect Quadrangle Architects Structural Engineer Jablonsky Ast & Partner
LINEAR
3
PA R K S
The Lowline With ‘remote skylights’ and parabolic reflective panels, the High Line’s subterranean cousin makes use of an abandoned trolley terminal
B
BELOW Klein’s Green Ribbon would be structurally independent, built around the expressway and supported by columns that also provide access to the park at each major intersection.
eneath the Big Apple’s streets runs an underground core of Progressive Era transit intertwined with the subways of today—some abandoned, others bustling. James Ramsey, an architect and former NASA satellite engineer who founded RAAD Studio in 2004, peered down into that core in 2009 and envisioned something rather unexpected: a grassy, treelined park filled with sunlight and weekend amblers. New York’s High Line, the park born from an antiquated freight trestle, had just been completed across town to great success. So, why not do the same thing underground? Beneath Delancey Street on the Lower East Side—the Manhattan neighborhood where RAAD Studio’s offices were then located—is an abandoned trolley terminal. Built in 1908, the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal was deserted after service discontinued in 1948. Sixty years later, the old 20-foot vaulted ceilings, historic cobblestone floors, and trolley tracks are still preserved. Ramsey and his team envision a place for concerts, school programming, cultural activities, and more. It makes sense to put any abandoned space to good use in dense New York, even a subterranean one. But why a park, which needs more light and fresh air than an underground tunnel can seemingly provide? Kibum Park, a partner at RAAD Studio and the Lowline’s project architect, knows it sounds a little farfetched, but “a New Yorker has to be a little more creative in making green space,” he says with a laugh. According to one study, New York is one of the least green cities in the United States, with less than
OPPOSITE LEFT Architects Kibum Park and James Ramsey envision a dramatic grand entrance to the subterranean Lowline on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. OPPOSITE RIGHT The Lowline would make accessible and green a long-abandoned trolley terminal, the tracks and floors of which have remained intact for 65 years.
gbdmagazine.com
TYPOLOGY
This underground park will be lit with “remote skylights,” technology developed specifically for the project that can provide a light intensity of up to 100,000 lux, transmitting 90 percent of the sunlight hitting its above-ground receptors.
The Lowline’s skylights conduct the necessary wavelengths to support photosynthesis, allowing the park to be planted with trees, shrubs, and grasses.
DETAILS LOCATION New York City Previous Use Below-grade trolley terminal Status Fundraising, construction to begin 2018 Size 60,000 ft2 Architect RAAD Studio
gb&d
september–october 2014
29
TYPOLOGY
Rather than trying to re-create the pervasive light of a summer afternoon, these metal canopies emphasize the cavernousness of the space, creating patches of light interspersed with darkness. 200 square feet of parkland per person. (By comparison, Albuquerque, New Mexico, tops the list with nearly 3,000 square feet per person.) The Lowline’s linchpin is what Ramsey calls “remote skylights.” Developed exclusively for this project, the technology uses aboveground solar receptors topped with dishes 10 feet in diameter. From the sidewalk, these will carry sunlight down into the Lowline via 30-foot pipes containing fiber-optic cables. The passive system should bring a light intensity of up to 100,000 lux into the Lowline, preserving 90 percent of the direct sunlight hitting the receptors. (Most offices get between 500 and 1,000 lux.) “The lights also conduct the necessary wavelengths to support photosynthesis,” Park says. “So we can grow trees, plants, grasses.” The park’s aesthetic design does anything but mimic the great outdoors. Parabolic ceiling panels made of reflective metal swoop above the trees, directing spotlight-like spills of natural light from the fiber-optic fixtures; they’re futuristic but useful, ratcheting up the daylight, expanding the space through reflection, and highlighting the greenery. Rather than trying to re-create the pervasive light of a summer afternoon, these metal canopies emphasize the cavernousness of the space, creating patches of light interspersed with darkness. Historic elements from the trolley station are integrated into the wider design approach. Existing rail tracks define space boundaries, while the catenary trolley track above will be repurposed as a structure for supplementary artificial light fixtures. It may sound like science fiction, but “science nonfiction” would be more accurate. Before this park of the future can become a reality, there is still work to do—including finalizing the solar technology, solidifying a list of subcontractors, completing negotiations with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and raising more money—but the Lowline has garnered crowd, community, local business, and government support, and construction is planned to begin in 2018. gb&d
30
september–october 2014
LINEAR
4
PA R K S
The 606 Chicago transforms a defunct elevated rail line into a major bicycle thoroughfare punctuated by neighborhood parks
I LEARN MORE CITIESALIVE Nashville Nov. 12–15 citiesalive.org — Water Dynamic Urban Landscapes Randy Sharp, Sharp & Diamond — Success Through Succession in Toronto Terence McGlade, Flynn Canada
n the very beginning, no one wanted the Bloomingdale Line. When the original freight rightof-way was constructed in 1873 on top of the old Bloomingdale Road, blazing an industrial link between Milwaukee and Chicago, residents of the 15th ward rallied to fight it. They protested that the railroad would cause “great damage” to surrounding property, not to mention how it would “obstruct” schools and churches in the area. Some even sued in an attempt to stop construction. Those civic-minded Chicagoans of past centuries might be amused to see the open-armed embrace given to the Bloomingdale Trail today. The elevated tracks, fallow since the late 20th century, are becoming a 2.7-mile-long green byway for bikers and pedestrians. The 606, as it was renamed in 2013 (after the first three digits of all Chicago zip codes), has
been cause for intercommunity cooperation and robust public and private support. Rather than creating “great damage,” property values surrounding the 606 are soaring. Rather than obstructing access to community amenities, the track puts five parks, 25 schools, two existing light rail stations, a suburban commuter rail stop, and a host of bus arteries within a 10-minute walk. This former east-west rail line is intended to remain a transportation corridor, with 10 feet of the 14-footwide path dedicated to shared bike lanes. Along its nearly three miles, the 15-foot elevation makes gradual rises and dips, with entrances integrating with the adjacent neighborhood streets, creating as many ADA-compliant points of entry as possible. Just as they did in 1873, Chicago’s Northwest Side residents made their voices heard. But unlike in the past, gbdmagazine.com
TYPOLOGY
community input became a central part of the plan. During meetings, locals whose homes bordered the trail spoke up. “Some residents were very vocal in demanding privacy from the trail,” says Carol Ross Barney, whose eponymous firm was on the Phase I design team that presented an initial framework for the trail in mid-2013. The design response to these requests was twofold. First, public art and landscaping create experiences that keep interest on the trail. Secondly, the thoroughfare is in places “vertically or horizontally separated from adjacent buildings,” Ross Barney says, “giving what otherwise could have been a straight path some variation.” The park is already a story of reusing outdated infrastructure, but other parts of historic Chicago were grafted in as well. Perhaps the most visible example of this is a 100-yearold bridge that once spanned Ashland Avenue. The old, 70-foot-long structure was removed, cleaned, and repaired, then trundled on a flatbed over to Western Avenue to serve as a section of the 606. It was a sight to behold on the narrow neighborhood streets, spanning the road and moving so slowly that the hard-hatted construction workers just ambled alongside. If it hadn’t been for the traffic backing up behind, it could have been mistaken for some sort of community parade, celebrating, for the first time, the construction of the Bloomingdale Trail. gb&d gb&d
THIS PAGE M ore than a 2.7-mile elevated bike path, the 606 will create six new neighborhood parks at various access points on Chicago’s northwest side. The former rail line has been unused since 2001.
DETAILS LOCATION Chicago Previous Use Railroad viaduct Status Under construction, expected opening 2015 Length 2 .7 miles Owner T he Trust for Public Land Advocate Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail
september–october 2014
31
TYPOLOGY
LINEAR
5
PA R K S
Atlanta BeltLine This hugely ambitious, 22-mile, verdant circumference unites a historically segregated city and challenges our perceptions of urban planning
O
units, and up to 30,000 total housing units. The project has also promised to create about 30,000 permanent and 48,000 construction jobs and shake up $10 billion in economic development. It’s a plan 16 years in the making with at least 16 to go, at a cost of more than $4 billion in public and private funding. It’s expected to see 1,000,000 visitors annually. So, you can see why Paul Morris is completely serious when he says, “This is one of the most ambitious social experiments going on in the country.” Morris came onboard as president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., the private nonprofit set up to oversee and manage the project, in 2013. The project’s inception, however, was nearly 15 years before, when an architecture student at
BELOW LEFT The BeltLine’s master plan includes a combined 22 miles of streetcar transit and bike paths, which will reduce the city’s dependency on automobiles. BELOW RIGHT Green spaces added as a part of the BeltLine, such as Historic Fourth Ward Park, opened in 2012, will increase the city’s parkland by 40 percent. PHOTO: RYAN GRAVEL; CHRISTOPHER T. MARTIN (FOURTH WARD PARK)
f all the rail-to-trail projects undertaken in recent history, the BeltLine is perhaps the most ambitious. Initially envisioned in 1999 as a transit solution for the notoriously auto-centric Atlanta, the BeltLine vision has kept growing ever since. Today, the sheer scope of the project is probably best comprehended in numbers: It includes four abandoned rail beds transformed into 22 miles of streetcar transit and bike and pedestrian paths. This greenway circles the urban core and connects 45 historic neighborhoods and more than 20 parks. To do it, 1,000 acres of brownfields will be remediated, and 3,000 acres of impervious surfaces will be broken up and given back to native plants. The result is more than 1,300 acres of green space, increasing the city’s parkland by 40 percent. And that’s only the beginning. A new 63-mile streetcar or lightrail network, integrated with the BeltLine and existing transit, would serve the greater Atlanta region’s five million citizens. The project’s master plans—10 in all—make way for 46 miles of new streets leading to the greenway, 5,600 affordable housing
32
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
TYPOLOGY
Ryan Gravel, now a senior urban designer with Perkins+Will, first proposed the idea of integrating a light-rail into Atlanta’s transit system while still a student.
Georgia Institute of Technology wrote a master’s thesis entitled, “Belt Line–Atlanta: Design of Infrastructure as a Reflection of Public Policy.” That student was Ryan Gravel, today a senior urban designer at Perkins+Will, the firm that made the corridor design a reality. In his thesis, Gravel challenged the city’s reliance on the automobile and proposed to upend that norm by creating light-rail stations along historic freight lines to connect with bus routes and MARTA, the city’s plus-sign-shaped skeleton of a transit
gb&d
DETAILS LOCATION Atlanta Previous Use Railroad beds Status Phase 1 completed in 2012 Length 2 2 miles Developer A tlanta BeltLine, Inc. Owner City of Atlanta
network. Still a central tenet of the project, the transit system is currently in the permitting phase. Passing as it does through every quadrant of the city, the BeltLine strives to touch on every definition of sustainability, which is fitting. From citizen health initiatives to off-the-grid solar-powered parks, locally sourced materials, artwork made from salvaged rails and ties, and 50-year life-cycle minimums, the BeltLine is changing what it means to live in Atlanta. Perhaps the most important measure of this is how it
literally crosses barriers, dividing a historically segregated city. “That was the legacy that prevailed for decades,” Morris says. “But the BeltLine took the corridor that was a dividing line and decided that it would be a uniting line. You can see that it’s tapped a nerve in the social dynamics of the city,” he continues. “You go to the Eastside Trail today”—a 2-mile portion of the corridor completed in 2012—“and see people of every age, ethnicity, and income. This could be the thing that brings us all together.” gb&d september–october 2014
33
Nashville Music City Center
Photo Courtesy of Greenrise Technologies, LLC
WATER: THE KEY TO EVERYTHING GREEN
SPONSORED BY:
FullPageCitiesAlive2014Ad_.indd 1
LAUNCH! NET ZERO WATER BOOT CAMP TRADE SHOW AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE NETWORKING OVER 100 SPEAKERS REGISTER AT www.citiesalive.org
PRESENTED BY:
4/8/2014 2:10:01 PM
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
36 HLW International
The art and science of sustainable, brand-specific office environments
42 Greg & Charlot Malin
The team behind some of the Bay Area’s highest-quality homes
44 Incorporated
Working at every scale, three architects channel a sense of ‘home’
48 El Centro Campus
A new landmark—and billboard—for Northeastern Illinois University
52 Anthony Fieldman
The cofounder of New York’s RAF|T Architects goes off the grid
september–october 2014
35
TRENDSETTERS
ARCHITECTURE FIRM, ACTIVE LISTENER
HLW International
From seamlessly integrated technology to smartly placed stairs, the architects and strategists at one of America’s oldest design firms have become known for translating the visions of global brands into sustainable, engaging environments By Christopher James Palafox
36
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
TRENDSETTERS
“We try to understand the client’s definition of sustainability. It’s about creating a space around what the company wants to be.” USAN KAPLAN, HLW INTERNATIONAL S
To tell the story of New York’s HLW International is to tell the story of countless others. Founded in 1885, the global architecture firm has been partnering with leading brands and business people for more than 125 years, transforming those brands’ missions into physical design. HLW is a practice whose design ethos elevates sustainable ideals into tangible spaces, and as sustainability has evolved, so has HLW, each project’s green vision intricately connecting with the brand ambassadors and HLW’s war chest of experts. The company’s client list speaks for itself: Google, ESPN, Red Bull—these are big brands doing big work. What ties their workspaces together is HLW’s ability to express a brand to the workforce and clients. “Limitations are the starting point for creativity,” says Susan Kaplan, HLW’s director of specifications and sustainability. HLW is an office that includes more than architects; the practice encompasses engineering, landscape architecture, planning, interior design, and workplace strategy, which allow the integration of sustainability and brand identity into every facet of a project. Because the HLW model is based on collaboration and partnerships inside and outside the firm, it is able to seamlessly express a brand’s own sustainability mission. Yet the ability to tie a client’s space to the greater, global community includes more than the communication and expression of its brand. With the evolution of the sustainability movement has come an expansion of the term’s definition. For HLW, water and energy challenges are elemental, and the firm also concentrates on wellness-fostering components such as active design and the selection of nontoxic materials to gb&d
PANASONIC Location Newark, NJ Size 280,000 ft2 (interior) Completion 2013 Certification LEEDCS Gold (certified), LEED-CI Platinum (expected) LEED Consultant HLW International
At Panasonic’s Newark headquarters, communal spaces encourage “casual collisions” as does the grand, architectural stairway (opposite).
ensure high indoor air quality. To explore its design process in action, we spent time in new workspaces for Panasonic, Weight Watchters International, and Agensys, Inc. to understand the intersection of brand communication and sustainability in the 21st century. PANASONIC’S PLATINUM OFFICE To bring to life the interior design for Panasonic’s 280,000-square-foot North American headquarters in Newark, New Jersey—which is targeting LEED-CI Platinum certification—HLW’s strategists performed what they call the “discovery process.” “It’s an interactive process that delves into the qualitative as well as the quantitative components of a client’s vision and establishes a project’s guiding principles,” says Kim Sacramone, the design principal and director of interior
architecture at HLW. “That’s what sets us apart.” While other firms often employ a separate strategic planning group, HLW’s discovery services are fundamentally linked to its design process. Panasonic’s lofty goal of LEED Platinum guided the discovery process and was integrated into the interior design from the outset. “We try to first understand the client’s definition of sustainability; it’s about creating a space around what the company wants to be,” Kaplan says. Panasonic, already a leader in sustainability in its own right as a manufacturer of photovoltaic solar panels and the daylight-harvesting Nexlight lighting control system, sought to communicate its brand by integrating its products from top to bottom, making its offices a veritable showcase of company expertise. To encourage awareness for employees and visitors alike, HLW september–october 2014
37
TRENDSETTERS HLW International
“Walking through the space you see the Weight Watchers vision, but you also live it. It’s not passive.” USAN KAPLAN, HLW INTERNATIONAL S
placed signage detailing Panasonic’s sustainability plans throughout the building alongside its products. That awareness extended into concerns about employee wellness, and Panasonic hired consultants at Humanscale to bring ergonomic chairs, workstations, and monitor arms to the office and held ergonomics workshops. And while 43 percent of the project is enclosed, 92 percent of the building interior has open space and outdoor views, resulting in expansive natural lighting. So far, the building has achieved a lighting-power-density (LPD) reduction of more than 40 percent and a more than 35-percent reduction in water consumption. In moving its offices in to Newark, Panasonic also actively moved away from a car-centric, suburban
corporate campus to a transit-oriented, urban one. To ensure that the benefits of the move were clear, numerous features were introduced such as interconnected stairs that brought movement to the space and highlighted the ideals that are guiding Panasonic. AN ACTIVE ENVIRONMENT “Active design” elements, such as the stairs, are consistent components of HLW’s approach, but no project exemplifies this aspect of its sustainability philosophy better than the firm’s recent work in the New York City headquarters of Weight Watchers, designed with LEED certification in mind. Much like Panasonic, HLW’s strategists and designers immersed themselves in the client’s brand until
WEIGHT WATCHERS Location New York City Size 125,000 ft2 Completion 2013 LEED Consultant Turner & Townsend
they felt they truly understood the Weight Watchers vision. Here, three floors of interconnecting stairs are crucial in expressing this mission; instead of connecting the floors vertically, HLW separated the stairs, creating an active environment that encourages employees and visitors to walk across the floor to get to the next set of steps. “Walking through the space, you see the Weight Watchers vision, but you also live it,” Kaplan says. “It’s not passive.” The project was centered on the principles of active design, which is exactly what Weight Watchers hopes to represent: a culture of motion and doing. In addition to the stairs, hallways are designed to be impromptu meeting spaces to further encourage walking throughout the building. To tie in even more overtly with the Weight Watchers approach, the office includes a walking path that features health and wellness tips along the way. Because this project merges two locations, an open floor plan was used to amplify collaboration across functional areas and lines of business, in turn lending itself to the sustainable initiatives already introduced. HLW designed a 5,000-square-foot rooftop terrace for multiple uses and to create yet another area where employees
LEFT Informal collaboration spaces with colorful furniture and whiteboards help Weight Watchers employees avoid being trapped at their desks. OPPOSITE Food and community, two essential elements within Weight Watchers’ mission, are united and promoted with brightly lit dining areas stocked with fresh fruit.
38
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
TRENDSETTERS
71% would want to walk. Subtle choices play into the design, like positioning vending machines filled with healthy options in a sectioned-off area of the kitchen with complimentary fresh fruit and water stations lining the path to the machines. HLW and Weight Watchers decided to place the office’s large café, which also holds the company’s largest communal space, in the light-flooded area companies usually reserve for executive offices. Here, the “heart” of the space ties together food and community, two important elements of the Weight Watchers brand. AN INVITATION FROM AGENSYS Some projects pose direct challenges in energy and water consumption. For HLW’s work on cancer research company Agensys’s new gb&d
Weight Watchers employees who agree that the new workplace supports a healthy lifestyle
75%
Weight Watchers employees who say they use the stairs more frequently since the redesign
55%
Weight Watchers employees who report being more physically active in the workplace
facility in Santa Monica, California, multiple strategies were necessary to create a sustainable community with lab buildings that could meet LEED-NC Silver benchmarks. Additionally, while Panasonic and Weight Watchers are household names, translating a relatively obscure brand like Agensys meant communicating what the project could do for the local community. The effort consolidated four Agensys sites into a new campus, composed of an adapted steel Butler building and two new structures housing the research, laboratory, office, and manufacturing functions. HLW’s Los Angeles office collaborated with CRB, a multidisciplinary practice with expertise in engineering for laboratory projects. CRB supported HLW in the translation of the progressive Agensys vision into
a physical space. “HLW had a great team of architects who worked very collaboratively with CRB in a BIM and 3-D environment,” says Doug Conrath, a principal at CRB and its western regional leader. “Agensys had great leadership who were dedicated to the project and whose vision helped the team deliver an impressive landmark for Agensys and the surrounding community.” What the team created was a system of stacked laboratories that takes advantage of California’s vast amount of sunlight. HLW was tasked with creating a corporate campus that challenges the common belief that biotech campuses have to be highly private. It opted for a layout that blurs the lines between public and private space. The community can access the campus through a public sculpture garden september–october 2014
39
TRENDSETTERS HLW International
HLW preserved and adapted a steel Butler building for a portion of the Agensys project, creating an open-air café that, in turn, reduces cooling costs.
AGENSYS Location Santa Monica, CA Size 159,600 ft2 Completed 2013 Certification LEEDNC Silver LEED Consultant HLW International
40
TOP Consolidating four offices into a single vibrant biotech hub, HLW filled the Agensys campus with Cradle-to-Cradle products and other healthful finishes such as Shaw’s Biolife hard-surface flooring. ABOVE The Agensys campus engages the surrounding community through a sculpture garden accessible to both employees and the public.
september–october 2014
and walking paths. HLW removed the existing building’s outer skin, creating the sheltered garden and a new connection to the Bergamont Station, a well-known art complex. This openness also reflects an effort to get Agensys employees out of the lab and outdoors. Utilizing the three-story stairs, purposefully slow elevators, and a public café in a separate building, HLW hopes to encourage staff and public alike to interact and forge lasting relationships. Located adjacent to a future light-rail stop, the building has been under-parked by about half its capacity and holds ample bike parking and accompanying showers in order to encourage alternative modes of transportation. “Giving Agensys a place to call home that has such a positive impact on the community has really helped establish the company’s identity in Santa Monica,” says Stephanie Baca, the design director for interiors at HLW’s Los Angeles office. “The whole project— labs and offices—was designed to be flexible so expansion could be as sustainable as possible.” HLW’s building projects may showcase the architects’ assured and empathic touch, but visitors to the offices of Panasonic, Weight
Watchers, or Agensys, will rarely if ever see this. They will instead see only the vision of that particular company. Because for HLW, it’s not about HLW, and this has made all the difference. gb&d
“The whole project— labs and offices— was designed to be flexible so expansion could be as sustainable as possible.” STEPHANIE BACA, HLW INTERNATIONAL
gbdmagazine.com
www.crbusa.com
CONSULTING DESIGN CONSTRUCTION COMMISSIONING QUALIFICATION
Lab Furniture
Proud to collaborate with HLW on the Agensys LEED-NC Silver facility in Santa Monica, CA
Fume Hoods
Project Management Installation
Corporate Office 1679 Placentia Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Phone: (949) 650-9000 www.dowdiversified.com
Providing the highest quality products & services since 1981.
Atlanta Boston Boulder Los Angeles Kalamazoo Kansas City Philadelphia Raleigh Rockville San Diego San Jose St. Louis San Juan
877-4CRBUSA
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS 1984 - 2014
Defining tailored structural solutions for premier residences.
Clearly Better Carpet The Mohawk Group embraces transparency, and we are proud to be a sponsor of ILFI and the Living Building Challenge. See our newly issued Declare Labels, EPDs, and HPDs at MOHAWKGROUP.COM/SUSTAINABILITY
www.holmesculley.com
Sustai nable D esi g n:
gb&d
GBD_Mwk_CBC_QuartPg.indd 1
2/10/14 4:22 PM
San Francisco, California
Net Zero
LEED
Healthy Homes
september–october 2014
41
TRENDSETTERS
DE VELOPER & INTERIOR DESIGNER
Greg & Charlot Malin “Even though we build high-end, luxury homes, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t at a level of consciousness that makes it sustainable.” Interview by Brian Justice
Starting with one home in 2000, Greg Malin and Charlot Malin have become leaders in developing sustainable homes that combine contemporary design with health and wellness. At the helm of Troon Pacific, Greg, the CEO, and Charlot, the COO and director of design, create homes that incorporate green technologies and passive design. Priced between three and thirty million dollars and regularly awarded LEED Platinum certification, Troon Pacific’s homes are the result of a goal to never compromise design, luxury, or a commitment to health and wellness. gb&d: What is a healthy home? Greg Malin: One of the luxuries in life is health, and that is the focus in the homes we build. Healthy living today is about making a better environment for you and your family. It’s a focus on the careful integration of natural light into a home, freshly filtered air throughout, water conservation and quality, and sound attenuation—all elements associated with wellness.
Greg: The actual certification itself? There are a few buyers who really get that and understand it, and that’s growing every day. But I would say that there is a certain level of attention to detail that comes out of the process, and our buyers appreciate that. Our development company focuses on what you don’t see, as well as what you do see.
gb&d: How do you approach these various elements?
Charlot: I think it’s sending a message, too, that we’re trying harder than a lot of the other developers out there.
Charlot Malin: We also look into natural light and how we can work it into design. Our most recent home includes a penthouse surrounded by windows on all four september–october 2014
Greg: And even though the water quality in the San Francisco Bay Area is exceptional, we install filtration systems that remove chloride and other things that don’t dissolve in your body. We’re also looking into new technologies using UV filtration for water filtration. gb&d: Is LEED certification a selling point for just a specific buyer, or does it have a universal salability?
Greg: By creating a solid envelope, we can control the environment by recirculating fresh, filtered air inside the home and using heatand energy-recovery systems to take humidity and heat out of the air. This system creates a high-quality environment with stable levels of humidity and lessens the amount of energy needed to heat a home.
42
sides with an operable skylight above. A tremendous amount of light enters through a central corridor stairwell, flowing into the entire home and providing a kind of natural air-conditioning.
gb&d: How many homes do you build ? And how many homes do you want to build? Greg: At any given time, we typically have three homes at some stage of construction, and our goal is to have six to eight. Charlot: And potentially some multifamily housing, as well. We’re currently in the process of working on the development and investment fund for multifamily projects. gbdmagazine.com
TRENDSETTERS
gb&d: You concentrate on building in urban environments. Was that a conscious decision? Greg: Yes, and this is where some of the hardest work needs to be done, where you have the most influences from the surrounding environment. When you enter a Troon Pacific home, you enter a very serene environment, an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city into a spa-like experience. gb&d: Do you think that people in the San Francisco area are more receptive to this kind of thing? Greg: I think our society, in general, is becoming much more conscious of the effects of cities on the environment around us. I think that New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are cities that are becoming more green, but I do think that San Francisco is a leader. It’s where the USGBC was founded, and we are getting the word out there that we need to be more sensitive to the environment and be more careful with our resources. Even though we build beautiful, high-end, luxury homes, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t gb&d
ABOVE The Malins designed their San Francisco home with clean lines and natural finishes to create a canvas to showcase their art. Completed in 2011, the home is LEED for Homes Platinum certified.
at a level of consciousness that makes it sustainable. gb&d: What are some significant developments since your first house in 2000? Charlot: I have to say that the industry has become more sophisticated when it comes to design and green building tools. Windows, for example, used to be really thick and clunky. The solutions have become more elegant and smoother. Finish material, such as sustainably managed exotic woods and low-VOC paints, have become better in terms of not compromising quality or design. The choices are [better] than they used to be.
AT HOME WITH GREG & CHARLOT The Malins use their own home to try out ideas and develop design practices to incorporate into future projects. Here are a few of their favorite things. Serene Environment With foldable doors and extensive natural light, the home blurs the line between indoor and outdoor living. Reused Materials The home used existing framing material and wood from managed forests. Renewable Energy Solar panels produce a third of the home’s energy but are almost completely invisible.
Greg: We ask ourselves, “Can we make a luxury passive home that doesn’t compromise our level of aesthetics?” It’s challenging because there is a lot that goes into doors and windows and detailing that’s on a level that not everyone does. We don’t have as much choice in terms of manufacturers of different components, so we have to work with them, and sometimes that influences design. gb&d september–october 2014
43
TRENDSETTERS
DESIGN STUDIO, PORTR AIT ARTIST
Incorporated
Whether it’s making furniture or conceptualizing the interior of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s 1 Hotel, the New York-based multidisciplinary architecture firm channels a deep understanding of ‘home’ By Joann Plockova
44
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: JOSHUA MCHUGH
TRENDSETTERS
The joke is that between the three of them, they make one good principal. Adam Rolston, Gabriel Benroth, and Drew Stewart, the three partners who make up New York-based design and architecture studio Incorporated and who spent seven years together at Tsao & McKown Architects before breaking off in 2006, describe themselves, respectively, as the cheerleader, the technologist, and the craftsman. “We each have specific talents and interests that we bring to the table,” Rolston says. Together as Incorporated, a multidisciplinary studio that has executed everything from furniture to New York’s new 1 Hotel, their strength, according to Rolston, lies in a central mission: “the integration of design disciplines and working across scales.” “Our emphasis is that we are a design studio not married to a particular program or scale,” Rolston says. “We have this phrase we use: ‘from curtains to curtain walls.’ That’s the moment when the architect and interior designer literally have to speak to each other, to get along. When we’re just the interior designer, we’re able to speak to the architect. When we’re just the architects, we’re able to speak to the interior designer. And better yet, when we do both, we can create a kind of seamless experience across that dividing point.” Part of Toll Brothers’ Pierhouse development at the edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the 190-room hotel for Starwood Hotels, for which Incorporated is serving as interior designer, has a green mission communicated through its “100% Natural” tagline. “The hotel is set to achieve LEED Silver,” says Rolston, “[but its green mission] is a holistic one, not just a technical one.” At the Line Hotel, a Sydell Group gb&d
INSIDE THE CONFLUENCE HOUSE Following in the small footprints of Incorporated’s first two homes, the Confluence House distinguishes itself with a ten-footdeep cantilever that, along with the home’s south-facing orientation, optimizes heat gain in winter and keeps the house cool in summer. “Big, long eaves, that’s a tradition that fell away with modernism,” says partner Adam Rolston. The team included a geothermal heating system and a Zalmag roofing material that is more than 90 percent recycled and recyclable.
property in Washington, DC, that Incorporated is working on simultaneously, LEED certification also is on the table. “The marketplace in terms of equipment, supplies, and materials has caught up with green design and building,” Rolston says. “It’s becoming kind of requisite now in the marketplace and even being driven by code and compliance. Although green is definitely not the mission of [the Line Hotel], it too is taking it very seriously.” Despite its booming popularity, however, Rolston knows sustainable design is nothing new. “It’s thousands of years old,” he says. “I think some of the simpler, intuitive things that make cost-effective
“[What makes] costeffective green design possible isn’t rooted in technology or new materials. It’s just these age-old traditions that have been around forever that we kind of forgot on some levels.”
ADAM ROLSTON, INCORPORATED
september–october 2014
45
TRENDSETTERS Incorporated
“Almost all of our work you can see through the lens of living. Whether it’s a condo ... or a house in the country, it’s all about how we live. And I think that’s where we are at our best.” ADAM ROLSTON, INCORPORATED
46
september–october 2014
heating bills are incredibly low.” With all of its projects, Incorporated sees portraiture as a metaphor for how it works. What inspires the designers is figuring out the “particular DNA” of each project. “Most of that particularness comes from the desires of the client—how they see their lives, their selves, their world view,” Rolston says. “What we think is beautiful is to create a portrait of that. We then extend that to our commercial work, [creating a portrait] of a particular subset of society [that the enterprise is trying to appeal to].” The best portraits provide a glimpse into the subject’s life and how he or she lives it. “Almost all of our work you can see through the lens of living,” Rolston says. “Whether it’s a condo in a commercial context, a private residential interior, or a house in the country, it’s all about how we live—‘home’— and I think that’s where we are at our best.” gb&d
THIS PAGE Incorporated’s interior design for 1 Hotel in New York uses a simple palette to keep guest rooms and lounge areas spacious and refined. The 10-story, 193-room hotel is part of a LEED Silver-targeting mixed-use development along the interior edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
PORTRAIT: JOSHUA MCHUGH
green design possible—it isn’t rooted in technology or new materials. It’s just these age-old traditions that have been around forever that we kind of forgot on some levels.” As an example, Rolston cites Incorporated’s Sixteen Doors House— his personal residence and the first in their Endless House series, which also includes the Texas Hill House and the Confluence House. “There is this tradition,” he says, “you see it in the Midwest. Picture a typical family farm, the great plains and trees planted all around the outside of the house, specifically deciduous trees,” he says. “The trees provide shade for the entire building, along with wind protection, in spring and summer, and then the leaves are off in winter and you get heat gain.” Rolston borrowed from this tradition with Sixteen Doors and is reaping the benefits. “I didn’t have to install air-conditioning, and I’m totally comfortable all summer long. And then in winter I get heat gain so my
gbdmagazine.com
D A G H E R ENGINEERING IS PROUD TO BE A PA R T O F T H E
PIERHOUSE AT BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK
PROJECT TEAM
ring, PLLC | 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006 | t. 212.480.2591 | www.dagherengineering.com
TRENDSETTERS
A C A D E M I C B U I L D I N G , A R T G A L L E R Y, B I L L B O A R D
El Centro Campus Northeastern Illinois University builds a trafficstopping community hub that embraces Chicago’s busiest expressway By Lindsey Howald Patton
earest the expressway, the N academic building’s main corridor serves as a noise buffer. Small windows bring in natural light.
48
september–october 2014
Slicing a severe diagonal path from Chicago’s Loop to O’Hare International Airport, the John F. Kennedy Expressway offers, for your viewing pleasure, bisected neighborhoods, some industrial buildings, a few El stations, and plenty of under- and overpasses. In short, there isn’t much in the way of sightseeing along Chicago’s busiest 18 miles of road. But in the spring of 1996, a mural appeared on a four-story masonry building overlooking the Kennedy. It featured Dennis Rodman at the height of his fame, and every time the notorious Chicago Bulls forward changed the color of his hair in real life—which was, if you recall, often—his monumental afro along the Kennedy got a makeover to match. “It literally stopped traffic,” says Juan Moreno, founder of the Chicago-based architecture firm JGMA. Gaper’s blocks began forming on a part of the expressway already easily mistaken for the city’s biggest parking lot, and the ad-turnedsafety-hazard was removed within weeks. Rodman’s traffic-stopping, rainbow-hued ’fro sparked JGMA’s vision for El Centro, the new Northeastern Illinois
University (NEIU) satellite campus building located prominently off the Kennedy’s exit 45. When JGMA presented its concept, Moreno pointed to a slide of Rodman and asked, “What if a building, instead of a billboard, had that kind of dialogue with nearly half a million commuters, inbound and outbound, every day?” “That expressway becomes a precursor to all of the fabulous architecture that is in downtown Chicago,” Moreno says today. “But name a moment where architecture really steps up and is the forefront along the Kennedy.” Now you can. El Centro’s boomerang-shaped body leans out energetically over the Kennedy, pointing southward to downtown’s iconic skyline. The glazed exterior is set off by a series of tilted vertical fins in two brilliant colors: a bright, golden yellow for those traveling southeast and brilliant blue for those heading in the opposite direction. These are, of course, NEIU’s colors. “We were looking for a freshness that would present a statement on the expressway,” says David Jonaitis, the project coordinator for NEIU. “We certainly didn’t want to do a bunch
gbdmagazine.com
TRENDSETTERS
PROJECT LOCATION Chicago Program Classrooms, administrative space, common areas Size 62,000 ft2 Completion 2014 (expected) Certification LEED-NC Gold (expected) Cost $27 million
TEAM
of signs with giant spotlights going up to them, so we needed something about the building itself to stand out.” Far from being architectural follies, those attention-grabbing fins, the largest of which are nearly 50 feet tall, are an integral part of the LEED Gold-certified building. Made of Kynar-coated aluminum and installed at varying densities, they are actually sunshades. “When we developed our strategic plan that we’re working under right now,” NEIU president Sharon Hahs says, “one of our action steps read very simply: establish environmental sustainability as a key element of NEIU’s identity.” Other building highlights include a 75-kilowatt array by ET Solar covering the cantilevered roof, an electric car-charging station paid for by NEIU’s student-run Green Fee Committee, and a permeable
OWNER Northeastern Illinois University Architect JGMA Architects Structural Engineer Forefront Structural Engineers Civil Engineer Prism Engineering MEP/FP Engineer Primera Engineers Landscape Architect Site Design Group General Contractor George Sollitt Construction Company Acoustical Engineer Arup Electrical BEI Plumbing Chas, Bruckner and Son Heating FE Moran Ventilation Wolf Mechanical Fire Protections US Fire
SUPPLIERS Glass System Elston Windows Custom Louvers AGS Porcelain Tile Rainscreen Butech/ Porcelanosa Concrete Ozinga Photovoltaic System ET Solar (Panels), Ironridge (Mounting), Solectria Renewables (Inverter) Roofing Sarnafil HVAC Sterling (Heat), York (A/C) Lighting Santa Cole (Exterior), Hess (Exterior), Axis Lighting (Interior) Furniture Kimball and KI
parking lot for storm runoff. Many of the building materials were designed locally, including the glazed curtain wall and laminated acoustical glass by Elston Windows, located less than three miles down the Kennedy from the construction site. The site also is a block or two from two El stations, three bus lines, and bike-friendly streets—transit options that 60 percent of El Centro students use. The site’s greatest advantage is not difficult to appreciate, with about 400,000 drivers passing the building each day with little else beyond the NEIU colors to compete for their attention. But there are challenges to building next to the most congested highway in the state of Illinois. First, the site was a brownfield when NEIU purchased it, with leaking fuel tanks still in the basements of existing buildings and about 1,000 semi-truckloads of contaminated urban waste to be hauled to the landfill.
