RICK FEDRIZZI SHARES 8 THINGS HE’S LEARNED —FROM COFOUNDING USGBC TO JOINING THE IWBI, AND LIFE IN THE GARDEN
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T H E M AT E R I A L W O R L D The elements of design are changing in ways we never imagined
PLUS Michael Bierut: The best designers anticipate needs we didn’t know we had
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In This Issue May+June 2017 Volume 8, Issue 44
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Style and Substance
AWIP offers insulated metal panels that are energy-efficient and attractive.
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nora systems has been providing progressive solutions since the early 20th century.
Creating people-centric spaces is fundamental for Tarkett, a leader in sustainable flooring solutions.
LG Electronics’ new VRF technology saves energy and opens up possibilities.
ACO manages water in ways you never imagined—efficiently and aesthetically.
The Future of Flooring
People in Focus
Life's Good with LG
8 Ways ACO's Design is Better
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Table of Contents May+June 2017 Volume 8, Issue 44
Up Front 12
In Conversation Michael Bierut, Pentagram
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Event Preview
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Editors’ Picks
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Event Recap
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Defined Design
Check out AIA, NeoCon, ACE, and more Curated by gb&d staff Discover the winners from this year’s AHR Expo
Typology 20 Managing Your
Building’s Energy
Option One shows how you can reduce usage and rate structures for double-digit cost reductions at your business.
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Seamless Comfort Create quiet, comfortable spaces with high- performance windows and doors.
28 Blend in or
Stand Out
Entrematic offers cool, sleek fans to take your business to the next level.
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Sky-High Design
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Brewing Change Sierra Nevada Brewing Co’s commitment to sustainability is clear.
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Driving a New Industry Fiat Chrysler Automobiles offer more than fuelefficient engines.
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With steel, you can achieve both high design and high performance.
Factory of the Future Method’s LEED Platinum Chicago facility is an example to factories everywhere.
The community-centric design of Family House helps sick families.
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Innerworkings 50
Perfectly Perforated Accurate Perforating’s recyclable perforated panels keep costs low and satisfaction high.
Trendsetters 58
A Quest to Protect Flood Panel works to protect and educate businesses.
Spaces | Melbourne
Punch List
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Above and Beyond Ben Callery Architects brings openness and efficiency to a beautiful house in the suburbs.
104 WSLA Column International Living Future Institute’s Amanda Sturgeon on biophilic design.
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It Takes a Village A former industrial area is transformed with sculpture-inspired apartment buildings in the heart of Melbourne’s business district.
106 Person of Interest B Lab’s Kim Coupounas shares the important work of B Corporations.
100 The Sky's the Limit A massive solar panel project in Melbourne saves tons of energy.
108 Lessons Learned Rick Fedrizzi shares lessons from his time with USGBC, IWBI, and more. 110
In the Lab TerraCycle’s Tom Szaky takes the old and makes it new again.
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Editor’s Note Chris Howe The material world is changing. And that’s a good thing. From the way we insulate our buildings (see our cover story on AWIP on page 46) to how we seal our windows (REHAU, page 24), manufacturers, engineers, architects, and professionals across the built environment are finally considering the full picture: “How does this improve efficiency? How does this make life better? And what comes next?” While our May/June issue of gb&d magazine explores the varied materials that make up our buildings and our building products, it also focuses on the wider vision that’s developed when you set out to make a great space. How do you factor for people—how will they experience your building or business? It’s questions like these that are at the forefront of the minds of Tarkett’s (page 62) thought leaders as they continue to develop people-centric flooring solutions. Just look at some of their colorful inlays and highly efficient options. People are also a key part of modern manufacturing design. Take Chicago’s Method factory (page 42), for instance, where daylight, color, and a feeling of openness dominate and even a rooftop garden inspires. Gone are the dark, dirty factories of old, replaced by places like Method and, in the same section of the magazine, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. These are places where people want to work, and where inspiring production is happening. Many businesses are also not just doing things differently—they’re looking at how they can
continue to evolve, like LG Electronics’ (page 72), who recently released a new system of VRF controls so you can heat and cool spaces easier than ever, all while saving serious dollars. Then there’s ACO (page 80), a truly exciting innovator that’s making us rethink the future of drainage. Who knew such an exciting design element could be hidden under our very own feet? The possibilities are seemingly endless. We have a lot of great new departments in this issue, too, from In the Lab—where we showcase exciting new companies with innovative inventions, beginning with TerraCycle (page 110)—to Lessons Learned. In the latter, we hear from USGBC cofounder and International WELL Building Institute CEO Rick Fedrizzi, who shares some of the wisdom he’s gained over his many years in the industry. We were also fortunate enough to sit and talk with Pentagram’s Michael Bierut on the aspirations of design and architecture. If the leaders in this issue are any indication, the future is very bright—and green. Sincerely,
Chris Howe, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
ON THE COVER RICK FEDRIZZI SHARES 8 THINGS HE’S LEARNED —FROM COFOUNDING USGBC TO JOINING THE IWBI, AND LIFE IN THE GARDEN
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Venge Vineyards in Calistoga, California has beautiful facilities decked out with AWIP’s customized insulated metal panels, which have a rustic winery feel while also creating an energy efficient thermal envelope. Photo by Ryland Hormel
PLUS Michael Bierut: The best designers anticipate needs we didn’t know we had
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Editor’s Note Laura Heidenreich
gb&d Green Building & Design gbdmagazine.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Christopher Howe chris@gbdmagazine.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Laura Heidenreich laura@gbdmagazine.com MANAGING EDITOR
You don’t have to sacrifice beauty to have the best products on the market. That much is clear when hearing the many impressive stories on the next 100-plus pages of this issue of gb&d magazine. For Entrematic (page 28), aesthetics and design adaptability are at the forefront of their HVLS fans. This is especially important as flexibility is key for designers who seek customizable solutions for their many varied projects. Whether it’s a Costco project that requires customer comfort without the distractions of a loud or colorful fan or a hip bar or restaurant looking for flashy style that matches the decor, Entrematic has them both covered. It’s just one example of a company that refuses to sacrifice aesthetic value or energy savings to get the job done. You’ll see this commitment to beautiful work and efficiency throughout this May/ June issue. Just look at AWIP (page 46), who allowed a popular winery to keep its rustic
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feel while offering a top-notch energy efficiency solution with its insulated metal panels, or SMDI (Steel Market Development Institute), who emphasizes the longevity of using steel to build in jaw-dropping, creative ways. It’s stories like these that remind us architects still need to have the options, ability, and design flexibility to see their vision through, and these products all allow this. This issue also reminds us of the importance of including the community in product development and design, as well as the benefits of doing so. For companies like Tarkett (page 62) and Method (page 42), the approach was really centered around enhancing the human experience and connecting the community to truly take a “people-centered” approach to business. I love how Method didn’t build a fence around their facility, but rather made a commitment to “emphasize the company and the building’s transparency” and connection to the community. Companies like Method are making a statement and working to be inclusive. They inspire us to be part of the same community, proving our commitment to the environment and making us all want to continue to work together for the greater good. Sincerely,
Laura Rote lrote@gbdmagazine.com ART DIRECTOR
Kristina Walton Zapata kristina@gbdmagazine.com SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
Brianna Wynsma CONTRIBUTORS
Ashwin Jagannathan, Kiley Jaques, Russ Klettke, Caroline Eberly Long, Mikenna Pierotti, Margaret Poe, Amanda Sturgeon, Mike Thomas, Emily Torem DESIGN INTERN
Gabriel de la Mora MARKETING INTERN
Ayrie Gomez MAIL
Green Building & Design 1765 N. Elston Ave. Suite 202B Chicago, IL 60642 The Green Building & Design logo is a registered trademark of Green Advocacy Partners, LLC Green Building & Design (gb&d) magazine is printed in the United States using only soy-based inks. Please recycle this magazine. The magazine is also available in digital formats at issuu.com/greenbuildingdesign.
Green Building & Design is a certified B Corp. B Corp is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit BLab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Laura Heidenreich, Associate Publisher
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GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Trendsetters Features Spaces Punch List
gb&d
12 In Conversation Michael Bierut, Pentagram 14 Event Preview Don't miss AIA, NeoCon, and more 16 Editors’ Picks Curated by gb&d staff 18 Defined Design
Family House in San Francisco offers hope and community for families in need
20 Sustainable Solutions
From reducing energy costs to building smarter, these businesses and organizations have the answers.