ABOVE Juan Moreno, the founder of JGMA, is an architect and advocate for Latino architects in Chicago. NEIU’s El Centro campus serves a primarily Hispanic population on the city’s northwest side. LEFT and OPPOSITE Adorned with 50-foottall blue-and-yellow Kynar fins, NEIU’s LEED Gold El Centro building in Chicago also features a 75-kW solar array and permeable pavement to reduce stormwater runoff.
PORTRAIT: CALEB FOX
“We certainly didn’t want to do a bunch of signs with giant spotlights going up to them, so we needed something about the building itself to stand out.” DAVID JONAITIS, NEIU
gb&d
september–october 2014
49
TRENDSETTERS El Centro Campus
SUPERLATIVES Most Innovative Solution Blue and gold fins on the exterior of the building showcase Northeastern Illinois University’s colors while functioning as sunshades. Biggest Saver Since Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration, green roofs have been the standard for any new construction, but the El Centro team convinced the city to allow them to install a photovoltaic array, transforming the site’s ample sunlight into energy. Most Obscure Reuse Old warehouse buildings were demolished to make way for the new El Centro campus; rather than lugging the concrete and stone away, it was ground onsite to backfill foundations and basements. Biggest Hurdle Reclaiming a significantly contaminated brownfield on an industrial swath along the Kennedy Expressway. Lasting Industry Impact Architecture bordering the expressway typically retreats from the busy traffic. El Centro actually leans into it and could influence future buildings to start a dialogue with this 18-mile stretch.
Then there was the noise. JGMA and NEIU agreed the building should perch on the edge of the site, engaging with and overlooking the Kennedy Expressway. Originally, Jonaitis says, “the city wanted us to move the building to the back of the site away from the expressway and put parking up front and make it look like a suburban mall. We fought that.” “The city’s logic was that this was not an appropriate place for teaching because of the noise issues,” says JGMA project manager Cosmin Vrajitoru. “But this is something you can resolve in design, and some of our first schemes already had this implemented.” Early in the project, sound consultants from Arup made recordings of the site. “They took us into the sound lab and basically played the expressway for us, which was interesting,” Jonaitis says with a laugh. Then, the sound experts demon-
“Part of the philosophy of our public university is a stewardship of place.” SHARON HAHS, NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
strated what various window thicknesses and acoustical treatments would actually sound like for occupants. Because the noise is greatest at the ground floor of the building, a monolithic, porcelain rainscreen wall curves along the site edge next to the freeway, broken only by small vertical apertures, like arrow slits in the ramparts of medieval castles. Inside, the
The building’s north plaza faces the permeable, LED-lit parking lot. Faculty and administration can access the north entrance at any hour, where bike storage and shower rooms are waiting.
50
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
TRENDSETTERS
ABOVE Interior finishes pay homage to the industrial history of El Centro’s surroundings, with milled-steel staircases, raw concrete walls, stainless-steel baffle ceilings, and exposed ductwork.
Belong. Northeastern Illinois University El Centro
Northeastern’s El Centro campus in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood features: • Undergraduate programs in Computer Science, Justice Studies, Social Work, and Special Education • Technology-enhanced classrooms • Computer lab and Library Resource Center • Comfortable student lounge, study spaces and meeting rooms
Reg ister Today! neiu.edu/newelcentro
(773) 442-4080
T. R. Hamzah & Yeang Sdn. Bhd.
TOP Classrooms are located on the second and third floors, where traffic noise naturally begins to fade away. MIDDLE Interior finishes pay homage to the industrial history of El Centro’s surroundings, with milled-steel staircases, raw concrete walls, stainless-steel baffle ceilings, and exposed ductwork. BOTTOM From the third-floor common area, skyline views of downtown Chicago are wide open for students and faculty to enjoy.
gb&d
space created by this curvilinear wall becomes a gallery for artwork. The 17 classrooms are on the second and third floors, where traffic noise naturally begins to fade away, and though classrooms often are placed along the exterior-facing walls with double-loaded corridors in between, El Centro employs a single-loaded corridor ringing the building’s perimeter like a track. That corridor absorbs the last of the traffic noise, passes plenty of sunshine into the shallow, glass-fronted classrooms, and provides a thermal buffer. After nearly 40 years of El Centro outgrowing leased spaces, NEIU staff is clearly excited about establishing a permanent presence. “Part of the philosophy of our public university is a stewardship of place,” says Hahs. “Northeastern has a long history of being grounded in its communities.” So traffic on the Kennedy had better keep moving because, unlike Dennis Rodman’s hair, this is one brightly colored landmark that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. gb&d
T. R. Hamzah & Yeang Sdn. Bhd. (Ken Yeang International (UK) is an international architect firm with its HQ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, best known for designing innovative signature ecological buildings and masterplans..
Ecoarchitects and Ecomasterplanners H Y P E R GR E E N | S I GN AT U R E | I N N OVATI ON
www.hamzahyeang.com september–october 2014
51
TRENDSETTERS
A R C H I T E C T, T E C H N O L O G I S T, W O R L D T R AV E L E R
Anthony Fieldman “I wanted to teach kids, who have grown up in an area that used be the Fertile Crescent but is now almost exclusively a desert, how to grow flowers.” Interview by Kathryn Freeman Rathbone
gb&d: You’ve worked in leadership roles at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Perkins+Will for a long time. Why establish your own office now? Anthony Fieldman: I have more than 20 years of experience traveling extensively to work in other countries, and I have a deep interest in other cultures. They’re rich fodder to create unique architecture. I wanted to bring value to clients by understanding how their culture is different from other cultures and then using those differences to define their projects. I cofounded RAF|T Architects [with Majed Harasani] in New York in May 2013. We built our office to over 12 people within the first year, and we even outgrew our space. gb&d: RAF|T is currently working on many projects in the Middle East. Are you going to continue to target this regional market? Fieldman: We are a New York practice with deep connections in the city. We’re heavily involved in the local design community, its intellectual and professional issues. I feel that the world’s most intelligent design talent works here—our feet are firmly rooted here. Many of our projects are starting to take off here. We see ourselves growing here, primarily. gb&d: You’ve said that “sustainability starts with human sustainability.” How have you organized RAF|T so that this idea underpins the firm’s work?
BIOGRAPHY ANTHONY FIELDMAN Anthony Fieldman amassed 20 years and 35 awards at SOM and Perkins+Will before founding RAF|T in 2013. Most recently, RAF|T was honored with a 2014 eVolo Skyscraper Award for the Blossom Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
52
september–october 2014
Fieldman: One of the reasons I left the big firms was directly linked to my desire to really understand how architecture is comprehensive in value. I wanted to explore the value proposition, business, design, and
implementation phases. That being said, we wholly resist siloing in our office. Everybody has inherent strengths, so investing in those strengths and providing further education is to everybody’s benefit. We’re a comprehensive, full-service firm that does everything from planning to construction, and it helps us make truly sustainable designs because we can focus on human wellbeing. gb&d: When you’re developing a project, how do you balance sustainability, which is often driven by metrics, with something so fluid as human wellbeing? Fieldman: We always design with an open mind. RAF|T’s work doesn’t have a signature. We don’t tally LEED points, and we prefer it that way. So, for us, the value proposition is the process of working with our clients, getting to know their specific needs, and designing for those needs. We actively resist preconceptions of what projects are supposed to look like. The performative goals are just a framework for the materials. gb&d: Is human wellbeing defined differently in the Middle East, where you’re currently doing a great deal of work? Fieldman: The opportunities in the Middle East are unique because their appetite for risk-taking is robust. The hot desert climate also demands attention if you’re designing responsibly. There, we’re really learning about indigenous technologies and realigning and adapting them to the modern world. gb&d: Tell us about your Kuwait K–12 Teaching School, one of the new firm’s first projects. gbdmagazine.com
TRENDSETTERS
“We always design with an open mind. RAF|T’s work doesn’t have a signature. We don’t tally LEED points, and we prefer it that way.” NTHONY FIELDMAN, A RAF|T ARCHITECTS
Fieldman: The project started with a simple idea. I wanted to teach kids, who have grown up in an area that used be the Fertile Crescent but is now almost exclusively a desert, how to grow flowers. We’ve designed the school to have over 350,000 square feet of roof gardens. They’ll be supported by advanced environmental technologies that work in this climate—like nano-clays, TSE-fed irrigation, and shelterbelts—but they’ll also have goats and bees that help with the ecosystem, which the kids will be familiar with. It’s a very innovative, place-specific project. gb&d: After you complete the school, what’s next? PROJECT SPOTLIGHT KUWAIT K-12 TEACHING SCHOOL Engaging students of all ages on issues of environmental sustainability, Fieldman’s 430,000-square-foot school in Kuwait City uses an innovative series of naturally cooled courtyards, climate-appropriate green roofs, and cast-in-place concrete walls to offer a plethora of learning opportunities. Beehives, vegetable gardens, compost bins, live goats, and fruit orchards all are designed to be integrated with more typical classroom education. The accessible vegetated roofs become play areas, observatories, and laboratories.
gb&d
Fieldman: We’re working on a one million-square-foot, net-zero campus. It’s completely off the grid, which is unheard of, and we’re really proud and excited to work on it. That’s what we want to do with our work: we look to lead by example. We’re always going to look to create compelling architecture that enhances our clients’ value propositions. But beyond that, we’re creating sustainable architecture by focusing on a dialogue of human health and delight. gb&d september–october 2014
53
permaloc
ÂŽ
S U S TA I N A B L E E D G I N G S O L U T I O N S
A solution for every edging application.
Connect with Permaloc:
www.permaloc.com 800.356.9660
In 1983, Permaloc introduced aluminum landscape edging to the industry, and we’ve been the market leader ever since. With 13 application-specific product lines, expertly trained product specialists, and world-class customer service, we set the standard for the industry. Experience the confidence that only comes with Permaloc.
Aluminum edgings for landscape, hardscape, and green build.
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
DESIGN
56 Empowered Aerospace Research
GE Aviation’s EPISCENTER brings LEED Gold design to Dayton, OH
59 Roxul a Model US Citizen
The insulation manufacturer has a sustainable new facility, its first in US
60 Austin Paves the Way
The Paver-Grate is a simple solution to a big goal in the Texas capital
DEVELOPMENT
62 CSX’s Green Headquarters
The railroad giant sends a message with a LEED-certified office building
64 A Town Square with Transit
Heffner & Weber is turning a city airport into an airport city
65 Big Data, Smart Design
Consentry’s Omaha-Midlands data center is a model of efficiency
67 Next in Net-Zero Marketing
Shea Homes hones the science of selling the eco-lifestyle
BUSINESS
68 Networked Intelligence
The EcoCommercial Building network is a new industry entity
71
Startups Outgrow the Garage
The Cleantech Open helps green technologies see the light of day
72 Vital Pieces of the Solar Puzzle
gb&d
Solar energy development gets creative with financing
september–october 2014
55
Empowering GE’s aerospace research GE Aviation’s EPISCENTER brings LEED Gold design to the University of Dayton Hastings+Chivetta incorporates a unique central plant to optimize efficiency Engineering labs, large enough to fit a Boeing 777 fuselage, are daylit through bays of large clerestory windows, reducing energy use.
56
september–october 2014
A new academic research building known as the EPISCENTER (short for Electrical Power Integrated Systems Center) is the first LEED-certified building on the University of Dayton campus in Dayton, Ohio. Designed by Hastings+Chivetta and operated by General Electric’s Aviation Division, the facility assists GE aviation engineers in collaborating with faculty from the state’s largest private university to develop electrical power systems for aircraft ranging from private and commercial passenger planes to military fighter jets and unmanned drones. “What’s happening inside this building is a unique program to simulate and test complete electrical power systems in airplanes,” architect Chris Chivetta says. The EPISCENTER is the first campus building project that set sustainability as a project requirement. Aviation research includes computer modeling, simulation and analysis of electronic design and controls, including starter/generation, conversion, and distribution technologies. Due to the significant internal loads needed to test the aircraft electrical power packs, energy efficiency was especially challenging. The building’s electrical service equals that of the system serving the entire Dayton campus. “With the energy consumption in the building, it was not easy to get LEED points,” Chivetta says. “We had to strategize ways to reduce energy consumption, minimize heat generation, and maximize heat capture and reclamation.” With 51,000 square feet of office space gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: FENTRESS PHOTOGRAPHY
APPROACH DESIGN
APPROACH
51k
Square feet of office space at the University of Dayton’s LEED Gold EPISCENTER
91,430
Square feet of high-bay laboratory space, enough to accomodate a full Boeing 777 fuselage
250
Congratulations on LEED Gold
Capacity in tons of the facility’s five chillers, which generate both hot and cold water simultaneously
GE Aviation EPISCENTER University of Dayton
and 91,430 square feet of high-bay laboratory space (enough room to accommodate the complete fuselage of a Boeing 777), the four-story EPISCENTER is designed in three sections linked by an enclosed walkway: the main entry and formal reception area, offices and administration spaces, and labs. Clerestory windows invite daylight and showcase views of the Great Miami River. The building’s heating-and-cooling plant is a unique system of five 250-ton, heat-recovering water-cooled chillers that can accommodate the lab’s widely fluctuating cooling process loads. Each chiller can generate chilled water and hot water simultaneously. The new building is the cornerstone of Ohio’s Aerospace Hub, a state program to promote urban renewal and economic partnerships between private industry and academic institutions and encourage technological development in the region. The sustainable design dovetails with the university’s ongoing green initiatives, which include providing report cards to students showing energy use; diverting more than 1,000 tons of recyclable and compost material to landfills annually;
DETAILS LOCATION Dayton, OH Size 1 42,555 ft2 Completion 2013 Certification LEED Gold Owner University of Dayton Client GE Aviation Architect Hastings+Chivetta
EPISCENTER designers usgbc member 32 leed projects 31 leed aps
888.659.2724
www.hastingschivetta.com
OPPOSITE and BELOW University of Dayton’s newest building is a cornerstone of Ohio’s Aerospace Hub, a state program to promote economic partnerships between private industry and academic institutions. Its sustainable design builds on the university’s ongoing green initiatives.
design • workplace • technology • sustainability san francisco, ca | www.brereton.com
gb&d
september–october 2014
57
DON’T JUST INSULATE, ROXULATE
ROXUL® insulation is stone wool, which makes it fire resistant. Made of basalt lava rock and recycled steel slag, ROXUL can take heat other insulations can’t and will withstand temperatures up to 2150ºF. ROXUL insulation not only helps you save on energy, it makes your home more safe.
APPROACH
600k
“With the energy consumption in the building, it was not easy to get LEED points. We had to strategize ways to reduce energy consumption, minimize heat generation, and maximize heat capture and reclamation.” Chris Chivetta, Hastings+Chivetta
building five new houses in student neighborhoods using green construction; reducing natural gas and electricity consumption on campus; and working with the Dayton community to reduce the region’s carbon footprint by 2050. GE is the EPISCENTER’s long-term tenant, and Hastings+Chivetta designed the building to the company’s specifications, following the GE Green Building Guidelines, which are similar to the standards set forth by the USGBC for LEED. The tight construction schedule—about 18 months between groundbreaking and opening in fall 2013—reflects a push to keep abreast of a rapidly changing industry. Research areas go beyond aviation and involve designing longer-range electric vehicles and smarter utility power grids for more efficient delivery of electricity. gb&d —Mary Beth Rohde
Roxul a model US citizen The insulation manufacturer completes a sustainable new facility in Mississippi, its first in the US Roxul Inc., the North American subsidiary of European insulation manufacturer Rockwool International, is expanding into the Unites States with a state-of-theart plant in Mississippi. “Roxul’s two current North American facilities—located in Milton, Ontario, and Grand Forks, British Columbia—will be at capacity in two to three years, and another facility is needed to meet the growing demand for our products in the North American market,” says Leslie McLaren,
gb&d
Square feet of the new $160 million Roxul plant in Byhalia, MS
the North American manager of government affairs and corporation communications for Roxul. The new 600,0000-square-foot Roxul plant, which represents an investment of approximately $160 million, is located approximately 30 miles south of Memphis in Byhalia, Mississippi, and will itself be a testament to the company’s commitment to sustainability. Beyond being built to exceed current building codes, it was designed to take advantage of as much natural light as possible, and all lighting fixtures are energy-efficient and attached to motion sensors. Materials—including plastic, cardboard, and pallets—are recycled. The southern United States represents a large population cluster of approximately 100 million people and is a significant market for Roxul insulation, which appeals to sustainable builders for its superior thermal and acoustical protection
PROJECT
TEAM
LOCATION Byhalia, MS Size 6 00,000 ft2 Program Commercial manufacturing facility Cost $160 million
OWNER Roxul Inc. Architect/Engineer/ Landscape Architect Allen & Hoshall General Contractor Gray Construction
that reduces energy costs and mitigates noise pollution. A combination of natural basalt rock and recycled slag—up to 40 percent recycled material—is melted using Roxul’s proprietary technology, then spun into a fiber before being cured to produce high-quality insulation. “In addition to being water-repellant, non-corrosive, and resistant to mold growth, our product resists fire, can withstand temperatures up to 2,150 degrees Fahrenheit, and has been proven in testing to add to the fire resistance of a floor or wall assembly, providing valuable time for occupants to exit a building and firefighters to minimize damage,” McLaren says, also noting that Roxul has been used in prestigious buildings including the Empire State Building. Used in residential, commercial, and industrial applications, Roxul insulation is also sustainably manufactured. Roxul recycles its own waste, ensuring none of it goes to landfill, and uses storm SUPPLIERS water and recycled Acoustical Ceilings process water in its Rockfon production facility. Lighting Armtech Heat generated HVAC Green from manufacturMechanical ing is recycled to Landscaping F errell heat the facility, Paving and Roxul controls september–october 2014
59
APPROACH DESIGN
The Paver-Grate allows for paving over the tree’s soil area while passing stormwater runoff into the roots but staying resistent to clogging.
emissions within the stringent guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The product is popular in North America and abroad, with parent company Rockwool operating 28 factories in 18 countries and employing 9,700 people. The new US plant, which will employ 150 people when fully operational, has been a big success in the community. In 2013, the Trade & Industry Development honored Roxul and the Mississippi Development Authority with a 2013 Corporate Investment and Community Impact (CiCi) Award in the Community Investment category. Roxul was one of 15 companies recognized and joined globally respected businesses such as Apple, Caterpillar, Amazon, and Polaris. gb&d —Julie Schaeffer
Paving the way The City of Austin has found in IRONSMITH’s Paver-Grate a simple solution to making its streets cooler, cleaner, and more pedestrian friendly—just don’t expect to notice “In Texas, you need shade trees, or people are not going to be walking,” says Humberto Rey, an urban designer with the City of Austin. Rey is the coordinator for Austin’s Great Streets program, an initiative designed to make Austin a place where “streets are for people.” The goal is to redefine the right-of-way (ROW) in downtown Austin, and make it less car-oriented and more balanced with various modes of transportation, especially walking. In the past, 75 percent of the typical 80-foot ROWs in downtown Austin
60
september–october 2014
was dedicated to vehicular traffic. Rey says the new standard is for a minimum of 45 percent of the ROW to be used for sidewalks. That equates to 18 feet for each side of the street, for which the city has developed a series of design standards— covering everything from benches to trash receptacles—that create a unified look downtown and encourage an animated streetscape. IRONSMITH, a company in Southern California that manufactures high-grade iron, aluminum, and steel products from recycled materials, has been a key player in Austin’s streetscape renewal. They manufacture tree grates, tree guards, and bollards, among other things—products that only landscape architects and urban
designers notice but that form the backbone for high-quality streetscapes. Its flagship product—which Austin has become a showcase for—is the Paver-Grate, a suspended paving system that allows pavers to be installed over the planting soil around street trees, widening the walkable area of a sidewalk significantly. “Trees need a certain amount of uncompacted soil,” says Brian Vavrina, IRONSMITH’s Texas sales representative, “and Paver-Grates provide that without sacrificing space for pedestrians.” It’s a win-win that has made Paver-Grates popular among designers. Paver-Grates also are not susceptible to getting clogged with trash like conventional tree grates and allow stormwater gbdmagazine.com
APPROACH
100
Block faces in Austin, TX, redesigned as part of its Great Streets program
45%
Portion of right-of-ways reserved for sidewalks in Austin
runoff to filter through to the root zone, making any paver a permeable one. Typically manufactured as six-by-sixfoot modular panels, Paver-Grates can be placed end-to-end along the curb, creating a continual trough of engineered soil for street trees. “A concrete foundation is poured along the perimeter to support the Paver-Grates above the soil, and the pavers are then laid over the top,” Vavrina says. It’s an approach that makes the product completely invisible to pedestrians. Typical metal tree grates are a walkable surface in theory, but veteran designers know that people unconsciously avoid them. “[The Great Streets program] specifies either tree grates or Paver-Grates for tree plantings along our most urban streets,” Rey says, “but tree grates can shift. So, we prefer and encourage using Paver-Grates.” Austin’s initiative has supported the makeover of more than 100 block faces so far and, as a result, has made Austin developers some of IRONSMITH’s biggest clients. In the Texas heat, a tree-friendly street is a pedestrian-friendly street. By stacking the functions of healthy trees and sidewalk circulation into one space, Paver-Grates have proven themselves a design-friendly solution to a perpetual urban challenge. gb&d —Brian Barth
36
Feet reserved for sidewalks out of typical 80-foot right-of-ways
“Trees need a certain amount of uncompacted soil, and PaverGrates provide that without sacrificing space for pedestrians.” Brian Vavrina, IRONSMITH
Bringing Green Design to Life...
...on Roofs...
BELOW A cutaway of the Paver-Grate system provides a view of the tree well, grating, filter fabric, and pavers.
...and Walls
Great architecture deserves great products. We bring your vision to life with proven, sustainable green roof and wall systems.
FREE Design Guides Green Roofs: liveroof.com/designguide enter code: GBD14R Living Walls: livewall.com/designguide enter code GBD14W gb&d
september–october 2014
61
APPROACH DEVELOPMENT
CSX Corporation’s green headquarters The railroad operator sends a message of sustainability with its LEED-certified corporate office building in Jacksonville, FL As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, railroad transportation company CSX Corporation has obtained LEED certification for its 55-year-old corporate headquarters building located in Jacksonville, Florida. “Rail is currently the most efficient way to move product on land, so sustainability is in our DNA,” says Carl Gerhardstein, assistant vice president of health, environment and sustainability, who says the company has been focused on sustainability for decades. CSX’s sustainability strategy is based on three pillars. The first, environmental footprint, pursues a reduction of the company’s impact on air, water, waste, and land. The second, sustainable development, seeks to ensure the company is developing in the most environmentally responsible way possible. The third, engagement, seeks to connect with employees, the public, customers, and suppliers. “It wasn’t a challenge to convince people to buy into the strategy because what’s good for the environment is also good for business,” Gerhardstein says. “The challenge was choosing which opportunity to take advantage of first.” “We build LEED components into smaller facilities to make them LEED-
62
september–october 2014
equivalent, but we don’t necessarily go through the costly process of certifying every building, as we have 4,000 across our system,” Gerhardstein continues. “Our headquarters is one of our largest
structures, and it made sense for the building to be LEED-certified.” Constructed in 1959, the 485,000square-foot building features more than 760 offices, 65 conference rooms and a state-of-the-art health and wellness center. Several years ago, the company began the process of pursuing its LEED certification for existing buildings and operations. “We like LEED because it’s not just about energy efficiency,” Gerhardstein says. “It gets into creating buildings that are good for occupants, which supports our core value that people make the difference.” The process was an evolution of existing work. “We had been doing things that supported LEED for the entire 18 years I’ve been here,” says Peter Trolle, director of corporate services, “and our decision to pursue LEED certification didn’t cause us to change course.” CSX worked with LEED consultant Mary Tappouni of Breaking Ground
With 17 floors and 760 offices, the CSX building houses 1,150 employees. The LEED-certified office building is 55 years old.
gbdmagazine.com
LEED® and Green Consulting Energy Star® Portfolio Manager®
Food Service Consultants
Green Globes® Professional PHIUS Certified BuilderSM Construction Management Safety and Sustainability Training
Congratulations to Heffner & Weber for their recognition in GB&D. breakinggroundcontracting.com
Savoy Brown Consultants was established in 1996 providing Food Service Design & Consulting for Operators, Architects and Developers. Proud Food Service Designers of Casino’s, Sports Entertainment Venues, Country Clubs, Hotels, Government Facilities, Schools, Retirement Facilities, National Chain Accounts, & Sole Propriety Restaurants.
breakinggroundeducation.com
Over the years Savoy/Brown has grown to become a premier consulting firm as a result of a commitment to providing comprehensive, detailed services that always strive to remain cutting edge. Savoy/Brown has continued to embrace the evolution and future of the food service industry, resulting in relevant and tangible design solutions for every unique client we serve.
B R E A K I N G G RO U ND CO NT R ACT IN G
Offices Jacksonville & Tampa Bay, Florida 904.388.1350
savoybrownconsultants.com
MILLER ELECTRIC COMPANY:
SERVING YOUR
COMMUNICATIONS &
ELECTRICAL NEEDS AND MORE...
A safe, reliable, and efficient power infrastructure is critical to the success of your business. From its core competency of electrical and communication systems, Miller Electric Company provides innovative solutions for its clients to help them reach their strategic goals, not just their facility needs. Partnering with the industry’s leading manufacturers, engineers, and distributors, Miller Electric provides turnkey solutions for your energy infrastructure so that you can stay focused on your business. Whether you are embarking on a new construction project, modernizing your facility, or improving your energy efficiency, our expert project managers and highly skilled technicians give you the power to succeed.
TYPICAL PROJECTS Installation of electrical infrastructure in new construction Electrical infrastructure additions for building expansion Service & equipment replacement Switchgear & infrastructure upgrades and expansions Generator & UPS installations and additions Installation of power monitoring solutions Energy savings initiatives Solar photovoltaic design and installation
PROJECT MANAGEMENT Turn-Key Solutions Design-Build Services Customer Training Project Financing
ENGINEERING SERVICES Building Information Modeling Project Engineering Arc Flash Analysis Power Quality Analysis Circuit Loading Study Coordination Study MAINTENANCE/MONITORING/ANALYSIS Equipment Start-Up & Commissioning Preventative Maintenance Method of Procedure Design Infrared Imaging Coordination Study Monitoring Systems Equipment Start-Up & Commissioning Generator & UPS Maintenance Method of Procedure Design Breaker Testing Fuel Testing Disaster Recovery Services 24/7 Support
904.388.8000
•
www.mecojax.com
ATLANTA, GA | BIRMINGHAM, AL | CHARLOTTE, NC | DALLAS, TX | DENVER, CO | FT. LAUDERDALE, FL | GAINESVILLE, FL | JACKSONVILLE, FL | LITTLE ROCK, AR | MILWAUKEE, WI | PHOENIX, AZ | RICHMOND, VA | SALEM, VA | SAN ANTONIO, TX | TAMPA, FL
gb&d
september–october 2014
63
APPROACH DEVELOPMENT
“Our headquarters is one of our largest structures, and it made sense for the building to be LEED certified.” Carl Gerhardstein, CSX Corporation
Contracting on the project. Notable sustainable elements include variable speed drives on air handlers, pumps, and chillers; a state-of-the-art environmental control system; lighting automated with occupancy sensors; high-efficiency plumbing fixtures such as touch-free, low-volume flush valves, and waterless urinals; a white roof that reflects sunlight and minimizes the heat island effect; and an efficient curtain wall. Overall, the facility uses 30 percent less water than the baseline expectation for a similar building, and it has boosted energy efficiency by 27 percent. The company is also three years into a five-year plan to replace the entire electrical infrastructure in the 17-story office building. “Once com-
plete, this new electrical infrastructure will give CSX the system to meet their demands for today and for their ever-changing and expanding needs for the future,” says James MacDonald, vice president of corporate services for Miller Electric Company, which is doing the work. As part of the certification process, CSX also encouraged a change in behaviors. The headquarters has a recycling program, and the company encourages employees to use alternative forms of transportation. The company will pay for the public transportation of those who give up their parking spaces and offers reduced-cost parking to those who drive fuel-efficient vehicles. gb&d —Julie Schaeffer
Baltimore ‘Aerotropolis’ a town square with transit
ment that can support its new denizens without shortchanging the environment on which it relies. For that reason, suburbs are out and smart-growth, transit-connected cities are in, according to Mitch Weber, president of Heffner & Weber, a full-service real estate development, design-build, and property management firm located adjacent to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. “You read about it in every newspaper, magazine, and social media outlet around the world: People don’t want to live in the suburbs anymore,” Weber says. “The tide has changed. People want to live where they work. They want to get rid of their cars. They want to be sustainable. It’s become part of our culture—and it’s only going to become more so as our population grows.” Although people of all ages are flocking in record numbers to traditional downtown urban cores, the re-urbanization of America demands that developers also build new transit-connected town centers. In Baltimore and metropolitan areas like it, the best place for such town centers
Developer Heffner & Weber has commenced a 25-year project to turn a city airport into an airport city Approximately 5.7 million people live in “The Old Line State.” According to the Maryland Department of Planning, by the year 2040, that number will swell by nearly 20 percent to 6.8 million. To accommodate a million new residents, Maryland will need not just new communities—places for its burgeoning population to live, work, and play—but also smarter, more sustainable develop-
64
september–october 2014
700
may be at the airport, argue Weber and his longtime business partTotal planned ner Sam Heffner. In acreage of the 2007, they announced greater BWI plans to design, develAerotropolis op, and build an “Aerotropolis” immediately adjacent to BWI. “‘Aerotropolis’ is a Minutes from BWI term coined by Dr. John Aerotropolis to Kasarda at the UniverWashington, DC sity of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School,” Weber says. “It’s the concept of taking a city airport Modes of transit and turning it into an serving the airport city … so that development the airport becomes more than just a place to fly out of. It’s an airport-centric city where Years it may take people can live, work, to build BWI and play—with the Aerotropolis airport as the hub.” South Worldwide, places as diverse as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong already have thriving airport cities. BWI Aerotropolis’s proximity to Washington, DC, New York, and virtually every available mode of transportation, however, sets it apart from its international brethren. “We happen to be sitting on property … that has unique quadramodal attributes and has recently been re-zoned to allow for multifamily residential, in addition to traditional commercial office, hotel, retail, and entertainment uses,” Weber says. “There’s the airport, of course, but there’s also BWI Marshall Rail Station five minutes away and connected to the property by pedestrian bridge, and the bustling Port of Baltimore only 15 minutes away. Coupled with the fact that we have an existing, very highly developed road system, we’re sitting on a unique live-work-play property that’s extremely accessible from
35 4
20
gbdmagazine.com
APPROACH
Weber’s vision involves more than 700 acres of mixed-use space to be built in the next 20 years.
all four modes of transportation: land, air, rail, and sea.” Aerotropolis North, the first of two phases, is close to completion. There, Heffner & Weber has already designed, developed, or built nearly 3.5 million square feet on approximately 250 acres immediately north of the BWI access road. Additionally, it owns approximately 50 acres of undeveloped land, 30 of which will be occupied by a mixed-use development that includes 614 luxury apartment units. At Aerotropolis South, which the company envisions as the “Airport City” of a greater airport-centered development, Heffner & Weber owns approximately 130 acres of undeveloped land, 30 of which it plans to sell to a national multifamily developer for construction of 370 condos and townhouses. Plans are still in their infancy, but within 20 years, Weber envisions more than 700 acres of airport-adjacent land teeming with mid-rise condos, apartment buildings, hotels, office towers, and all the high-density amenities of a world-class metropolis, from health clubs to art galleries. Because it’s also adjacent to 50 acres of wooded forest conservation and flood plain, and just 10 minutes from Maryland’s 16-acre Patapsco Valley State Park, residents of BWI Aerotropolis will enjoy a unique mix of urban and natural sustainability. “Having an urbanish live-work-play environment that’s hip, green, transit-connected, and within 35 minutes of Washington, DC, is a beautiful thing,” Weber says. “As it continues to proliferate, the BWI Aerotropolis is going to become a nationally and internationally recognized destination.” gb&d —Matt Alderton
gb&d
Big data, smart design Cosentry’s LEED Gold OmahaMidlands data center is in the top 10% worldwide in terms of efficiency Data centers are vital infrastructure in our information-dependent society, but they’re also enormous power users. Companies such as Cosentry, which provides data center services throughout the Midwest, are investing in greener facilities. Cosentry’s Omaha-Midlands facility, located near Omaha, Nebraska, is the first LEED-certified data center in Nebraska and one of only 21 in the United States. A data center such as Cosentry’s 80,000-squarefoot Omaha-Midlands facility draws more power than any other type of building. By way of comparison, a standard home draws less than 5,000 watts of energy; a data center can easily draw 3 million. The facility is also designed to hold 800 to 1,000 cabinets of IT equipment, which includes the servers and other cloud-computing devices that organizations around the world rely on to gain efficiency, increase security, and reduce costs. Ten years
ago, the industry averaged an energy draw of 700 to 1,000 watts per cabinet. Today, that number is closer to 3,000 watts per cabinet, and the Omaha-Midlands facility’s many cabinets draw as many as 20,000 watts of energy. Cooling is key. The Omaha facility pairs Carrier chillers with exterior cooling towers equipped with plate-and-frame heat exchangers. “When the outside air temperature is low enough, water-side economizers cool the building without operating a chiller, savings 500,000 kilowatt-hours of energy a year,” says facility manager Scott Capps. Most chillers reduce water contaminants—which can impact heat transfer—by chemically treating water, but Cosentry uses a Water Conservation Technology International water-softening program. “We’re not adding chemicals to the environment, and we’re saving 30 percent on our water costs—some 500,000 gallons a year,” says Jason Black, Cosentry’s vice president of data center services. The building’s mechanicals themselves are also efficient. When running at full loads, Emerson’s Liebert-brand UPS, or uninterruptible power supply, is 97 percent DETAILS energy efficient, LOCATION Omaha, NE meaning it passes 97 Program D ata percent of the incomcenter ing utility power to the Size 80,000 ft2 load. Backup power (46,000 ft2 of is provided by MTU raised floor space) diesel generators with Completion 2009 low emissions and low Certification sound continuation. LEED-EBOM Gold, The Omaha-MidENERGY STAR 2013 label (score lands project got off of 93) the ground when a Cost $30 million client wanted to conClient Cosentry solidate multiple data Architect Altus centers in one Omaha Architectural location. Cosentry Studios chose to have the Engineer building LEED certified Morrissey because more and more Engineering september–october 2014
65
High Performance HVAC Engineering Energy Modeling Commissioning
ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year 2007-2014
Architecture Passive House Design
www.dcm-ae.com 856 479 9101 info@dcm-ae.com
- MEP Design - Energy Modeling - HERS Inspections - Commissioning - Incentive Programs - Consulting - ENERGY STAR® - Water Sense - LEED
We Provide Solutions www.EnergyInspectors.com
Congratulations to Omaha-Midlands Data Center for achieving LEED Gold 2013
From building concept to design, to commissioning, to ongoing building optimization – Morrissey Engineering is proud to partner with CoSentry.
High Performance Solutions morrisseyengineering.com | 402-491-4144 MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • LIGHTING • TECHNOLOGY • COMMISSIONING
66
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
APPROACH
SOLAR FLARE These net-zero homes in Indio, CA, feature solar-energy systems by Solar City, which is chaired by Elon Musk.
12,057
Current solar electric generating capacity in MW in the US, up 418% from 2010 and accounting for 1.13% of total US energy capacity
$3,000
Annual savings for a typical net-zero home at Trilogy at the Polo Club
companies, especially those from Europe, are demanding it. The LEED Building Design & Construction rating system was an option, but Cosentry wanted a label that proved performance. “We obtained LEED Gold certification under the Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) rating system,” Capps says, “which proves that our building not only started out efficient, but has been efficient for more than 18 months.” The effectiveness of power usage in data centers is measured by an efficiency grade called power usage effectiveness (PUE), which is calculated by dividing the building’s total energy load by its IT energy load. The industry annual average is 2.2, Black says, and anything less than that is positive. The Omaha-Midlands facility’s efficiency grade is 1.6, putting it in the top 8 to 10 percent of data centers worldwide. gb&d —Julie Schaeffer
Fine-tuning netzero marketing Shea Homes sells its net-metered residential development on value and simplicity Elon Musk’s Solar City is tapped for 20-year use and maintenance agreement Southern California’s Coachella Valley, where the average high temperature in winter is about 70 degrees, has long been an idyllic retirement haven. With more than 125 golf courses, the region is a premier destination for outdoor activities year-round. This arid valley, best known gb&d
for Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park, is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States. With more than 350 sunny days a year, Coachella Valley also is made to order for generating electricity from the sun, and it’s little surprise that Shea Homes chose it for a net-zero-energy active-lifestyle retirement community, powered by rooftop photovoltaic panels. With customers increasingly embracing a green ethos and eager to save money on utility bills, volume homebuilders have been constructing greener products in recent years. Going all the way to net zero, however, is still rare. For Shea, the challenges in developing its “SheaXero No Electric Bill Home” were formulating the right mix of green features and helping the concept resonate with prospective homebuyers. The SheaXero concept, of which Trilogy at the Polo Club in Indio, California, is the latest example, was the result of 18 months of intensive research on how to build and sell net-zero homes. “We conducted a verbal focus group and found that people were willing to pay 5 percent to 10 percent more for a net-zero-electric home,” says Ryan Smith, general manager at Trilogy at the Polo Club. In order to provide saleable value, Shea executives investigated a wide array of options for designs, building materials, fixtures, and features. The most critical component was the solar energy system. After interviewing several leading residential solar-energy providers, Shea chose Solar City, a San Mateo, California, venture chaired by noted entrepreneur Elon Musk. “Solar City is an innovator in residential solar integration and how to deliver solar cost effectively,” Smith says. Shea and Solar City struck a deal that gives homeowners a 20-year use and maintenance agreement “that eliminates maintenance costs for the homeowner,” Smith says. Solar City retains ownership
of the solar power system, and claims the resultant federal tax breaks. “The cost of solar power is built into the home,” Smith says. “It’s like locking in your electric rates for 20 years.” For a 2,200-square-foot home, the typical household at Trilogy at the Polo Club will save about $3,000 per year on electric costs, a figure that can rise or fall based on homeowners’ usage habits. Each dwelling is hooked into the grid, requiring homeowners to pay a monthly connection fee of $3.50 per month, and the solar system operates via net metering—when the solar panels generate more electricity than the home is using, the meter runs backwards. Other features ensure that the clean power being generated isn’t wasted. Shea’s design team tested options using modeling software to derive optimal price/ performance value. Rather than insulating the attic just above ceiling level, for instance, Shea uses blown-in cellulose insulation on the interior of the roof. This ensures that the attic temperature will be close to that of the interior living space. Thus, the heating and cooling ductwork that runs through the attic will not be subjected to extreme temperatures, making the entire Trane HVAC system more efficient. Other efficient features include Pella dual-pane, low-E, vinyl windows; light fixtures with occupancy sensors; JennAir Energy Star appliances; and insulated garage doors. Shea executives thought long and hard about how to market the net-zero concept so that it had wide appeal. Smith notes that there are many green standards and descriptors—LEED, Energy Star, “sustainable,” “carbon-neutral,” and others—that can fog consumers’ perceptions. “There is only so much data you can provide before you’re drowning people with it,” Smith says. The brand, “SheaXero No Electric Bill Home,” and the value pitch, “average annual savings of $3,000,” say it all, clearly and concisely. gb&d —Peter Fabris september–october 2014
67
APPROACH BUSINESS
Networked intelligence The EcoCommercial Building network is a strategic new entity in the green building industry Kingspan partners with Bayer MaterialScience to secure its place in the North America market What does it take to build supremely energy-efficient buildings? Is it about having renewable energy sources, best-in-class insulation, well-designed building mechanicals, smart controls, or triple-glazed windows? Of course, it can be all of those things and more. But
68
september–october 2014
whatever achieves high-performance in Building A may not work in Building B. That’s because there isn’t any single, smart assembly of building components that can work everywhere. “Every job is a custom job,” explains Paul Bertram, director of environment and sustainability in
the government affairs office of Kingspan Insulated Panels in Deland, Florida. Bertram refers to the commercial structures that use Kingspan products, as well as more broadly to the nature of building design and construction. Yet as performance demands increase on all new buildings, it is becoming increasingly important for the science and technology of buildings to deliver as promised. With dozens of materials suppliers involved in almost every project—all with different product features, designs, and formulations—architects and builders need to know how these different components work together. To address this, Kingspan joined the EcoCommercial Building (ECB) network, a global organization made up of building materials manufacturers. Largely gbdmagazine.com
APPROACH
photovoltaic arrays, as well as a design that maximizes the use of sunlight to collect energy and windows oriented to reduce heat gain. To evaluate this nearly infinite combination, design teams and owners must look at whole-building lifecycle costs. “It’s about moving away from first costs, in the construction phase, to considering the longer operational costs,” Bertram says. Members of the ECB share such information at trade shows and at its own annual conference. Bertram details how these meetings explore the current information trends on such things as material transparency, environmental product declarations, hazards, and Kingspan’s KarrierPanels health product declarations (someare used at Portland Comtimes referred to as “the nutrition munity College to achieve label of building materials”). “Spea quick, energy-efficient cific components of chemistries exterior insulation. and toxicity are a hot topic in that room,” Bertram says. Kingspan manufactures exterior insulated metal panels for roofs and walls with a wide array of building envelope solutions (rain screens, refrigerated insulated doors, sunshades, fire-rated panels, and related ancillaries), and Bertram says the ECB addresses envelopes very effecformed by Bayer MaterialScience as an offshoot of its own corporate sustainabiltively, acknowledging that the envelope can be the most effective means to reduce ity program, the concept is intended to a building’s carbon footprint. provide developers, owners, architects, The benefits of the network come back and builders with a portfolio of services to its members in many ways, including a and materials solutions that collectively collective marketing program, as well as achieve energy-efficient, waste-minithe sharing that occurs between research mized, and cost-effective buildings. These and development. For Kingspan—which products and services come from a group is based in Ireland, has more than 100 of companies that are willing to share operations globally, but is relatively new information and ideas. in North America—it was a good entry For example, building performance point for its operations on this side of the might combine insulation panels with Atlantic. The network is also helping to develop energy code standards, in keeping with the US Department of Energy’s push to save 30 percent of the energy lost through building envelopes by 2030. gb&d —Russ Klettke
WHO’S WHO Seven top manufacturers participating in the EcoCommercial Building network Acuity Brands A lighting company, Acuity weds advanced lighting, digital controls, and daylighting to achieve ultimate energy efficiency. CBRE A global leader in real estate services and investments, CBRE helps clients with energy management, solar and carbon services, aligning their business and sustainability goals. Johnson Controls In the business of building operational efficiency for 125 years, the company sponsored a survey of building owners in 2013 that found 71 percent wish to have green building certifications such as LEED. Waste Management A major disposal company, this firm designates a sustainability expert for each commercial property to identify green goals and tactics. Eaton Across many lines of business, Eaton helps customers reduce energy and material consumption, and it is advancing materials that are healthier and use fewer greenhouse gasses. Bayer This German-based firm combines materials, systems and technologies to develop energyoptimized commercial buildings. Kingspan Insulated Panels The firm’s flagship product, insulated metal panels, was the first in its category to achieve UL certification on their ISO 14025 compliant Environmental Product Declaration.
“Specific components of chemistries and toxicity are a hot topic in that room.” Paul Bertram, Kingspan Insulated Panels gb&d
september–october 2014
69
YOU. EMPOWERED
Design Flexibility
Vast Design Possibilities Design Flexibility
R-value
Build Speed Design Flexibility
High R-Value
R-value
Airtightness
Single Component
Faster Build Speed
Cool Walls R-value Design Flexibility Build Speed Build SpeedR-value Single Component
Cool Walls
Single Component Build Speed
Cool Walls
Airtightness Cool Walls Single ComponentAirtightness Design Flexibility
Airtightness R-value
Single Component System
Superior Airtightness Build Speed
Single Component
Cool Walls
Airtightness
CODE COMPLIANT. DESIGN FREEDOM. BENCHMARK by Kingspan Insulated Metal Wall System: Sophistication to extend your design boundaries, envelope performance to meet every expectation. You. Empowered.
Build without boundaries at www.BenchmarkByKingspan.us
APPROACH
LEED v4 Credits
ightweight
STRUCTURES
# , ,
®
LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE FRAMING
COMPOSITE STEEL & CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION THE GREEN BUILDING SYSTEM THAT SAVES TIME AND COSTS LESS THAN TRADITIONAL FRAMING METHODS
How to break $900m cleantech startups out of 1,000 the garage 39
External capital raised by participants of the Cleantech Open
Mentors that work with accelerator participants
The Cleantech Open makes green technologies such as Lucid’s Building Dashboard market ready
At the Cleantech Open 2014 National Webinar last April, a list of global challenges was presented: soaring energy demand, skyrocketing consumption, peaking oil supply, increasingly contaminated fresh water, and egregious pollution of our land and oceans. These are the pressing challenges being addressed by clean technology entrepreneurs around the world and driving the mission of the Cleantech Open, a nonprofit organization that operates one of the largest accelerators for cleantech startups in the country. “As Thomas Friedman said, ‘A hundred thousand innovators in our garages will help us solve our biggest problems,’” says Rex Northen, executive director of the Cleantech Open. “We say, well yes, but you have to get them out of their garages. That’s the real secret, because in their garages they still think the best mousetrap is going to win. It’s not until they’ve gone through commercialization, or some kind of market program, that they really come to understand what’s required.” Helping cleantech startups learn to successfully commercialize is at the heart of the Cleantech Open. Started in 2006 by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and business leaders, the Cleantech Open merged in 2011 with Ignite Clean Energy, gb&d
• “Super-Insulated” Walls and Floors with Integral Insulation > Makes Net-Zero Buildings Affordable > Lowers Building Life Cycle Costs > Reduces Carbon Footprint
• Extremely Strong yet Lighter than Typical Concrete Framing • Provides a Safe and Healthy Place to Live and Work • Excellent Platform for Green Technologies (Geothermal, Solar, Wind and Green Roofs) • Non-Combustible, Corrosion Resistant and 100% Recyclable • Easily Installed, Transported and Fabricated at or Close to Project • Minimizes Sound Transmission
INNOVATIVE, VERSATILE, SUSTAINABLE www.lwstructures.com
Countries represented at the Cleantech Open Global Ideas Competition
158 West 29th Street, 10th Fl New York, NY 10001 212-201-5790 www.oneluxstudio.com
september–october 2014
71
APPROACH BUSINESS
with whom they had been working closely from the beginning. With 865 companies having so far passed through the program, the Cleantech Open sets itself apart from the average accelerator through its sole focus on clean technologies (it offers eight technology categories under which companies can apply) and its scope and scale (the organization is international). “There’s a lot of benefit to having a global network you can plug into for help and advice,” Northen says. “It’s quite common for startups to find their first customer in another country”—as well as a combination of mentoring, training, access to capital, and showcasing. With approximately 150 companies attending the technology accelerator each year, the program begins with the National Cleantech Academy, followed by a specific 10-step curriculum. “It starts with customer discovery and goes all the way through to an executive summary and an investor pitch,” Northen says. “Rather than randomly throwing companies that come to the Cleantech Open a series of ways in which they can get help, we start at the beginning.” This includes establishing whether or not the product fits the particular market the company had in mind and if the company has at least started down the path toward obtaining the appropriate certifications for the new technology.
“Our concern is that technologies that could make a real difference to the planet don’t make it.” Rex Northen, Cleantech Open
72
september–october 2014
The curriculum is accompanied by training webinars, business clinics, stage time, and mentoring. Providing an opportunity to meet with investors, the culmination of it all is Investor Connect. “It’s like speed dating for investors,” Northen says of the event that takes place at the national Global Forum in November. “That combination of things in the right sequence means that of the active companies, about half will raise third-party capital, and, on average, they’ll raise about two million dollars each.” Among the success stories is Lucid, the 2007 Cleantech Open Smart Power Winner. Lucid’s Building Dashboard allows building occupants to monitor and receive feedback on energy and water use in real time. Architectural Applications (a2), from the 2012 Cleantech Open Pacific Northwest regional accelerator, developed a passive, membrane-based heat and humidity exchanger, integrated into the building enclosure, which saves energy and improves air quality. EcoFactor, the 2009 overall winner of the national competition, is behind an automated, cloud-based energy service that looks at local weather data, a home’s thermostat, and the comfort preferences of a homeowner to automatically adjust for specific energy savings. With initiatives including the Cleantech Open Global Ideas Competition, which sees 39 countries participate, and the recent launch of six accelerators outside of the US in conjunction with the United Nations, the ultimate goal of the Cleantech Open is to embrace its global network of entrepreneurs. “The challenge is that too many of them never see the light of day, so our concern is that technologies that could make a real difference to the planet don’t make it,” Northen says. “Not because their technology isn’t sound, but because they weren’t good at the commercialization. That’s our role.” gb&d —Joann Plockova
Vital pieces of the solar puzzle Creativity on the legal and financial side of solar energy development helps put technological genius on the roof The growth rate in renewable energy in America, solar and wind in particular, is nothing less than exhilarating. Solar capacity in the United States has increased 418 percent since 2010, while wind energy constituted 30 percent of new electricity-generating capacity added to the US power grid in 2013. This is just the beginning, according to analysts. Falling equipment prices, in combination with state and federal incentive programs, have fueled the growth, but further gains are also expected from lowering soft costs, which will help keep payback periods and rates of return acceptable to investors if and when subsidies expire. Legal and financial instruments around renewable energy already play a big role. The relationships between owners, installers, developers, and other project participants require “bankable” contracts to allocate risks properly and to meet financing requirements. Wind and sun may be as old as time, but the contractual structures and financial models to harness them continue to evolve as new markets are served against a shifting policy backdrop. Enter the lawyers and financiers. Attorney John Spilman, with Cleantech Law Partners in San Francisco, and Shiraz Madan, CEO of Sustainable Capital Finance in San Jose, California, focus their talents exclusively on renewable energy. Madan prescribes a simple way to size up the full potential of commercial scale gbdmagazine.com
APPROACH
14%
PHOTO: IAN SPILMAN (SPILMAN)
US electrical demand that can be met by PV and concentrated solar power by 2030
27%
US electrical demand that can be met by PV and concentrated solar power by 2050 (doubled in 20 years)
solar: Look outside airplane windows. “When you’re on a plane and descending into a city, you can see the vast area of rooftops that have yet to install solar systems,” he says. Big box stores, school campuses, and factories are good examples of facilities that can support solar projects connected “behind the meter.” These serve high on-site energy demands at prices that beat retail rates otherwise payable to the local utility. In a different scenario, airplane hangars, warehouses, public storage facilities, and parking garages have large rooftops but low electricity needs. To tap their rooftop solar as a revenue stream, feed-in tariffs (FIT) for wholesale provision of the power to the local utility are necessary. An example of this working successfully is the 100 MW program launched by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in February 2013; applications from homeowners and businesses exceeded the first phase’s needs, leading to a second round for the program. The legal territory for renewables is complex. Consider the patchwork of energy policies at the state and federal levels, and how those policies can change from year to year. “It’s one of the biggest challenges, absolutely,” Spilman says. “For example, consider how the Production Tax Credit [which fostered the growth of wind energy] is never extended by more than a couple years into the future. It’s very hard for those companies to plan.” The Investment Tax Credit that the solar industry relies on is
1,000
Megawatts of rooftop solar energy installed in California in 2013, double what had been installed in the preceding 30 years
106
Potential terawatt-hours (TWh) estimated for commercial building rooftop PV energy in California
set to end by 2016. More than 30 attorneys provide the Cleantech Law Partners network with a range of expertise. The solar practice is most active in the West and Northeast, while wind energy is increasingly concentrated in the Great Plains states. Their services cover the gamut from contracts to regulatory work, permitting, litigation, incorporation, land use, intellectual property, insurance, and tribal lands law. A solar enterprise will often need two or more legal specialties in different project phases. “The game changer in the commercial rooftop market will be when contracts,
“The Production Tax Credit is never extended by more than a couple years into the future. It’s very hard for those companies to plan.” John Spilman, Cleantech Law Partners
63%
Portion of commercial rooftops (compared to 8% of residential) that are flat and therefore suitable for a solar installation
and the methodologies for assessing and rating commercial credit risk, become truly standardized, allowing for higher volumes of closings and securitization of these assets in the public capital markets,” Spilman says. Madan adds that the standardization of contracts and evaluation metrics will help answer important investor questions and ultimately enable solar-asset-backed investment products. For example, an aggregation of multiple rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations can be presented as a single investment portfolio. “It makes projects viable that might not be financed as stand-alone projects, and it speeds up the financing process from about six months to between 30 and 90 days,” Madan says. All those roofs we see from the air are a tantalizing glimpse at the future of green energy. With the help of progressive attorneys and financing experts working behind the scenes, we may soon notice an increase in how many come clad in photovoltaic arrays. gb&d —Russ Klettke
Shiraz Madan, CEO, Sustainable Capital Finance
gb&d
september–october 2014
73
SCF SUITE The Solar Marketplace Dedicated To Commercial Solar Sustainable Capital Finance (SCF) launched the SCF Suite in early 2014, bringing efficient and affordable solar financing to the industry. The solar marketplace matches projects from solar integrators with project capital from solar investors, to finance non-profit, commercial, and municipal solar projects and aggregated portfolios. Integrator’s projects and investors are linked to the same robust network, which provides integrators with expedited financing decisions and investors with multiple investment opportunities. The SCF Suite allows integrators to streamline the project funding cycle by gathering all information necessary for SCF and its networked investors to analyze a project or portfolio. The Suite properly prices projects to meet economic benchmarks. SCF’s investor network consists of hedge funds, private equity, utility companies and other institutional investors. Investors can acquire or invest in projects specific to their unique investment requirements and can form aggregated portfolios consisting of multiple commercial projects, meeting their desired portfolio size. Investors can dedicate less time to reviewing a single project, knowing that a SCF project analyst has previously evaluated the project, based on their investment criteria. Investors have access to the SCF EPC Rating, SCF Credit Strength, SCF Project Score, and SCF Portfolio Score. Each Investor Member may customize the importance of each SCF rating metric to its unique cost structure, risk tolerance and sensitivities in order to optimize its own decision-making when it comes to investing in a Project or Portfolio.
SCF Suite Advantages > Find, Evaluate and Finance commercial-scale projects > Centralized Marketplace for Integrators and Investors > Automation to simplify financial workflows > No fees for membership to the Suite
Sustainable Capital Finance (SCF) serves as a domestic renewable financing firm, providing financing vehicles and solar expertise in commercial solar. SCF is comprised of experts whom specialize in solar financing and solar development. Relationships with a multitude of investors have allowed SCF to structure solar projects into desirable investment vehicles, catering to the underserved commercial solar market. Sustainable Capital Finance and SCF Suite are service marks of Sustainable Capital Finance Inc.
+1 408.462.1723
/
inquiries@sustainablecapitalfinance.com
/
suite@sustainablecapitalfinance.com
www.sustainablecapitalfinance.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
76 Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building
In New Haven, Maryann Thompson creates a bright new learning space
80 Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy
A LEED Platinum, bird-friendly urban high school prototype in Chicago
85 150 Second Street
Elkus Manfredi Architects reconsiders what “smart building” means
86 Whole Foods Market Garden Roof
Behind the construction of a massive edible rooftop in Massachusetts
september–october 2014
75
INNER WORKINGS
Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building Maryann Thompson designs a solar-powered, high-performing, vibrant learning environment for New Haven’s Foote School The Foote School, a private K–9 institution in New Haven, Connecticut, needed to upgrade space for its older students and modernize classrooms for science and technology instruction for all. The Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building, designed by Maryann Thompson Architects and completed in 2012, addresses those needs, and its sustainable features act as teaching tools. The project is a prime example of an institution investing in sustainability and earning substantial returns in utility savings and educational value. Here’s how the design team did it. —Peter Fabris
PREEMINENT DAYLIGHTING
TIGHT ENVELOPE, STACK EFFECT
Throughout most of
Energy conservation was a primary
goal for the design team, but that aim had to be balanced carefully with costs. “We didn’t have a specific energy-efficiency goal,” says project manager Martha Foss. The school decided not to incur the cost of LEED certification, instead redirecting those funds for a purpose with clearer benefits. “The design committee wisely chose to spend that money for an energy model and cost analysis,” Foss says. Payback analysis led to a tight building envelope super-insulated with closed-cell spray foam. Walls are valued at R-30, the roof at R-60. Windows are low-E double-pane glazing and can be opened high in the walls. When windows are open and assisted by ceiling fans, they encourage cross ventilation through the stack effect, reducing the need for conditioned air.
PHOTOS: CHUCK CHOI
the building, large windows invite daylight into the interior. A series of roof overhangs and wood louvers restrict the sun’s rays and reduce heat gain during the summer while allowing the lower-angled winter sunrays through. Artificial lighting fixtures are regulated via light sensors and ramp up when daylight is dim. “The headmaster tells me that they rarely need to have the lights on,” says Maryann Thompson, principal at Maryann Thompson Architects, who adds that the building has more daylighting than most other classroom buildings. While some school programs call for limited daylighting to reduce computer screen glare, the glare issue hasn’t been a problem at Foote.
EXCLUSIVE EXTRAS See more of the Foote School in our iPad edition or at gbdmagazine.com.
76
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
INNER WORKINGS
PROJECT
TEAM
SUPPLIERS
LOCATION New Haven, CT Program New STEM classroom building Size 17,000 ft2 Cost $5.6 million Completion 2012 Awards Boston Society of Architects Award for Excellence in K-12 Design, Boston Society of Architects Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design
ARCHITECT Maryann Thompson Architects Client Foote School Contractor Chapel Construction MEP/FP Engineer Innovative Engineering Services Structural Engineer Richmond So Engineers Owners Representative Leland Torrence Enterprises Mechanical Contractor Environmental Engineering Electrical Contractor Beacon Electric
Solar-Thermal Manufacturer Bio-Tecture Solar Panels Schüco Windows Kawneer Double Glazing Solar Seal Building Envelope Icynene Spray Foam Insulation Daylight/Occupancy Sensors / Digital Photosensors Watt Stopper LED Down Light Lightolier Bathroom Faucet Speakman Toilet ‘Flushometer’ Sloan
gb&d
BELOW Rainwater is captured in rain barrels and used to water the school’s redbud trees and other plants. The Trex decking is 98% recycled and made from plastic bags.
september–october 2014
77
INNER WORKINGS Milikowsky Science and Technology Building
“This age group likes to feel like they are doing something to change the world. It helps to shape their identity.” Maryann Thompson, Maryann Thompson Architects
RECYCLED AND RECLAIMED
VISIBLE TOOLS
A photovoltaic array on the south
The sustainability ethos goes
To provide learning opportunities,
roof generates electricity and provides a substantial amount of the building’s power needs. LED lights in the entry atrium help to make that sun-generated power stretch even further, as does an energy-efficient chiller system for cooling and a high-efficiency HVAC mechanical system designed after the energy model and a life-cycle-cost analysis. A Bio-Tecture solar-thermal hot-water system, integrated within the louvered awning, supplies 100 percent (on most days) of the building’s hot water supply for sinks throughout the building and for dishwashers in the science labs.
beyond energy efficiency and generation. Many of the construction materials are composed of recycled and reclaimed material. Glass bathroom tiles are made of 90 percent recycled content. Structural and infrastructure elements such as structural steel and fabric ducts were manufactured with over 50 percent recycled content. Reclaimed wooden seats, originally from Yale University’s football stadium, were repurposed throughout common areas for benches and stair treads.
all water and energy use and production is monitored and displayed on screens in the building’s lobby and is accessible on the school’s computer network, allowing the building to function as an interactive teaching tool. Signs throughout the building supply information about green systems. “The things that have the most visibility have the most educational value,” Foss says. Students reportedly are enjoying their environmental laboratory. “This age group likes to feel like they are doing something to change the world,” Thompson says. “It helps to shape their identity.” gb&d
ABOVE The building’s two-story lobby is flooded with natural light. On the wall, monitors track energy use and production. BELOW Awnings perform double duty on hot days by shading the sun and heating water through an integrated solar-thermal system.
PHOTOS: CHUCK CHOI
SERIOUS SOLAR
78
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
F. H. PASCHEN S.N. NIELSEN
nia architects inc 850 W Jackson Blvd Suite 600 Chicago, IL 60607 www.niaarch.com
Over 35 years as General Contractor and Construction Manager Community Garden
Main Entrance Plaza Solar panels at UNO Veterans Memorial School
23 LEED professionals on staff OF F I CES I N:
CHICAGO, IL (Headquarters) • ATLANTA, GA • COLUMBUS, OH MIAMI, FL • NEW ORLEANS, LA • WASHINGTON, D.C. Partial South Elevation
www.fhpaschen.com
MARYANN THOMPSON ARCHITECTS
WWW.MARYANNTHOMPSON.COM 617.744.5187 gb&d
september–october 2014
79
INNER WORKINGS
Toward the completion of the Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, STR Partners, the building’s lead architect, realized that the project was just a point shy of LEED Platinum certification. “[Green power] was kind of a cheap point, but it got us there,” says Colby Lewis, a management partner at STR Partners, referring to the fact that the credit in question can be purchased rather than designed into the building. “But we don’t feel bad because we got nine out of ten energy credits.” A LEED charette, plus close collaboration with Nia Architects and FH Paschen, helped the team surpass its goal of LEED Silver and resulted in a building and site that serve as a model of sustainable design for both students and the community. The team took us on a tour to point out the school’s numerous innovations. —Joann Plockova
PHOTOS: STEVE HALL
Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy
A rooftop bird sanctuary, visible urban garden, and innovative natatorium help this LEED Platinum urban high school prototype provide a living lesson in sustainable design
80
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
INNER WORKINGS
OPEN SPACES, GROWING PLACES
AN UNEQUALED ENVIRONMENT
Located on Chicago’s southwest side, on a
The architects brought daylight into the core
brownfield found to have underground storage tanks and subsequent leakage, the site is surrounded by residential neighborhoods on both its west and south sides. The goal, as a result, was “to provide not only a school, but an amenity the whole community could benefit from,” Lewis says. In order to make sustainable design accessible to both students and residents, the team included numerous open spaces, including walking paths, a community garden, a learning garden, and two rain gardens for storm-water control. Near the building’s cafeteria, where the community garden and outdoor seating are situated, one rain garden can be viewed from inside. “The thought was that the students can see where their food is coming from,” Lewis says.
learning spaces by enlarging windows and adding occupancy sensors and dimming features. This allowed for daylight-harvesting. “LEED Platinum for Chicago schools is an investment in the children’s lives in that it creates an environment that is conducive to learning and provides a healthy indoor air quality,” says Anthony Akindele, a principal at Nia Architects, who adds that such environments have been shown to reduce absenteeism. “It saves a lot of dollars from an energy standpoint, and it invokes curiosity on the part of children.” Although there is a perception that green building leads to limitations, Daryl Lesny, the project manager for FH Paschen, says this school proves otherwise. “It’s more like a college campus than a high school or academy,” he says. “It’s a beautiful, state-of-the-art building. You don’t need to sacrifice to get to this level.”
gb&d
The Sarah E. Goode school features an arts building clad in colorful glass, which is meant to evoke musical notation.
september–october 2014
81
INNER WORKINGS Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy
PROJECT
TEAM
SUPPLIERS
LOCATION Chicago Program Urban Model High School prototype Size 207,600 ft2 Completion 2012 Certification LEED-NC Platinum Awards 2013 Brick in Architecture, Gold Award Cost $62 million
ARCHITECTS STR Partners, Nia Collaborative (led by STR Partners) Owner Public Building Commission of Chicago MEP Engineer dbHMS Civil Engineer Terra Engineering LEED Consultant HJ Kessler Associates Acoustical Consultant Shiner + Associates Landscape Architect Jacobs/Ryan Associates General Contractor FH Paschen
Masonry A.L.L. Masonry Roofing Anderson & Shaw Roofing Lockers, Bleachers Caroll Seating Pavers H anover Architectural Products Vegetative Roof Assembly American Hydrotech Pumps/Solar Heating AMT Pumps ABS Water Heaters PVI Heat Pumps Climate Master AHUs Annex Air
ROOFTOP SANCTUARY The building is divided into three parts: “mind”
(classrooms), “body” (physical education facilities) and “spirit” (music and art spaces and the library). Comprising roughly 50 percent of its site, the building has two green roofs: one located above the library and arts area, and the second located over the gym and natatorium. The latter is the larger of the two and was developed as a bird sanctuary. Depressions hold water, and vegetation—including low-maintenance, weather-tolerant sedums as well as branches and stumps from trees that were removed to build the school—holds insects for the birds to feed on. POOLSIDE DESIGN The natatorium’s unique back-flush system uses
a regenerative media filter to reduce water waste by thousands of gallons. “As compared to the more widely used high-rate pressure sand filter, this can save up to 195,000 gallons of water each year,” says Jennifer Costanzo, operations partner at STR Partners. Nineteen roof-mounted, evacuated tube collectors heat the pool water with renewable energy; additional heating from the panels is used for the domestic water system. “This was a new system that we hadn’t seen,” Lesny says. “So there was a little more effort put toward that to get everything installed correctly and working properly.” ENERGY AND COST SAVINGS Reducing HVAC operating energy by an
estimated 20 percent, a ground-source heat pump system is the only one of its kind in Chicago Public Schools. Composed of a 174-well geothermal exchange system, which is combined with heat pumps located in each classroom, the system offers significant savings. “We saved an average of $7 million in installation costs,” Costanzo says. gb&d
EXCLUSIVE EXTRAS See more of the Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy at gbdmagazine.com.
82
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
INNER WORKINGS
The reading garden, with plantings interspersed with seating areas, requires no irrigation, helping the school achieve a 40% reduction in water use.
RIGHT The gym includes retractable bleacher seating and a raised stage for performances with built-in highefficiency lighting, rigging, and an acoustical system.
OPPOSITE BOTTOM T o capture rainwater, STR Architects designed a sculptural cistern that allows water to cascade from ‘petal’ to ‘petal.’
BELOW With patterned tile and a band of windows to bring in sunlight, the pool uses a regenerative media filter that saves 195,000 gallons of water annually. The blue ceiling represents a summer sky.
PHOTOS: STEVE HALL
OPPOSITE TOP The academy’s site in southwest Chicago is a former brownfield. The LEED Platinum high school will serve as a prototype for future Chicago schools.
gb&d
september–october 2014
83
INNER WORKINGS
2013 Savings through BOMA •$2.50/sq.ft.
in 2013 bldg code victories
•$250k/bldg
in construction cost savings
•$30k/bldg
in annual fees and O&M costs
Thank you, BOMA. BOMA saves the commercial real estate industry billions every year. Learn more at www.boma.org/CRE.
84
september–october 2014
BOMA International works on my behalf to achieve victories on public policy and building code issues that maximize the value of my portfolio. It supplies my organization with the industry’s best practices and professional training to enhance my team and my properties’ performance. Together we are positioned to surpass last year, thanks to BOMA’s tireless efforts. gbdmagazine.com
INNER WORKINGS
150 Second Street
From a less-glass-is-more envelope to an innovative steel structural system, Elkus Manfredi’s LEED Platinum lab moves sustainability beyond showy features When he calls 150 Second Street a “smart” building, John Martin isn’t referring to the usual sophisticated elements that might be associated with a building awarded LEED Platinum certification. Martin, a principal at Elkus Manfredi Architects, achieved the coveted rating without them. “I call it a smart building not in the sense that it has, for example, solar shades that track the sun. We don’t have that. We don’t even have a green roof,” Martin says of the three-story laboratory building in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “We tried to make the most of reducing energy consumption, reducing material use, reducing construction time by just being as smart as we could about how we put the building together.” To share the brainpower behind the building, Martin takes us on a tour. —Joann Plockova
TECH-ORIENTED
SELECTIVE DAYLIGHT
Located
The high-performance envelope
on what Martin calls “a pretty clean brownfield site, if there is such a thing,” 150 Second Street is within walking distance of Cambridge’s life-science-research epicenter Kendall Square. With a robust number of new tenants moving into the area—while the likes of Google, Amazon, and Microsoft feed the area’s reputation as an IT hub—it wasn’t long after 150 Second Street became available that its lead tenant, biosciences company Foundation Medicine, leased two thirds of the building. Another life-science research company, Bluebird Bio, leases approximately half of the third floor. Along with walkability, the site has also earned recognition for its public transit accessibility with two subway lines within a half mile. SMART SYSTEMS The building boasts a total energy
cost savings of more than 30 percent, the result of a variety of energy-reduction strategies to handle its power-intensive program. Designing the building to be flexible for various tenant uses, the architects incorporated a high-performance HVAC system and an air-handler that uses multiunit FANWALL technology, electrically enhanced filtration technology, and a glycol runaround-energy-recovery system, in which associated controls activate or deactivate pumps and vary their speeds in order to minimize energy use while maximizing energy transfer.
is designed to take advantage of different solar orientations. Along with south-facing windows featuring aluminum sunshades, another factor that increased the building’s R-values was the building’s use of less glass. “We maximized the glass for daylight penetration, but minimized the quantity to avoid putting glass where we didn’t need it,” Martin says. Upper transom panels bring light deep into the space, and translucent vertical panels at each module scatter the light, diffusing it around the space. WEB STRUCTURE Martin credits the engineers for
devising an innovative steel structural system, which helped to save on material costs. Rather than your standard-rolled steel I-beam, they devised an open web-beam steel truss, which allows for piping and ducts to be pushed into the same zone as the steel, reducing the overall floor-to-floor height. Typically, a lab building might have a floor-tofloor height of about 15 feet; 150 Second Street is about 14 feet. SUBTLE DESIGN As Kendall Square grows toward
Cambridge’s residential areas, addressing noise concerns is key. So, additional acoustical treatments were added to the rooftop penthouse, which also was pushed further back than originally planned—not only to dampen mechanical equipment noise, but also to remedy massing concerns. To ensure that the building’s massing and materials were neighborhood appropriate, the architects designed the L-shaped building to read as three distinct volumes through varying material choices, most notably, a fiber-cement planking, which “created a wonderful new materiality for the building,” Martin says. gb&d
PHOTO: JEFF ADAMS
LEFT Meeting requests for an open space resulted in a “front yard” designed as a rain garden to capture and retain site runoff. Featuring native plants, the area is irrigation-free and a welcoming spot for the community.
gb&d
september–october 2014
85
INNER WORKINGS
Whole Foods Market Garden Roof American Hydrotech and Recover Green Roofs build an urban rooftop garden that supplies a Massachusetts supermarket
SEASONAL HARVESTS Builders estimate that 11,000 pounds of produce, including herbs, leafy greens, fruits, and root plants, can be harvested each year from the rooftop garden and sold inside the store.
PROJECT LOCATION Lynnfield, MA Program Semi-intensive green roof and urban garden Size 17,000 ft2 Completion 2013 Cost $363,719
TEAM Every Whole Foods Market tries to buy and sell local products; it’s one of the grocery’s major draws. The Lynnfield, Massachusetts, location is one of only a few that can grow and harvest what it needs right upstairs. Designed and built by Recover Green Roofs in 2013, and managed by Green City Growers, the Lynnfield Whole Foods rooftop garden produces vegetables, fruit, flowers, and other produce. Its roof system, designed by American Hydrotech, uses 12-inch mounds of lightweight growing media from Read Custom Soils laid in four-foot-wide rows to capitalize on space, energy, and water usage. “This project keenly illustrates the multifaceted benefits of a vegetated roof,” says Hydrotech garden roof department manager Richard Hayden. “These benefits apply to not only the Whole Foods project, but also to other commercial and institutional projects.” Hayden lists several advantages the garden gives the store, including reducing damaging UV radiation from the sun, reducing urban heat island effect, and its use as a storm-water storage system. Additionally, Recover Green Roofs director of operations Mark Winterer says the garden has already bettered the grocery’s produce section. “There’s a physical difference between what they grow on the roof and what they import,” he says. “Frankly, the vegetables don’t look like they were grown with Miracle Gro and chemicals. They look like real vegetables. They look like food, and they look good.” gb&d —Mary Kenney
86
september–october 2014
ARCHITECT OF RECORD Jacobs Consultants Green Roof Consultant Recover Green Roofs Irrigation Design and Construction Recover Green Roofs Planting and Maintenance Green City Growers General Contractor Construction Management & Builders
SUPPLIERS GREEN ROOF SYSTEM American Hydrotech Plant Supplier Red Fire Farm Irrigation System Rain Bird Growing Media Encendia Biochar Growing Medium Supplier Read Custom Soils
This garden above a Whole Foods Market yields 11,000 pounds of produce annually to be sold in the store below. The garden also lowers urban temperatures and filters rainwater runoff.
gbdmagazine.com
INNER WORKINGS
MAKE IT RAIN The Rain Bird irrigation system schedules irrigation and measures temperature, humidity, solar exposure, and wind. The system minimizes waste by using drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to the roots.