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In Conversation Michael Bierut Anticipating change, taking risks, and designing for the greater good
By Chris Howe Design guru and educator Michael Bierut, partner at Pentagram, will moderate a conversation with keynoters David Delgado and Dan Goods on day two of the AIA Conference on Architecture in April. This year’s conference focuses in part on anticipating what challenges lie ahead. You should know Bierut’s work—after all, he's behind Hillary Clinton’s most recent campaign logo. He’s also has won hundreds of design awards. His work is even represented in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Montreal, among many other prestigious locations. His Pentagram projects have included everything from Benetton and Verizon to the New York Jets, The New York Times, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Before joining Pentagram in 1990 as a partner in the New York office, he worked for 10 years at Vignelli Associates, including as vice president of graphic design. We recently sat down to talk with Bierut about the intersection of design, architecture, and sustainability.
gb&d: How does what you do fit into the theme of this year’s AIA Conference of anticipating needs, change, and challenge? Bierut: Designers, by their nature, and architects included, are called upon to plan things out and hire it off—commissioned by clients to deliver predictable results. They want an outcome that will happen on time and on budget. On top of that, I think designers and architects are obsessed with detail, ob-
“The test of a good designer is how much ingenuity they can bring when suddenly everything changes.”
PHOTO: COURTESY OF PENTAGRAM
sessed with control, obsessed with getting everything just so. Yet, all of us are aware of the fact that so frequently, when you’re involved in a complex project, no matter how carefully you’ve planned things out, things inevitably go wrong. Every designer, at one time or another, will encounter a moment where this thing they were contracted to do, the thing they had written a proposal for and gotten approved by the client with timelines and flow charts, gets undermined by reality. Something happens by accident and the plans change. The real test of a good designer
This conversation continues on p. 15
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Event Preview Spring 2017 By Gabriel de la Mora
AIA AIA CONFERENCE ON ARCHITECTURE
NEOCON
DETAILS
Organized by When April 27-29 Where Orlando, FL the American Web conferenceonarchitecture.com Institute of Architects, AIA Conference on Architecture is a three-day series of workshops, events, and experiences that, this year, will explore the theme of anticipation in architecture in design: anticipating need, challenges, and changes. Each day is focused on investigating one idea and features a knockout lineup of keynote speakers, from award-winning architect Francis Kéré to visual artist and strategist David Delgado. In addition to the keynotes, more than 500 sessions will take place throughout the conference, including seminars by leading architects and firms, tours of iconic buildings, and courses by building product manufacturers that will offer expo credits in HSW, ADA, GBCI, RIBA, and AIA LU. These sessions range in length from an hour to an entire day. Collections of sessions are available online with themes like health, research, and materials to make the process of finding events pertaining to yours interests even easier.
NeoCon
DETAILS
Since it started When June 12-14 Where Chicago, IL in 1969, NeoWeb neocon.com Con has evolved into one of the most recognized trade shows in the industry. The three-day event is committed to highlighting emerging trends in commercial design and business. Located in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, NeoCon will feature thousands of products from more than 500 industry leaders through an exhibition space of nearly 1 million square feet. In addition to the exhibition, 100-plus seminars will take place in the form of special programs and keynotes. The event is one of the largest gatherings of design professionals, attracting more than 50,000 visitors.
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IN CONVERSATION with Michael Bierut
LIVING FUTURE UNCONFERENCE
Continued from p. 13
is not how well they’re able to make a plan, not how well they’re able to faithfully deliver the elements in place as directed, but how much ingenuity they can bring to the moment when suddenly everything changes. gb&d: I know you’re very involved with AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts). When I served on the board there was constant talk about design for good and using design as a social tool, but there was also hesitation about moving into an area where designers shouldn’t go. Does any of that resonate with where you are right now?
Living Future unConference
DETAILS
Living Future unConference is a three-day When May 17-19 Where Seattle, WA event in Seattle revolving around regenWeb livingfutureunconference.org erative design. The event is held annually and attracts leaders in sustainable design, offering the opportunity to develop potentially long-lasting connections. The conference encourages cross-industry collaboration, which the organizers believe facilitates innovation in the field. Over the course of the event, visitors will witness a number of powerful mainstage events, explore a trade show, and learn new strategies to take home.
“It’s easy as a designer to lose your sense of agency in a collaborative environment.”
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF AIA, NEOCON, LIVING FUTURE, AND ACE
ACE 2017
ACE 2017 Coordinated by the American Water Works Association, ACE 2017 is an annual conference that includes an exhibition along with a number of workshops, facility tours, and competitions. The conference is regarded as an excellent opportunity for professionals to network and keep up with the state of the water industry. gb&d
Bierut: Absolutely. I think every design as a plan has this interesting tension between the will of the designer and the idea that the products of their work will actually operate in the real world, and will have an effect on people. People are often reluctant to take the responsibility that comes along with that. What you’re describing is common across all disciplines, where, “That’s not my job” or “I don’t know enough about that” or “no one else is trying it” is the thought.
DETAILS When May 9-11 Where Philadelphia, PA Web awwa.org/conferenceseducation/conferences/annualconference.aspx
Scientists, whether they work at NASA or as neuroscientists, are accustomed to navigating ambiguity. Their goal is the unknown. They’re not seeking to just reliably deliver a uniform product every time, on time and on budget, but they’re taking a risk while acknowledging they may fail, and moreover acknowledging that failure may be a chance to learn something important about something they may not understand otherwise. One of the challenges with designers is our sense and our fear that we’re taking a risk with other people’s money—I think we feel inhibited by that. It’s easy as a designer, or frankly as any kind of service professional, to lose your sense of agency in a collaborative environment. Everyone just kind of retires to the same basic thing they know how to do. This conversation continues on p. 17
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Editors’ Picks Curated by gb&d staff
Designtex offers thousands of materials for the built environment and is committed to a low carbon footprint.
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PRODUCT WATERSEER
BOOK DIGGING DEEPER
COMPANY DESIGNTEX
PRODUCT BEND GOODS
Taking a departure from standard wind convertor technology, the TYER wind convertor looks to nature for its inspiration on design and engineering. The product is a verticalaxis wind convertor that uses flapping wings instead of blades to generate kinetic energy. The machine's use of 3D Aouinian Kinematics allows for the conversion of linear motion into a rotating one. The result is a wind convertor that can better resist wind velocity and therefore generate higher amounts of energy. tyerwind.com
Every day, more than 2.3 billion people struggle to get water, with women and children often traveling and carrying water for 6-plus hours a day. Waterseer, a device that collects and distills water residing in the air, was created to bring fresh water directly to the people. Though still in early design and testing phases, the device was successfully funded through a crowdfunding campaign and has partnered with the National Peace Corps Association to help achieve the vision of Waterseer. waterseer.org
This Greenleaf Publishing title by Dietmar Sternad, James Kennelly, and Finbarr Bradley aims to illustrate that business can mean more than generating profit. For many visionary leaders, creating value by improving the lives of others can hold just as much importance. The authors take readers through a number of success stories from entrepreneurs who have created enterprises with quality of life, sustainability, and positive relationships as their core values. greenleaf-publishing. com/digging-deeper
Headquartered in New York City with over 100 sales offices around the world, Designtex is a design and manufacturing leader of applied materials for built environments. The company was created in order to address some of the controversies present within the textile industry today: environmental degradation and worker exploitation in foreign countries. Their catalog today encompasses over 8,000 materials that are designed with sustainability in mind and in collaboration with some of the world's top creative leaders. designtex.com
Looking for a bit more playful decoration within your home? This design and manufacturing company based out of Los Angeles aims to make products for the home and public spaces that are just that. The company was founded by a Michgan sculptor and designer and makes use of wire that has been hand-shaped and spot-welded in order to achieve the "bend." Bend Goods' products are made from iron and wood that are locally sourced and sustainable. bendgoods.com
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PRODUCT GREEN DOT BIOPLASTICS Green Dot Bioplastics is a bioscience social enterprise based in Kansas. The company is committed to improving the environment through material advances and has arguably done so with its new Terratek material. This new biodegradable plastic was created for horticultural applications and is composed of 80% reclaimed and biobased materials. Plantable pots made with the material can reduce greenhouse water consumption by up to 600% by retaining moisture in the potting soil. greendotbioplastics. com
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF DESIGNTEX
PRODUCT TYER WIND
UP FRONT
Event Recap AHR Expo
IN CONVERSATION with Michael Bierut Continued from p. 15
If you decide to think of every process you’re doing as a citizen, a human being, and an inhabitant of Earth, you look at things in a different way. You make choices in a different way. “Is what I’m designing
“People’s awareness of the impact their consumption activity and their lifestyle is having on the environment— that that won’t cease to exist just because someone in Washington has decided it’s not important anymore.” equitable for my fellow citizens? Is it sustainable for the planet we all share? Is it going to somehow make people’s lives better in some appreciable way?” There’s a chance to answer “yes” to all of those things if you retain your sense of purpose in all this work. I think it’s easy to say, “Look, none of those are in my job description. I’m just here to do this one thing, and when I do it I get paid.” I say that in a very cynical position, but I say that pleading guilty to having done that myself.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF AHR EXPO
gb&d: When you think about responsible design and changing trends and mindsets, do you feel you have to consider how the projects fit into the community, and how the design is going to affect the people that will use it?
The 2017 AHR Expo was a success again this year, as it kicked off in Las Vegas in late January with the Innovation Awards. The world’s largest HVACR marketplace annually recognizes the top technologies and products exhibited. This year’s winners are: Product of the Year: SmartPlug Instant Hot Water Control, Taco Inc.; Building Automation: Danfoss; Cooling: Daikin Applied; Green Building: Carrier; Heating: Noritz America; Indoor Air Quality: Nortec Humidity; Plumbing: Taco, Inc.; Refrigeration: Danfoss; Software: Nidec Motor Corporation / U.S. Motors; Tools & Instruments: PEXOLOGY, Inc.; Ventilation: Titus.
Bierut: The most interesting parts of any project have to do with the effect it’s going to have on people’s lives and how it’s going to fit into the larger world. When I started in my career, I think I just saw my obligation was to my craft—the thing that was right in front of my nose—and getting that perfect and doing that in a way that would satisfy my boss, who held the power of a paycheck over me. Your responsibility is perceived This conversation continues on p. 19
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Defined Design Family House Bleacher staircase “The bleacher staircase came about from our goal to maximize connections to daylight and the outdoors,” Novicoff says. “This was connecting the second level landscape courtyard with the first floor lobby and bringing natural daylight into the center of the lobby.” The staircase provides an immediate connection between the teen room, gym, music room, and lobby spaces. It also serves as a gathering space for kids to hang out.
By Laura Rote Photos by Bruce Damonte
It’s never easy when families end up with children in the hospital, but having a healthy, encouraging space to spend time at the end of a long day can help to ease the pain. At the nonprofit Family House in San Francisco, up to 80 low-income families whose children are being treated at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital for life-threatening illnesses can access temporary, free housing. Designing the $28 million, 92,000-square-foot project
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that opened in 2016 was not without its challenges, though—namely making a healthy building feel non-institutional and welcoming. “The families typically spend their days at the hospital and the intention of the building was to provide a comforting home for them to come back to every night that would be completely different than the feel of a hospital,” says Gregg Novicoff, associate principal for Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects.
Wellness was key, from the continuous filtered air system that prioritizes healthy indoor air quality to the communal gathering spaces and sunlight flooding in through windows. “Whether there is story time in the lobby, art in the conference room, or a children’s sack race in the courtyard, the architecture supports and provides new opportunities for programs,” Novicoff says. The building was broken down into “neighborhoods” to create smaller groups, each
Family House brings families with children being treated for life-threatening illnesses together to cope in a space that feels like home.
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IN CONVERSATION with Michael Bierut Continued from p. 17
Infinity loop courtyard The courtyard was designed by Cliff Lowe and Associates to create space for activities like barbecues and sack races and even small family birthday parties. The spaces were organized around an infinity loop to allow kids to run and play endlessly.
at a very limited framework. As you mature as a designer, if you’re lucky and you have good role models, and if you’re learning from what is around you and you’re trying to retain a sense of integrity as a person as well as a professional, inevitably you get interested in the impact your work is having on others. Then, once you’re aware of what that impact is, that becomes the most pressing aspect of any project you undertake. gb&d: When you think about the design world, what are the important questions people should be asking now?
“neighborhood” having 10 guest rooms with shared facilities that encourage families to get to know one another as they go through difficult times. Of course, shared living is profoundly related to sustainability, Novicoff says. “Instead of building 80 apartments with their own kitchens with refrigerators, sinks, cooktop, and dishwashers, we were able to build eight larger kitchens that could be shared amongst the cluster of fami-
lies. Sharing resources allows for building less and furthers the building’s goals of creating community—where each of the families might have been making meals in the privacy of their own apartment, now they share in making food cooperatively.” Light also plays an important role in people’s health and well-being, and it’s of utmost importance here, where some children might not be able to go outside. A thin floor plate and single loaded
corridor brings natural daylight into 100% of the public spaces. In construction, the team used healthy materials with no- or low-VOCs. The LEED Platinum–certified Family House was designed to reduce energy use by 48%. It also incorporates thermally broken windows, motion sensor lighting, Energy Star appliances, a cool roof, solar hot water system, and filtered outdoor air ventilation system, among other sustainable features. gb&d
Bierut: The fundamental questions all have to do with, “I’ve been invited to create something new and introduce it to the world, so what’s this thing for? What’s the motivation of the person that’s commissioning me? Do I agree with that motivation? Do I have reservations about it? Am I enthusiastic? Am I sure this is the best possible way to accomplish this goal? Is there a way to do it more efficiently? Is there a way to do it more beautifully? Is there a way to do it more ingeniously or in a way that can be of benefit to more people to make it more successful?” The best designers are able to anticipate the needs of people in a sensitive way so they’re able to fulfill the brief as it was given way back in the beginning, but do it in a way that’s toward additional light or additional benefit to the people that end up receiving it on the other end. gb&d: What’s most interesting to you in the realm of sustainability?
Subsurface drip irrigation Low-pressure, high efficiency irrigation system that uses buried drip tubes or drip tape. Family House includes this system on its green roofs to deliver water to the plants (including California native and adapted species that support wildlife and daylilies that provide nectar for hummingbirds), all but eliminating the loss of water through evaporation.
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Bierut: We’re coming out of a period where the institutions of civil society were aligning with the causes of sustainability and renewable energy, and because of changes in the political current, we’re entering a world where those concerns are no longer as urgent as they once were, and in some cases are being completely ignored or reversed. I’m really interested to see what’s going to happen—are people really willing to pretend it was all a dream or some inconvenience, and now we go back to guzzling gas and dumping shit in streams? People’s awareness of the impact their consumption activity and their lifestyle is having on the environment—that that won’t cease to exist just because someone in Washington has decided it’s not important anymore. gb&d
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UP FRONT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
Businesses from all over the U.S. look to save money through energy management services, building automation, and a number of other solutions.
A Modern Approach to Energy Management and Efficiency There’s more than one way to cut energy costs for big businesses. Option One Energy and Green Scope Solutions help you tackle the issues from all sides. By Russ Klettke Photos by Christopher Free
It looks so simple. A hotel in Laguna Beach, California cut energy costs by $275,000 by switching to LED lighting and controls. A hotel-condo building in New York City saved more than $175,000 in its first year with similar retrofits. And a restaurant franchise with 50 locations
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lowered its energy spend by more than 30%—in addition to reducing its overall lighting demand by 70%. To top it all off, all of these examples experienced paybacks within 15 months. Achieving the most strategic reductions in energy use and utility costs is not a simple matter of changing light bulbs, though. Success stories like these take a comprehensive approach with qualified experts to pull many interrelated physical and contractual pieces together. The savings to each of these companies, and the environment, are significant to say the least. And they’re wholly possible: The tools, technologies, and tactics—and certified professionals to do the analysis—are widely available. What can be accomplished today eclipses
what was possible even just a few years ago. So why isn’t every business taking these steps toward energy efficiency and cost reductions?