GO BIG The rooftop garden is the first of its kind for Whole Foods, the anchor of the largest open-air shopping center on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The scale of the project pushes the boundaries of urban agriculture, Winterer says.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE early all of the materials used N in the garden roof come from Massachusetts vendors: soil blend from Read Custom Soils (Canton), plants from Red Fire Farm (Granby), fencing from Louis E. Page, Inc. (Littleton), and Black Locust Lumber (Worcester).
A UNIQUE BLEND American Hydrotech’s 18-plus years of industry experience has resulted in the development of several blenders to create LiteTop engineered media. Hydrotech supplied the Whole Foods project with Gardendrain and LiteTop media.
COOL IT The drawback of an outdoor mall is the intense heat radiating from concrete and asphalt. The 17,000-square-foot green space naturally lowers temperature and filters pollutants in the commercial environment.
gb&d
september–october 2014
87
This OR This?
It’s your choice.
BMP
Beauty Meets Performance™
You have many choices for handling water in your stormwater management plan. So why not make it beautiful as well? American Hydrotech’s Garden Roof® Assembly is setting the standard by which all other green roofs are measured. Hydrotech has the hydrology performance data for its components and assemblies that you can use to develop reliable and predictable BMP elements for your project’s stormwater management plan. To learn more about the HHT - Hydrotech Hydrology Tool, please call 800.877.6125 or visit us on-line at www.hydrotechusa.com.
Hydrotech’s Garden Roof... Where “Beauty Meets Performance” American Hydrotech, Inc. 303 East Ohio | Chicago, IL 60611 | 800.877.6125 | www.hydrotechusa.com © 2014 Garden Roof is a registered trademark of American Hydrotech, Inc.
GREEN BUILDINGFEATURES & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
CITIES TO WATCH
90 Las Vegas
As Sin City continues its aggressive water reduction strategies, Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project is giving Las Vegas a major green makeover
96 Washington, DC
Thanks to progressive private and public leadership, the US capital is moving from a ‘city of magnificent intentions’ to one of action
102 Vancouver
With a proliferation of sustainability incubators that aim to rethink the way we build our cities, Canada’s westernmost metropolis is aiding the innovation through policy
september–october 2014
89
Las Vegas Nevada
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH
As Sin City continues its aggressive water reduction strategies, Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project is giving Las Vegas a major green makeover By Timothy A. Schuler
OPPOSITE Zappos opted to move its headquarters into the former Las Vegas City Hall building instead of constructing on virgin desert land.
90
september–october 2014
to open a restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Recognizing what she could contribute to the city, Hsieh convinced her to stay. The Downtown Project operates kind of like a community development incubator, investing in community-building ventures the way an accelerator invests in new technologies. Not coincidentally, startups— whether restaurants like Young’s or companies like Ware’s—are key. The organization, registered as an LLC, counts 90 companies in its portfolio, ranging from education to media to mobility. Ware says that despite investing $50 million in technology startups, the group is not interested in making Las Vegas the next Silicon Valley. Instead, Hsieh is betting on a collaborative approach, attempting to manifest his “three C’s”—collisions, co-learning, and connectedness—in the larger community. The Las Vegas Container Park is the Downtown Project’s most visible success and is representative of the type of sustainable development that interests the Downtown Project. Constructed from shipping containers and steel-framed modular cubes, the entertainment and retail hub opened
PHOTO: BRUCE DAMONTE (OPPOSITE)
RIGHT The Container Park, a public space built from shipping containers, is one of the hallmark developments of the Downtown Project.
On the corner of Carson and 7th streets in downtown Las Vegas, tucked below the Park Avenue Apartments’ faded teal sign, is a small restaurant under a black awning. From a distance, if you noticed it at all, it could be the restaurant of an outdated motel, just another anonymous greasy spoon. But inside the eatery, Las Vegas business owners, entrepreneurs, and tourists sit around clean white tables in red Emeco chairs. The space is brightly lit with bulbs bared in birdcage chandeliers. Indoor plants spill out of planters fashioned from found wood planks. On the menu are truffled egg sandwiches with wild mushrooms and the house specialty, huevos motulenos, two eggs topped with Mexican chili and sautéed bananas on corn tortillas. This is Eat, one of Sin City’s newest and most notable restaurants. It is also the first venture of the Downtown Project, an amorphous group of investors and urban thinkers created—and largely funded—by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. By backing Eat, the group, which has allotted $350 million to revitalize downtown Las Vegas, showed locals—and all those watching—that the planned developments were not a millionaire’s land grab but a tangible commitment to the community and authentic place-making. Zach Ware, one of Hsieh’s partners in the Downtown Project and the founder of a startup looking to integrate bike- and car-sharing with cab service, says part of what makes the Downtown Project’s redevelopment strategy unique is that it is focused on finding the right people, not necessarily the right product. Natalie Young, the celebrated chef behind Eat, was one of those people. When she met Hsieh, she had plans
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES
gb&d
september–october 2014
91
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH: LAS VEGAS
last October and has welcomed more than 500,000 visitors since. Stacked to create multiple levels, the containers surround a central courtyard and house fashion boutiques, design studios, and taquerias. Should the Container Park ever reach the end of its lifespan, nearly every element can be dismantled and reused in another form. Adaptive reuse such as this is essential to the Downtown Project’s plans. “You really want to give respect to the history of a place,” Ware says. Downtown’s numerous vacant or underused hotels are therefore prime real estate. Although the Zappos headquarters’ reuse of the 300,000-squarefoot Las Vegas City Hall building is the most obvious example, the Downtown Project is currently involved with a number of adaptive reuse projects to save building materials while preserving architectural and historical details. Most recently, a commercial hub with restaurants and small businesses opened inside the John E. Carson Building, a 65-room hotel built in the 1950s that had been converted to apartments. The general consensus seems to be that the private investment is more than welcome. “It’s what every city strives for, to have this private investment pouring into your downtown,” says Tom Perrigo, who became the City of Las Vegas’s first chief sustainability officer in 2010. “Seeing what’s happening and being a part of it, even just a small part of it, is fantastic. How the downtown is transforming gives a lot of hope for the future.” RUNNING OUT OF WATER When Ware first visited Las Vegas in 2008, just before the housing crisis brought the economy to its knees, he saw something that stuck with him. “[There] were two planes in the air, writing in the sky ‘conserve water’ or something like that,” he says. Despite not working directly on issues of sustainability at the time, Ware remembers realizing in that moment that Las Vegas was a real place with real people and real environmental problems. The stunt had been commissioned by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), a nonprofit, nongovernmental agency founded in 1991 to address the region’s water issues. Las Vegans tend to be frank about the fact that their city is running out of water, perhaps because the world often reminds them. On July 10, 2014, USA Today reported that Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas’s main water supply, had reached an all-time low. In response, Las Vegas today has become one of the most water-efficient cities in the country. In 2003, one year after the Colorado River reached record lows, the city “implemented some of the most aggressive measures ever implemented in the United States,” says Doug Bennett, the conservation manager at the SNWA and the recent
92
september–october 2014
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Zappos Headquarters The adaptive reuse of Las Vegas’s 1973 city hall building creates a porous corporate campus
“We proved that you can take a building from the ’70s that’s got its quirks and challenges and turn it into a LEED Gold building.” BRAD TOMM, ZAPPOS
DETAILS Location Las Vegas, NV Program Office Size 300,000 ft2 Completion 2013 Certification LEED Gold Client Zappos Owner R esort Gaming Group Architect KMD Architects Associate Architect Carpenter Sellers Del Gatto Architects General Contractor Penta Building Group Construction Manager Jones Lang LaSalle Cost $43.5 million
The phrase “landing the spaceship” is an architectural cliché, most often used to describe the attention-grabbing projects of architects like Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. In the case of the new headquarters for online shoe retailer Zappos, which took over the old Las Vegas city hall in 2013, the spaceship landed a long time ago. Originally built in 1973, the modernist campus, which features a central rotunda and an 11-story, semicircular concrete tower, sat vacant after the city moved into its new home in 2012. Surrounded by vacant lots and convenience stores, the building is fairly conspicuous. Yet the company has embraced the “spaceship’s” quirks and even added a few of its own: until recently, a bedazzled UFO sat parked in the center of the rotunda, a piece of Burning Man art that Zappos turned into a cozy conference room. Renovating a 40-year-old, 300,000-square-foot structure is an unusual choice for an Internet company that was sold to Amazon for more than $1 billion, but Brad Tomm, the company’s senior manager of campus operations and sustainability, says the alternative option was building a new headquarters on virgin desert land. The potential environmental impact was enormous, he says. Instead, Zappos saved the city hall building from demolition and simultaneously prevented the development of a greenfield site outside the city. “It’s such a lower-impact project if you renovate a building,” Tomm says. “We proved that you can take a building from the ’70s that’s got its quirks and challenges and turn it into a LEED Gold building.” Respected San Francisco design firm KMD Architects led the renovation, working with Las Vegas firm Carpenter Sellers Del Gatto. Major investments were made to create a headquarters that uses only three quarters of a comparable office building and less than half the water. The biggest energy saver was an upgrade to the central plant. “That’s the real heart of a building, and the heart has to be healthy,” Tomm says. The team replaced the chillers, boilers, and cooling towers. Although the campus retains its
single-pane windows—a cost-benefit analysis showed a retrofit to be too costly—the impact was less than the team expected. “Our energy model still shows a 25-percent reduction in energy compared to the baseline— even keeping those windows,” Tomm says. “So we’re still kicking ass.” The downtown location serves another purpose. By moving into the city’s economically depressed downtown, CEO Tony Hsieh—who has become known for his pursuit of the “three C’s”: collisions, co-learning, and connectedness—hopes to revitalize the area, and he intentionally limited on-site amenities in order to tacitly encourage employees to venture off campus. He drew inspiration from the porosity of the New York University campus. “It’s working,” says Tomm, who reports that many of Zappos’s 1,500 employees walk or
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES
PHOTOS: BRUCE DAMONTE, NICHOLAS SWAN (BOTTOM RIGHT)
ride their bikes to work and venture off site for lunch and happy hour. It’s a lesson in the value of limitations. Take the existing sky bridge, which once connected a parking garage to the existing tower. It may have been convenient, but convenience is not one of the three C’s. The company sealed it off, forcing employees and visitors to enter through the main entrance, and turned the bridge into a “sky park,” outfitted with hammocks, artificial turf, and a bocce ball court. It is easy to see why Bloomberg named the Zappos headquarters one of the most impressive offices in the world, but Tomm and his team have even bigger plans in the works, including the design of a second Zappos building across the street, currently in the planning phase. He says without the constraints of an existing building, he expects
gb&d
ABOVE At the center of the Zappos headquarters’ rotunda sits a UFO that was once displayed at Nevada’s Burning Man festival. LEFT Communal spaces at Zappos promote each of CEO Tony Hsieh’s valued “three C’s”: collisions, colearning, and connectedness. BELOW The office economizes resources on many levels: it uses just 75% of a comparable office’s space and 50% of its water.
this next project to be even higher performing. “We definitely don’t think we’re the leader in sustainability,” Tomm admits. “We really admire companies that have been doing this for 15 or 20 years, and we know we’re racing very quickly to catch up to the bar. But once we’re at the bar, we have plans to surpass it.”
september–october 2014
93
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH: LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS VISIONARY
Cindy Ortega MGM International’s chief sustainability officer discusses Tony Hsieh, the city’s renaissance, and what she learned from the recession
vice-chair for the USGBC’s Water Efficiency Technical Advisory Group. “In a single year, we cut our Colorado River use by nearly 9 billion gallons. Since 2002, our population has grown from 1.5 million people to just over 2.0 million. Despite that, we’re using less Colorado River water today than we did 15 years ago.” Although one might imagine that the Las Vegas Strip, with its mega-casinos and multistory fountains, is the city’s main water hog, the hotel industry uses less than three percent of the city’s water supply, thanks to increased building efficiency and internal reuse policies. Given that the same industry generates 70 percent of the
“Although we project a carefree, party image, southern Nevada is quite serious about our resource plan,” Bennett adds. “For more than two decades, we’ve been collaborating among the seven states [that make up the Southwest] and Mexico to develop new policies and solutions to managing the Colorado River.”
area’s jobs, “that’s a pretty good trade-off,” Perrigo says. The real culprits are homeowners. So, for the past 15 years, the SNWA has been paying them $1.50 per square foot to tear out their turf grass and replace it with drought-tolerant desert xeriscaping. It’s done the same for golf courses. To date, 160 million square feet—more than 3,700 acres—of lawn has been removed, never to be watered again, saving 9 billion gallons annually. The “cash for grass” program is just one initiative. The city also has become more efficient at capturing its wastewater and returning it, clean, to Lake Mead and the Colorado River. “Las Vegas sits on a major water source, the Colorado River, unlike most of the Southwest, which ships its water hundreds of miles from the Rockies or the Sierras,” Perrigo says. According to the city, 90 percent of the water that goes into drains is treated and returned to the river. “No other city in the country can say they reclaim that much water,” he says.
primary enterprise. In addition to serving as a partner at the Vegas Tech Fund, Ware is the founder and CEO of the nascent mobility company and runs a team of about 20 engineers, designers, and operations personnel. And the fleet of Teslas—the cheapest iteration of which, the Model S, starts at $70,000—is just one part of Ware’s plan to revamp transit in Las Vegas and, with any luck, around the world. SHIFT is working to build an integrated system that for a monthly membership gives users access to multiple modes of personal transportation. The goal is get users out the door and on their way within five minutes, either by bicycle, car, or cab, whichever best suits their needs. Although Ware admits being inspired by recent additions to the mobility landscape, he envisioned a top-to-bottom overhaul. “The more we thought about it, the more we realized that the focus was just on taking the fundamentals of transportation today and making them slightly better,” he says. “We see Uber doing a hell of a job making the taxi function better. But my thought was, ‘Why don’t we just take the entire system and rebuild it?’” By rolling everything into a monthly membership, SHIFT aims to break down the barriers associated with various forms of transit like cost, distance, or inconvenience, and inspire more frequent movement throughout Las Vegas, in turn creating more of Hsieh’s coveted “collisions.” Not every car you borrow will be a Tesla; Ware says these are reserved for trips of a certain distance, such as a weekend trip out of town. The Tesla Model S is currently the
RETHINKING MOBILITY It was one day too late to be an April Fool’s joke. On April 2, 2013, tech blogs lit up with news that Tony Hsieh had purchased 100 cars from Tesla Motors for a new venture. The startup, originally known as Project 100 but recently rebranded as SHIFT, is Ware’s
gb&d: City Center helped elevate the status of Las Vegas architecturally, as well as in terms of sustainability. How have the buildings performed post-occupancy? Ortega: The most important thing City Center did in the world was, in a very big way, dispel that myth that there has to be a trade-off. But we’re not resting on our laurels. It’s great that we did it, but we continue to calibrate, and City Center continues to be a shining example of energy and water efficiency. We’ve also used it as a platform for education. We’ve had the head of facilities for the school district here and many others. We’ve opened our arms to teaching them and collaborating with them on energy efficiency. gb&d: With such a large footprint in Vegas, you have the opportunity to affect some pretty serious change at a municipal level. Ortega: We’re the largest employer and the largest private taxpayer in the state of Nevada. On the state and local, and even federal platform with Harry Reid, we have the opportunity to participate in crafting environmental policy. The fact that we’re so deliberate and that our roots are in finance really gives us credibility in those arenas. We also try to work through our public-private partnerships here in the Las Vegas area to take the passion and intelligence of the people on my team and connect it with other organizations that can use it. gb&d: Las Vegas is clearly a city in transition—
94
september–october 2014
“I want the City of Las Vegas to be absolutely a leader in renewable energy and water conservation and recycling. I’m happy to be at the top, though, with every other city.” TOM PERRIGO, CITY OF LAS VEGAS
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES
Five Lessons from Las Vegas ➊ AVOID DEMOLITION Adaptive reuse, as exemplified in Zappos’s reuse of the old City Hall building and many of the Downtown Project’s new ventures, keeps new building materials from being used and old materials out of the landfill, resulting in a reduced carbon footprint.
➋ INVEST EARLY By paying homeowners to replace their lawn with drought-tolerant landscaping and decorative rock, Las Vegas has eliminated 160 million square feet of turf grass, reducing water demand by nine billion gallons annually. Spending money now avoids enormous financial and environmental costs later.
➌ NEVER SAY NO According to Zach Ware of the Downtown Project, the City of Las Vegas has been easy to work with, even when projects are unusual or unprecedented. “They’ve been very supportive,” he says. “We’ve found a great balance. When you think about recruiting companies here, we’re very focused on early-stage startups—they’re not. They can’t be.”
PHOTOS: BRAD FEINKNOPF (CITY HALL), EUGÉNIE FRERICHS (BENNETT)
➍ SUPPORT TRANSIT With the addition of new bike lanes and ten new bus routes in 2010, Vegas sent a message that it was intent on making Vegas less reliant on cars. With SHIFT set to launch any day, Vegas may soon be the epicenter of even greater transit innovation.
➎ WORK TOGETHER Public-private partnerships such as Green Chips, a nonprofit catalyst organization that brings together mayors, executives, and others, can eliminate repetition within sustainability efforts at the city level and foster collaboration between different sectors.
gb&d
only electric car that can handle that sort Ortega: And in recovery. The recesof range. For daily excursions, SHIFT users sion hit Vegas so hard. We like to say can still drive electric cars, but more likely it was a near-death experience, and it medium-range, two- and four-door models. was. It was an emotionally trying time. The benefits to both users and the enMy kids were in their later teenage vironment are obvious; an increase in the years, and we knew [families] where use of bicycles and electric cars will reduce both parents were laid off. When that greenhouse gas emissions. But a bigger imhappens, you shift your priorities. pact might come in the ways that cities develop when transportation becomes less of gb&d: There also seems to be an a barrier. When a city’s core is inaccessible, emphasis on community building— due to traffic or otherwise, a vast amount this idea that Las Vegas is not just a of real estate becomes unavailable to buyers destination but that there are real who want to spend time downtown. If inpeople who live here. creasing access through transit can reduce that barrier, new neighborhoods could be Ortega: I think Tony Hsieh is a opened up and, according to Ware, downvisionary. He’s on the level of people town areas could become more affordable. that there will be coffee-table books Las Vegas still has a long way to about. That he’s brought this go, even with the rapid investment “The recession eclectic group of individuals of the Downtown Project, but Perrigo and organizations together hit Vegas so has ambitions for Vegas to be among is really neat, and I’m happy the greenest cities in the world. “I hard. We like to see that that’s going to think it’s important to compete in become part of the tapestry to say it was a collaborative way,” Perrigo says. that is Las Vegas. I also “Being engaged in this race to the a near-death think there’s a much greater top is a very powerful influence and awareness now that Las experience, driving results. I want the City of Las Vegas is a place for outdoor Vegas to be absolutely a leader in reand it was.” recreation. It’s one of the best newable energy and water conservarock-climbing destinations in tion and recycling. I’m happy to be at the the world. I know people who come top, though, with every other city. I want to here and go rock-climbing and aren’t see everybody doing amazing things.” even aware of the Strip. Although the average visitor may never know it, Sin City has renounced much of its gb&d: What brought you to Vegas? past environmental wrongdoing and has become an environmental leader in its region. Ortega: I grew up on a cattle ranch It will continue to struggle to reconcile fiabout halfway between Las Vegas nite resources with its rapid growth—the and Salt Lake City. I’m an urban kind city expects 400,000 new residents within of girl, I guess, and my sister married the next 10 years—but the city is attracting a man from Las Vegas. I wanted to all the right kinds of attention. It is enterlive close to her. That’s how I became ing an era when what happens in Vegas is an unlikely resident. I’ve lived here for broadcast around the world. gb&d more than 25 years. OPPOSITE SHIFT, which bought 100 Teslas in 2013, hopes to reinvent urban transportation in Las Vegas and around the world. ABOVE Las Vegas City Hall saves water with desert-appropriate landscaping and energy with its photovoltaic “solar trees.”
GUEST EDITOR ROB BENNETT From a distance, Las Vegas is a caricature—a town that only Matt Groening of the Simpsons could cook up. But Vegas seems to be making a stunning move towards urbanity and sustainability. A funky, all-in urban experiment in design and innovation, underwritten by tech entrepreneurs tilting the way the city see’s itself? Wow. Let’s hope what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.
gb&d: What’s been the biggest change the city has undergone in those 25 years? Ortega: If you would’ve asked me that question five years ago, it would’ve been, “Oh my gosh, it grows! And it’s bigger and better and brighter and golder and blah blah blah.” But now, the biggest change Las Vegas has undergone is having to learn how to handle a crushing blow and get up and build yourself into a better community. And you can see it. It builds resolve. As a culture, and as a company, we really feel that we’ve benefitted from this. We feel that it made us better and stronger, and that the company is a better company because we’ve had to take stock of what is important.
september–october 2014
95
Washington DC
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH
OPPOSITE With public and private support, the US capital is remaking itself as a walkable, bikeable, livable city and is intent on becoming one of the world’s greenest urban centers.
Thanks to progressive private and public leadership, the US capital is moving from a ‘city of magnificent intentions’ to one of sustainability action By Mary Kenney
96
september–october 2014
investing in a diverse clean economy, and reducing disparities among residents can create an educated, equitable, and prosperous society.” The goals were lofty and ranged from nature and climate (aiming to cover 40 percent of the District with a healthy tree canopy and cut citywide greenhouse gas emissions by half) to transportation and citywide health (working to increase the use of public transit, biking, and walking to 75 percent of all commuter trips and, perhaps linked, to cut the obesity rate by 50 percent). Many local leaders in the private and public sectors collaborated to author the project. Among them was Harriet Tregoning. CATALYST FOR RECONSTRUCTION Tregoning emerged in the Capital landscape in 2007 as a revolutionary and often controversial figure. Trained academically in engineering and public policy, Tregoning served as Maryland’s secretary of planning and the nation’s first state-level cabinet secretary for smart growth under Governor Parris N. Glendening before her appointment as director of the District’s Office of Planning. She often arrived to meetings on her foldable bicycle and pushed to build a DC that didn’t require a car. She helped expand public transit and made the District friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians. She proposed changes that made driving and parking in the city more difficult, a controversial stance in a city already known for limited parking. Among her most disputed efforts was her role in Gray’s push to alter the federal Height Act, which prohibits construction of buildings more than 130 feet high (some buildings, such as One Franklin Square, were granted exemptions). Tregoning’s tenure had, by her own admission, many ups and downs, and it gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: OCEANFISHING / SHUTTERSTOCK
From the vantage point at the top of Arlington National Cemetery, pale marble headstones march in orderly lines under a thick canopy of multihued leaves. The ruffled procession of trees stretches to the blue of the Potomac, and beyond that, the nation’s capital defines itself by what you see— the needle-like Washington Monument, the fluted columns of the Lincoln Memorial— as much as what you don’t: skyscrapers stretching high, dominating the skyline. Charles Dickens once jokingly called the District of Columbia a “city of magnificent intentions,” one that had, in 1842, not quite lived up to statesmen’s lofty expectations but had the capacity to do so. Washington, DC, is, at its core, a city of contrasts. It is a metropolis divided between low-income and luxury housing; it is one of the nation’s oldest landing points and one of the top American cities for new construction; and it is a district that houses the nation’s government but has no voting power in Congress. This story of foils is echoed in the District’s journey toward sustainability. It began as a city that Thomas Jefferson wanted to make “an American Paris;” became, for the last several decades of the 20th century, a city whose population shrank every year; and today has emerged as one of the most popular destinations for young, educated professionals. Much of the credit for this resurgence belongs to the progressive thinking behind “A Vision for a Sustainable DC,” an urban plan developed in 2011 and implemented in 2012 to make the District one of the nation’s greenest cities. “In just one generation—20 years—the District of Columbia will be the healthiest, greenest, and most livable city in the United States,” Mayor Vincent Gray promised then. “We will demonstrate how enhancing our natural and built environments,
FEATURES
gb&d
september–october 2014
97
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
CityCenterDC A ‘city within a city’ signals a walkable, livable next chapter for the US capital If good city planning is about creating spaces where people can live, work, and play within a walkable neighborhood, Washington, DC’s new mixed-use development nails the ideal. When plans for CityCenterDC were first initiated in 2002, the city envisioned a pedestrian-friendly scheme with retail, office space, and residential units for the vacant property that formerly contained the District’s approximately 30-yearold convention center. Throughout development, executive architecture firm Shalom Baranes Associates (SBA) worked with Foster + Partners, which was responsible for the master plan, and international real estate developer Hines to determine ways of creating a place where livability and a sense of community were encouraged through design. The resulting $850 million, mixed-use development is one of the largest urban infill projects ever undertaken in the nation’s capital. CityCenterDC is both a destination and a nearly 10-acre city within a city. Its first phase includes hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space, retail, rental apartment units, condominiums, an urban park, and a public plaza. A second phase, which will begin construction in 2015, will consist of a 370-room hotel and an additional 110,000 square feet of retail space. To encourage a sense of livability, at the heart of the development are two mirror-image apartment buildings designed by SBA and two adjacent mirror-image condominium buildings created by Foster + Partners and constructed by a joint venture of Clark Construction Group and Smoot Construction. The buildings are situated around the core social space of the project: a central public plaza featuring retail stores and restaurants. A system of pedestrian alleyways weaves between the buildings, driving foot-traffic from the streets beyond the property and on-site residential units to the center of the action. “You have to be very urban to want to live there, because there is going to be this connection between the residential units and the activity going on outside,” says Jack Moyer, senior associate with SBA and project executive for CityCenterDC. “You re-
98
september–october 2014
ABOVE The CityCenterDC team partnered with local small businesses such as Docsav Industries, which provided industrial equipment, supplies, and building products on the project and which participated in the first Strategic Partnership Program with Clark Construction Group. OPPOSITE Each building features landscaped roof areas and terraces. The architects implemented a water-conservation system that captures rainwater for use as irrigation and as make-up water for the air-conditioning systems.
ally will be a part of that overall community, thanks to the feeling of being part of the action.” With 57 varied floor plans, floor-to-ceiling windows and sustainable design features, each rental unit appeals to the individual tenant’s needs, but the buildings are also equipped with additional social areas—including a pool, fitness center, and office space—to foster activity within the larger community as well. A roof deck, bocce ball court, and dog-walking area sit on the roof of the North building, which is connected to the South building by a glass walkway on the second floor, facilitating easy movement between the two. “They are two buildings, but they work as one,” Moyer says. “The people who are renting there have
this interconnection between the two buildings, and they’re all sharing the same amenity spaces. From what I have heard, the new residents all love being there. It’s very exciting.” Moyer says their success is clear from the brisk leasing pace of the office buildings, rental units, retail suites, and through condo sales, which have stayed strong since the development opened in the late fall of 2013. “They could have built this project, and it could have been sitting empty for a while, but right now, it’s moving very well,” Moyer says. As of May, the offices were nearly 100 percent leased, the apartments over 60 percent leased, and the condos more than 75 percent sold. —Emma Janzen
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES PROJECT Location Washington, DC Program Mixed-use development with office, retail, and residential Size 2.5 million ft2 Completion 2013 (Phase 1) Certification LEED-ND Gold, LEED-CS Gold (office buildings); LEED-NC Silver (residential buildings) Cost $850 million
TEAM Owner/Developer Hines Master Plan Architect Foster + Partners Executive Architect Shalom Baranes Associates Landscape Architect Gustafson Guthrie Nichols Associate Landscape Architect Lee and Associates General Contractor Clark Construction Group / Smoot Construction Civil Engineer Delon Hampton Associates Structural Engineer SK&A/ Thornton Tomasetti MEP Engineer Dewberry Sustainable Design William McDonough + Partners
SUPPLIERS Architectural Lighting Claude Engle Lighting, Coventry Lighting Side and Street Lighting M.C. Dean Stone Bratti & Rugo Roofing /Waterproofing Simpson Gumpertz Heger Acoustical Systems Polysonics Corp. Exterior Curtain Wall Harmon Exterior Metal Panels TSI Architectural Metals Ornamental Metals Staging Concepts
“In April 2012, Mayor Vincent Gray made a statement that surprised a lot of people. He said he wanted the District to be fossil free by 2030. And he was serious.”
PHOTOS: SBA; RENDERING: NEOSCAPE
BETH HEIDER, SKANSKA
gb&d
spurred public debates in one of the nation’s most vocal cities. But she is inarguably one of the most visible and important catalysts in the District’s reconstruction. Her emphasis on smart growth led to the nation’s first bike-share program, Capital Bikeshare, and she worked to expand roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks. She drafted a land use plan for the DC streetcar system that, though it hasn’t been built, serves as a blueprint for growing and evolving neighborhoods. She promoted new development, leading the District to approve several controversial demolitions and building projects to promote density rather than sprawl, particularly downtown. Tregoning defers some credit to Mayor Gray, as do many who worked on or critiqued Sustainable DC from the outside. Beth Heider, former chair of the USGBC’s Board of Directors and chief sustainability officer at construction group Skanska, and Kaid Benfield, special counsel for urban solutions at the Natural Resources Defense Council, highlight the mayor’s role in a more sustainable District. “In April 2012, Mayor Vincent Gray made a statement that surprised a lot of people,” Heider recalls. “He said he wanted the District to be fossil-fuel free by 2030. And he was serious.” Even with Gray at the helm, Tregoning and others hit stumbling blocks, due in large part to the District’s dual personality. Congress retains oversight on major changes in the capital, and the tug-of-war between local and federal administrators often slows or halts projects—a model that Tregoning maintains is not sustainable. “There are two narratives that pull in opposite directions,” Tregoning says. “On the one hand, we’re a city with visibility. It’s great for us to innovate because our innovations are seen by many visitors, both foreign and domestic, and every member of Congress. The hard thing is that there’s the city, and then there’s federal Washington. The rhetoric around federal Washington is so harsh and … dysfunctional. People find it hard to believe that the city can accomplish anything.” That the District is governed by a body in which it has no elected representative is an additional vexation, she adds. “It’s the only democracy on planet Earth in which the citizens of the capital are disenfranchised in this way,” she says. “It makes everything hard to do. It’s hard for some of them to believe that we govern our city better than people elected from somewhere else.” Heider has a more optimistic viewpoint about construction and planning under the city’s governance. Listed in Skanska’s international portfolio are several District developments, including the US Census Bureau Headquarters, the $4.1 million security upgrade and beautification project of the Lincoln Memorial East Plaza, and the reconseptember–october 2014
99
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH: WASHINGTON, DC
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY EXPERT
Kaid Benfield The director of the NRDC’s Sustainable Communities, Energy & Transportation Program discusses the importance of people and the future of sustainability nationwide gb&d: You call yourself a “recovering litigator.” Tell me about your role with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Kaid Benfield: I’ve always had an idealistic streak, so I went to the NRDC after a decade in government and private practice. I spent my first 10–12 years there as a litigator working on protecting national forests and became interested in pursuing the solutions side of environmentalism. The environmental movement has become more sophisticated, thinking of pursuing good things rather than just stopping bad things, and my career followed that trajectory. gb&d: Why was there a need for LEED for Neighborhood Development? Benfield: We need to influence the shape of new development. In the last part of the 20th century, we sprawled out so much—we developed land twice as fast and increased traffic three times as fast as we grew in population—and all of this was to the great detriment of our social fabric, environment, and economy. We clearly needed to grow in a different way.
struction of the 11th Street bridges and adjacent interchanges near Washington Navy Yard. Because DC operates as a city-state, the lack of a state government, oversight, and standards limits the number of jurisdictional challenges builders run into, she says. There are fewer loopholes to navigate. Fulya Kocak, director of sustainability at Clark Construction, also sees DC’s unique setup as key to the success of the region’s sustainable initiatives. Simply put, the capital is a vibrant hub of sustainability professionals and advocates. More than 700 consultants contributed ideas and research to the Sustainable DC plan, and many national organizations like the NRDC and USGBC have headquarters in Washington. “You have so many different voices and so many people working together to make it happen,” she says. “I love that about this town.” ‘THINK BIG, ACHIEVE BIG’ Though Gray is often credited because the official plan was published during his tenure, the push for a greener DC came even before he took office in 2011. The city’s “Bag Law,” which charges shoppers buying food or alcohol five cents to use disposable paper and plastic carryout bags, was passed in 2009. The Green Building Act of 2006 requires all non-residential District public buildings to be built to LEED Silver standards or higher. It adds that District-owned or financed residential projects of at least 10,000 square feet must meet or exceed Green Communities certification, and since
“We’re a city with visibility. It’s great for us to innovate because our innovations are seen by many visitors, both foreign and domestic, and every member of Congress.”
Five Lessons from Washington, DC ➊ SET SPECIFIC GOALS The Sustainable DC plan has a set year (2032) and goals that include hard numbers, such as making 100 percent of District waterways fishable and swimmable and cutting citywide unemployment by 50 percent. Specific standards give the government an attainable target.
➋ DIVIDE AND CONQUER Nine groups focus on separate topics of the Sustainable DC initiative to improve chances of success in each sector: built environment, climate, energy, food, nature, transportation, waste, water, and the green economy.
➌ ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE The Sustainable DC plan will never succeed without the support of the citizenry. The government has outlined specific ways citizens can contribute to the goal, such as walking rather than driving and monitoring energy consumption.
➍ GET INTO SCHOOLS Among the program’s goals is to educate half of DC children about sustainability and expose all District residents to sustainable DC events in their neighborhoods. Starting this education early can help citizens build a lifetime of green habits.
➎ PROMOTE YOURSELF The Sustainable DC plan is easily accessible online and available in brief, list, and complete forms. This is key to engaging its target audience and achieving success.
HARRIET TREGONING, FORMER PLANNING DIRECTOR
gb&d: You contribute regularly to the NRDC blog. What is the one-sentence takeaway you want to leave with readers? Benfield: I’ve always hoped that they see a lot of humanity in what I write. I believe that people have to come first. If our solutions don’t work for people, they’re never going to work for the planet.
100
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES
“By 2040, half of the built environment will be buildings that don’t exist today. We have a chance to really get it right.”
gb&d: What is the greatest obstacle to implementing green initiatives in urban America?
Benfield: I like to think in terms of opportunities and challenges. I think we’ve got a tremendous opportunity and challenge, simultaneously, because we’re going to have so much building in the next two or three decades. Real estate demographers predict that by 2040, half of the built environment will be buildings that don’t exist today. We’ll be building to accommodate new populations and replace older developments, particularly suburban commercial developments that don’t have long lives. As a result, we have a chance to really get it right. I’m pretty optimistic. I think one of our challenges to having good, healthy urban environments is making sure that they benefit all of our citizens equally. It can’t be just green; [it has to be] affordable. gb&d: You’ve lived in Washington, DC, for many years. How does it stand out as a sustainable city?
January 2012, all new private development projects of at least 50,000 square feet are required to meet LEED standards. Kocak credits the restructuring of LEED certifications from one construction guideline to a comprehensive system of integrated standards as the impetus for the District’s green growth. “This wasn’t just the government telling us what to do. It was a joint effort,” Kocak says. “We all thought that it was a good idea for our city to be a sustainable environment, so we supported this mission together.” Though Tregoning has moved on and Gray will not be on the ballot for a second term as mayor, their influence lingers as Sustainable DC’s goals loom for another 18 years. Benfield says many changes are already in place and visible despite the program only being in its second year. Sidewalks, streets, bicycle lanes, and motorways have undergone renewals that are hard to miss. Other changes, such as the plan’s goal to add 250,000 new residents by 2032, might not be possible. “We may achieve a portion of that number, but 250,000 is asking a lot,” Benfield says. “I think the same thing could be said for a number of the goals. They’re set very high. I think they’re idealistic by design. But in every instance, they go in the right direction.” Tregoning, meanwhile, maintains that the goals are absolutely within reach and, though ambitious, were written with the belief that they could be obtained. Kocak and Heider agree. gb&d
ABOVE Skanska’s LEED Gold 733 Tenth is a highly visible trophy class office building that reduced water use by 40%. What you don’t see is the building’s green roof and three levels of underground parking. OPPOSITE The new US Census Bureau Headquarters, also built by Skanska, is among the projects in Washington, DC, that are raising the bar for sustainable development.