THE CHALLENGES Optimizing building energy efficiencies— physical usage and contractual pricing— comes with myriad challenges. The knowledge required for a rationalized energy program is beyond what procurement generalists typically are able to muster. “A total energy management plan is imperative for businesses today,” says Adam Morris, principal at Option One Energy (OOE), a leading Chicago-based consultancy that works with businesses to save money through a broad range of energy management services as well as gbdmagazine.com
UP FRONT
renewable green options and natural gas and electric procurement. Together with its sister company, Green Scope Solutions (GSS), which works on the demand side—including retrofitting lighting systems, building automation, and a number of other demand solutions—OOE takes a holistic approach to managing energy. As Morris says, “the devil is in the details.” He explains how smart energy plans account for the complexity of a multi-location organization, where you’ll often encounter different building characteristics, municipal codes and tariffs, rebate or tax structures, and oftentimes multiple energy providers with their own pricing schedules that can fluctuate by the hour. The skill sets for both lowering consumption and optimizing sourcing require
someone with a background in energy management who understands both the supply and demand side of energy.
ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS Consider the case of a restaurant franchise. As with any business, budget certainty is a goal along with overall cost reduction. It also doesn’t hurt for a consumer-facing enterprise to acquire a green story, all while ensuring customer safety and aesthetics. Layer on 50 locations and the ebbs and flows of business (add a location here, close one there) and you have other variables to consider, like different utility providers and boundaries. A cohesive plan might have been elusive if approached solely with internal staff. Better to consult with experts who provide both knowledge and objectivity to
the task (see tips, pg. 23). This is precisely what energy professionals like Morris and Brian Mavraganes, partners at both OOE and GSS, do. Morris’s team works from the energy management and supply procurement side, looking at how energy is sourced and managed going forward. Mavraganes is an expert in demand solutions—lighting, controls, and looking at how to identify and implement changes that reduce demand. Morris and Mavraganes liken the process to going to the right kind of doctor. When your foot hurts, for example, you see a podiatrist. What’s causing pain in your foot may be due to an issue with your hips or even an inactive muscle, but you have to look at the body as a whole to find the solution.
A PATCHWORK OF ENERGY USE REQUIREMENTS* STATES AND CITIES WITH NOTEWORTHY POLICIES THAT LEVERAGE ENERGY STAR TOOLS TO REDUCE AND DISCLOSE ENERGY USE IN LARGE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS.
CHICAGO
Commercial and residential buildings larger than 50,000 square feet must disclose their Energy Star score, energy use intensity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
BOSTON
All city-owned buildings, and commercial and residential buildings over 35,000 square feet, will have benchmarking data posted for public disclosure.
CONNECTICUT
INFOGRAPHIC: KRISTINA WALTON ZAPATA
All state-owned and -leased buildings must reduce energy use by 10% by 2018.
CALIFORNIA
Benchmarking and tracking of energy use in commercial and multifamily buildings with more than 50,000 square feet, reducing total energy use by 20% by 2030.
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ATLANTA
Commercial buildings with more than 25,000 square feet and all municipal buildings must track and report annual energy use, disclose benchmarking to the city, and be audited every 10 years.
* According to energystar.gov
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THE GREEN SAVINGS TEAM
Similarly, in the world of energy, you need someone who’s experienced in all areas of energy management—i.e. a certified energy manager—to find the best solution. “Energy can be extremely complex, just like the human body,” Morris says. Just as physical health involves all kinds of metrics, total energy management does, too. Morris quotes management guru Peter Drucker—“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”—to emphasize the importance of setting benchmarks and assessing results data. “At the end of the day, most owners and facility managers want to see the results,” he says.
THE SOLUTION The firm offers bill management technology for storing bills and data (power, natural gas, water, and waste)— all imperative for compliance needs,
of electricity in all building types in the country (followed by ventilation, refrigeration, cooling, and computing). While this varies by sector, lighting is the largest use of electric power in retail, warehouse and storage, and office settings, and only second to ventilation in lodging and to cooling in educational facilities. But in commercial settings, the perspectives of tenants and owners are different. “We get the building owner involved, even though the tenant is responsible for energy costs,” Mavraganes says. “They both benefit from a better system—the tenant gets reduced costs and the building owner can get tax credits.” Those tax credits, however, are unevenly available by municipality and state. A quick perusal of energystar.gov shows how cities, counties, and states have varying policies and ordinances for energy
benchmarking, Energy Star, and LEED tracking. All help to tell a comprehensive energy story of a business. They also look at external factors and policies that could hurt or help your organization and assist in accessing rebates, incentives, and credits. “Offsetting costs can make a good project great, and who doesn’t want a quick payback?” Morris says. Lighting systems are the lowest hanging and largest fruit on the consumption end. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting is the single largest end-use consumer
benchmarks, usage disclosures, and other factors. Option One Energy combs through those to find ways to optimize procurement scenarios within each. So while those hotels and restaurants— and any other large commercial building owner or tenant—can see the results of an efficient lighting program (including the spectrum of design options provided by LED technologies), it’s the bean counters in the back offices who see significant financial benefits of procurement optimization, over and above energy cost reductions. For them, going green can turn red ink on a P&L statement into black. gb&d
OPTION ONE ENERGY and GREEN SCOPE SOLUTIONS began working together and are practically a single company for an important reason: The rational approach to energy expenditures involves both the demand and supply sides and a total energy management approach. OOE finds the best ways to manage and procure power—electricity and gas—in energy markets across the U.S. GSS analyzes, designs, and implements physical changes that can reduce consumption overall. The process for developing a smarter energy program includes an active management approach. “Not making energy management a priority is the root cause in most companies,” Morris says. From there, he and Mavraganes walk the client through data collection, bid facilitation, supplier offers, and contract negotiations with ongoing support and management after implementation. In the case of a 160-unit hotel chain, Mavraganes’s team set standards that all on-site staff now follow. “We made reordering dummy-proof,” he says. Why have so many companies yet to undergo this process? “They don’t realize their losses—the delta between what they are actually doing and what they are capable of doing,” Morris says.
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UP FRONT
4 Things to Consider When Hiring an Energy Consultant Going to work with an energy consultant isn’t a simple matter of outsourcing. Who you work with, their experience, and their credentials matter. But you have to be clear about your organization’s commitment and involvement as well.
Submit to benchmarking. It’s important to avoid “analysis paralysis,” but establishing the before-and-after numbers provides valuable information for the future, such as when the organization grows into new and additional facilities.
Factor for people. Greatest efficiencies happen when all facilities and facility managers are included in planning and execution, as well as employees and other building occupants. According to Morris, “Behavior modification can be one of the most important ways to cut energy use.”
Consider your timeframe. In an energy retrofit, there will be upfront investment before cost savings pays for it. Fortunately, the ROI on as large a job as replacing 10,000 light bulbs with hyper-efficient LEDs can be as short as 12 months.
PHOTOTS: CHRISTOPHER FREE, COURTESY OF OPTION ONE ENERGY, ISTOCK
Look for a certification. A Certified Energy Manager, or CEM, like Morris is globally recognized, including by the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. It ensures consistent standards, quality, and a scalable plan.
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UP FRONT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
THIS SPREAD REHAU offers window solutions that are quiet and energy-efficient.
THE PERILS OF NOISE When you’re inside a building with high-performance windows, you won’t be troubled by the sounds of the world outside. But many people around the world aren’t so lucky—and they may be paying a price. Researchers have found that children exposed to loud environmental noise, such as airports or roadways, over time suffer from cognitive difficulties. They report poorer memory, reading ability, and academic performance on standardized tests. In adults, chronic noise exposure has been linked to everything from sleep disturbance to cardiovascular disease. One study found that adults living in an area with high traffic noise were 25% more likely to report symptoms of depression. As this growing body of research makes clear, noise pollution is a real threat to health and well-being.
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Seamless Comfort High-performance windows block sound and keep interiors just the right temperature By Margaret Poe Trends ebb and flow. The hot new buzzword on everyone’s lips? It’ll be replaced with a new one tomorrow. The same goes for this season’s “it” color or look. But one thing that won’t go out of style? Comfort. “In this day and age, it’s the numberone word,” says Bruce Brecht , an account manager for REHAU Window Solutions, who has nearly four decades of experience in the building industry. More than anything else, a demand for comfort is driving decisions in both the residential and commercial window
markets, he says. Because the ultimate respite from a loud, fast-moving world is to come inside to a serene environment that’s exactly the right temperature— neither too hot nor too cold. The secret to achieving that level of comfort? A window in which every element, from the frame to the fusion-welded corners to the seal, works together to create a superior performance. Thanks to decades of experience crafting fenestration solutions, REHAU has access to the latest developments in polymer technology. As a result, the company is constantly improving upon gbdmagazine.com
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF REHAU
its products in search of the next great solution to build a more comfortable environment.
ONLY THE BEST REHAU’s RAU-FIPRO™ material can be found in the GENEO® tilt-turn system, for example, and utilizes a proprietary glass-fiber reinforced formulation that substantially reduces the need for steel reinforcement. Multi-chambered window design optimizes the thermal performance, and high-performance compression-seal gaskets create a performance seal, says Randy Hoover, design and engineering manager at REHAU. While tilt-turn windows have long been popular in Europe, U.S. architects are increasingly turning to them as they search for greater thermal performance, Hoover says. Compared with a tilt-turn window’s compression seal, the sliding system in a single- or double-hung window “doesn’t come close” to the same performance, he says. Thanks to these developments, the air infiltration gb&d
WHAT’S INSIDE?
REHAU’s RAU-FIPRO™ material can be found in the GENEO® tilt-turn system and utilizes a proprietary glass-fiber reinforced formulation that substantially reduces the need for steel reinforcement. Multi-chambered window design optimizes the thermal performance, and high-performance compressionseal gaskets create a performance seal. The multi-point hardware offers a 360-degree seal around the window, and the systems are designed to incorporate high-performance insulated glass, which further enhances comfort. In short, a GENEO window offers a seal like that of an airline window. That compression seal also keeps out unwanted sound.
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UP FRONT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
REHAU BY THE NUMBERS
0.15
U-value achievable with triple-pane GENEO tilt-turn window
0.36
U-value achievable with triplepane aluminum window
UP TO 50%
Increase in energy performance with a REHAU GENEO window, vs. comparable aluminum window
UP TO 55%
Reduction in installation time with GENEO window, vs. comparable aluminum window
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And a strategy to combat sound intrusion isn’t one size fits all, Hoover notes. He says in many cases, architects will choose tilt-turn windows on the side of the building facing the largest source of noise, like a runway. They could then use a double-hung window on the other sides, where there’s less need for sound reduction. The passive house movement is driving a lot of interest in these highperformance windows, Hoover says. But without a tight building envelope, even the best windows won’t help you meet those standards, he notes. “If every facet of that envelope build is not up to the same standards, you’re doing yourself a disservice,” he says. “The ultimate thing is to make the occupants comfortable. That’s really what it comes down to.” gb&d
UP TO 25%
Reduction in noise with GENEO window, vs. comparable aluminum window
PHOTO: COURTESY OF REHAU
with a REHAU window is “crazy low,” as Hoover puts it. The multi-point hardware offers a 360-degree seal around the window, Hoover says. And the systems are designed to incorporate highperformance insulated glass, which further enhances comfort. “We’ve gotten to the point where the sky is the limit, with glazing technology and GENEO combined,” Hoover says. Out of the box, a GENEO window offers a seal like that of an airline window, Brecht adds. That compression seal also keeps out unwanted sound. That’s essential in projects built in chaotic urban environments or adjacent to airports, rail lines, or highways, he says. High-performance windows completely block out those sounds so occupants can concentrate— or sleep—in comfort.
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Entrematic Fans Let You Choose Your Own Path Thanks to their customizable designs and sleek aesthetics, these HVLS fans enhance spaces, whether you want to stand out or blend in By Ashwin Jagannathan
Two striking applications by a pair of distinctive brands illustrate the customizable potential of Entrematic’s commercial fans. At In-N-Out Burger’s distribution centers, the bright red fans complement In-N-Out’s iconic red and yellow color scheme. Distribution
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centers for Monster Energy also employ appropriately colored fans, with the black blades sporting green winglets. While there’s no question that these fans are also sleek and aesthetically attractive, t heir customizability— including the ability to choose
almost any color imaginable— is what makes them adaptable to a wide variety of scenarios. A m o n g t h e c o m m e rc i a l uses Entrematic touts for its fans are health and fitness centers, retail spaces, and municipal buildings. Dan Linder , Entrematic HVLS gbdmagazine.com
UP FRONT
THIS SPREAD Entrematic fans come in all colors and styles, so you decide whether they stand out or blend in.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ENTREMATIC
sales manager, adds that Entrematic’s fans have become especially popular choices for school and college gyms and cafeterias. Russ Hazzard , principal architect and president of MG2, worked to put Entrematic’s industrial fans in Costco warehouses around the country. He stresses that this flexibility is key for designers. “Having options in terms of aesthetics and color allows the design team to modify design elements to ref lect the tastes of the client,” Hazzard says. Moreover, Hazzard says the design of the blades enhances their appeal. “Without question, the [fans’] frame cover gives them a sophisticated, sleek look.” Costco’s massive warehouses represented a case where the fans were required to blend into their environment rather than stick out. While Costco employs the industrial fans— which offer larger blade lengths than the commercial fans, but their shape is identical—their customizable nature also came in handy in this scenario. Hazzard notes that each Costco prototype features two of Entrematic’s industrial fans near the checkout lanes. Using white fans t hat mimicked the white ceilings, architects were able to make the fans effectively “disappear”
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UP FRONT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
FORTUNATELY, THE MOTOR WE CHOSE ALLOWED US TO GET THE AESTHETICS WE WANTED.” DAN LINDER, ENTREMATIC HVLS SALES MANAGER
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ENTREMATIC BY THE NUMBERS from Costco customers’ sights. This was a strategic decision, Hazzard says. “Costco doesn’t want members’ eyes drifting up. They want their attention focused on the products on the floor.” In commercial settings, Linder says Entrematic wanted its commercial fans to be lowprofile and sleek, so they don’t have quite the same look as the fans in Costco. The focus on appearance came as a response to market demands, he says. Designers appreciated the amount of air the larger fans could move around, but didn’t want the overly industrial look; the commercial fans represent a compromise solution for architects.
There are even occasions where the fans’ visual appeal complements their other virtues. For example, Linder points out that the fans have been successful in horse stables—they’re quiet enough to not disturb the horses and can be coated to match the stables’ wood finishing. For those who seek out fans primarily for their energysaving potential, Linder assures there’s no trade-off between aesthetic value and energy savings; the fans are visually striking in addition to their energy efficiency, not in exchange for it. That’s because they were designed from the ground up to not
sacrifice performance or visual appeal. “Fortunately, the motor we chose allowed us to get the aesthetics we wanted,” Linder says. Using Entrematic fans can create a perceived temperature change in a building of about 4–7 degrees, which allows for a 3–5 degree thermostat adjustment—in both summer and winter—with about 3% of energy savings per degree. Taken in total, these fans can help to save as much as 15% off a typical commercial space’s energy bill. In other words, Entrematic’s fans’ energy efficiency makes them green—and in some cases, they’re literally green, too. gb&d
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Watts of power used by Entrematic fans at max performance
40%
Percentage of max power required for the fans to achieve 4-7 degree perceived temperature change
6
Number of residential fans needed to equal the amount of air moved by one Entrematic commercial fan
3%
Energy savings for each degree of temperature change caused by fans
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ENTREMATIC
THIS SPREAD Entrematic fans can be customized with a pop of color or rustic design, but no matter what you choose, they're quiet.
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Improved efficiency rate of Costco HVAC system over 10 years, thanks in part to Entrematic industrial fans
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In addition to aesthetics, properly designed steel structures provide long-term durability—and they’re resistant to corrosion, mold, vermin, and more. Steel doesn’t warp or crack, and it’s not harmed by moisture. In terms of design, the options for steel are almost limitless. In a world where seemingly few things are made to last, steel endures, and there are countless reasons why today’s architects continue to turn to steel for their projects.
WHAT DO ARCHITECTS & EXPERTS SAY? We talked to Tom Kirk, principal for Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, about some of the top reasons to design with steel. Many of the projects that the architects of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson work on utilize steel, and Kirk says they appreciate the material’s straightforwardness. “You can see what the building is doing and use it to organize and shape spaces.” But what are some other reasons to design with steel? Steel lasts. Many Bohlin Cywinski Jackson clients love steel, and Kirk does, too. “A lot of our clients wish to build for perpetuity and we are not interested in suggesting materials that are not going to last,” he says. Steel is among the most reliable materials out there, and of course it can be recycled after its service life. Yes, steel is 100% recyclable—meaning any steel product can be recycled into any other steel product, like a car door or refrigerator, for instance. All new steel has some recycled content already. Structural steel is recycled at about 98%, and anywhere from 60 to 80 million tons of steel scrap are recycled every year into new North American products.