“You need to think big to achieve big,” Kocak says. “Some of these changes are already in place. Some are aspirational. It will take generations to achieve some of them, but we’re showing that progress.” However successful Sustainable DC proves in the next 18 years, there are facets of the city that will remain unchanged. You won’t see, gazing above the treetops, the skyscrapers of New York and Chicago. “People have flocked here after falling in love with the city’s Southern charm, enviable beauty and dramatic vistas,” journalist Jonetta Rose Barras wrote last year in her Washington Post piece “In Praise of a Towerless D.C.” “Why mimic Chicago and Gotham City? …On a spring day in the District, I can see the sun and feel its warmth on my face. A walk around Manhattan often is like traveling through an endless tunnel.” What you will see, still staring up, are cranes—miles and miles of T-shaped metal structures dotting the landscape, proof that Washington, DC, is no longer merely a city of intentions. gb&d
Benfield: We had terrific leadership in DC under (former planning director) Harriet Tregoning. She was a believer in sustainability, growing the right way, and green living. And she had good leadership qualities. Her tenure really helped turn DC into a city that became interested in sustainability. I don’t know that 20 years ago I would have said that DC is a leader for sustainability, but in the last 10, it has been. gb&d: Do you think the Sustainable DC Plan, DC’s first set of long-term targets for a greener, healthier city, sets obtainable goals? Benfield: It’s a 20-year plan, and it’s only in its first few years of implementation. I don’t know that they’ll all be obtained—they’re set very high. They’re idealistic by design. But in every instance, they go in the right direction. They bring unity to the city government, and with the citizenry, in thinking about these issues. It’s a really good plan that sets a very good direction. If we met those goals halfway, we’d be doing a lot to improve the city for generations to come.
september–october 2014
101
Vancouver British Columbia
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH
With a proliferation of sustainability incubators that aim to rethink the way we plan, build, and live in our cities, Canada’s westernmost metropolis is aiding the innovation through its public policies By Jessica Woolliams
102
september–october 2014
weren’t for these hubs. We know they work, which is why we see them popping up all over the world.” As we left the HiVE, I pointed out the Flack Block across the street. In 2008, it was Canada’s first LEED Gold Heritage building, and it, too, serves as a hub for social entrepreneurs. Down Granville Street, we passed the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University (SFU), where I was teaching and where Santos-Brault serves as a mentor and entrepreneur in residence for RADIUS Ventures, a “social innovation lab and venture incubator.” The students seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the number of tech hubs that we passed. One said she had no idea this was happening in Vancouver, let alone that she passed multiple sustainability incubators every day. How did Vancouver get so hub-happy? THE OUTBREAK In 2005, Helen Goodland, Chris Lindberg, and I cofounded the Light House Sustainable Building Centre, the first green-building hub in Canada. Our goal was to create a one-stop resource center for environmental design and construction. But between then and 2014, Vancouver has become a sustainable-technology boomtown. Today, there are too many local sustainability hubs to count. “Globally, the market for green-building materials is projected to more than double from $116 billion in 2012 to over $250 billion in 2020,” Goodland says, quoting a report from Navigant Research. “Locally, BC’s green building and energy efficiency sector generates about $8.4 billion in GDP and 76,450 jobs. BC governments are moving towards [carbon]-neutral construction, some as early as 2020.” gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: EMA PETER
OPPOSITE Janet Echelman’s “Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks” references sun, water, and air, which are both elements and essential considerations when it comes to municipal green building policy.
This spring, I took my class of university green-building students on a tour of the HiVE Vancouver, a nonprofit coworking space that serves Vancouver’s social entrepreneurs. The space is elegantly constructed across two brick Heritage buildings in Vancouver and was built with an integrated design process that was initiated through public visioning sessions. The project is aiming for LEED for Commercial Interiors Gold, and all of its furniture came from other offices; some is built from locally salvaged wood. Heavy daylighting, light walls, and compact fluorescent light bulbs all contribute to its energy conservation. When we walked in, we immediately noticed the row of bike racks filled with hanging bikes—a result of the HiVE’s location in downtown Vancouver, right off major transit, pedestrian, and bike routes. The HiVE isn’t just a coworking space for social and sustainability entrepreneurs; it is home to some of Vancouver’s leading sustainability thinkers, and, as such, acts as an incubator for social change. Sustainable Solutions Group, Sole Food, BC Sustainable Energy Association, BC Healthy Communities, Canadian Wind Energy Association, and many more depend on it. It is also home to Eesmyal Santos-Brault, the self-described “serial social entrepreneur” who cofounded the HiVE in the spring of 2011, as well as numerous other start-ups, including Recollective, Design Nerds, GBAT Technologies, and the Energy Modelling Institute. “Innovation requires the cross-pollination of many ideas, especially from different disciplines and sectors,” Santos-Brault says of sustainability hubs. “I’ve seen firsthand amazing examples of innovations in sustainability that would not have occurred if it
FEATURES
gb&d
september–october 2014
103
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
104
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES
Five Lessons from Vancouver ➊ MAKE FOOD ACCESSIBLE In order to increase food assets by 50% over 2010 levels, Vancouver has drafted a municipal food strategy; supported gardens, farms, and markets; planted public fruit trees; and purchased local food for municipal facilities. So far, it reportedly has increased food assets by 24%.
➋ INVEST IN ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT Improving cycling and pedestrian safety has made the city more inviting on bike and foot, and Vancouver’s public transportation infrastructure—which includes bus, streetcar, and train—and ridership are well above rates in nearby Seattle and Portland.
➌
“Innovation requires the cross-pollination of many ideas. I’ve seen innovations in sustainability that would not have occurred if it weren’t for these hubs.”
PHOTOS: MARTIN TESSLER, COURTESY OF PERKINS+WILL
EESMYAL SANTOS-BRAULT, HIVE VANCOUVER
So, there is a growing need for innovation, and Vancouver is stepping up the plate. Two years after we launched Light House, GreenWorks Building Supply started as a small green-building products store that has since partnered with West Coast Wood Slabs and Artemisia Metal Fabrication and expanded into a 10,000-square-foot hub for consumer green-building products. In 2009, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson launched the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan with the goal of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020. The City of Vancouver adopted ten goals, each with one or more measurable targets to be reached within the next ten years. In 2011, Vancouver added HiVE and the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), the latter of which certainly occupies the largest physical space of all Vancouver’s hubs. The $37-million, 60,000-squarefoot building will reduce campus energy use, improve water quality, and sequester more carbon than what is required to build and operate it. At UBC’s Sauder School of Business, the ISIS Research Centre leverages business to advance sustainability research and appligb&d
cation. The aforementioned RADIUS also serves the sustainability community, and the City of Vancouver’s long-awaited Green Enterprise Zone aims to bring together and support sustainable businesses—not far from the new GreenWorks location in the False Creek Flats. And that’s to say nothing of the Vancouver Technology Centre (in development by the Vancouver Economic Commission), the proposal for a Centre for Social Innovation and Inclusion, or, most recently, the Vancouver Incubator Kitchen, an experiment with making commercial kitchen space available and affordable. Vancouver is banking on sustainability, and it seems to think the hub is the way to get there. THE GREENEST CODE Exactly what impact this proliferation has had on Vancouver’s ability to move toward true sustainability depends on whom you talk to. “Without a plan and framework, innovation will be ad hoc and difficult to sustain,” says Goodland, whose company, Brantwood Consulting, helped develop a green-building roadmap for Vancouver in 2011 and updated it in 2012. Dr. John Robinson, associate provost of sustainability at UBC and the central force behind CIRS, says that these hubs “are a critical part of building the business and social networks that we need to accelerate sustainability in the region.” Robinson sees Vancouver’s Greenest City plan as “an incredible catalyst for research, policy, and action in the city” and also supports UBC’s efforts to turn its campus into a living lab of sustainability. Thomas Mueller, the CEO and president of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), also believes CIRS has made a substantial impact in Vancouver’s capacity for
MANDATE CARBON NEUTRALITY Updating the Vancouver Building Bylaw’s energy efficiency requirements and using price signals to reward energy efficiency in new and existing buildings are two strategies being considered to make all buildings constructed after 2020 carbon neutral. Currently, requiring all new building re-zonings to be LEED Gold is raising the bar for the building industry and bringing awareness to the public about what green buildings can be.
➍ AIM FOR ZERO Single-family homes are now served with a weekly compost service and garbage pickup every other week in an effort to reach zero waste. The city is also working to divert all recyclables from the waste stream and launching a building-deconstruction program.
➎ EMBRACE INCUBATORS Vancouver is home to innumerable technology accelerators, social hubs, and environmental incubators. These nontraditional approaches to business are sparking innovation and leadership, resulting in new ideas about urban sustainability.
THIS SPREAD The University of British Columbia’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability arrived in Vancouver in 2011, the same year as HiVE, helping to spark a boom of sustainability hubs that is still active.
september–october 2014
105
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH: VANCOUVER
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Telus Garden With lofty goals and loftier urban forests, the one million-square-foot development will be one of North America’s highest performing The opportunity for an architect to design nearly an entire downtown city block is rare, but then again, so are projects with the ambitions of Vancouver’s Telus Garden. Bound on its four sides by Georgia, Robson, Seymour, and Richards streets, Telus Garden consists of one million square feet of new real estate: half a million square feet of intended LEED Platinum office space and more than 400 LEED Gold residential units.
Various elements make it clear that Telus Garden, developed by Westbank to be the Vancouver headquarters of Canadian telecommunications company Telus, is breaking new ground for the city: 10,000 square feet of green roofs, two roof forests, a future geothermal heat plant, and extensive and intelligent reuse of waste energy—not to mention the local art and media walls intended for public broadcasts of symphonies and other cultural events. The city block’s worth of pedestrian laneways, or people-friendly alleys, will include a lantern-lit walkway at night within the interior of the development, pushing urban planning in Vancouver toward walkability. Local firm Henriquez Partners Architects designed the project and collaborated with Integral Group, which has offices in the United States and London, to design its innovative
energy systems with a goal of ensuring that Telus Garden will include Vancouver’s first LEED Platinum tower. (Integral is also responsible for certification.) Sean Pander, the director of sustainability at the City of Vancouver, says energy benchmarking for existing buildings is a critical part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Goran Ostojic, the managing principal for Integral’s Vancouver office, agrees and says North America is five to ten years behind Europe in tying economic incentives to energy performance. “This is a $750 million building. There should be tax breaks if it succeeds in its energy reduction and LEED Platinum performance,” Ostojic says. “Some portion of tax should be correlated to performance.” Ostojic relates it to owning a car. “If you buy a car, in order to maintain
the warranty, every three months you have to change the oil and do a variety of things,” he says. “Yet we still have this sense in the operations of a building [that if] no one is complaining, I’m happy. But if you build a Ferrari, you want it to run as a Ferrari.” And Telus Garden is a Ferrari. From its district waste-to-energy system (80 percent of the primary heating and cooling is from the data center), to the exposed slab ceiling with radiant heating and cooling
OPPOSITE TOP A custom Fazioli piano, designed by Henriquez Partners Architects principal Gregory Henriquez, will enliven the lobby. OPPOSITE BOTTOM A major feature of Telus Garden is the steel canopy ribbed with glulam beams that spans an entire city block and shelters the pedestrian walkway.
The photovoltaic array atop Vancouver’s Telus Garden becomes, in architect Peter Wood’s words, “a crown-like element that cantilevers and floats visible over the edges of the building.”
106
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: EMA PETER (ECHELMAN INSTALLATION)
FEATURES
and displacement ventilation, the project is unlike any Vancouver has ever seen. The triple-glazed windows and the interior and exterior shading help counter the adverse effects—increased energy use and carbon intensity—of floor-to-ceiling glass (which is actually illegal in many European countries). “We started to find wonderful synergies [in] looking at things differently,” says Peter Wood, the director of architecture at Henriquez Partners Architects. “For instance, we needed to harvest a certain quantity of rainwater, and we were coming up short. We only had so much roof area that could collect water, but then we realized that the PV array itself could collect ... rain. All the water that falls on the PVs is collected in a gutter and channeled to a cistern in the basement for greywater and irrigation.” The design team also made a concerted effort to ensure that the buildings, which currently constitute the largest construction project in Vancouver, is visibly and obviously sustainable. “We wanted it to be different than other office buildings,” Wood says, “and to have those differences be recognizable as sustainable strategies by the public—the building itself becoming the message of the corporation’s commitment to a better work environment and a better world.”
gb&d
green innovation. He says it is the center’s “commitment to measuring, verification and sharing” that make it unique. “[This] will be essential to advance our collective knowledge on how buildings can be designed to a high level of sustainability, recognizing financial, technological, institutional, knowledge, and policy barriers.” The aims of these research and tech hubs are supported by progressive public policies. In 2013, CaGBC recommended the City of Vancouver for the World Green Building Council’s Government Leadership Award for Best Green Building Policy. It won. “What distinguishes Vancouver from other cities is its requirements for private-sector developments to have LEED Gold certification as part of the rezoning process,” Mueller says. “This is in addition to the LEED Gold policy for city-owned buildings since 2004.” This policy resulted in LEED certification for every venue built for the 2010 Winter Olympics, including the Athlete’s Village (a first in Olympic history). The community is considered one of the greenest in the world. The city’s increased code requirements, according to Mueller, are some of the most advanced on the continent. Vancouver, he says, has “the greenest building code for single-family homes in North America with high targets for energy and water conservation, by way of a list of prescriptive measures including insulation, high-efficiency heating systems, electric-vehicle-charging infrastructure, and pre-piping for solar hot water.”
DETAILS Location Vancouver, British Columbia Program 44-story residential tower, 22-story office tower Size 1 million ft2 Completion 2015 (expected) Certification LEED Platinum (office, expected) LEED Gold (residential, expected) Cost $750 million Architect Henriquez Partners Architects Developer Westbank ME Engineer / Sustainability Integral Group Construction Manager ICON Pacific Client TELUS
ABOVE Increasing Vancouver’s visibility within the technology field, Janet Echelman’s interactive installation during the 2014 TED conference responded to visitors’ directions.
THE POWER OF TED Considering all of this, it is little wonder that Vancouver was tapped to host TED’s 2014 conference. Mayor Robertson said TED would “enhance Vancouver’s emerging reputation as a ‘global hub for innovation, talent, and entrepreneurial spirit.’” Indeed, the conference upped the profile of local sustainability entrepreneurs and drew local attention to urban issues playing out on the Vancouver stage. Janet Echelman’s art, for instance, on display for TED2014, provided a jumping-off point into issues core to urban sustainability, questioning how we make networks, how we remain fluid, and how we and our cities respond to the elements: sun, water, and air. In a city plagued by its lack of affordability, this art was free for all to see, floating above the ocean between the Fairmont Vancouver and the Vancouver Convention Centre. september–october 2014
107
FEATURES CITIES TO WATCH: VANCOUVER GREEN BUILDING VETERAN
Teresa Coady Kasian’s new chief operating officer steers architecture toward its original ecological covenant gb&d: When did you start to think about sustainability in design? Teresa Coady: When I got into architecture school, I realized it was what I was born to do. I also realized that the focus on postmodernism made no sense. I thought that instead, we needed to integrate buildings and nature so it works as one. Many of the modernist architects had worked with light, cross ventilation, gardens, water… many of the classic fifties buildings have reflecting pools designed to bring in light through water. In our pursuit of globalism, we had lost something. In 1983, my dissertation was titled “The Living Breathing Building,” and I had a hard time getting it approved. “That is not architecture,” they told me. “Architecture is about style and design.” And I said, “No, this will determine the future of buildings. It will inform style and design.” gb&d: Your transition from working as an architect into being first president of B+H Bunting Coady and now chief
operating officer at Kasian—what’s that been like?
gb&d: What are some of your priorities at Kasian?
Teresa Coady: My time at Bunting Coady and then B+H Bunting Coady was about establishing my vision and manifesting it. That took 20 years. Through institutional and commercial buildings, we have influenced the market: they are built, they cost less to build, they cost less to run, we have built enough of them to prove the point and get others to copy. That felt like a great success. There was a point where I looked behind and I looked ahead: would I just run this company the same way for the next 20 years? I had an opportunity to sell the company, and I thought this might be a great change. But after two years, I realized I needed a new path, and I retired. I did a lot of interior work. I studied Tibetan chants and yoga. I yet felt that there was so much more to do. So I was very excited to get the opportunity to stay in Vancouver and breathe new life into one of largest, oldest, and I think best architecture firms in Canada.
Teresa Coady: I think it is very important that architecture be valued for the tremendous value that we bring to society. We are moving now toward trying to understand the next level of influence. We have a growing understanding of thermal energy and light energy. We are just starting to look at sound energy. Natural sounds are calming, and mechanical sounds can be deeply disturbing. So we have clients interested in building harmonics, and that includes sound energy. You know when you walk into a building and you just feel a sense of calm? We can measure sound harmonics, and more people are becoming interested in how we can ground ourselves with sound and natural materials. Humanity has built some wonderful buildings throughout human history, some in the early 20th century. But with mechanism and the devolution into specialties, we harmed ourselves. We are only now starting to see a new generation of wonderful buildings. We have a huge technical bias that comes from our of post-mechanistic worldview. We have abstracted ourselves from the physical world, and we need to get that connection back. We are renewing our understanding of our place in nature, and we are doing in partly through buildings.
“We have abstracted ourselves from the physical world, and we need to get that connection back.”
GUEST EDITOR ROB BENNETT Nothing is static in Vancouver. Buildings are torn down at a frantic pace and replaced even quicker. The result? One of the most competitive real estate markets in North America with developers gun slinging and architects one-upping one another at every turn. The city’s youthfulness, passion for sustainability, and willingness to experiment provides a powerful counter to all this unrelenting change.
LEFT Teresa Coady is now the chief operating officer of Kasian. ABOVE The LEED Gold Surrey District Education Centre outside Vancouver is one of many notable buildings designed by Coady.
108
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
FEATURES
PHOTOS: EMA PETER, MICHAEL ELKAN (FLACK BLOCK), EUGÉNIE FRERICHS (BENNETT)
MORGAN MCDONALD, LEDCOR RENEW
BELOW Redeveloped by the Salient Group with a design by Acton Ostry Architects, Flack Block is Canada’s first LEED Gold Heritage building and serves as one of the city’s social and sustainability hubs.
gb&d
Morgan McDonald, the director of operations for Ledcor Renew, a team within one of Canada’s largest construction companies, says Vancouver has a history of sustainable planning that has brought the city to its current place at the top of sustainability innovation. “I’m proud to live in a highly walkable and bikeable city,” he says. “That’s a product of sustained effort by Vancouver’s people, planners, and politicians over many years.” McDonald is especially proud of the region’s two Living Building Challenge candidate projects: the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver and SFU UniverCity Child Care in Burnaby. “We have a whole network of sustainability leaders and innovators,” he says. “Designers, builders, trades, suppliers, and, of course, owners and municipalities all need to work together to make these projects happen.” Between the city’s policies and the innovations of these local entrepreneurs, something is clearly working. A July 2014 report from the City of Vancouver showed measurable progress, including a six percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2007; population and jobs, meanwhile, grew by five and seven percent, respectively. A 40 percent reduction in solid waste going to the landfill from single-family homes in 2013 is clearly a result of the Green Bin Program for food scraps. The city boasts 4,166 community garden plots, with a remarkable 481 added in 2013. And green building and design jobs are up 50 percent since 2010. And yet, if the aim is to become the greenest city in the world, Vancouver still has yet to surpass anything like Seattle’s Bullitt Center, which is aiming to be a Living Building while also serving as a hub for sustainability. Major events like the Olympics and TED can be used to accelerate Vancouver’s development of sustainable businesses and technologies, but as for the vision that pulls it all forward, it comes back to transformation. I asked Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer what she is most proud of when it comes to the Greenest City plan. “What I am proud of … is that we bit off this incredibly massive chunk,” she says. “The goal is massive and transformative in its aspiration.” gb&d
NEMETZ (S/A) & ASSOCIATES LTD. CONSULTING ENGINEERS
2009 WEST 4TH AVENUE 525 11TH AVENUE, SUITE 101 214 KING STREET WEST SUITE 214 VANCOUVER, BC V6J 1N3 CALGARY, AB T2R 0C9 TORONTO, ON M5H 3S6 T. (647) 253.0086 T. (604) 736.6562 T. (403) 294.9027 F. (647) 253.2085 F. (403) 294.9028 F. (604) 736.9805 WWW.NEMETZ.COM
PROUD TO BE THE ELECTRICAL CONSULTING ENGINEERS ON THE TELUS GARDEN PROJECT ELECTRICAL. MECHANICAL/PLUMBING. DETAILED LIGHTING. SECURITY. COMMUNICATIONS/IT DESIGN. LIFE SAFETY. SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
Congratulations NEIGHBOUR
WE’RE BOTH BACK WHERE CALGARY BEGAN,
inglewood P178918
“I’m proud to live in a highly walkable and bikeable city. That’s a product of sustained effort by Vancouver’s people, planners, and politicians over many years.”
FRIEND OF KASIAN ARCHITECTURE
september–october 2014
109
FEATURES
THE LARGEST
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING EVENT IN THE U.S.
MAXIMIZE YOUR INVESTMENT
SEEING IS BELIEVING
IMMERSE YOURSELF
Greenbuild is the most costeffective way to view highperformance products featuring 750 exhibitors, 23,000 attendees, 160,000 square feet & specialized pavilions.
Discover innovation applications & technologies – all in one place. New features include a net-zeroelectricity demonstration home on the show floor, a residential pavilion, new education sessions, and a new on-floor interactive area called the product showcase.
Design your own curriculum with our comprehensive education program, including 200+ educational sessions, LEED workshops, summits, opening & closing keynotes, entertainment, tours and special events.
If it’s new and innovative, you’ll find it at Greenbuild. Join us as the green movement marches into New Orleans this October! Registration is now open. Visit www.greenbuildexpo.com today to register!
EXPO: OCT. 22-23 | CONFERENCE: OCT. 22-24 MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER | NEW ORLEANS, LA
110
september–october 2014
Questions: 888-529-1641
gbdmagazine.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
112 The Living Treehouse
In rural West Virginia, a dream team designs a Boy Scout’s dream retreat
120 Overlooking History
Inside the new visitor’s center at Monmouth Battlefield State Park
122 Artfully Engineered
A colorful new arts center at New Mexico State University
126 Critical Conditions
At Surrey Memorial Hospital, a landmark for healthcare in BC
A $2 billion Montreal health center makes good on every cent
130 Hospital of the Future
132 Cure for the Cancer Center SwedishAmerican pushes design
boundaries in Illinois
135 Pushing Buildings Forward
Rohrbach Associates tackles energy efficiency at University of Iowa
138 High-Octane Office
Ken Block repurposes 17 shipping containers for a modular workspace
143 New Life on Millionaire’s Row
Cleveland’s Victory Center hopes to spur further health-tech innovation
146 How to Construct a Canyon
An academic building at University of Arizona mimics desert topography
150 Book It
gb&d
WORKSBUREAU designs a LEED Platinum library in Billings, MT
september–october 2014
111
S PA C E S P L AY 112
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
gb&d
september–october 2014
113
september–october 2014
By Brian Barth Photography by Joe Fletcher
An all-star design and construction team, including an architect with a Living Building under his belt, completes an awardwinning tower in the mountains of rural West Virginia for Boy Scouts of America
gb&d
SPACES
113
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
OPPOSITE Designed by Mithun and BNIM and built by Swope Construction, the look of the Boy Scouts’ Sustainability Treehouse was influenced by the Appalachian forest.
PROJECT LOCATION Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve, WV Program Indoor and outdoor classrooms nested in an interactive structure with educational displays Size 3,347 ft2 Completion 2013 IA COTE 2014 Top Ten Awards A Green Projects, 2013 AIA Seattle Honor Award
TEAM GENERAL CONTRACTOR Swope Construction Client Boy Scouts of America Developer Trinity Works Design Architect Mithun Architect of Record / Executive Architect BNIM Structural Engineer Tipping Mar Geotechnical Engineer S&ME MEP Engineer I ntegral Group Landscape Architect Nelson Byrd Woltz Lighting Design David Nelson and Associates Exhibit Design Volume, Inc., Studio Terpeluk Code Consultant FP&C Consultants
GREEN CERTIFICATION Living Building Challenge (expected) Site Located in mountainous landscape recovering from past logging and coal mining Materials 100% recycled content Cor-ten steel frame; FSC pine framing; site harvested oak used for siding; local black locust used for decking Water 1,000-gallon cistern for landscaping and non-potable uses; composting toilet outhouse; on-site greywater treatment Energy 6 ,500-watt PV array and dual 4,000-watt wind turbines supply all power Landscape Native edible species part of landscape
114
september–october 2014
Boy Scouts always have upheld a “leave no trace” ethic on backcountry campouts. With the completion of the Sustainability Treehouse—a living, breathing, selfsufficient paragon of biomimicry nestled within the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia—the Boy Scouts of America as an organization is exemplifying the ethic of leaving the world a better place. Rising 125 feet alongside a secondgrowth forest of oak, hemlock, and hickory in the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve, the Treehouse looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. But it functions in perfect harmony with the verdant flora surrounding it. Like a tree, it captures energy from the sun and channels rainwater gently to the forest floor, efficiently circulating both resources through its system in the process of growth and expansion. In this case, it is young minds that are growing and expanding—the environmental ethics embodied in the structure will hopefully help to grow young Scouts’ capacities to make ethical choices over their lifetimes. Pursuing certification through the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a 6,500watt photovoltaic array and twin 4,000watt wind turbines make the Treehouse a net-positive energy producer, while “tippy-cup” rain chains, a 1,000-gallon cistern, composting toilets, and greywater-filtration features make it a self-contained system from a hydrological perspective.
“We were trying to tell the story of the forest,” says Casey Cassias, the principal-in-charge at BNIM, the Treehouse project’s architect of record. “The lower level looks out at the forest floor,” he says, “and on the middle level, the mid-canopy, you’re surrounded by birds and insects.” The top level is a place for studying the upper reaches of the canopy, contemplating the view and, at night, for gazing into the cosmos above. With open-air “classrooms” at each level, a carefully formed narrative is woven throughout the entire structure, with interactive displays demonstrating environmental principles and sustainable technologies: things like a stationary bike tied to a generator and a cross section of a tree that shows the ecological history of the site. “We designed the Treehouse to provide visitors with tangible lessons of sustainable design that would inform their future actions and leave them with a strong connection to this amazing place,” says project designer Brendan Connolly, a partner at Mithun, which led the design team. Afternoon snacks are even accounted for: the landscape design by Nelson Byrd Woltz features a selection of edible native species. TREADING LIGHTLY ON THE LAND Though the site is thickly forested today, it was previously cut for lumber and mined for coal. It’s still in the process
SUSTAINABILITY TREEHOUSE PLANS Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
gb&d
september–october 2014
115
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
he Treehouse features multiple levT els connected by a prominent stair. Above the rooftop deck and tree canopy, vertical wind turbines and solar photovoltaics generate clean energy for the structure.
116
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
ABOVE A wall of reclaimed wood continues the narrative of responsibly harvested timber and material reuse. Signage throughout teaches Scouts about sustainable principles. RIGHT Rain chains made from camping mugs that swivel on vertical rods pass rainwater down each link and into a cistern, where it is purified and fed into a drinking fountain. FAR RIGHT Sculptural seating provides space for contemplation of the West Virginia forest. Much of the project’s wood came from the area.
gb&d
september–october 2014
117
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
ABOVE The black locust used for the decks is among the Treehouse’s numerous varieties of local lumber, including regional pine for framing and site-harvested oak for sidings.
of reclamation. The Boy Scouts are developing the site as the permanent venue for the Jamboree, an event that convenes 50,000 Scouts from around the world for a two-week celebration every four years, and the Treehouse, built by Swope Construction, is one of the iconic structures envisioned in the master plan. The planning and design process involved collaboration with dozens of companies and consultants but was initiated during a two-week on-site retreat for the five primary members of the project team. The atmosphere of the charette, says Brad Clark, BNIM’s project architect for the Treehouse, was “competitive, but in a positive, collaborative way.”
118
september–october 2014
The schematic plan for the structure was hammered out during late nights peppered with equal amounts of camaraderie and fierce debate, but everyone involved agrees it was the Appalachian forest setting that ultimately directed the design. “Mithun went back in the forest, found a spot with a clearing, and surveyed the area,” Cassias says. They didn’t know it at the time, but the clearing owed its existence to a rock outcrop hidden just beneath the surface, which resisted colonization by the returning forest. The program proposed by the clients set a high bar for the team, which was further elevated by a mandate to not disturb the forest. The natural clearing gave them a window of opportunity to build on, but it isn’t easy creating a 125-foot tall structure within such tight constraints. “We had to look closely at access to the space in terms of large construction equipment,” Cassias says. Swope carefully planned the construction of the structure based on the crane size required to swing the structure over the treetops and into position. The company also took advantage of the old logging and mining roads to move equipment to and from the site,
and these now serve as visitor and service routes. This complex ballet orchestrated by the team in both design and construction was completed with minimal impact to the young forest. THE DETAILS OF A LIVING BUILDING When he came onto the project, BNIM’s Clark had already helped design one of the first structures in the world to be certified as a Living Building, the Omega Institute’s Center for Sustainable Living in upstate New York. He was familiar with the difficult task of meeting the LBC’s standards with materials that are readily available on the market. The oak siding on both the interior and exterior walls meets the LBC’s mandate for site-harvested lumber. Black locust for the decking came from a nearby valley, and the FSC-certified pine used for framing is also from the region. According to Clark, these were obvious choices to reduce energy consumption and adverse ecological impacts embodied in the structure. “Embodied energy also requires thinking about what goes into the building over time,” Clark says. The team achieved gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
“We designed the Treehouse to provide visitors with tangible lessons of sustainable design that would inform their future actions and leave them with a strong connection to this amazing place.”
American Timber Marketing Group, LLC DBA
Brendan Connolly, Mithun
nearly 100-percent passive heating and cooling fairly easily, with careful attention to the prevailing winds, internal airflow, and the Treehouse’s orientation to the sun. Avoiding the environmentally unfriendly substances on the LBC’s Red List, however, took serious focus, as these are found in many common building materials and finishes. Fortunately, the building’s naturally rot-resistant white oak and black locust performs fairly well in its raw form and was treated only with an oil derived from rosewood nuts. “The Cor-ten steel megastructure is a weathering steel that develops its own patina over time,” Cassias says, “which never needs any form of cleaning or surface treatment.” One of the trickiest aspects the designers confronted was lighting. The design channels sunlight into interior spaces, eliminating the need for daytime lighting, but since the upper deck is also a stargazing platform, no “light spillage” could come from the structure at night. But Boy Scouts climb lots of stairs to reach the top deck, and building regulations require those to be lit for safety. Working with lighting consultant David Nelson and Associates the architects designed a discrete LED illumination system that throws light precisely to where it is needed for safety, while preventing it from bouncing up to pollute the view of the night sky. Given the overall low light conditions prevalent on the site, local officials saw the virtues of the proposed solution. Through their attention to detail and creative collaboration, Mithun, BNIM, Swope, Boy Scouts of America, and other team members have constructed a subtle yet monumental feat of architecture and engineering, as well as sustainability. By engaging the spirit of exploration and the innate connection between nature and the young people who will come here to learn and play, this one-of-a-kind living structure may infuse a generation of adults with the belief that living lightly on the land can be an expression of human strength. gb&d gb&d
Timbers/Custom Siding/ Beams/Log Home Logs
wvwildwood.com 304-574-wood (9663)
Synergy General Trades
Glu-lam and Heavy Timber Erectors
GALYON
Timber and Glulam, Inc.
Over 25 years of experience Synergy General Trades offers a wide range of services to meet the varying needs of general contractors and architects. Every service is accompanied by high quality craftsmanship performed by our experienced team. Our primary services include the following: • Glulam installation • Heavy timber installation • Set panels installation
• Tongue and groove roofing installation • Cross Laminated Timbers
Synergy General Trades, LLC 3006 Red Circle Willow Spring, NC 27592 616-915-4943 www.synergygeneraltrades.com
Galyon Timber and Glu-lam Inc. PO Box 10381 Knoxville, TN 37939 865-584-4542 www.galyontimber.com september–october 2014
119
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
With walls of windows, the view is part of the exhibit at the Monmouth Battlefield Visitor Center By Mary Beth Rohde
PROJECT LOCATION Manalapan, NJ Program A ddition, renovation to existing visitor center Size 6,000 ft2 renovation, 8,000 ft2 addition Completion 2013 Certification LEED Silver Cost $10 million Awards 2 014 ACEC New York Silver Award, Special Projects
TEAM ARCHITECT Ikon.5 Architects Client S tate of New Jersey Structural Engineer Thornton Tomasetti MEP/F Engineer Altieri Sebor Wieber Environmental Engineer M cCabe Environmental Services Exhibit Designer Gallagher & Associates
120
september–october 2014
On a hot June day in 1778, General George Washington’s army ambushed troops led by British General Sir Henry Clinton in the fields and forests of what is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park. It was the longest battle of the American Revolution. The battle is famous in part for folk hero Molly Pitcher, who carried water for cooling the cannons, thus earning her nickname, and supposedly took her husband’s place as a cannon gunner when he collapsed during the battle. “It’s 500 acres of hallowed ground in American history. This was a pivotal battle in winning the Revolutionary War,” says Joe Tattoni, a principal at Ikon.5 Architects, which renovated the park’s visitor center. The original visitor center, erected to commemorate the park’s 1976 Bicentennial celebration, resembled a brick box. For the renovation, there were a few requirements: stay within the original footprint on the historic and archaeological site; preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the location; and focus on sustainability—all within the tight budget. Ikon.5’s solution creates a modern, light-filled, steel and glass monument to history with floor-to-ceiling windows allowing expansive views of the rural landscape. “The challenge was to reinvigo-
rate the building and also educate people about the importance of this battle in the revolution,” Tattoni says. “Very little exists from Revolutionary times and most of the items are kind of dry. The key artifact is the battlefield itself and the stunning views from the top of the hill. We wanted the visitor center to exploit that view.” While the building is the first thing visitors see as they approach from the parking lot, the one-story structure strikes a purposely low profile. “We built low and horizontal, so although the building is modern, it hugs the hilltop and doesn’t overpower the landscape,” Tattoni says. In sections where large windows were not feasible, such as the 150-seat auditorium, classrooms, offices, and archaeological lab, Ikon.5 clad the exterior walls in cedar siding painted with old-fashioned milk paint to achieve a weathered, barn-style look that blends with the rustic setting. In the building’s orientation theater, the introductory film ends by rolling up the screen to reveal a large glass window overlooking the battlefield. Historical re-enactments frequently happen there, with visiting groups in Revolutionary regalia recreating specific battle scenes. “When you are inside the building,” Tattoni says, “it feels like a stage set to where the battle took place.” gb&d
gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: JAMES D’ADDIO
OVERLOOKING HISTORY
SPACES
BELOW A deep overhang provides shade and a contemporary look while two long rain gutters collect runoff and direct it into rain gardens filled with native plants and grasses on either side of the visitor center.
TOP Behind the screen of the 150-seat auditorium is a window that overlooks the park, allowing for a thenand-now effect when it rolls up at the end of the introductory film. ABOVE Fifteen-foottall, single-pane windows extend from roof to slab along the south and west sides of the visitor center to provide views of the historic battlefield.
Photo credit: ŠAnna Wesolowska
KOHLER RONAN...
Engineering Solutions for Cultural and Academic Institutions Across the Country Comprehensive MEP/FP IT & Security Sustainable Design
BIM/Energy Modeling Construction Administration Commissioning Services www.kohlerronan.com
gb&d
september–october 2014
121
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
ARTFULLY ENGINEERED Behind the eye-catching façade, New Mexico State University’s Center for the Arts is state of the art By Maureen Wilkey
The New Mexico State University (NMSU) campus in Las Cruces gets an abundance of sunlight each year but constantly lacks rain. So when the university decided to build the LEED Gold-certified Center for the Arts, the project team knew it would need to take those factors into account. The 59,000-squarefoot building sits on the north end of the campus’s main horseshoe of buildings and houses a 466-seat theater, rehearsal room, classrooms, and a main lobby nicknamed “The Arroyo” after New Mexico’s winding river beds. Although many challenged the ability to build a LEED-certified theater building, the building’s design team used a variety of innovative techniques. “We installed large windows so that we could harvest as much daylight as possible, and sun scoops that track the pattern of the sun across the roof, allowing light into the lobby,” says NMSU’s university architect, Greg Walke.
Sun scoops are skylights that allow the most light to come in at any point of day. The university saves on lighting costs, and the curving lobby takes on a different character depending on where the sun is in the sky. To address the water needs of the area, the site is designed to manage stormwater, and rainwater is captured to provide 100 percent of irrigation to the building’s drought-tolerant landscaping. Further reducing use, low-flow fixtures were installed throughout the facility. One of the building’s more unique features is its displacement ventilation system. Displacement ventilation is key in a climate like New Mexico’s where buildings typically use air-conditioning year round. “We cool air coming in from the outside by ventilating it four to six feet above the ground, where most people are standing,” Walke says. “Then, because hot
PROJECT LOCATION Las Cruces, NM Program 4 66-seat theater, rehearsal space, lobby, classrooms Size 59,000 ft2 Completion 2012 Certification LEED-NC Gold Awards Associated General Contractors New Mexico Chapter, Best Buildings Awards 2014: Best Construction Management at Risk Project
TEAM CLIENT N ew Mexico State University Architect Holzman Moss Bottino Architects Associate Architect ASA Architects Mechanical Engineer Kohler Ronan General Contractor McCarthy Building Companies
122
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
“It offers great views of the mountains from its big windows. Students sit in its nooks and crannies even when they aren’t going to class there.”
PHOTOS: ANNA WESOLOWSKA
Greg Walke, New Mexico State University
air rises, the areas above people’s heads heats up, but they’re still comfortable.” As a building devoted to the arts, the structure needed to be aesthetically appealing. The planners tried to push the envelope, raising visibility and getting people to talk about its unique design. “We wanted a place that the students and the public could enjoy, so we brought in different colors, shapes, and light patterns in The Arroyo, and we built the building closer to the street so that it didn’t turn its back on the town,” Walke says. “It offers great views of the mountains from its big windows, and students sit in its nooks and crannies even when they aren’t going to class there.” When Kohler Ronan Engineers started working on the team of architects, engineers, and projgb&d
ect managers responsible for the Center for the Arts building, the goal was to achieve LEED-NC Silver. But with a little exploration and a lot of hard work, the team was able to reach LEED Gold and reduce energy consumption by 28 percent more than required in the ASHRAE/ IESNA standard. “By performing several energy models of the building at an early stage in design, we were able to analyze different energy efficient measures to see which we could improve upon and give us our biggest payback in terms of energy,” says Kohler Ronan’s Steve Lembo. Not every idea Kohler Ronan tested worked. Early in the process, while analyzing different systems for airflow and temperature control, the team tested a system that would allow natural ventilation to cool the building. Because the
ABOVE Elements that contributed to the Center for the Arts building’s LEED Gold certification include its high-performance glazing, insulation, lighting, and materials. OPPOSITE The building’s irregular form creates a variety of views. Its façade features local stone that references New Mexico’s natural geography.
amount of available hours for natural ventilation to cool the building effectively were not ideal, it would have been too expensive to include as an energy efficient measure. Furthermore, New Mexico’s numerous dust storms that occur several months of the year did not make natural ventilation a viable option. “For the most part, campus buildings, and in particular performing arts centers, are used seven days a week at all hours of the day, and they have occupancies that fluctuate greatly compared to corporate buildings,” Lembo says. “The systems that are designed for these buildings must consider these fluctuations in usage and occupancies and adjust accordingly.” One of the biggest energy savers is a series of energy-recovery wheels that operate in the summer and winter in the theater, lobby, and september–october 2014
123
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
Steve Lembo, Kohler Ronan
BELOW LEFT The frequent use of red and green alludes to the two main colors of chiles, of which New Mexico produces more than any other state in the US. BELOW RIGHT Interior rehearsal spaces are left somewhat raw compared to the decorative lobby and auditorium.
demand controlled ventilation, occupancy sensors, and a 14-kilowatt photovoltaic array. Regionally sourced materials include stone from two local quarries, including limestone and onyx accents from New Mexico Travertine in Belen, New Mexico, and larger limestone blocks from Texas Stone Quarries in Garden City, Texas. Both are within LEED’s required 500-mile radius. In addition to its mechanical systems and green features, the Center for the Arts identifies with its surroundings in symbolic ways. The building exterior is immediately identifiable for its New Mexico stone, which continues into the lobby. As a centennial building built during New Mexico’s 100th anniversary of statehood, the team also wanted to identify with some of the historic buildings around it, including its 104-year-old neighbor, a green-tinted campus building. That’s why architects finished the building with a pattern of green and red stucco. “We also wanted to give a nod to the classic New Mexico chile dilemma—red or green,” Walke says. “As the country’s largest
producer of chiles, everyone has an opinion as to which color is best.” This building is a part of NMSU’s initiative to ensure that buildings on campus are LEED certified. While the campus had already been using many green building techniques, such as locally sourced materials, the photovoltaic array was a new element that Walke says he’d like to use again on future buildings. The university is also perfecting displacement ventilation, which will save money on energy costs during the 300-plus cooling days in Las Cruces. “I think we’ll focus more on building healthy buildings in the future,” Walke says. “Displacement ventilation is already a step in that direction, because it’s more natural and healthy than blowing air horizontally across the room.” New Mexico State University’s Center for the Arts may just be the beginning when it comes to sustainable buildings for the university—and for the arts. The school is considering two more phases of arts-related building projects. Kohler Ronan, for its part, is hoping to be a part of them. gb&d
PHOTOS: ANNA WESOLOWSKA
rehearsal rooms. These wheels use energy contained in the air that would normally be exhausted in the building to pretreat the incoming air, cooling it in the summer and heating it in the winter, providing cost savings and allowing for smaller HVAC units throughout the building. Kohler Ronan used the same idea by borrowing energy from the building’s hot or chilled water for the radiant floor system. “Most people are familiar [with] and use radiant floor heating in more of the projects they work on today,” Lembo says. “However, we used a combined system of radiant cooling and heating for the lobby of the building. When direct sunlight reaches the floor of the building unobstructed, a system of radiant pipes will absorb the sun’s energy in the summer or add heat in the winter.” The radiant floor allows for a reduced need for air circulation, which in turn leads to a considerable savings in fan energy and reheating. The project also incorporates a number of now-standard sustainable features, like low-flow fixtures,
“The systems that are designed for these buildings must consider these fluctuations in usage and occupancies and adjust accordingly.”
124
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
S P O T L I G H T P L AY
KAKA’AKO AGORA ATELIER BOW-WOW HONOLULU, HAWAII
Pay attention to Kaka’ako. The historically commercial and industrial neighborhood southeast of downtown Honolulu is in the midst of a rapid transformation. Pop-up restaurants, eccentric boutiques, and craft breweries are sprouting like banyan roots, just ahead of larger-scale residential and mixed-use developments. Our Kaka’ako, a group led by Kamehameha Schools, is working to remake nine city blocks and support what has become a hub for urban thinkers, designers, and entrepreneurs. Kaka’ako Agora is one of many adaptive reuse projects designed to use space creatively and foster that community. Spearheaded by arts collective Interisland Terminal, the indoor park provides a completely open but sheltered gathering place during the day and event space at night. The team added a mezzanine but left much of the space bare to provide for a variety of uses. gb&d —Timothy Schuler
The informal indoor gathering place, free to the public, mimics European piazzas while making use of formerly vacant warehouse space in an increasingly walkable urban district.
gb&d
september–october 2014
125
S PAC E S H E A L
As researchers discover the importance of our healing environments, British Columbia’s CEI Architecture pushes the envelope at Surrey Memorial’s Critical Care Tower
PHOTOS: ED WHITE
By Emma Janzen
126
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
PROJECT LOCATION Surrey, BC Program H ospital with acute care, mental health and pediatric area, labs, emergency room Size 420,000 ft2 Completion 2014 Certification LEED Gold (expected) Cost $512 million Awards Fraser Valley Real Estate Board Commercial Building Awards, Judge’s Choice Overall, and Excellence Award in the Community Institutional Category
TEAM
A
t first glance, Surrey Memorial Hospital’s Critical Care Tower in British Columbia doesn’t look like the kind of building that would house top-notch medical care. The angular, artistic shell of the new expansion, designed by CEI Architecture with Parkin Architects, looks more like a hotel or resort than one of Canada’s largest healthcare facilities. The entry is warm, welcoming, and engaging, unlike many hospitals, which often favor antiseptic aesthetics. Construction for the new wing of the existing hospital broke ground in 2011 to support Surrey, one of the fastest growing
municipalities in Canada. The $512 million, 420,000-square-foot addition officially opened in June 2014, complete with 151 new acute care beds, a specialized mental health and pediatric area, new labs, space for academics, and the second largest emergency department in the country. Within the rigid design structure set forth by the commanding public-private partnership, the architects worked to execute the technical requirements of the project while also creating a comfortable environment for patients and visitors. “It’s a real shift in how healthcare is being reconceived,” says Allan Francis, a sustainable design specialist with CEI
ARCHITECTS CEI Architecture, Parkin Architects Client Fraser Health Authority Full Operations Partner Honeywell Sustainability Consultant Enermodal Engineering Landscape Architect Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg Geotechnical Consultant Levelton Consultants Structural Engineer Bush, Bolhman & Partners ME/C Engineer MMM Group Acoustic Consultant DL & Associates Code Consultant CFT Engineering General Contractor EllisDon
SUPPLIERS LABORATORIES TechnoClin Consulting Elevators V ertech Elevator Services Mechanical Subcontractor Fred Welsh Patient Lifts Shoppers Home Healthcare
OPPOSITE Surrey Memorial’s 420,000-square-foot addition uses prominent wood beams to create a warm, inviting, and architecturally distinct entrance. LEFT The warm aesthetic continues in the main lobby, enhanced by the multistory glass curtainwall and yellow, orange, and red baffles hanging from the ceiling.
gb&d
september–october 2014
127
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
With the addition of 72 new bicycle spots in the updated parking lot, staff and visitors are encouraged to reduce carbon emissions by biking to the hospital.
128
september–october 2014
LEFT Healthy materials were used to construct the new healthcare facility in an effort to create as healing an environment as possible. BELOW Surrey Memorial’s use of local wood exceeded the guidelines of BC’s Wood First Act, which applies to all publicly funded buildings in British Columbia. BOTTOM CEI deliberately placed spaces that don’t require natural light toward the middle of the building, thereby reserving all sunlight for patient rooms and social areas.
PHOTOS: ED WHITE
Architecture and a member of the design and construction team. “On a small, or even a really large scale like this, people are coming to the realization that the attributes of the interior environments— such as air quality and access to natural light—are as important for our health as the clinical care you are receiving in that environment.” To establish as natural an environment as possible, natural materials, daylighting, and ventilation were incorporated into the design—elements that also contribute towards the project’s LEED Gold target. One striking element that weaves throughout both the interior and exterior of the building is the use of local wood, which fosters feelings of warmth and also fits within the guidelines of British Columbia’s 2009 Wood First Act, where local businesses are required to consider wood as a primary building material in all publicly funded buildings. Natural light also plays an important role in the design. Iain MacFadyen with Enermodal Engineering, the firm selected to provide sustainability coordination for the project, said that because the building has dense massing, CEI oriented working spaces that do not require natural light towards the central core, leaving patient rooms and other social spaces around the perimeter. Each room features occupancy and daylight sensors and high-performance windows. Preliminary energy models project 47 percent energy savings when compared to the energy cost of the model building code. gb&d
gbdmagazine.com
We’re proud to help CHUM, Canada’s largest hospital, to achieve its sustainability goals. Find out how we can help you do the same.
HH Angus & Associates Limited Mechanical and Electrical Consulting Engineers hhangus.com
Employee Owned. Client Driven.
Gamma is proud to be the curtain wall contractor for CHUM in Montreal, Canada’s second largest ongoing curtain wall project.
RELIABILITY THROUGH “PERFORMANCE ASSURED” For important commercial, institutional, public and governmental projects requiring complex curtain wall solutions, North America’s most respected owners, developers, general contractors, construction managers and architects repeatedly turn to Gamma North America, one of the world’s largest curtain wall companies. • Gamma’s distinctive service hallmark speaks directly to delivering a project with optimal reliability - - including the CHUM project in Montreal, now working toward LEED Silver certification. The aluminum in the extrusions, panels and louvers in the Gamma curtain wall system provides significant LEED points. • Gamma offers U.S. and Canadian customers the largest amount of owned and operated custom fabrication and sourcing flexibility in the North American industry.
www.blcompanies.com
Quality and valued service are not accidents, they are nurtured. Visit www.gammainternational.org to learn more about the benefits of “Performance Assured.”
CT | MA | MD | NJ | NY | OH | PA | TX
Montreal | Quebec City | Toronto | Vancouver | New York | Miami | Buffalo | Cincinnati
800.301.3077
gb&d
september–october 2014
129
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
HOSPITAL OF THE FUTURE
Automated guided vehicles, honeycombshaped heat wheels, and other innovative systems will make the $2 billion, 3 million-square-foot Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal as efficient as it is big By Brian Barth The University of Montreal’s new teaching hospital sets a high bar for the future design of healthcare facilities. The $2 billion Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal—or CHUM, for short—is impressive in its sheer scope, scale, and complexity, but the final package is a textbook unto itself for achieving sustainability goals in a context with so many other critical design requirements. Comprised of several interconnected towers and an animated main street environment along Rue St. Denis, one of Montreal’s liveliest thoroughfares, CHUM is shaping up as a new icon in Montreal’s urban core, a gentle giant wrapped in a glistening LEED Silver package. First, the facts: CHUM (pronounced “shoom”) is the largest public-private-part-
130
september–october 2014
nership health center project underway in North America and the third largest in the world. The three phases of construction began in 2010 and will span the remainder of the decade. Once the second and largest phase is complete in 2016, the new CHUM will have the capacity for 750,000 outpatient visits and 65,000 emergency room visits per year. The three millionsquare-foot, 772-bed facility will occupy an entire city block and house a high-tech teaching and research center that includes 35 medical specialties, a conference center, and a 500-seat amphitheater. According to Paul Landry, CHUM’s chief project officer, efficiency has been one of the core principles driving the design since its inception. The RFP for the project mandated a “40 percent reduction in energy use over the baseline,” Landry says, also noting that “the design concept has resulted in a very functional building for people circulation and material distribution as well.” Whether entering at street level or via the underground parking deck or metro station, a strategic system of escalators, elevators, tunnels, and corridors will lead patients, visitors, and staff smoothly to their destination guided by an “efficient and intuitive wayfinding system,” Landry says. Behind the scenes, automated guided vehicles (AGVs)—a Wi-Fi–powered system of robotic carts—will transport all daily-use materials. Dirty linens, biowaste, food, medicine,
PROJECT LOCATION Montreal, Quebec Program T eaching, research, and regional healthcare facility housing 35 medical specialties and 39 operating rooms Size 3 million ft2 Completion 2013 (Phase 1), 2016 (Phase 2), 2020 (Phase 3) Certification LEED Silver (expected) Cost $2 billion Awards P roject Finance North American Project Bond Deal of the Year, and Overall North America Project Finance Deal of the Year in 2011
TEAM CLIENT C HUM Collectif Hospital Architect Cannon Design, NEUF Architectes Research Center Architects N FOE et Associés Architectes, Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes, Jodin Lamarre Pratte Architectes, Lemay et Associés Architecture Design, Parkin Architects Hospital Engineers HH Angus, Pasquin St-Jean, SM International Research Center Engineers Consortium Pageau Morel, BPRBâtiment, LBHA, SDKNCK General Contractor Laing O’Rourke and Obrascon Huarte Lain Facilities Managers Dalkia Canada, Honeywell Curtain Wall Gamma Windows and Walls International
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
“We will recover some heat from interior sources, such as computer and electrical rooms, but our silver bullet is the heat wheels.” Nick Stark, HH Angus
and other “consumables” are moved in and out of the building without clogging hallways and elevators with this utilitarian traffic. Landry is particularly pleased with CHUM’s advanced logistics, noting that it is focused on maximizing efficiency 24/7 and achieving “complete separation of clean and soiled”—one of the underlying goals of hospital design. The design of a hospital has to prioritize the health, safety, and wellbeing of its patients above all other design considerations, for which CHUM should receive five stars. To attain LEED Silver status within the same context, however, is no small feat. The gleaming glass curtain wall by Gamma Windows and Walls, for example, is not double but triple glazed. A glass exterior, though it allows for natural light and views, can create a lot of condensation, which must be avoided in a hospital environment. Plus, humidity levels are
gb&d
specified at 30 to 40 percent for most parts of the hospital, meaning the HVAC system must function within a narrow range of tolerances to achieve the optimal zone for patient comfort and to minimize various pathogens that proliferate at higher or lower levels. Such high-tech HVAC acrobatics generally sacrifice energy efficiency for the sake of precision, but with a goal of 40-percent reduction in energy use, CHUM had to find a solution that offers both. HH Angus, the electrical and mechanical engineer for the healthcare project, took the complex requirements as an opportunity to test the limits of the firm’s ingenuity. “It is a real challenge [to reduce energy consumption] with a hospital due to code and performance requirements, which on CHUM was further complicated by the size of the buildings,” says Nick Stark, vice president of knowledge management at HH Angus and the principal-in-charge of the project. “On top of this was a key project requirement of achieving a high quality indoor environment by not allowing recirculation of air between different departments.” Providing 100 percent fresh outdoor air to all spaces was the most viable alternative, but this eliminated yet another area where significant energy savings are possible. The linchpin of the final HVAC design is something called a heat wheel. “We will recover some heat from interior sources, such as computer and electrical rooms,” Stark says, “but our silver bullet is the
heat wheels.” The wheels, which are about 15 feet in diameter, have a honeycomb structure that transfers the heat and humidity from the air leaving the building and puts it back into the fresh air coming in, greatly reducing heating costs—and energy consumption—in the process. In Montreal’s frigid winters, CHUM’s interior climate will be as fresh as spring. Additional energy-saving features are tucked into every fold of the CHUM complex, from its subterranean parking areas to the roof on the 20th story. “The new CHUM is a patient-centered facility that connects directly to major public transportation systems,” Landry says, adding that “access and storage for up to 250 bicycles was also part of the architects’ transportation vision for the center and a focus on LEED credits.” When they need a bit of fresh air, patients, staff, students, and visitors will have access to rooftop gardens overlooking the city, designed with medicinal herbs historically used in France, a deliberate nod to the green roots of healthcare. gb&d
LEFT The $2 billion hospital project in Montreal will house an amphitheater building, which will be completed as a part of Phase 2. BOTTOM The reception and waiting areas for ambulatory clinics are placed along the building curtain wall, which is triple-glazed to increase energy efficiency.
september–october 2014
131
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
CURE FOR THE COMMON CANCER CENTER SwedishAmerican centralizes its awardwinning cancer treatment program under the roof of the first LEED for Healthcare cancer center in the country By Christopher James Palafox
132
september–october 2014
“Hope is here.” That’s the message SwedishAmerican Health System hopes to communicate to patients and families through the nonprofit organization’s new LEED-certified Cancer Center. When the locally governed healthcare organization that serves northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin decided to consolidate state-of-the-art treatment and an award-winning cancer program under one roof, it created a support system that aims to make healing easier. The project holds a number of firsts—it’s the first time a cancer center has received LEED for Healthcare certification in the United States, as well as SwedishAmerican’s first LEED endeavor.
“We’re always trying to be a leader in our area,” says Glenn Evans, the organization’s director of facility planning, design, and construction. “Our organization has a vision statement that reads, ‘Set the standard of excellence for quality service and outcomes.’” By bringing this facility to northern Illinois, SwedishAmerican intends to demonstrate that it is conscious of not only the quality of care brought to its patients, but of the built environment as well. To ensure that the project met its sustainability goals while maintaining high healthcare standards, Evans brought in Ringland-Johnson Construction—which has experience not only with LEED, but also
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
PHOTOS: ANNA BRAHMSTEDT AKERLUND
OPPOSITE Outside, the center has healing gardens and a 4,300-square-foot living roof that negates the heat island effect over that portion of the building—as well as an atypical resting space for patients.
with local health and American Society for Healthcare Engineering codes and regulations—as the project’s general contractor. The site is centralized in order to service the 12 counties near the health system’s headquarters in Rockford, Illinois, and is conveniently located off of the I-90 expressway. However, its location is on the eastern end of Rockford, so the SwedishAmerican Foundation introduced alternative transportation options for locals. Now, shuttle busses pick up patients from the hospital or their homes. Additionally, after negotiating with the city, the municipality now provides Rockford Mass Transit access directly to the center’s front door. On a
PROJECT LOCATION Rockford, IL Program Cancertreatment center with admin offices, classrooms, staff break room, café, lab, pharmacy, and retail boutique Size 6 5,870 f 2 Completion 2013 Certification LEED for Healthcare
TEAM OWNER SwedishAmerican Health System Design Architect Eckenhoff Saunders Architects Architect of Record Saavedra Gehlhausen General Contractor Ringland-Johnson Construction Landscape Architect Sanders Design Group
gb&d
building level, easy access was also a concern, with patient flow from department to department earmarked as a critical design element. Even though the building is set on two floors, there is abundant elevator access throughout the facility. Early in project development, SwedishAmerican brought together an advisory committee consisting of cancer patients, cancer survivors, family members, physicians, technicians, architects, engineers, and contractors to determine what patients needed when they came into a cancer facility, as well as what elements they definitely did not want to see. The organization also visited the Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and similar facilities in Chicago. These measures made for an abundance of patient choices available in the center. The types of environments patients are offered give them the ability to freely transition between an open bay chemo area, a semi-private chemo area, and a private area. Typically, two of the three are present, but not all three. SwedishAmerican wanted to offer these choices, giving patients the ability to connect with other patients only if and when they felt comfortable. “What sets this project apart from similar buildings is the con-
THIS PAGE With interior elements that reference the cancer center’s prairie site, the building also uses 20% less water than a typical facility. Additionally, 80 percent of construction waste was recycled, and 86 percent of the building materials were sourced within 500 miles of the project.
EXCLUSIVE EXTRAS See more of the cancer center by downloading the iPad edition or at gbdmagazine.com.
densed sustainable environment designed around the patients’ and families’ needs,” says Michael Vinci of Eckenhoff Saunders Architects (ESA), the project’s design architect. ESA worked closely with Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, the project’s architect of record, to make spaces that were efficient from a patient’s point of view. “Treatment areas are comforting and flexible, allowing patients to control their environment,” Vinci says. In order to make patients feel as if they are not stuck inside a hospital, the space was designed with easy access to the outdoors in mind. “It was important to provide a homey, warm, open space with direct access to nature,” Evans says, “so all of the treatment rooms have full window walls that look outside.” The positive atmosphere was extended all the way to the colors of the walls and the artwork on them. “Our biggest challenge was making it as patient friendly as possible, but I think we hit a homerun,” Evans says. By working closely with individuals affected by cancer on all levels from beginning to the end, SwedishAmerican has been able to create a precedent-setting facility that never loses sight of its mission to heal and help patients and their families. gb&d september–october 2014
133
op ng H i d l Bu i
e...Sustainably We inspect what you expect SERVICES
• Building Envelope Commissioning • Building Envelope Consulting • Forensic Analysis • Testing and Inspection • Litigation Support
815.332.8600 I Ringland.com
100 W. Main Street, Monett, Missouri 65708 417-235-3432 | www.kdentinc.com
Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects w w w. s g a d e s i g n . c o m
w w w. e s a d e s i g n . c o m
Working together to create a cleaner, healthier environment.
SwedishAmerican Regional Cancer Center
134
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
WHERE BUILDING AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES MEET
PROJECT
TEAM
LOCATION Iowa City, Iowa Program L aboratories, vivarium, offices, conference rooms, and café Size 246,000 ft2 Completion 2014 Certification LEED NC v2.2 Silver
ARCHITECT Rohrbach Associates Associate Architects Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman Architects, Payette Associates Client University of Iowa General Contractor Walsh Construction
Rohrbach Associates and KDENT collaborate on University of Iowa’s next-generation biomedical facility
through metal studs, so an R-value of 19 insulation in a six-inch steel stud cavity gives you an effective R-value of about seven. Whereas four inches, three inches of insulation on the exterior gives you a true effective R-value of 19.” The local climate regularly experiences temperatures of -10 to -15 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods, making all characteristics of the building’s envelope crucial. “We were very conscious of making sure that insulation was continuous, and also making sure that the glazing systems could effectively handle those kind of temperature ranges,” Keeton says. “We are talking about a continuous plane that, if you were to trace that plane from under the building, up one side across the roof and down the other side and back to your starting point, you would never have to pick up the pencil.” The project’s noteworthy features extend beyond the physical structure itself. Nine bus routes connect the Pappajohn building to the entire campus and surrounding communities, so no additional parking was added, and more than 75 bicycle racks are located in the vicinity. gb&d
By Brian Justice At the Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building on the University of Iowa campus, researchers soon will be studying the causes, prevention, and treatment of diabetes and obesity. Which means the building itself has to be similarly healthy. The project is just the latest undertaking for Rohrbach Associates, an architectural firm established in 1993 in Iowa City that has established a niche in green and sustainable construction for universities, especially on the University of Iowa campus. Whether renovating or retrofitting existing buildings or developing projects from the ground up, Rohrbach has set a standard for state-of-the art, LEED-certified design that has led to expansion beyond its traditional client base, higher education, and into the larger public sphere. “We have several commissions with the University of Iowa, and they are very focused on requirements that come from the Board of Regents, as well as their own utility groups, to use sustainable … design,” says Steve Rohrbach, the president of Rohrbach Associates. “With some of our private clients—private healthcare or private commercial clients—the emphasis is not as strong and is only implemented for political or community concerns. But we’re finding more and more that communities are pushing clients to make every project, private or public, sustainable or some level of LEED.” Recently completed municipal projects and new ones on the boards—such as commercial high-rise, mixed-use developments, and a proposed hospital project—all utilize Rohrbach’s constantly evolving green approach. The Pappajohn building represents gb&d
Rohrbach’s green and sustainable practices at their best, particularly sensitive to the nature of the work that will take place in the building. The building’s wide range of needs in terms of air quality and energy use include the monitoring and regulation of not only laboratories, offices, and conference rooms, but also a 30,000-square-foot vivarium 14 feet below the surface of a courtyard. The air-monitoring system senses particles and particulates in the air throughout the building, determines the safety level, and then automatically adjusts airflow throughout the space if a hazard is detected. And the vegetative roofing, totaling more than 7,000 square feet, is a first on the University of Iowa campus. The building envelope is key to the efficiencies of its systems, and Gene Keeton, president of KDENT, consulted with Rohrbach to create a continuous, watertight, airtight, and thermally tight envelope insulated on the exterior rather than interior. “That helps with the overall thermal effectiveness,” Keeton says. “When you put insulation on the interior of a building, you get thermal shorts
Constructed on a remediated brownfield, Rohrbach Associates’ research facility at the University of Iowa will use 20% less energy than a typical facility.
september–october 2014
135
SPACES
SPOTLIGHT HEAL
SOAK SPA REBAR SAN FRANCISCO
136
september–october 2014
Recycled shipping containers have graduated from the experimental stage and are now regularly upcycled as homes, multi-unit housing, in-ground pools, and art galleries, which use the plentiful and sturdy boxes for their core structures. But in San Francisco, Soak, an urban bathhouse and prototype pop-up business, is taking the concept a step further—and greener. The personal services sector typically uses a lot of water and energy, but Soak instead combines photovoltaics, solar hot water, and filtered rainwater to operate its sauna, solarium, hot pools, and showers completely off the grid. Call it eco-hedonism. Designed by Rebar, which recently became Gehl Studio and Morelab, the spa also can relocate much like a mobile home (though in decidedly higher-rent surroundings), allowing Soak to serve clients throughout the Bay Area without building new locations. gb&d —Russ Klettke
gbdmagazine.com
速 Every Via product is BIFMA level certified visit: www.viaseating.com
For more information, call: 1800.433.6614
S PAC E S WO R K
138
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
Inside the portable, recyclable, bombastic, off-the-wall offices of rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block By Tina Vasquez
gb&d
september–october 2014
139
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
Ken Block
I
what’s right in the long run is important to us,” Block says. “If we can do something that helps, we’re going to prioritize it.” Guided by this desire to do right by the environment, when Block was ready to open the doors on Hoonigan Racing Division’s team headquarters in Park City, Utah, he opted to use 17 recycled shipping containers to construct a 12,000-squarefoot reusable workspace. Within the past five years, there has been a huge uptick in
BELOW Hoonigan’s headquarters are a mix of extreme sports and sustainable design. The structure comprises 17 shipping containters that can be easily dismantled and transported if the company ever moves.
PORTRAIT: TONY HARMER
f you’re a fan of extreme sports, you probably are familiar with Ken Block. The professional rally driver is with Hoonigan Racing Division, a team he founded in 2010, and also the cofounder and former chief brand officer of DC Shoes, the mega-popular action sports footwear company acquired by Quiksilver in 2004. What you may not know is that Block is also serious about sustainability. Being raised in environmentally conscious Southern California and married for the past 10 years to a woman who is deeply committed to recycling and caring for the environment has, as Block says, “rubbed off” on him. “She’s been a huge influence on my life over the years, and doing
140
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
RIGHT The Park City, UT, campus and workshop includes a vehicle maintenance area. The shipping containers lend themselves to the storage of race cars and racing accessories. BELOW Block himself helped design the office’s unabashedly eccentric interior, which features neon walls next to midcentury modern furniture. He collaborated with Area Design’s Lia Aguirre.
the use of shipping containers as modular units for homes and businesses (see Soak Spa, p. 136). Until very recently, these massive structures went unused, piling up in ports all over the country. Thanks to people like Block, the steel structures are being upcycled and, in the case of Hoonigan Racing Division, turned into a wonderfully eclectic, characteristically high-octane, quite sustainable multiuse space that features offices for 25 employees, a workshop to service the team’s vehicles, and shared areas, including a kitchen. “Going into this, I knew we were going to build a space we could transport. I just hated the idea of having this office space built, only for it to get torn down and end up in a landfill when we move,” Block says. “Now, if and when we leave, we can take the whole place with us. That’s a great thing about shipping containers that doesn’t get discussed enough. Yes, it’s recycling, but they’re also totally transportable.” In fact, Hoonigan’s founder says that ensuring the space was able to be taken apart and transported was the only requirement—but it took planning.
PROJECT LOCATION Park City, UT Program Offices (marketing and administrative) and auto workshop Size 12,000 ft2 Completion 2012
TEAM CLIENT Hoonigan Racing Division Architect Quinn Wheeler Interior Designer Area Design General Contractor Peasley Construction Structural Engineer BHB Structural Engineers Container Supplier Numen Development
“This kind of thing is relatively new in the area, and there weren’t really codes for construction using shipping containers,” Block says. “Going through the process to get everything approved took a while, and we ran into some issues, like making sure we added proper ventilation. But it was all worth the trouble, and I’m very happy with the final product.” In terms of design, the DC Shoes cofounder wanted to be very hands-on. The project was, Block knew, perfect for interior designer Lia Aguirre of Area Design, with whom Block wanted to work closely to incorporate his personal style and elements that would be representative of his background in extreme sports. The headquarters are outfitted with the usual sustainable features, such as LED lighting and bamboo flooring, but what makes it interesting are the special touches not usually present in the average office space: neon blue and green walls; a life-sized, stuffed grizzly bear; and recycled skateboards that are used as tiles throughout. There was no avoiding the industrial vibe because of the use of shipping containers, but Block also wanted a modern feel. “I’m not going to lie, it’s an interesting mix,” Block says. “There’s white mid-century modern furniture, there’s a fireplace with some wooden fixtures, and on top of that, all of the sports I’ve been involved in are somehow represented. It’s a lot going on, but it works. We were aiming for different, and that’s what we got.” gb&d
“I just hated the idea of having this office space built, only for it to get torn down and end up in a landfill when we move.” Ken Block, Hoonigan Racing Division
gb&d
september–october 2014
141
urban brick
First American Title National Commercial Services Congratulates Scott Garson and his NAI Daus Team on Victory Center. Amy Whitacre
Vice President, First American Title NCS Skylight Office Tower, 1660 W. 2nd St., Suite 700, Cleveland, OH 44113 216.802.3528 or 216.225.2846
216.802.3528 t www.firstam.com/ncs
345 MEATPACKING, 14 STREET, NEW YORK ARCHITECTS: DDG
142
september–october 2014
©2014 First American Financial Corporation and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. t NYSE: FAF
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
“I believe this is the right building, at the right time, in the right location to take Cleveland to the next level.” Scott Garson, NAI Daus
NEW LIFE ON MILLIONAIRE’S ROW Broker-turned-developer Scott Garson hopes his first project, the 97-year-old Victory Center, will help make Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue great again
PHOTOS: DOMOKUR ARCHITECTS
By Matt Alderton
gb&d
Like an old door that incessantly squeaks, the Rust Belt is in desperate need of lubrication. Clogged and corroded, the hinges of its economy are stuck, leaving industrial cities like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Detroit stalled on the threshold between a blighted past and a prosperous future. The door has been especially stubborn in Cleveland, where the unemployment rate is consistently among the nation’s highest. A prime illustration is Euclid Avenue, which stretches approximately 10 miles from Public Square in downtown Cleveland to the northeast suburb of Willoughby. Once one of America’s most affluent avenues, it was a world-famous address in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when its wealthy residents—including John D. Rockefeller—earned it the nickname “Millionaire’s Row.” “In the early part of the 20th century, Euclid Avenue was recognized as the most beautiful street in the world,” says commercial real estate broker Scott Garson, senior vice president at Cleveland-area brokerage NAI Daus. “But then the area transitioned.” As Cleveland grew, commercial development encroached on Euclid Avenue—so much so that by the end of the World War I, Millionaire’s Row was in decline. During
the Great Depression, decline turned into free fall. Storefronts became vacant. Mansions became boarding houses. Gardens gave way to graffiti. By the time race riots erupted in Cleveland in the 1960s, the world’s most beautiful street had become the city’s most infamous slum. Despite its fall from grace, Euclid Avenue remained a vital artery connecting Cleveland’s two most populous commercial districts: downtown on the west end of Euclid Avenue, and University Circle—home of Case Western Reserve University, University Hospital, the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, and the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic—on the east end. The potential was obvious. So, in 2010, Garson purchased and redeveloped a historic building at 7012 Euclid Ave. The product—a LEED Silver-certified facility known as Victory Center—turns a relic from Cleveland’s past into a symbol of its future. HEALTHCARE HUB If Cleveland’s economy is a squeaky door rusted shut, then the healthcare industry could be the WD-40 that gets it moving again. Using the institutions in University Circle as a foundation on which to build, the city is positioning itself as a september–october 2014
143
LEFT Despite being nearly 100 years old, Victory Center meets health-tech tenants’ unique needs by tapping into a long-haul, high-speed fiber optic line that runs adjacent to the site. CENTER Before the renovation, 7012 Euclid Ave. sat vacant. Historic-preservation requirements limited several green options, Garson says, including rigid insulation. RIGHT The project maximizes daylighting through skylights and its inherited H shape. “Most people working in the space will never turn a light on,” Garson says.