Sky-High Design For sustainable buildings that will go on to inspire for generations to come, architects look to steel
Look out the window at any major skyline and you will see building upon building showcasing shining, towering examples of steel. Perhaps now more than ever, it’s easy to see, as it’s a predominant feature in everything from parks and museums to even private residences, with exposed beams or inspiring frames that, at times, seem to defy gravity. Architecturally exposed structural steel has been gaining popularity in recent years, according to experts like Mark Thimons, vice president of sustainability for the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI). When Thimons travels, he often finds himself looking out the window or up at the sky at the structures that tower overhead. “If you look at some of the new steel buildings being built—structural steel or cold-formed steel—there are some really interesting things being done. It can be an exciting material to design with—you can do pretty much anything with it.”
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THIS SPREAD Newport Beach Civic Center and Park is just one standout example of the many wonders of steel design.
Take, for instance, a fieldhouse project Bohlin Cywinski Jackson completed for the Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, where the entire steel framing system is exposed to view. Using steel, something as simple as a sunshade can be transformed (pg. 34). Bohlin Cywinski Jackson attached exterior shades built of small carbon steel and stainless steel angles, supporting diffuse translucent panels to a standard manufactured curtain gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: NIC LEHOUX
Steel lets you problem solve in creative ways.
By Laura Rote
UP FRONT
while still achieving something new and exciting? Use steel. The Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center at Washington University (pg. 34) in St. Louis, once the venue for the 1904 Olympic games, reimagines the university’s historic Francis Gymnasium and adds 66,000 square feet to create a new gateway to a comprehensive recreation and sports complex. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson kept the front of the building and inserted a series of steel frames to hold up the remainder of the structure, removing the maze of split-level floors that no longer functioned in the old building, allowing for a new, three-story fitness, recreation, and athletics program to lock into the old structure. The move saved money and resulted in the most dramatic space in the project. “You move from the pedestrian walkway outside, through the old building facade, across this steel bridge into this three-story volume of space supported by the new steel frames,” Kirk says. “Crossing over the entry bridge and bracing the steel frames is a large king post truss that draws your eye upward to a skylit roof supported by Pratt style steel trusses, a nod to those that once held up the Francis Gymnasium roof.”
Steel invites you to get detailed.
RAISING THE ROOF When it comes to steel roofing, the potential energy savings are significant. Steel roofing lends itself to thermal efficiency, leading to less energy costs over a building’s lifetime. This has proven true especially over the last 15 years, with the development of cool roofing. Steel is one of the few materials with the ability to be painted in coil form with advanced solar reflective pigments before being manufactured into a roofing product. The finished roof reflects the solar energy from the sun, reducing cooling costs in summer. Then there’s the use of solar panels. Thimons says steel roofing is well suited to solar panels because it’s stronger and lighter in weight than other roofing materials (so the additional weight of solar panels is not an issue), and because the lifespan of a steel roof can be 60 years or more, it correlates well with the lifespan of solar panels.
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wall system, a remarkable feat in and of itself on this modest project for a Quaker institution interested in sustainability. “To us it was really important that we not just resort to roller shades that would not survive in a gymnasium environment,” Kirk says. It was also an opportunity to ask, “How do you let in daylight but shield the glare that is detrimental to a teaching environment?” Kirk says steel lets you do all that and more, as it also tells a story—where is the sun, and what is your orientation within this environment? Why are these repetitive frames set to that specific angle?
Retrofit and redesign are easy with steel. How do you work with older masonry buildings that tend to be more opaque, highlighting their beauty
It’s always a pleasure to work with exposed structural steel elements and find ways to create lightness and delicacy with detailing you can only achieve with steel. “It’s pretty amazing in terms of shaping steel, shaping the membranes, shaping the connections,” Kirk says. You can even get really granular, asking questions about welds or bolting. This is where the architects can have all kinds of fun working with the client and the structural engineer on a journey to make a truly great building.
Steel can be both grand and graceful. “There’s just something tactile, something to the scale of working with steel that is appealing,” Kirk says. “There is always the desire to achieve that emotional resonance within architecture, and materials play a big role.” In the U.S., there’s a rich history of architects using steel. “In Chimay–june 2017
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CLOCKWISE The Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center at Washington University, Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Hampton residence, and Grand Entry Pavilion for Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park
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cago in the early 20th century you had architects using steel to free up building facades, and then steel starts to move from behind the curtain, quite literally, and becomes a defining element in buildings, including the actual facades,” Kirk says. “Spinning out of that is this idea that you can really do these exemplary things with steel and you can make spaces that are graceful and open.” Just look at the heroic canopies, overlooks, and cantilevers that exist in so many cities’ best skylines. “When done right, it looks light and airy and unforced,” Kirk says.
Steel is efficient. The overall efficiency of steel— both in design and environmental footprint—is another big win for architects. “For mid-rise buildings such as hotels, apartment complexes, and hospitals, cold-formed steel is often used. Many of these steel assemblies are fabricated offsite with little variation, translating to less onsite labor, assembly time, and overall cost in addition to a lot less waste,” Thimons says. “Steel’s high strength-to-weight
ratio means using less material to accomplish the project goals when compared to competing materials, and smaller profile structures allow for longer spans and wider bay areas, which are less intrusive on the usable space of a building.” Steel’s efficiency doesn’t end with the completion of a building. Thinking more long-term, steel framing offers adaptability and is much easier than other materials to update as occupancy needs evolve over the course of the building’s life. gb&d gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: PETER AARON, COURTESY OF BOHLIN CYWINSKI JACKSON, PETER AARON, NIC LEHOUX
UP FRONT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
FRONT GREEN BUILDING UP & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Trendsetters Features Spaces Punch List
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38 Brewing Change
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is leading the way with its newest sustainable ventures.
40 Driving a New Industry
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is offering up more than fuel-efficient engines.
42 Factory of the Future
Method is reviving communities and making the world a better place.
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A QUIET REVOLUTION FROM THE GROUND UP, U.S. INDUSTRY IS TRANSFORMING BY M I KENNA PIER OT T I
It’s impossible to dispute that at the heart of our planet’s runaway greenhouse gas problem is the very thing that gave us our modern way of life. According to the 2014 annual “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks,” published by the EPA, the industrial sector is responsible for at least 21% of all greenhouse gas emissions— as much as all commercial, residential, and agricultural sectors combined. Yet, in the same breath, industrial leaders have the unique power and position to both revolutionize our economy from the ground up and inspire societies and governments to act on a grand scale. From industrial giants like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to newer, growing, industrial players like Method—a business inherently focused on a cleaner world—the industries of tomorrow are ready to step up and make changes at every level of manufacturing. And as industries large and small take up the mantle, green design and building ideas are spreading by osmosis. As of May 2016, the USGBC listed more than 1,110 certified LEED industrial projects in the U.S., with another 1,460 registered projects in the certification pipeline—that adds up to 656,078,694 gross square feet of LEED certified or registered space spread across the country. In many states, industry is taking the lead in the fight against climate change, and to business owners, it just makes good business sense. Whether it be reimagining the structure and functioning of their factories, adopting the newest and most energy efficient technologies, or even inspiring a cultural shift toward sustainability among employees, industry is leading its own quiet revolution. Here, we celebrate the achievements of three LEED certified industrial facilities on the leading edge of the purposeful—and profitable—move to go green. PHOTO: GOTHAM GREENS, COURTESY OF WILLIAM MCDONOUGH + PARTNERS
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TYPOLOGY
Method's rooftop greenhouse is operated by Gotham Greens.
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TYPOLOGY
You might not think about the inherent overhead—both environmental and economic—of the S I E R R A N EVADA B R E WI NG CO. cold beer in your hand on a sunny afternoon, but every year U.S. breweries pour about $200 million into energy costs, according to the Alliance to Save Energy. The brewing process itself requires significant inputs, including compressed air, lighting, refrigeration, and, of course, plenty of fresh water. Many breweries around the country have, not surprisingly, begun to move away from expensive and polluting fuels and industrial practices and toward a more sustainable industrial footprint. Leading the pack are brewers like Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “At Sierra Nevada, we are always chasing perfection, pushing ourselves to constantly do things better,” says Cheri Chastain, sustainability manager at Sierra Nevada. Sierra is intensely focused, not only on the ingredients that go into their beer, but in their company’s image and impact.