PROJECT LOCATION Cleveland, OH Program R esearch space, laboratories, offices Size 165,000 ft2 Completion 2 013 Certification LEED Silver Cost $26 million Awards Cleveland Restoration Society / American Institute of Architects Preservation Achievement Award for Commercial Buildings
TEAM DEVELOPER Scott Garson Owner Victory Midtown Landlord Architect Domokur Architects Civil Engineer Riverstone ME Engineer Bandwen-WilliamsKindboom Landscape Architect Domokur Architects General Contractor Project and Construction Services (PCS)
SUPPLIERS Glass Systems Carrol Glass Roofing Centimark Roofing Lighting D. E. Williams HVAC R . T. Hampton
144
september–october 2014
national hub for healthcare innovation by developing a “health and technology corridor” along a three-mile stretch of Euclid Avenue. Along with a new medical mart—the 235,000-square-foot Global Center for Health Innovation, which opened earlier this year at the west end of Euclid Avenue—Victory Center is part of that corridor. “This building is the largest building between downtown and University Circle, so we saw a really great opportunity to capitalize on efforts to create a hub of technology and innovation within the city,” Garson says. “The idea was to take this historic building and redevelop it to accommodate the growing health and technology fields in Cleveland.” Originally, Garson was just an investor. In his position as a real estate broker, he sold the building to an out-of-state developer in 2005, then partnered with the group in 2006 as its local representative. Unfortunately, plans to turn the building into condos unraveled during the Great Recession, when the developer stopped paying property taxes. Because he believed in the project and didn’t want to lose his investment, Garson purchased the property and decided to redevelop it himself. There was just one problem: He needed financing, and as a first-time developer, getting it wouldn’t be easy. With the help of a partner, Garson eventually secured financing from private investors and banks. He also received a grant from the state, which stipulated that the building include some amount of research or lab space in order to support the development of Cleveland’s healthtech corridor. Victory Center was born. LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD Turning a historic building into a hightech healthcare incubator, whose final program includes more than 165,000 square feet of lab, research, and office space for growth-stage companies in the biomedical and healthcare technology industries, posed several challenges, according to Garson, who completed con-
struction on Victory Center in December 2013. Perhaps the biggest was balancing historic preservation with sustainability, which was a major priority. In order to maintain the building’s historical integrity, for instance, crews had to install 337 new windows that matched in design the structure’s original windows. In order to achieve LEED Silver status, however, the windows also had to be energy-efficient. Garson worked closely with the National Park Service to choose double-pane windows—custom-made by Jamieson-Ricca— that were both efficient and historically accurate. HVAC was another concern. “When we built the building, we planned for clean rooms and additional HVAC requirements that labs and research facilities might need by actually cutting the floor, which is a 16-inch concrete floor, to allow for the addition of more HVAC ductwork,” Garson says. “All you need to do is place the ductwork in there. The shaft already exists, and the floor is already cut.” To keep heating and cooling as efficient as possible, Victory Center utilizes a digitally controlled HVAC system that’s expected to save tenants up to 20 percent on their utility bills. The building’s location adjacent to the HealthLine—a rapid-transit bus line servicing Euclid Avenue—likewise is a built-in benefit, reducing Victory Center’s environmental impact by allowing employees to access the building via public transit. Ultimately, though, the most sustainable thing about Victory Center is its role as a catalyst for urban renewal. “My commercial real estate practice focuses 98 percent on the inner city of Cleveland, where this building is located. I live and breathe it every day,” Garson says. “You’re not supposed to get emotional about real estate, but when I decided to buy this building I got emotional. I love my city and I think it has a lot to offer. I believe this is the right building, at the right time, in the right location to take Cleveland to the next level.” gb&d gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: DOMOKUR ARCHITECTS
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
SPACES
SPOTLIGHT WORK
J. CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE LA JOLLA ZGF ARCHITECTS LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA
It’s hard not to find beauty and sustainability at every corner of the J. Craig Venter Institute building. Situated on an ocean-view bluff in La Jolla, California, it is the only net-zero energy biological laboratory in the world, designed by ZGF Architects to achieve a LEED Platinum certification. Located on land leased from University of California–San Diego at the edge of the Skeleton Canyon Ecological Preserve, the Institute is dedicated to genomics, for all its health and ethical implications. But the nature of research—using dry and wet labs as well as powerful digital processing—is energy intensive and the source of often-wasted heat. In response, its architecture, building systems, and IT design, including “plug-and-play” systems that allow for flexibility, help the building consume just 25 percent of the power and water of a similar facility. gb&d —Russ Klettke
PHOTOS: NICK MERRICK © HEDRICH BLESSING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Responding to its coastal site, the lab building’s primary materials are high-performance glazing, Spanish cedar, and concrete. On the roof are more than 26,000 square feet of solar photovoltaic panels.
gb&d
september–october 2014
145
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
S PAC E S L E A R N
146
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
HOW TO CONSTRUCT A CANYON The cool microclimate of a building modeled on nature’s slot canyons will bring a wealth of benefits to University of Arizona environmental sciences students By Russ Klettke
Slot canyons—narrow, undulating passages through desert rock characterized by horizontal strata of petrified sediment cut by the flow of water over time—have inspired us in many great ways. Georgia O’Keeffe painted them. James Franco got caught in one (in the movie 127 Hours, a true life story). And now the University of Arizona (UA) is building something quite like one on its campus in downtown Tucson. The niche of a slot canyon is an oasis-like environment that largely blocks direct sunlight and heat. Flora and fauna thrive within and below slot canyon walls, and when streams of students flood UA’s Environment and Natural Resources 2 (or ENR2, as the academic building is called) upon its completion in 2015, they’ll soak up the myriad benefits that the small geologic feature brings to hot climates. For fans of biomimicry in architecture, it’s hard to beat ENR2. “The slot canyon is an inspiration, used as an analogy,” says May Carr, the university’s project
LEFT Although the University of Arizona’s new environmental sciences building is not a natural slot canyon, its design closely mimics the topographical feature both aesthetically and functionally, creating a cool microclimate within the city of Tucson.
gb&d
PROJECT LOCATION Tucson, AZ Program Classrooms, social spaces, and offices Size 88,945 ft2 Completion 2015 (expected) Certification LEED Platinum (expected) Cost $75 million
TEAM CLIENT U niversity of Arizona Architect of Record G LHN Architects & Engineers Design Consultant Richard & Bauer Architects
manager in the Planning, Design, and Construction Department, who says that although this may be the greenest building to date at UA, it fits the school’s extensive sustainability program. “Our Institute of the Environment, which will be housed in ENR2, is nationally known for its work in this area. The focus is on adaptation and reducing our carbon footprint.” Tucson is a pretty good place to consider both. With already just 11–12 inches of rain per year, the region anticipates a 20- to 50-percent reduction in rainfall by the end of the century, accompanied by a five- to ten-degree increase in average temperatures, all due to climate change. The city is aggressively pushing an adaptation agenda that focuses heavily on water conservation, as is needed throughout the American Southwest. Of note, eight researchers from UA contributed to the third National Climate Assessment report released in May 2014 by the White House and the US Global Change Research Program. As designed by Richard & Bauer Architects, design consultant to GLHN Architects & Engineers, each of the building’s five stories and its accessible roof are cleaved by the canyon, which, in traditional terms, could be called a courtyard. Irregularly staggered balconies jut inward from each half of every floor, providing circulation space that is large enough for small group gatherings. These outdoorin-the-canyon spaces, according to Peter Dourlein, assistant vice president of Planning, Design, and Construction, “are among the greenest things you can do,” he says. “There is less interior space that needs air-conditioning.” But will students in such a hot part of the country actually use outdoor space, even if it is in a largely shaded microenvironment? “Environmental sciences students are the type who go outside,” Dourlein says. After all, he notes, temperature differences might be a part of their future careers. Situated on an urban infill site, all levels of the canyon will be a welcoming respite to university students, faculty, and staff. At 170 feet in length (running eastwest) and with gaps separating the north and south halves that range from 80 feet to as little as 15 feet, the building allows for a meandering exploration in traveling from september–october 2014
147
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
Staggered balconies guide rainwater into a series of waterfalls that trickle into the plant life below.
“Light in the desert is special. Here, we’ll see the contrasts between light and dark, where the walls compress and then open up, where the environment reveals itself.” May Carr, University of Arizona
one end to the other. “Light in the desert is special,” Carr says. “Here, we’ll see the contrasts between light and dark, where the walls compress and then open up, where the environment reveals itself.” During the monsoonal summer rainfalls, cascades of water will roll from deck to deck to provide a sensory treat. Once at ground level, water will be absorbed by native vegetation and caught in an underground 55,000-gallon storage tank. This reserve will then be used for irrigation on all building landscaping, supplemented by air-conditioning condensate. As is historically common in the desert architectural vernacular, thermal massing characteristics of this building will hold nighttime cool temperatures well into daytime. But Dourlein acknowledges that Tucson’s built
148
september–october 2014
“The slot canyon is an inspiration, used as an analogy,” says May Carr, the project manager for University of Arizona. “Our Institute of the Environment is nationally known for its work in this area.”
environment has diminished this benefit, and an HVAC system is still necessary. But building air-handlers will expel relief air—which is cooler than outdoor temperatures—over canyon balconies instead of off the roof, where it would have no human benefit. Inside, in peripheral interior spaces, other means of energy- and water-use reduction are planned. A radiant cooling system that uses circulating water through chilled beams reduces the load on the air-conditioning system by 30 percent. Rooms not in use go into “hibernation,” allowing temperatures to rise to 85 degrees in the summer or drop to 65 degrees in the winter. The building owners and designers hope to achieve LEED Platinum certification. It’s nothing new for this university to build LEED buildings; ENR2 will be the fourth on campus to achieve a Platinum certification, the highest concentration at this level in the state. Nor is it the first to employ techniques to moderate climatic heat gain: The original university building, Old Main, was sunk four feet when erected in 1891 to benefit from the cooler below-grade temperatures and to
minimize solar heat gain (it remains an important administrative building). Some multistory dorms are positioned close together to effectively create a cooler canyon between them. While ENR2 merely interprets a quirk in desert geography, it cannot help but inspire the students who will ply its passageways and become, over time, a refuge from rising temperatures outside. gb&d
gbdmagazine.com
EMBRACING CHALLENGE CREATING OPPORTUNITY ARCHITECTURE • MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • CIVIL • TECHNOLOGY
, LLC
For 50 years GLHN has created success and growth through robust partnerships based on integrated, total design services and technical excellence.
Glass and Glazing Established 1972 1010 Baker Ave | Whitefish, Montana 59937 GLHN Architects & Engineers, Inc. | 2939 E Broadway Blvd. | Tucson, AZ 85716 T520.881.4546 F520.795.1822 | GLHN.com
gb&d
(406) 862-1701 | www.bigmountainglass.com
september–october 2014
149
SPACES PLAY HEAL WORK LEARN
BOOK IT
Montana gets a notable addition in the LEED Platinum-hopeful Billings Public Library By Julie Schaeffer
ABOVE An opening in the library’s second floor allows sunlight to illuminate the first-floor seating area and service desk while also creating connectivity between levels.
150
september–october 2014
Resting high in a valley north of Yellowstone National Park, Billings, Montana, is home to just 100,000 people, making it the size of many neighborhoods in urban centers. But while the city may not be sizable enough to host our country’s greatest architecture, it does have the Billings Public Library, which offers a healthy environment for the community and is tracking LEED Platinum certification. The city worked for years to get the library built, finally succeeding thanks to a benefactor, anonymous to this day, who contributed $2 million. “His only stipulation was that he wanted to be involved in the selection of the architect and the exterior architecture,” says Richard Jensen, principal of WORKSBUREAU, whose predecessor, Will Bruder + Partners, won the job after a public selection process. The city, which is known for being fiscally conservative, wanted an energy-efficient building, and to that end, sought LEED certification. But Jensen and his team took the idea a step further. “We think of sustainability in two ways, both in terms of what’s on the LEED checklist and additional things that aren’t,” he says. gbdmagazine.com
SPACES
“There’s a public pride taken in projects that are well designed, and that leads to them being revered and cared for over time, which is, in itself, sustainable.” Richard Jensen, WORKSBUREAU
DETAILS LOCATION Billings, MT Program Public library Size 66,000 ft2 Completion 2 014 Certification L EED Platinum Cost $ 18 million Architect WORKSBUREAU (formerly Will Bruder + Partners) Associate Architect O2 Architects Landscape Architect Foley Group
A major element of sustainability that can’t be quantified by LEED, Jensen explains, is good design. “Unappealing buildings are a commodity, and people are happy to see them go,” he says. “But there’s a public pride taken in projects that are well designed, and that leads to them being revered and cared for over time, which is, in itself, sustainable.” The library, which had been operating in a hardware warehouse along an abandoned railroad track, opened 20 feet away from its former location in early 2014. “They moved through a hole they cut in the backside of their building,” Jensen says. “It only took two days.” gb&d
Jensen and his team employed a simple trick they learned working in desert locales. A shading device made of perforated stainless steel (in the shape of hat panels to provide a variegated rhythm) cuts the solar heat gain on the glass to nearly 20%.
gb&d
Jensen and his team used task lighting more than ambient lighting. In addition to desk lights, they called on shelving manufacturer Este to integrate a bracket designed by the architect that would hold a suspended fluorescent fixture.
Rendering of the library
A large skylight made by Vector Foiltech provides light to the library’s first and second levels. Windows cover the majority of the reading room walls, featuring clear glass below the 7’8” mark and glazing with a milk-bottle frit above it.
Other energy efficiency measures of the 66,000-square-foot project, which cost a total of $18 million, included lighting controls and a 30-kilowatt photovoltaic array on the roof, which offsets about five percent of the building’s energy load.
september–october 2014
151
SPACES
SPOTLIGHT LEARN
MARK JEFFERSON SCIENCE COMPLEX LORD AECK SARGENT YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN
The site’s 32,000 square feet of native and adaptive vegetation, as well as the drought-resistant flowering plants on the green roof, were only watered temporarily during initial establishment.
PHOTOS: CURT CLAYTON PHOTOGRAPHY
The most striking feature of Eastern Michigan University’s recently renovated Mark Jefferson Science Complex is the five-story, spherical atrium with a suspended planetarium at the top. But its most impressive accomplishment is that despite an 86,000-square-foot addition—which houses 107 labs—it has not increased its energy use by a single watt. The $90 million dollar, LEED Gold-certified project, which also included renovations to the facility’s existing 180,000 square feet, achieved a 37.8-percent energy cost savings. A major energy-saver is an innovative HVAC system, which uses a dedicated outdoor air system with radiant cooling and a dual energy-recovery system. Also new is the chilled beam technology—among the first of such installations in Michigan. On the passive side, the western façade’s highefficiency glazing system uses tinted frit glass and a series of stainless steel mesh sunshades to reduce energy use and provide ample daylighting. gb&d —Joann Plockova
152
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
154 Second to None
Karen Weigert works to make Chicago the most sustainable city in America
158 Supply and Demand
With its game-changing software, Spirae hopes to upend the energy field
160 Disruptive Design
Landbank Investments gives Silicon Valley a much-needed shot in the arm
163 Educator in Chief
PG&E’s Ezra Garrett is a vital part of the San Francisco community
165 A Manufacturer’s Methodology
McDonough’s appropriately green new facility for Method Products
september–october 2014
153
NEXT
Second to None Chicago’s chief sustainability officer, Karen Weigert, leads the implementation of a plan as varied as it is ambitious By Russ Klettke
tion. In many cities, the function is integrated into virtually everything the city does. Karen Weigert is the City of Chicago’s first chief sustainability officer (CSO), appointed by mayor Rahm Emanuel when he took the helm of the nation’s third largest city in 2011. After three years, Weigert proves this role goes beyond mere words. Chicago was ranked ninth globally in “Hot Spots 2025: Benchmarking the Future Competitiveness of Cities,” a report released in 2013 by the Economist Intelligence Unit (New York was
Karen Weigert is Chicago’s first chief sustainability officer. In three years, she has pushed Chicago to world leadership in sustainability through her execution of the city’s wide-reaching Sustainable Chicago 2015 plan.
PHOTO: CALEB FOX
At the intersection of the environment and local government, language matters. Until recently, most municipalities used the words “environmental protection” and “department of the environment.” These terms implied regulatory restrictions and a separation of green concerns from how cities operate. The new word is “sustainability,” and the title of the person in charge is “chief sustainability officer.” Such terms encompass more than their predecessors. Jobs, economic growth, and livability are now part of the equa-
the only other American city in the top ten). The city’s financial sector, projected growth rate, government effectiveness, quality of healthcare, attraction to immigrants, and flight connectivity all won it points, but the Windy City ranked number one in the US for environmental governance and an ability to deal with environmental challenges, which heavily factored for public transportation and water quality. The Economist report also gave Chicago credit for its social and cultural character, which includes diversity and “cultural vibrancy.” Celebrated in song, poetry, and movies, it is “a toddlin’ town” after all, where Ferris Buehler joined a parade on his day off. Weigert—whose past work includes investment banking and writing and directing the documentary film Carbon Nation—says all of these things factor into sustainability. “It’s a part of when a CEO determines to bring a company here,” she says. “They know there are great neighborhoods where their employees can live. They know there are great
154
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
NEXT
options for getting to work: walking, biking, public transport. All play a part in [building] the talent pool and overall economy.” Which brings us back to the question of why a business community is integral to a city’s sustainability. Particularly with strong manufacturing and transportation sectors, Chicago companies might be considered a threat to climate, water quality, and habitat (the city’s lakefront, rivers, nature preserves, and neighborhoods count deer, coyote, scores of bird species, and hundreds of plants as natives, all within city limits), but some major accomplishments in just the past few years provide reasons to be hopeful. Within a year of Weigert and Emanuel’s arrival, for instance, the city instituted a comprehensive plan called Sustainable Chicago 2015, and its first progress report in 2013 cited the creation of more than 10,000 jobs in 2012 from companies investing $2.5 billion in infrastructure programs, with another $3 billion spent in 2013. The Brookings Institution ranked the city third in the nation
for its 139,800 green jobs, while Solar Power International and the Green Meetings Industry Council have chosen the city for conferences, in part because of its more than 5.5 million square feet of green roof space and 282 LEED-certified buildings. Motorola Mobility moved into the city’s iconic (and LEED-EB Gold-certified) Merchandise Mart in 2014, a decision that brought 2,000 jobs into the city from a former suburban location. Weigert lacks a “department of environment.” Instead, she works from the Office of the Mayor with team members distributed across the various city departments: streets and sanitation, public housing, public schools, fleet and facility management, buildings, innovation and technology, planning and development, parks, transportation, and many others. “I think this is a great way to deliver the vision broadly,” she says. “We have a monthly meeting with people from across the city departments and sister agencies. We follow a plan [Sustainable Chicago 2015], so that’s the backdrop. It helps us to deliver something that’s
Karen Weigert is photographed on the planted roof of the Chicago Cultural Center, adjacent to Millennium Park.
gb&d
10k
Chicago jobs created in 2012 from companies investing in infrastructure programs
$5.5b
Amount spent by Chicago companies investing in infrastructure programs between 2012 and 2013
complicated by having clarity, ownership, and expertise.” The plan is all-encompassing, focusing on seven broad components—job creation, clean energy, transportation, water, healthy food, and climate change. Every resident and business is touched, if not transformed. As an example, Weigert touts the city’s bike-share program, Divvy, as a completely new transportation program that was introduced in a single year. More than 10,000 members have bought daily or yearly memberships using 2,600 bikes from 300 stations situated downtown, near transportation hubs, and in neighborhoods closest to downtown. (The program is expanding in 2014.) The portion of Chicagoans who commute by bike has nearly tripled since 2000 to 1.3 percent (the national figure is a measly 0.6 percent), aided to great extent by 70 miles of protected lanes on major corridors that treat the bike commuter as a legitimate part of urban traffic. Already, 26 percent of Chicagoans use public transportation to get to work while six percent walk. The long-established city and regional public transportation system is frequently cited as a key asset, even as politicians wrangle for funding to update, upgrade, and innovate the network. With traffic congestion a pressing issue, innovations such as bus rapid transit (BRT) programs are being proposed and tested and, naturally, met with resistance from some motorists and retailers. To Weigert, such challenges are problems to be worked out. “Our built environment is an asset,” she says. “Transportation and carbon footprints are about density, access to transit, multifamily housing, and walkable neighborhoods.” To that end, the city council recently passed a zoning ordinance that encourages development around transit stations, allowing commercial and residential construction that does not include parking, which incidentally reduces the streetscape challenges of parking garages and discourages driving. The energy efficiency of buildings is another tenet of the 2015 plan. With six of America’s 15 tallest buildings located in Chicago, its skyline serves as a familiar image of the city. But those structures, particularly the older ones, are energy hogs. The city itself owns approximately 600 buildings, which annually consume $170 million worth of energy, while 2.7 million residents spend september–october 2014
155
NEXT Karen Weigert
Make No Little Plans
A proposed future of Chicago public transportation
—
South Lakefront Service A new train line will use existing freight rail tracks to connect residents to 50,000 jobs in Hyde Park on the city’s South Side.
—
“Our built environment is an asset. Transportation and carbon footprints are about density, access to transit, multifamily housing, and walkable neighborhoods.” Karen Weigert, City of Chicago
many times that through cold winters and hot summers. Two major programs address buildings in all three sectors: commercial, municipal, and residential. One is the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, which brings private investors to the city to make municipal buildings more energy efficient. The Trust’s first project, approved in late 2013, involves a $25 million loan to upgrade 75 structures, with the payback coming from energy cost savings. “The Infrastructure Trust is an entirely new entity,” says Weigert, who acknowledges that the development of the framework took some effort. “This is off the balance sheet, working with energy services agreements.” The second program, Retrofit Chicago, provides tools to owners of commercial and residential buildings. This initiative sprang from a brainstorm involving energy com-
Lime Line A long-awaited north-south line six miles west of the lakefront will connect with five rail lines and Midway Airport.
—
Ashland Bus Rapid Transit (pictured at left) This “subway on the street” will have a dedicated lane on a major arterial, load passengers from center media stations, and connect with seven existing rail lines, a major hospital, and three educational institutions.
—
Brown Line Extension A short spur ultimately makes O’Hare Airport accessible by train to North Side residents, reducing travel time and better connecting northwest neighborhoods to jobs.
—
West Loop Transportation Center The length of four football fields, this multilevel complex will link regional and city train lines in one place, largely underground.
LEFT Ashland Bus Rapid Transit would give buses a dedicated lane.
156
september–october 2014
panies, architects, climate and environmental advocacy organizations, urban planners, environmental engineers, and the city. It’s about sharing best practices and access to financing, and expediting city permits for owners of buildings large and small. Launched in 2012, more than 30 buildings representing 28 million square feet in the city have already reduced energy consumption by 20 percent. “We publicly celebrate the leadership of these companies,” says Weigert, noting that no financial assistance from the city was required. Participants in the program include several major hotels, the Wrigley Building, 224 South Michigan (formerly known as the Santa Fe Building), and NBC Tower. Among multiple tactical assists for residents, the city created the “Solar Express,” which enables homeowners to get the necessary permitting for solar panel installation in a single day. Energy audits, insulation upgrades, efficient lighting, water use restrictors, and programmable thermostats are either free or available with low-cost financing for homeowners and landlords. Weigert adds that with so many global architecture and engineering firms in Chicago, what is tested here gets rolled out elsewhere. Indeed, more than 2,400 LEED-accredited professionals call Chicago home, and firms based here routinely work on major projects across the globe. Sustainable Chicago 2015 also addresses the city’s stormwater probgbdmagazine.com
NEXT
www.cleanenergytrust.org
CLEAN ENERGY IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE ILLINOIS ECONOMY. Motorola Mobility moved into Chicago in 2014, moving 2,000 jobs from the suburbs to the city. The art pictured is an interpretation of the city’s transit system.
The Clean Energy Trust leverages its strategic relationships to support the broader mission of education and advocacy related to the adoption and advancement of clean energy technology. CET offers business development support to clean energy start-ups. Sector experts provide feedback, expertise, and develop strategies for the best path to commercialization and market growth.
PHOTO: CAELB FOX (MOTOROLA)
Clean Energy Trust: By the Numbers
lems. On the heels of four weather events over six years that qualified as 10-, 25- and 100-year storms, green methodologies such as permeable pavement, rain gardens, bioswales, infiltration planters, and tree planting programs are being put to work. These strategies got a huge boost in 2013 when $50 million in the city budget was allocated to its Green Stormwater Infrastructure Strategy—a clear commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change. Other programs under the plan: urban community gardens that are staffed by hundreds of students employed in summer green-jobs program, a city-wide recycling program made coherent by a grid-based method of collection (it was formerly done by aldermanic district, a remnant of old machine politics), and climate change mitigation measures that include neighborhood cooling centers. Chicago-style sustainability happens on a massive scale, even if it lacks a marquee program. “It’s many things,” says Weigert. “It’s jobs. It’s an integration of transportation and easy downtown access. People want to wake up in a home that is comfortable, with clean air and clean water, with transportation options and access to parks. Fundamental embedding of the function touches all corners of the city.” The words we use may not matter. In this city of big shoulders, sustainability happens one building, one street, and one bike ride at a time. gb&d gb&d
• • • • • • •
262 companies served by CET $740,000 in prize funding awarded by CET to new companies 283 jobs created by CET companies 41 patents and disclosures filed by CET companies $40 million in follow-on funding raised by CET companies 360 industry partners and mentors in CET’s network 2 consecutive first-place finishes by CET companies at DOE’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition
DIALOGUE
Amy Francetic Clean Energy Trust
Exponential Engineering Company
Why Chicago? Chicago has been the financial center of the Midwest for generations, as well as a transportation hub for the entire US and home to leading research institutions, which include Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Illinois Institute of Technology. A combination of government leadership and Chicago’s progressive culture make this work. Why does the region need cleaner, renewable, price-stable energy? Most of the bigger companies are committed to sustainability. They all are affected by energy.
exponential engineering company is a full-service power engineering consulting firm with a commitment to lasting relationships with our clients and employees, providing quality work for fair compensation.
tranSmiSSion and diStribution Protective relaying Planning and StudieS renewable energy
our areas of expertise include:
What are some exciting things on the horizon? Watch for the Lakeside development. It’s 600 acres on the former U.S. Steelworks site, planned to be a very sustainable community using microgrids and renewables to connect 50,000 residents and commercial and industrial companies. We are consultants to the developer.
SubStationS
generation interconnection induStrial and commercial
Fort Collins:
Cortez:
Wheat ridge:
steamboat springs:
(970) 207-9648
(970) 564-9261
(720) 274-0045
(970) 871-1178
Grounded in the West. Connected nationwide. exponentialengineering.com
september–october 2014
157
NEXT
Supply & Demand Can a software platform solve issues of surplus green energy?
It’s the question on everyone’s minds: What if alternative energy projects could distribute power on a separate line or lease capacity on existing lines, allowing homes and businesses to integrate green energy with power from the public utility company? Okay, not everyone is asking that. But for those in the energy sector, it’s a question with
Sunil Cherian, CEO, Spirae
158
september–october 2014
game-changing implications. Not only could large-scale dairy methane digesters power houses down the street, but homes with small amounts of surplus solar energy might aggregate resources to sell to the neighborhood. Spirae, a technology company based in Fort Collins, Colorado, offers a software platform called Blue-
20%
Reduction in peak energy use achieved during BlueFin’s proof-ofconcept
75%
Portion of energy demand on Necker Island that BlueFin is aiming to help NRG Energy fill with renewable energy
Fin that makes such revolutionary action possible. BlueFin communicates directly with wind turbines, battery systems, flexible loads, and generators. It clusters all inputs and allows customers to incorporate additional power sources over time. The system can even adjust thermostats and turn off lights to save energy. Most importantly, users rely on automated control—there is no need to flip a switch to turn on the public power supply if green energy becomes unavailable. “We are like the conductor at an orchestra,” says Sunil Cherian, Spirae’s CEO. Planners from the City of Fort Collins recently put the technology to the test. Through its FortZED program, the city aims to transform several blocks into a zero-energy district (ZED) by distributing energy between high-efficiency buildings and businesses with greater demand. In 2011, the city started small by asking five sites connected to the same two circuits to reduce their energy use, generate more of their own power, and distribute energy. Solar panels were already installed at City Hall, Colorado State University (CSU), the Larimer County Courthouse, and New Belgium Brewing, which also makes green energy from a methane digester fed with brewery waste. To reduce energy, a fountain was turned off at the county building and thermostats at CSU and city hall were continually adjusted to ease the load on air-conditioning systems. Spirae technology coordinated the cross-talk. “The Spirae system made requests to building managers, and sites had the final say in whether to allow automatic control or approve each request,” says Dennis Sumner, the city’s senior electrical engineer. Funded in part by a US Department of Energy grant awarded to the city, the project, successfully acgbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: DAN BIHN (PORTRAIT AND LAB)
By Amy Coombs
NEXT
complished a 20 percent reduction in peak energy use—although the triumph is only proof-of-concept. None of the buildings generated enough power to meet their own needs, much less create a power surplus from renewable resources. The city did reduce the percentage of power drawn from the Platte River Power Authority, which aggregates energy from natural gas turbines, coal plants, wind turbines, and hydro sources, but this reduction required local diesel and natural gas generators to supplement green energy. “Of course, diesel isn’t as environmentally friendly as desired, but this was a test of distributed generation,” Sumner says. If Fort Collins can expand its solar capacity, it will achieve a substantial net environmental benefit. In the mean time, other communities suffering from a surplus of renewable energy stand to benefit from BlueFin technology. Take methane. In California, a single dairy with 1,500 cows can generate enough methane energy to continuously power 500 homes. Many cornfields in the Midwest are also capable of generating wind power. These projects require expensive turbines, digesters, and generators. To pay off the investment, farmers sell energy back to the grid. But it might be more economical to work
Spirae’s software works with the existing grid and juggles power supplies with changing demand to help energy islands stay afloat. gb&d
directly with consumers. Dairies need to bring in 12 to 14 cents per kilowatt, according to Nettie Drake, a consultant for several methane digester projects in Northern California. Utility companies in California have previously offered eight or nine cents per kilowatt, but in 2011, hydropower began to under-bid methane. Utility companies in Northern California and Oregon signed fifteen-year contracts with providers along the Columbia River for two cents per kilowatt. “The Columbia River had excess water, and this changed everything,” Drake says. If dairy digesters can’t sell to the grid, their renewable energy will go to waste. Distributed generation offers a potential solution, though there are issues. “The problem is that you need to have quite a lot of distributed resources to have something you can count on,” Sumner says. Peak energy loads vary between sites and over time, and each building has
ABOVE (clockwise from top) Spirae’s control room in Fort Collins, CO; New Belgium’s super-green brewery; cables running through the Spirae facility, known as the InteGrid Lab.
a unique energy demand. The power contribution from distributed energy systems can also vary greatly over different time periods. This makes it difficult to budget an exact balance between customer loads and distributed resources. Spirae’s software may help solve many of these problems. It works with the existing grid, allowing communities to remain connected to the public utility system. It can also juggle power supplies with changing demand to help energy islands stay afloat. BlueFin is currently used by NRG Energy to help Necker Island in the Caribbean integrate diesel generators with solar and wind—the goal is to meet at least 75 percent of demand with renewable energy. The company also is working with Canadian partners to add more renewables and stabilize energy sources in northern Canada, where communities are entirely separate from the grid. gb&d september–october 2014
159
NEXT
Disruptive Design A futuristic Silicon Valley office campus hopes to attract equally innovative tenants By Matt Alderton
in a boring cookie-cutter suburban office environment,” Jacobs says. “In order to attract the kind of people they want to hire, they’ve got to deliver something exciting, something extraordinary.” Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies get it. Apple, for instance, will move into a new, ring-shaped headquarters designed by Foster + Partners—dubbed the “spaceship” because of its futuristic design—in 2016. In 2015, Facebook will move into a new corporate campus created by Frank Gehry, who designed it to be the world’s largest openplan office. Around the same time, Google is expected to debut its new “Googleplex,” the design for which is still being tweaked by architects at Seattle-based NBBJ.
430
Percent increase in open space with Central & Wolfe’s new design
208k
Square footage of the office building’s massive floor plate
2
Miles of walking paths, with an additional mile on the optional roof
Even as companies with owned space look toward the future, however, those with leased space are stuck in the past, according to Jacobs, who says Silicon Valley developers must cater to users if they want to stay competitive. “In order to remain relevant, developers are going to have to listen to the needs, wants, and desires of large technology companies,” he says. “Otherwise, they’re going to miss out.” Jacobs has no intention of missing out. In 2012, he made a radical decision to redevelop land his family has owned for more than half a century. By taking a new approach to an old site, he sought to set a new precedent for spec office buildings in Silicon Valley. “A typical spec developer designs buildings that are highly
Central & Wolfe’s green rooftop, if planted as shown, could offer employees a mile’s worth of running trails and would bring the proportion of open space on the site to nearly 80%.
160
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
IMAGES: HOK (AERIAL); STEELBLUE (ELEVATION); LANDBANK INVESTMENTS
Suburbs aren’t sexy. Overrun with cul-de-sacs, vinyl siding, chain restaurants, and parking lots, they’re the municipal equivalent of ugly shoes: They’re functional, sure, maybe even comfortable, but because they’re horribly outdated, most people are embarrassed to be seen in them. The suburbs of San Francisco are no exception. And for tech companies trying to lure top talent, that’s a big problem, says Scott Jacobs, CEO of Landbank Investments, a commercial real estate developer in Menlo Park, California. “Companies are having a tougher and tougher time convincing employees from San Francisco to commute an hour to an hour and a half each way to spend their days and potentially their nights working
NEXT
Unlike many Silicon Valley office buildings, Central & Wolfe prioritizes sustainable design, daylighting, and renewable energy.