BREWING CHANGE
THE DETAILS In 2014, Sierra was one of a few small craft breweries that celebrated the EPA’s proposed Waters of the U.S. rule, knowing it would help them find the clean, tasty water they need to make equally tasty beer. They put similar passion into their facilities, including incorporating the LEED green building program as a resource when expanding their Chico brewery in California. So when it came time to build a new facility in Mills River, North Carolina, Sierra knew they wanted to go all in and attain LEED certification at the highest level.
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“The Mills River brewery gave us the opportunity to start from the ground up and build the most efficient yet elegant facility we could,” Chastain says. With an expert architectural team from Russell Gallaway Associates (RGA) in the driver’s seat, Sierra was able to infuse a greener palette into every design and functionality choice. “Sustainability was integrated into every facet of the construction project, from materials selection to construction waste management,” Chastain says. That included a more than 500,000-gallon rainwater collection storage system, which is used for irrigation of landscaping and toilet flushing, conserving potable (and brewable) water. The facility’s energy
Sierra's Mills River brewery became the first LEED Platinum production brewery in the U.S. in 2016.
312,260 SQUARE FEET
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO.
Sierra's new facility has soaring ceilings, a chandelier made of beer bottles, and ample bike parking as well as charging stations for electronic vehicles.
system is as unique as its look, with nearly 2,200 solar PV panels on the warehouse roof and on nine tree-like canopies in the public parking areas, as well as an onsite wastewater treatment plant that includes an anaerobic digester that produces biogas to generate additional electricity using Capstone microturbine technology. Chastain says Sierra’s energy models estimate an energy efficiency cost savings of about 49.5%. The renewable energy technologies provide about 32% of the facility’s energy needs, while the energy they must purchase is offset by helping to fund local solar projects through NC Green Power. THE LOOK The look of the facility was similarly crucial to Sierra’s vision. It had to feel like the small, traditional craft brewery your mind might conjure up while you sip a pale ale, while being both a state-of-theart production facility and a great place to work. The extra costs of adding soaring glass windows, stone, and wood accents
reminiscent of traditional breweries as well as purely visual touches like ironwork railings and a chandelier made of glass beer bottles were well worth it, as were the costs of providing employees sustainability education and encouragement, as well as ample bike parking and electric vehicle charging stations with preferred parking. The attention to detail even extended to how the facility approached its place in the surrounding community. During the build, Sierra was able to achieve an incredible 81% diversion of construction waste from landfills while utilizing both recycled materials (11% of the total building material content by value) and regional materials (21% of materials and products were sourced within 500 miles). And those materials Sierra did choose for its facility were highly scrutinized for any chemical contaminants that might damage air quality, human health, productivity, environment—or beer taste. Other than some crazy weather patterns delaying construction, Sierra’s biggest hurdle was finding builders willing to see their vision through to completion—and to their admirably exacting standards. “Making sure all contractors were onboard with our LEED efforts was probably the biggest challenge. Having construction managers who reinforced our desire to achieve LEED certification went a long way to making sure we received as many credits as we did,” Chastain says. Luckily, their chosen team of contractors was able to help Sierra pull off a platinum win in the end, though the they did hit one snag that Chastain says knocked them off balance. “When we began construction on the greenfield site, we carefully removed the timber from the site, had it locally milled and kiln dried, and incorporated that timber back into the construction of the brewery as moldings, doors, art features, tables.” But what they didn’t know was that the material could not be counted toward LEED certification—a letdown, but one Sierra accepted as part of the learning curve. “We would have done this anyway, but it surprised us that we couldn’t count it for LEED credits.” The Mills River brewery made history in June 2016, when it became the first production brewery in the U.S. to achieve LEED Platinum certification. “I would like to think that we have demonstrated that even though there might be increased costs, we have built a building that will be more sustainable over the long-term and provide a comfortable space for the occupants, ultimately resulting in reduced long-term operating expenses,” Chastain says. “We have shown that if you put in the effort, anything is possible.” gb&d may–june 2017
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TYPOLOGY
The 18 acres that make up the ranch combine historic buildings like a livestock barn with a new environmental education center acres that make up the ranch.
F I AT C HRYSL ER AUTOMOBILES
DRIVING A NEW INDUSTRY A decade ago, truly green manufacturing was just beginning to gain steam— but Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA US) wasn’t waiting around for the times to catch up to its vision. In 2007, the company announced it would invest some $730 million into a new, more fuel-efficient engine—the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, an engine found in everything from Jeep Wranglers to Dodge Chargers. But they weren’t about to invest that much in a groundbreaking engine without investing equally in where and how the engine would be made. The where—a Trenton, Michigan former brownfield site—as well as the how—creating a facility that meets the rigorous LEED Gold certification process—provided an unprecedented opportunity for FCA to create a symbolic bridge between industries of the past and the new direction of manufacturing today. “At the time of Trenton’s certification, not many industrial facilities had achieved LEED,” says Eric Goedtel, FCA US Manufacturing Engineering Construction and LEED AP. “When first conceived, the objective was to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing environment that would be a benchmark for all other engine manufacturing facilities.” Admittedly, being pioneers in the movement was not without its difficulties, principal of which was learning just how to approach the build. “With the exception of one of the architects who had worked on a LEED commercial project, no one on the project team had ever completed a LEED industrial project,” Goedtel says. Although the team—architect/engineering firms BEI Associates, Inc. and Harley Ellis Devereaux and construction management firm Walbridge—had to start from scratch on things like creating a baseline and energy model
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Tr e n t o n South Engine Plant: 822,000 SQUARE FEET
Belvidere Assembly Plant Body Shop: 638,000 SQUARE FEET
to measure how much energy they might save, they were able to work through the kinks. “Unlike commercial projects, it is not easy to compare one industrial building or process directly to another due to the uniqueness of the products and processes,” Goedtel says. Starting with energy use, FCA worked to make their processes more efficient, added building ventilation systems that would provide a more comfortable work environment for employees, and reviewed building materials closely to find specific items high in recycled and locally sourced content. They also looked at their waste streams, determining how to eliminate materials from landfill through recycling programs and through separation of waste streams within the new facility. Goedtel says they were surprised by how many aspects of building design gbdmagazine.com
TYPOLOGY
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FCA US
FCA's commitment to LEED facilities continues, including progressive plants in Michigan and Illinois.
to receive the award. In 2014, FCA achieved a bronze award in world-class manufacturing. “The project showed how a team of people can work together to create a new facility that challenges convention and delivers an end result that is sustainable for the environment,” Goedtel says. FCA took the lessons learned from this success and applied them to three new facilities, too, including the Marysville Axle Plant in Michigan, the Belvidere Assembly Plant Body Shop in Illinois, and the Sterling Heights Assembly Body Shop in Michigan— all of which have received LEED Gold. The Belvidere plant, in particular, was an achievement. Earning LEED Gold in 2015 with the help of NSA Architects, Engineers, Planners and Alberici Constructors, this 638,000-squarefoot body shop was also built on a brownfield site, connected to the existing assembly plant. During construction, 95% of the waste was recycled and diverted from landfills and about 43% of the new materials were made with recycled
content. Builders even reused concrete and asphalt pavement from roadways and parking lots by crushing and pulverizing them onsite. More than 90% of the building’s wood materials were FSC certified as well. The facility’s environmental impacts are further mitigated with its highly reflective white roof and light pavement hardscapes, reducing the heat-island effect, and its exterior lighting designed to reduce power density and nighttime light pollution. Inside, water was a big focus, and the team was able to reduce potable water use by 22%, saving more than 61,000 gallons per year. Indoor air quality concerns led to choosing low-VOC products, and working environments were made even better with more exterior windows and daylight. With reductions responsible for savings of more than $3 million per year, the new body shop proves manufacturing can and will move toward a more sustainable future— and doing so will be good both for the planet and for the balance sheet. gb&d
needed to be factored into creating a sustainable working environment. “For example, building ventilation and occupancy comfort are a big part of the LEED requirements and are often overlooked as valuable to sustainable design. Creating a work environment for the occupants that is hospitable and productive is just as important as generating energy or water savings.” Thanks to smart design and increasing the efficiency of their processes, the team was able to reduce the Trenton South Engine Plant’s annual CO2 emissions by 12,000 metric tons. They were also able to reduce energy use by about 39% annually, saving FCA $1.25 million every year. The facility achieved LEED Gold in 2010, becoming one of only four auto manufacturing facilities to receive a LEED rating, and the only engine manufacturing facility in the world gb&d
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SIZE:
157,660 SQUARE FEET OF FLOOR AREA; 75,000 SQUARE FEET OF GREENHOUSES
Method shows how sustainability can be exciting in Chicago.