ABOVE Once a pear orchard, this 18-acre site in Sunnyvale, CA, was developed into an office complex in the 1970s. Today, owner Scott Jacobs is blending the two uses.
flexible, relatively inexpensive, easily financeable, easily understandable, and at the end of the day, as profitable as possible,” Jacobs says. “We decided to take a different approach by designing from the users’ point of view. The users in this case include the company, its employees, the surrounding community, and Mother Nature.” Jacobs’ grandfather purchased the 18-acre site in Sunnyvale, California, in the 1950s, when it was a pear orchard. In the 1970s, his son, Jacobs’ father, developed the site into nine single-story, concrete tilt-up buildings that housed some of the pioneering technology companies that helped create Silicon Valley. Those nine buildings are notable primarily for their abundance of surface parking. There’s very little open space, no sidewalks, no bike paths, no amenities, and no meaningful connection to Caltrain, the commuter rail line that runs from San Francisco to Silicon Valley and back. “It isn’t the sort of place where Silicon Valley’s leading-edge technology companies want to plant a flag and set up shop,” Jacobs says. “Today’s technology companies are demanding a new generation of gb&d
workplace environment, and that’s why we think the time is right to redevelop this site.” Jacobs’ vision is a LEED Platinum-certified office campus known as Central & Wolfe, named for its location at the intersection of Central Expressway and North Wolfe Road. Designed by HOK Architects, plans for the 777,000-square-foot campus include three interconnected curvilinear office buildings in the crude shape of a shamrock, a parking garage, and a two-story amenities building, inside of which would be such essentials as a cafeteria and a fitness center. Elsewhere on the campus, numerous smaller, ground-level amenities spaces include a coffee bar, general store, bike repair shop, bank, dry cleaner, barbershop, and health and wellness options. The parking garage, supplemented by under-building podium parking, is a major feature. One reason is its roof, on top of which will be solar panels that generate at least 18 percent of the campus’s energy needs. Another reason, however, is its small footprint: By eliminating surface parking, HOK preserved 53 percent of the site for open space, including a 500-person sunken amphitheater, numerous sports fields, and over two miles of on-site walking trails and bike paths. “We didn’t want to stop there,” Jacobs says, “so there’s also an optional 208,000-square-foot collaborative rooftop garden with an additional
“We’ve set out to reimagine what a suburban technology campus can be.” Scott Jacobs, Landbank Investments
mile of walking and jogging paths, as well as individual seating areas for people to go outside, have lunch, gather for meetings—you name it. If our tenants decide to include that option, it will bring the open space as a percentage of the total site area to about 79 percent.” Open space isn’t the only feature that should appeal to Silicon Valley startups. Tech tenants also will appreciate the office buildings’ 62,000-square-foot floor plates (which Jacobs calls “petals”). Because all three buildings are connected, however, the actual floor plate is approximately 208,000 square feet—a benefit to the business of innovation. “Interaction and collaboration are key drivers of innovation,” Jacobs says. “When you separate people by different floors or different buildings, interaction and collaboration drop off precipitously. So the more you place employees on one highly walkable floor plate, the more you remove psychological barriers to interaction and collaboration.” Large f loor plates also create more usable space and accommodate more employees per 1,000 square feet. “Because it’s able to fit more employees, this campus will actually be less expensive than most Class A office buildings in Silicon Valley with smaller floor plates in terms of asking rent per employee,” Jacobs says. They do, however, pose several challenges. They’re not always walkable, for instance—you can’t easily september–october 2014
161
NEXT Central & Wolfe
PROJECT LOCATION Sunnyvale, CA Program O ffice space, amenities building, parking garage, open space, optional rooftop garden, transit connections Size 777,000 ft2 Completion 2016 (expected) Certification LEED Platinum (expected)
TEAM OWNER Landbank Investments Architect HOK Architects Sustainability HOK, Peter Rumsey Consulting, The Integral Group, Webcor Construction Services Webcor Civil engineer BKF Structural engineer Nishkian Menniger MEP Engineer The Integral Group Lighting Banks Ramos High-Performance Façade/Daylighting Buro Happold Landscaping HOK Architects
SILICON VALLEY REIMAGINED LandbankLLC.com 162
september–october 2014
collaborate with a peer on the same floor if it takes you 20 minutes to walk from your desk to theirs—and they often lack natural light. To address these challenges, HOK located the petals around a central quad that’s never more than a two-anda-half-minute walk from any single employee and punctuated each with a 15,000-square-foot courtyard that lets daylight in through interior windows. In terms of transit, Jacobs envisions shuttle service to two nearby Caltrain stations in downtown Sunnyvale. “Plus, having so many amenities onsite will reduce the number of car trips by employees throughout the day, which will reduce traffic throughout the community,” he says. Ultimately, though, it’s not what the project reduces—traffic, pollution, occupancy costs—that makes Central & Wolfe so special. It’s what the project creates: new opportunities for its tenants to innovate and grow. “We’ve set out to reimagine what a suburban technology campus can be,” says Jacobs, who hopes to commence construction this fall, with an estimated occupancy date of March 2016. “What we’ve come up with by bringing all these superior design elements together is the only large, developer-driven project that’s going to genuinely help Silicon Valley’s leading-edge technology companies attract and retain top talent, which is the biggest challenge facing tech companies today in the Bay Area.” gb&d
“In order to remain relevant, developers are going to have to listen to the needs, wants, and desires of large technology companies.” Scott Jacobs, Landbank Investments gbdmagazine.com
NEXT
Educator in Chief Ezra Garrett builds PG&E’s strategic partnerships in the community By Brian Justice
PHOTOS: GO SOLAR CALIFORNIA (AT&T PARK)
Ezra Garrett helps 15 million Californians—or one in twenty Americans—operate their homes and businesses more sustainably. As vice president of community relations and chief sustainability officer at San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electricity (PG&E), which strives to provide “safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy” as well as development and community engagement, Garrett is at the forefront of his field. PG&E strives to meet the so-called “triple bottom line”—the environmental, economic, and social outcomes of its work. “As a local utility company, we are in many ways an infrastructure company,” Garrett says, “so intuitively, we know that we have an economic impact, but we didn’t know precisely what that was. A commissioned study found that energy sales, investment in people, infrastructure, and suppliers supported nearly 72,000 jobs and contributed over $22 billion in economic activity in our service area in 2012. That surprised even us.” Early in his career at PG&E, Garrett managed a portfolio of sustainability initiatives that included solar installations at local landmarks, including Grace Cathedral, the San Francisco Food Bank, and AT&T Park (the first Major League Baseball stadium to go solar), demonstrating that solar can add value without disrupt-
ing operations or aesthetics. Today, Garrett and his team initiate community-based programs that engage and educate PG&E’s customers about the accessibility and affordability of renewable energy and efficiency. A partnership with Habitat for Humanity has resulted in the installation of solar on more than 500 Habitat-built homes. “That program saves $500 a year for those families,” he says. “When that’s aggregated and multiplied by the lifetime of these systems, those households will save over $7 million in energy costs.” His department partners with others at PG&E to share the best sustainability practices from leading companies, explore key performance indicators, and then publicly report them in PG&E’s sustainability report. Identifying emerging issues and developing programs to address them requires leading an annual stakeholder engagement program with nonprofit Ceres; engaging environmental, customer-focused, investor, supplier, and community leaders in a conversation about PG&E’s progress; and soliciting input that helps shape the content of the sustainability report and the company’s broader strategy each year. Garrett’s team also recently completed PG&E’s first materiality assessment: an emerging practice that mapped the key prior-
“For me, the real ‘ahha’ moment was coming out of the California energy crisis and seeing how a broader view of sustainability could enable programs to have larger economic and social benefits.” Ezra Garrett, PG&E
LEFT Garrett has helped guide sustainability initiatives such as solar installations at San Francisco’s AT&T Field (pictured) and Grace Cathedral.
gb&d
september–october 2014
163
NEXT Ezra Garrett
PLAN SMART BUILD SMART LEARN SMART Pacific Gas and Electric and The NEED Project: Teaching California teachers and students about energy and sustainability.
Three key PG&E partnerships —
Solar for Humanity Working with Habitat for Humanity, PG&E has helped install solar panels on more than 500 Bay Area homes, saving more than $7 million in energy costs over the lifetime of the homes.
—
Future Workforce Working with the California Department of Education, PG&E has created a threeyear curriculum that prepares high school students for jobs in the energy industry.
—
Learn more about energy education at www.need.org
Energy Education Recently, PG&E has begun working with Net Impact, helping undergraduate and MBA students develop creative strategies for engaging consumers about energy use.
15m Proud to be providing General Contracting services for Method's new state-of-the-art LEED Platinum Manufacturing Facility • Preconstruction • Estimating • Value Engineering
• General Contracting • Construction Management • Design/Build
1032 W. Fulton Market, Ste. 300 • Chicago, Illinois 60607 312.229.4630 • summitdb.com
164
september–october 2014
California residents that Ezra Garrett impacts at PG&E
5
Area high schools participating in a new green jobs program
$500
Annual savings per household through PG&E’s Habitat for Humanity program
ity issues for the long-term sustainability of the company, including what Garrett calls “a silver tsunami,” a euphemism for the company’s aging population. “Over forty percent of our employees will be eligible to retire within the next five years,” Garrett says. “With the California Department of Education, we created partnerships in five high schools across PG&E’s service area. This three-year curriculum, a kind of ‘school within a school,’ will help create a workforce pipeline for our company.” The program is aligned with state educational standards, and students coming through the curriculum have demonstrated higher graduation rates, “and we are seeing them start to come into energy industry jobs as well,” Garrett says. This year, PG&E will offer summer internships to program participants. Another recent partnership brought business school students from across the service area to PG&E to address customer engagement. Working with Net Impact, undergraduate and MBA students developed creative strategies to engage customers on energy use—a critical priority for PG&E and the state of California. “PG&E delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy and is pushing the frontiers of environmental innovation,” Garrett says. “But I wasn’t drawn to corporate sustainability because of that. For me, the real ‘ahha’ moment was coming out of the California energy crisis and seeing how a broader view of sustainability could enable programs and initiatives to have larger economic and social benefits just as powerful as the environmental ones. And when you bring all three together, there is a tremendous opportunity to create real value in the communities that we serve.” gb&d gbdmagazine.com
NEXT
A Manufacturer’s Methodology McDonough + Partners helps manifest Method’s eco-philosophy on the South Side of Chicago By Julie Schaeffer
In Chicago’s historic Pullman neighborhood, Method Products, the San Francisco-based maker of eco-friendly household cleaning supplies, will soon complete construction of a $30 million manufacturing plant that is aiming for LEED Platinum certification. “Much of the environmental and social impact of a company such as ours lies in how we manufacture products, and our business has reached a size at which we have the ability to invest in our manufacturing for the first time,” says Method cofounder Adam Lowry. The 150,000-square-foot facility, designed by William McDonough + Partners, also presents an opportunity for Method to manifest its business philosophy in a physical building that revitalizes an urban area and connects with the community—two things the organization cares about deeply. When envisioning the facility, Method executives thought about the company’s values. “What is our role in society, and what role do we want our business to play in creating a more sustainable world?” Lowry and the executive team asked themselves. Those are big questions,
gb&d
which is why Method worked with one of the world’s top sustainable design firms.“ Bill McDonough and his team have the ability to take our vision and bring it to life in a way that meets our business requirements as well,” Lowry says. “It had to be reliable, flexible, and support our brand.” In every aspect of the design, Method tasked McDonough + Partners with maximizing the same three things it maximizes with its business: social benefit, positive environmental impact, and financial benefit to company. Adding to the challenge, the building had to be in an urban area. “It would have been easier and cheaper to get a piece of land in a cornfield, but I didn’t want to do that, because we’re in the midst of a great historical migration into cities,” Lowry says. “But building in a city involved working with a brownfield site, which presented infrastructure challenges.” McDonough + Partners ultimately had to start from less than scratch; the chosen site was the home of the abandoned Ryerson steel mill. The architects worked closely with the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois,
Adam Lowry, cofounder, Method Products
1.5
Acres of rooftop greenhouse on the new Method plant, half the size of the facility itself
100
New manufacturing jobs the Method plant will create in Chicago
and the federal government to make the project economically viable, but Roger Schickedantz, project manager at McDonough + Partners, defers much of the credit to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was eager to have the project built on the South Side of Chicago and “pulled out all the stops.” Construction began in December 2013, and the building’s unique sustainable features are already taking shape. One of the most innovative, says Lowry, is a 1.5-acre rooftop greenhouse that is half the size of the building. Operated by a partner, it will grow hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh, leafy greens sold to the community, in addition to shading the building. “Given our location on the South Side of Chicago, we’re asking that a certain amount of the produce go into the local community to deal with the food desert problem there,” Lowry says. Renewable energy will power the facility. A 230-foot, 600-kilowatt refurbished Rockwind wind turbine is expected to provide 55 percent of the building’s energy needs. An additional 60 kilowatts of energy will come from a solar array in the parking lot. That array, manufactured by Envision Solar, will take the form of three solar trees that move with the sun; each of the architecturally designed canopies will also shade six cars. Materials are also sustainable. “Method came to us because 75 percent of its products are Cradle-to-Cradle certified at the gold level, and Adam wanted to bring that same thinking to the facility,” Schickedantz says. Although not all materials used in the facility are Cradle-to-Cradle certified, many were vetted by MBDC, which Method has been working with on Cradle-to-Cradle certification for its products. Particularly significant to Lowry, the facility will also be water-neutral, putting the water it uses back into the aquifer on a gallon-for-gallon basis. “I’m a native son of the Great Lakes region, which is under water stress, so water is a particularly important issue for me,” says Lowry, who is currently working with Nature Conservancy on the pioneering program. The facility, which is scheduled to open in early 2015 and manufacture 95 percent of Method’s products, will bring close to 100 manufacturing jobs to Chicago, and Method plans to recruit Pullman residents in the hiring process. gb&d september–october 2014
165
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Trendsetters Approach Inner Workings Features Spaces Next Punch List
gb&d
168 Person of Interest
Ken Yeang brings a background in ecology to the design of happier cities
171 Discussion Board
How can we create the neighborhood of the future?
173 Trend Watch
George Patterson discusses the trend toward more functional green roofs
174 Material World
Analyzing the myriad benefits of water-resistant Hycrete
176 On the Spot
Guest editor Rob Bennett takes our questionnaire
september–october 2014
167
PUNCH LIST
Person of Interest Ken Yeang
Interview by Kathryn Freeman Rathbone
gb&d: You’ve been practicing green design for the past four decades. How did you break into the field during its early development, and why did you commit to its advancement at the start of your career? Ken Yeang: In 1971, when I was finishing my undergraduate degree at the Architectural Association in London, green design wasn’t very fashionable. I went to go work on research at Cambridge on a Social Science Research Council grant—these are very big grants in the UK—and six months into the project, I realized it was all about the environment. But a record for that kind of work didn’t exist in architecture, so I enrolled in ecology courses in the Department of Environmental Biology. I earned my doctorate and published my dissertation, “Theoretical Framework for Incorporating Ecological Considerations in the Design and Planning of the Built Environment,” in 1975. This field of study was very important to me, and I went back to Malaysia and set up practice. But the [architecture] field wasn’t ready to support it. There was no engineering support. I started by looking into passive mode design, which is similar to what I call “bioclimatic design.” It’s a climate-responsive approach; the design responds passively to the latitude and the climate of each project’s location. gb&d: How long did it take for architecture to catch on to sustainable design? Yeang: A little more than 15 years ago, the whole world jumped up and said, “We have to do something about the devastation of the environment!” Engineers started to support it. By 2010, every architect was doing green design. This is a good and bad thing. Good because it’s good for the environment. Bad because it’s often not done properly. Even LEED can be misleading. It’s good because it creates greater awareness of green design, especially for clients, but bad because it’s disproportionate. It gives
168
september–october 2014
points for things like bicycle parking. A LEED Platinum rating is not an end-all. The Living Building Challenge pushes beyond LEED. It’s a step in the right direction because it’s performance-based. gb&d: Sustainable design goes by many different names. Do you believe there is a right term? Yeang: The term “sustainable” as it applies to architecture came from “Our Common Future,” a UN report. All the sustainability terms are synonymous. I like to think of it as shades of green, from light green to dark green. gb&d: Where is your current design work taking you? Do you spend your days leading your offices, or do you still do research? Yeang: We have three offices: about 30 people in London, 70 in Malaysia, and 300 in China, but they run independently. Right now, I have my office divided into six or seven teams, and I talk to each of them for about 20 minutes per day. We talk about their work, the day-to-day developments with clients, and how to manage their expectations. The meetings are back-to-back, and, when things are going badly or it’s very, very busy, it can be extremely depressing. But we also have a research topic of the day, and we often collaborate with consultants and universities to explore new topics. We push as far as we can. I spend my time researching and writing. I’m also working on the aesthetic for green design. What should it look like?
OPPOSITE Ken Yeang published his dissertation on ecological design in the UK in 1975. Twentyfive years later, the architecture and engineering fields are finally catching up.
gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: CALEB FOX
“I’m currently at my busiest, but I’m also at my happiest.” This is no small statement for any architect to make, especially one like Ken Yeang, who as the founding principal of T.R. Hamzah & Yeang has been working tirelessly at the forefront of green design for the past 40 years. We pushed him to dig a little deeper and talk about his state of content, and he shared with us his thoughts on green design and how to leave this world a happier place.
PUNCH LIST
gb&d
september–october 2014
169
PUNCH LIST Ken Yeang
“If you can make a place that gives people an identity and let’s them know how, where, and when they are, and make it green, that will make architecture a success.” Ken Yeang, T.R. Hamzah & Yeang
RIGHT In Singapore, Ken Yeang’s Solaris Tower integrates full-size trees and other plants into the façade, assisting in the research facility’s 36% reduction in energy consumption. BELOW The nearly 16,000-square-foot living wall on the façade of this data center aids the building’s energy performance and provides added biodiversity and habitat to the site.
It’s a movement—just like Modernism— and it should have a whole new style. It should be hairy. It’s not pristine. gb&d: Where do you want to push the field next? What’s the most important achievement architects must accomplish? Yeang: There’s a whole generation of green designers being trained right now, and they’ll come into the field within the next three to five years, so green design will happen automatically. This is good. We’ll be able to focus on making architecture that makes people happy. If you can make a place that gives people an identity and let’s them know how, where, and when they are, and make it green, that will make architecture a success. My father told me that to be a good human being, you must do good, be good, and feel good. I’m trying to achieve that to varying degrees of success every day. gb&d
170
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
PUNCH LIST
Discussion Board How can we create the neighborhood of the future? “The best way to create the neighborhood of the future is to rehabilitate the city neighborhoods of the past that were left behind and disinvested in in the late 20th century. Such centrally located neighborhoods make ideal locations for strengthening, with social equity, economic resilience, and environmental sustainability.” Kaid Benfield, Special Counsel for Urban Solutions, NRDC, p. 96
“My dreams are for the future of cities and neighborhoods… places where we live together. I want to help us understand the transformative effect space has on human interaction. I want good design to be a right and not a privilege.” Carol Ross Barney, Founding Principal, Ross Barney Architects, p. 30
“Creating a neighborhood of the future needs to look to the past for cues. Develop spaces for people to interact organically. Be retro. Build sidewalks, front lawns, and front porches— not rear decks. Create mini-parks with places to sit, toss a Frisbee, or grill some burgers.”
PHOTOS: EUGÉNIE FRERICHS (BENNETT); EDWARD CAMPBELL (GARSON); LAURA SAVIANO (ROSS BARNEY)
Scott Garson, Senior Vice President, NAI Daus, p. 143
“A leader must come along and take a risk by building less parking, intelligent mobility options, and small businesses to create place and prove to the fearful that it works. Town halls and debates over the future of place move too slowly.” Zach Ware, Cofounder & CEO, SHIFT, p. 90
“Neighborhoods are about community, where we support and look after one another. Creating walkability, human scale, opportunities for interaction, and diversity—at all levels—helps to build a flourishing and vibrant community. We need to remember the human scale first, considering that we are social beings.” Casey Cassias, Principal, BNIM, p. 112
This issue’s discussion question was posed by guest editor Rob Bennett. See what happens when we put him on the spot on p. 176, and read his conversation with managing editor Timothy Schuler on p. 12.
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett Continued from p. 21
It’s by Kevin Cavenaugh (p. 14), who’s a really neat developer-slash-architect. The Ocean is his idea of the ocean between food carts and restaurants. There’s a huge gap between the capital you need and the business savvy and the ambition [to open a restaurant], and he created a model that bridges those gaps, with a shared kitchen and lower cost of entry that allows those who might not be fully capitalized or have all the skills to start a restaurant. It’s an adaptive reuse of an old Dodge dealership, too, which has a nice irony to it. gb&d: That reminds me of Kaka’ako and some things going on in Honolulu (p. 125). Kaka’ako is this little area outside of downtown that’s mostly car dealerships and old warehouses—it’s not a pretty place. Out of that sprung this strip of restaurants and shops with these painted storefronts that are all unique but very similar; it’s got a design style that coalesces. One of the shops was a rotating eatery. A restaurant would pop up for about week, and then it would go away. But what’s fascinating about it is that it’s completely temporary. This block is scheduled to be torn down, and a high-rise is going up sometime in, like, the next six months. So they did a lot of this knowing that it was going to be temporary. Bennett: That’s cool. I think the reset of the economy has yet to be understood as far as how entrepreneurialism takes root, especially with young people. Twenty-somethings have always been a pretty creative class, idealistic to a certain extent, and they got shook up pretty significantly. It will be interesting to see, as they come of age in business, what their sensibility in all this is. PART 3 MEASURING A NEIGHBORHOOD gb&d: When the average person learns about EcoDistricts, they probably ask what the difference is between LEED for Neighborhood Development and the EcoDistricts framework. I even saw that Austin, a city working on its own EcoDistrict, has this question on its website. In their answer, one of the biggest differences is that LEED offers a one-time certification for hitting a certain number of targets, whereas EcoDistricts offers an ongoing way to engage with neighborhood stakeholders. Do you think that sums it up? Are there other major differences? Bennett: Well, first, the average person isn’t The conversation continues on p. 173
september–october 2014
171
PUNCH LIST
LIVING PROOF
Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver B.C. At 261,360 square feet, this green roof is the largest non-industrial living roof in North America. Detecting a leak in the membrane is like finding a needle in a haystack. It was ILD’s privilege to find them all, and leave behind a system that protects it for the future.
TRUSTED BY THE BEST. Toll Free: 1.866.282.5325 info@leak-detection.com
172
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
PUNCH LIST
Trend Watch Evolving Roofs
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett Continued from p. 171
going to know what the hell LEED-ND is, either (laughs). gb&d: Okay, the average green professional then (laughs).
George Patterson, the president of award-winning Bennett & Brosseau Roofing, says vegetated rooftops are becoming more beautiful and more functional
if a green roof was installed, and then there was a leak, it was a huge problem. Today, we have tools like electronic leak detection that can assist in finding a leak. With leak detection in place, it becomes a lot less of a burden to find a leak and ends up costing the owner less to own the roof.
Interview by Amy Martino
gb&d: What are the top trends in green roof design right now?
gb&d: You’ve been in the industry a long time. What sparked your interest in green roof design and installation? George Patterson: We worked on the Chicago City Hall Project from 2000 to 2001, and I was intrigued by the depth of insulation—up to three feet—and the land forms created to make the beautiful garden roof we see today.
Patterson: Some of the top trends right now are the use of ipe lumber, live walls, and lights in the surface of the pavers. The use of ipe has really gained popularity in the past two years, and we continue to see ipe specified in green roof applications. Live walls and the use of lights that are flush mounted with the surface of the pavers are something that I have seen a little more of lately as well.
gb&d: What do you think the biggest driver has been behind the increasing popularity of green roofs?
gb&d: Can you discuss some of your recent installations and the benefits they have provided?
Patterson: On the new construction side of green roofs, a lot of what we do is specification or requirement driven, mostly by municipalities. What is not requirement-driven is mostly for aesthetic purposes. I think a lot of design professionals are beginning to realize what the possibilities are, and with some of the technologies available today, installing a green roof is less of a risk than it was 10 years ago. For example, in years past,
Patterson: The benefits to the tenants of our recent projects are countless. What once was a typical roof at [Saint Francis Medical Center] in Peoria is now a healing garden with water features, pavers, plants, and trees. The aesthetic benefits and peace of mind to the patients ... cannot be measured. At Ogden Elementary School, the vegetables on the roof will provide education to the students and a sense of accomplishment when the vegetables are harvested.
Ogden Elementary School
gb&d: What are your predications for the future of the green roof industry? Patterson: The green roof industry will continue to evolve with many new products being introduced into the industry—ipe pavers, complex irrigation, water features, green walls, fire pits, to name a few. The green portion will get more sophisticated and become more of a living space for tenants, as opposed to just an area to look at through a window. gb&d gb&d
Bennett: It’s a question we get asked all the time. We very deliberately named the organization EcoDistricts, in essence, to propose that EcoDistricts isn’t a place—it’s a movement. The end result, we hope, is to create a scheme that, like BCorp and others, is a way to reward leadership but isn’t necessarily a certification. gb&d: Inevitably, someone will want to say, “Our EcoDistrict is greener than that EcoDistrict.” Did you ever consider a ranking system? Bennett: Well, I should say that everything is on the table right now. We’re looking at every certification and verification and reward and green standard—from organic certification to corporate sustainability—so we’re very open to what works. What we’re trying to do is be authentic in rewarding leadership around the journey. That, in and of itself, suggests that it’s more qualitative than quantitative. There is, though, the ability to do both. We can map the carbon footprint of a neighborhood over time. We can map some key health performance indicators. The challenge, of course, is that many of those are very slow indicators.
“We’re trying to be authentic in rewarding leadership around the journey. That suggests that it’s more qualitative than quantitative.” gb&d: Do you have any sustainability heroes? Did you have a mentor when you were young? Bennett: I’ve got some very personal family heroes. My best friend Matt, who I’ve known since nursery school, he’s a self-taught artist and sailmaker, and I get a lot of inspiration from how he’s carried himself and his business, but also how he’s manifested his life around sustainability and building a house off the grid. The conversation continues on p. 177
september–october 2014
173
PUNCH LIST
Concrete with Hycrete’s water-based additive helps make the material waterproof and prevents the use of additional wrap as well as rebar corrosion.
By Kathryn Freeman Rathbone
Concrete is one of the most common construction materials used on the planet, and Hycrete decided it was time the product underwent a green overhaul of its own. Hycrete specializes in a liquid ingredient that improves the sustainability of commercial-grade concrete by making it waterproof. “Hycrete is a water-based admixture,” says Jason Tuerack, president of Hycrete. “It mixes in and reacts with the divalent metal ions, such as calcium in concrete, forming a polymer that acts as a sealant.” By making the concrete hydrophobic, Hycrete helps waterproof the material. This, in turn, cuts down on the need to wrap project foundations in traditional plastic or rubberized waterproofing membranes and leads to faster slab, foundation, and basement completion times during the construction phase. It also prevents rebar corrosion that would normally occur as a structure ages. Hycrete’s ease of use makes it a favorite among contractors. Any standard commercial concrete can accept the solution, and since it is a liquid, it doesn’t require special mixing equipment or builder training before it can be added into the concrete mixing process. Tuerack notes that it is also one of the most environmentally mindful commercial-grade building materials available. “It was the first building material to earn the MBDC Cradle-to-Cradle certification,” he says, noting that, “over the years, we’ve taken it from Silver certification to Gold.” This focus on green performance has led to an additive that is NSF-approved and safe to use in projects that directly affect potable water. Hycrete’s System W solution even comes with a 10-year warranty that incorporates the company’s engineers and materials experts directly into projects; should challenges arise, Hycrete will provide on-site field technicians to work with project engineers through drawing reviews to ensure waterproofing. With all its unique benefits, it’s no surprise that Hycrete carries six patents and is being used in large-scale projects across the globe. So what’s next for Hycrete’s development? “We’re looking into applications for block and mortar construction, especially since it’s so common in projects all over the world,” Tuerack says. It’s a promising next step for the company that already leads the concrete industry in innovation. For such a straightforward product—essentially one ingredient in the concrete mixture—Hycrete delivers some of the industry’s best sustainable and practical building materials solutions. gb&d IN ACTION BULLITT CENTER Hycrete’s waterproofing properties helped seal Seattle’s cutting-edge office building and aided it in its goal of achieving the Living Building Challenge.
174
september–october 2014
gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: CALEB FOX; NIC LEHOUX (BULLITT CENTER)
Material World Concrete 2.0
A simple water-based admixture can make concrete waterproof, more practical, and highly sustainable
PUNCH LIST
®
gb&d
september–october 2014
175
PUNCH LIST
On the Spot Rob Bennett
The creator of the EcoDistricts concept and this issue’s guest editor on the world’s most vibrant neighborhoods, simplicity, and the powerful realization that failure is okay
AN ARTICLE YOU RECENTLY SHARED
ENVIRONMENTAL COME-TO-JESUS MOMENT
A New York Times review of Edward Glaeser’s 2011
My first green building conference at MIT in 1996.
book Triumph of the City.
Paul Hawken and Bill McDonough pushed my understanding of environmentalism towards the deep interconnectedness between design, commerce, and spirit.
THE PERFECT CITY WOULD HAVE Awesome, vibrant, diverse, and mixed-income
neighborhoods with rock-solid schools. ONE TECHNOLOGY ON THE HORIZON THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD Nano solar cells: the use of nanotechnology to
produce a photovoltaic material that can be spread like plastic wrap or paint. BUILDING YOU WOULD SAVE IF THE WORLD WAS GOING TO END I would save a few of our cities’ most vibrant neigh-
borhoods: Paris’s Marais, New York’s East Village, Rio’s Lapa and Santa Teresa, and San Francisco’s Mission. They represent the key ingredients of community, commerce, and vitality.
WHAT YOU’D PITCH TO PRESIDENT OBAMA IF YOU HAD 30 SECONDS
Bike, hands down. I suggest people check out
Portland’s annual Pedalpalooza, a month-long celebration of bike culture, anchored by the world’s largest naked bike ride.
districts” where we can rewrite the regulations and bring together economic innovation and the latest in green building, integrated infrastructure, and civic entrepreneurism. THE BOLDEST IDEA IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN Simplicity and restraint. This was the mantra of
Greg Acker, who helped spark Portland’s green building movement and who is now helping transform downtown Doha.
Race—The Power of an Illusion. The practice of
redlining was one of the most damaging policies in the history of city building and reverberates today. CAUSE YOU’D SUPPORT WITH A BILLION DOLLARS Convincing the other billionaires to donate a billion
WASTEFUL HABIT YOU’RE TRYING TO KICK My love of old trucks. My latest obsession is an
’85 Toyota Landcruiser that I just picked up from a friend from high school.
dollars each to making life on this planet for all species possible and just. I like leverage. THE THOUGHT OR IDEA THAT CENTERS YOU Failure is okay.
GREATEST PROFESSIONAL PET PEEVE The emerging hipster term “maker.” We didn’t just
PHOTO: EUGÉNIE FRERICHS
start making stuff. A CURRENT EVENT WE SHOULD FOLLOW MORE CLOSELY Gun violence in Chicago, immigration reform,
and the EPA’s rules on carbon emissions in power plants. All three have tremendous impacts on the future of cities.
gb&d
Continued from p. 173
gb&d: Washington, DC, is one of our Cities to Watch (p. 96), and the EcoDistricts Summit will be held there in just a few weeks. What made you choose DC? What stands out to you about the city? Bennett: DC just has such an interesting story. It’s a story of redemption: fourteen, fifteen years ago being bankrupt, essentially being taken over by the federal government, and now, after fifty years of flat or diminishing population, having just exploded. And they’ve done a lot of it through very smart investments in livability. There’s a lot of transition and a lot of new development, but I think it’s still yet to be seen how the new wealth of DC will play out, how inclusive it will be.
“I think it’s still yet to be seen how the new wealth of DC will play out, how inclusive it will be.”
Fund a competition for cities to create “innovation
BEST ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
IN CONVERSATION with Rob Bennett
I have to say, the city is excited about EcoDistricts. At the Clinton Global Initiative [in June], we launched our North America Pilot Program that we’ve been working on for… forever, it feels like. There’s going to be three or four neighborhoods in DC that are part of that program. They’ve really embraced EcoDistricts on many levels, which is exciting. gb&d: Is there anything specific at the conference that you’re excited about? Bennett: We’ve got author Charles Montgomery from Vancouver. He’s just finished a book (Happy City, p. 14), and he’s on a book tour. It’s about happiness in cities, so it’ll be interesting to get into, “What are the components of happiness and how does that play out? How do psychological and physical design come together?” He’s done some really interesting work with the Guggenheim, creating some experiments, and we’re hoping to do an experiment with him. gb&d
FAVORITE PLACE YOU’VE TRAVELED Varanasi, India: a jumble of people, holiness, and
crumbling buildings. It is a big beautiful mess, perhaps the most honest expression of the human condition on Earth. MOST MEANINGFUL PROJECT YOU’VE COMPLETED Nothing I’ve done is complete.
september–october 2014
177
GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Directory Advertisers
A American Hydrotech, 88 hydrotechusa.com 312.337.4998
E Energy Inspectors, 66 energyinspectors.com 702.365.8080
American Society of Landscape Architects, 180 asla.org 202.898.2444
B Big Mountain Glass & Windows, 149 bigmountainglass.com 406.862.4206 BL Companies, 129 blcompanies.com 203.630.1406 BOMA International, 84 boma.org 202.408.2662
Breaking Ground Contracting, 63 breakinggroundcontracting.com 904.388.1350
Brereton Architects, 57 brereton.com 415.546.1212
Bridger Steel, 149 bridgersteel.com 877.783.3568
Exponential Engineering Company, 157 exponentialengineering.com 970.207.9648 F F.H. Paschen, 79 fhpaschen.com 773.444.3474
First American Title, 142 firstam.com 312.750.6780
G Gamma, 129 gammana.com 800.207.2420
CRB, 41 crbusa.com
GLHN Architects & Engineers, 149 glhn.com 520.881.4546 GLHN believes that adhering to sustainable design goals means looking beyond the tenets of LEED to get to the heart of just what sustainability implies. For the Environment and Natural Resources 2 (ENR2) Building at the University of Arizona in Tucson, we took on the challenge of designing a facility that is a reflection of the University’s commitment to sustainable design in the Sonoran Desert; a facility that brings the campus community together to improve interdisciplinary interactions, allows for flexible offices, research, and learning environments, and provides the users and public the opportunity to tangibly see sustainability in action. Related story on p.147
D Dagher Engineering, 47 dagherengineering.com 212.480.2591
H Hanley Wood, 110 hanleywood.com 202.452.0800
Hastings + Chivetta, 57 hastingschivetta.com 314.863.5717
HH Angus & Associates, 129 hhangus.com 312.527.5552
C CitiesAlive, 34 citiesalive.org 416.971.4494
Clean Energy Trust, 157 cleanenergytrust.org 312.980.6544
DCM Architecture & Engineering, 66 dcm-ae.com 856.479.9101
Docsav Industries docsavindustriesinc.com Docsav Industries Inc. is a local, residentowned business in the District of Columbia that provides industrial equipment, supplies, and building products. In business for more than 18 years, we have enjoyed a successful relationship with the Clark Construction Group for more than 10 years. Docsav Industries Inc. participated in the first Strategic Partnership Program with Clark. The CityCenterDC team made a commitment to working with local, small businesses. CityCenterDC is one of the many projects we have successfully completed together. We congratulate Clark on this project and look forward to working with them in the future. Related story on p.99
178
Dow Diversified, 41 dowdiversified.com 949.650.9000
september–october 2014
HOK, 162 hok.com 312.782.1000
Holmes Culley, 41 holmesculley.com 415.693.1600
Houle Electric, 129 houle.ca 604.434.2681
Hycrete, 175 hycrete.com 866.492.7383
Phifer, 17 phifer.com 800.633.5955
I International Leak Detection, 172 leak-detection.com 866.282.5325
R RAF|T Architects, 166 raftarchitects.com 646.706.2255
IRONSMITH, 179 ironsmith.cc 800.338.4766
K KDENT, 134 kdentinc.com 417.235.3432
Roxul, 58 roxul.com 800.265.6878
Kingspan, 70 kingspanpanels.us 877.638.3266
S Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, 134 sgadesign.com 815.963.9392
Kohler Ronan, 121 kohlerronan.com 212.695.2422
Ringland-Johnson Construction, 134 ringlandjohnson.com 815.332.8600
Savoy Brown Consultants, 63 savoybrownconsultants.com 410.792.8447
L Landbank, 162 landbankllc.com 650.328.6020
Skanska, 4 skanska.com 917.438.4500
Steelscape, 2 steelscape.com 888.285.7717
FortEco Lightweight Structures, 71 lwstructures.com 262.264.6343
LiveRoof, 61 liveroof.com 800.875.1392
Summit Design + Build, 164 summitdb.com 312.229.4630
LiveWall, 61 livewall.com 877.554.4065
Sustainable Capital Finance, 74 sustainablecapitalfinance.com 408.462.1723
M Maryann Thompson Architects, 79 maryannthompson.com 617.491.4144
Synergy General Trades, 119 synergygeneraltrades.com 616.915.4943
Miller Electric Company, 63 mecojax.com 877.540.2160
T T.R. Hamzah & Yeang, 51 hamzahyeang.com
Mohawk Group, 41 themohawkgroup.com 800.266.4295
Morrissey Engineering, 66 morrisseyengineering.com 402.491.4144
N Nemetz (S/A) & Associates, 109 nemetz.com 604.736.6562
New Holland Church Furniture, 19 newhollandwood.com 717.354.4521
NIA Architects, 79 niaarch.com 312.431.9515
Northeastern Illinois University, 51 neiu.edu 773.583.4050
Novogradac & Company, 142 novoco.com 415.356.8000
O Oakland University, 19 oakland.edu 248.370.2100
One Lux Studio, 71 oneluxstudio.com 212.201.5790
P Permaloc, 54 permaloc.com 800.356.9660
The NEED Project, 164 need.org 800.875.5029
Thornton Tomasetti, 121 thorntontomasetti.com 312.596.2000
Tork, 15 torkusa.com 866.722.8675 V Via Seating, 137 viaseating.com 800.433.6614 Viessmann, 22 viessmann.com W West Canadian Digital Imaging, 109 westcanadian.com 403.541.5222 Wilderness Wood, 119 wildernesswood.com
INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING OR CUSTOM MEDIA BY GB&D?
Contact Laura Heidenreich at laura@gbdmagazine.com or 213.447.2394 for more information about our print magazine, iPad, Web, E-newsletter, and custom media options.
Petersen Tegl, 142 en.petersen-tegl.dk
gbdmagazine.com
Combining Art with function, the optional Trim Rings are available in iron, aluminum or copper alloys and allow or the expansion of the tree opening to accommodate tree growth.
Leadership by design
Paver-Grate™ - What you don’t see can make all the difference. IRONSMITH’s patented Paver-Grate™ suspended paver system lets you design over –instead of around— tree areas for optimized planting, tree health and pedestrian comfort. An excellent choice for urban areas, the Paver-Grate System™ seamlessly provides root space without impeding on pedestrian walk areas. Paver-Grates™ can be specified in standard sizes with or without opening trim rings, or in custom sizes to meet your exact needs. For more information about all IRONSMITH products visit us online at, www.ironsmith.biz or call, 760-776-5077.
IRONSMITH an employee owned company.
tree grates tree guards trench grates drain grates bollards paver-grate™
The largest gathering of landscape architecture professionals and students in the world! > Nearly 500 EXPO Exhibitors > More than 130 Education Sessions > Earn up to 21 Professional Development Hours
www.aslameeting2014.com