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METHOD
FACTORY OF THE FUTURE When Method broke ground on its new soap factory in Chicago in 2014, it wasn’t just looking for a place to fill bottles. It was looking to make a statement. After all, a company that not only produces cleaning products, but also promotes itself as producer of cleaner, safer, and more sustainable cleaning products has a high bar to hit. “It was important to Adam Lowry, the founder involved in the design process, to express the company’s environmental commitment physically in the building and site,” says Roger Schickedantz, of William McDonough + Partners, project manager for the build. The site itself, in the Pullman Factory District, was the beating heart of manufacturing in 1880s Chicago, and it played a part in social change movements, from labor rights to civil rights. The Method factory, too, has furthered that history of change with its goal of being the first LEED Platinum manufacturing facility for consumer packaged goods. Garry Embleton, vice president of operations and supply chain at Method, says for these reasons, it was crucial that the facility be welcoming to the community. “Our mission is to leave the world a better place than we found it, using business as a force for good,” he says. Together with a team of experts—from contractor Summit Design + Build to healthy materials consultant MBDC (using their Cradle to Cradle design format)—William McDonough + Partners brought Method’s vision to life. They called it the South Side Soapbox. “The vision for the Soapbox was to harness the control and capability of self-manufacturing by building the most flexible, eco-friendly, and socially beneficial factory in the world,” Embleton says. To fulfill that promise, William McDonough + Partners chose this location, on a former brownfield in an economically gb&d
PHOTO: COURTESY OF WILLIAM MCDONOUGH + PARTNERS
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struggling area of Chicago, to provide good, healthy jobs and be an inspiring example for the industry. And stay within a tight budget, of course. “Method insisted on a very tight budget and stuck to it. Yet at the same time they were very committed to the environmental goals. The building itself is extremely practical. A lot of visual interest was achieved with a minimal material palette by using color inside and out,” Schickedantz says. To emphasize the company and the building’s transparency and connection to the community, the designers also included a wall of glass in the front, south facing, side of the facility. “People can easily look in and watch the operations,” Schickedantz says. “Method purposefully did not build a fence to keep people out, which would have been a conventional response in this South Chicago neighborhood. Likewise the awnings are colorful, using the colors in Method packaging, to be attractive to the community.” With its proximity to Lake Michigan, and Method’s emphasis on protecting clean water, the site itself is designed as a water filtration system of sorts, retaining and releasing rainfall slowly and cleanly through swales, rain gardens, and a retention pond to avoid burdening the city’s storm water system or affecting the local watershed. Native plants were also incorporated into landscaping to avoid the need for wasteful irrigation. And water-conserving fixtures inside contribute to a 30% reduction in bathroom and kitchen water use. For employees, plentiful daylight finds its way into the building through a grid of skylights, while exterior banner shades and deciduous trees reduce heat gain in summer.
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All building materials, from paints to sealers to recycled content, were also evaluated for their impact on human health, ecology, and indoor air quality before use. But perhaps the most stunning aspects of this new build are not part of the factory at all. The 226-foot, 600 kW wind turbine onsite, refurbished from former use in Germany, three solar PV tracking canopies in the parking lot, and solar hot water heating panels provide about one-third of the site’s total energy use, while the remainder is purchased from off-site renewable sources. And to top it all off? There’s a greenhouse on the roof. Although greenhouses had appeared in William McDonough + Partners’ early concept designs, no one was sure if they could be incorporated into the final structure. That is, until Gotham Greens came into the picture. This pioneer in the field of urban agriculture and hyper-local greenhousegrown produce became a key part of the
new facility, leasing the rooftop space and designing, constructing, owning, and operating the hydroponic greenhouses there—which produce vegetables and herbs for the local community. The addition has paid off. “The rooftop greenhouses, operated by Gotham Greens, are indicative of the commitment by Method and Gotham to provide a tangible benefit in a part of the city that was considered to be a food desert,” Schickedantz says. In fact, nearly every aspect of the Soapbox has had a tangible impact on both the community and the manufacturing industry. In 2015, the project received LEED Platinum certification and has become a guiding light for many manufacturers looking to green their footprint. Embleton calls it “‘The Factory of the Future,’ a positive manifestation of urban revival, economic development, environmental and wellness education, and community building.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. gb&d gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF WILLIAM MCDONOUGH + PARTNERS
Plentiful daylight fills the workspace at Method, and all building materials were evaluated based on their human impact.
GREEN BUILDINGTYPOLOGY & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Trendsetters Features Spaces Punch List
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46 All Weather Insulated Panels You can have state-of-the-art insulated
metal panels to fit any style you want.
50 Accurate Perforating Keep costs low and satisfaction high
with recyclable perforated panels.
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Vineyards in California uses AWIP’s customized wall panels and HR3 roof panels for a distressed wood appeal.
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE All Weather Insulated Panels offers state-of-the-art insulated metal panels that are energy efficient and attractive. By Mike Thomas
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MORE USES AND MORE STYLES
For many years, IMPs such as those AWIP makes—closed-cell foam composite encased by two pieces of galvanized steel—were chiefly used to construct facilities that stored perishable foods at temperatures well below freezing. And gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: RYLAND HORMEL
Venge
Metal: It’s cold and it’s hard. But it’s versatile, too, and used to make energy-efficient, environmentally friendly insulated metal panels (IMPs) that are becoming more and more popular with commercial builders in North America—and not only for industrial warehouses or cold storage. European builders in new commercial construction projects incorporate IMPs about 50% of the time. While the U.S. lagged for years, new commercial projects are now using IMPs nearly 10% of the time, and experts say that number appears to be climbing. Over the last decade, All Weather Insulated Panels (AWIP) has emerged as a top manufacturer of IMPs, with an annual two-plant production capacity of around 30 million square feet to meet the needs of its burgeoning customer base. Those customers, including retail centers and more than 100 wineries, increasingly want a product that’s aesthetically pleasing—a product that offers better insulation and comes with a modish and inviting facade. AWIP is giving them precisely that. “We’ve continued to develop new wall and roof products over the years, including wall surfaces like AdobeTexture [which has a knockdown stucco appearance] and our wood grain line,” says AWIP president and founder William Lowery. “We go out of our way to make a metal building look like something other than metal.”
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The wall panels are AWIP’s 5-inch DM40 panels with 22-gauge steel exterior, to which “board and batten” wood siding was applied using screws into the 22-gauge steel. They have an R value of 41.
AWIP By the Numbers R-50 The foaminsulated panels can reach above R-50 4–6 The panels can sway several inches during seismic activity 30% Steel facings have a total recycled content of up to 30%
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they still widely serve that purpose. But in light of today’s rigorous energy and environmental standards for commercial buildings (including the California Public Utilities Commission’s Zero Net Energy goal for 2020), IMPs are uniquely suitable for a variety of other applications. In fact, AWIP believes its product rests in the “unique middle,” which is to say it provides savings in long-term energy savings, offers lower construction costs, and comes with high visual appeal that provides more architectural flexibility than ever before. “We keep putting more and more products out there, and a lot of times it’s in response to what the customers are asking for,” says AWIP National Marketing Director Christopher Marchetti. “As an example, there has been high demand for a
‘ribbed’ or corrugated look, which is the next product we’ll be putting out. We can do the ‘modern, sleek’ look, but there’s a growing demand for non-metal appearance. It’s also easy to add to our panels to provide the desired appearance to meet the design requirements. We love to work with projects that make us find new solutions and textures for our customers.” “We’ve worked with AWIP on many projects over the past decade,” says Vince Free, project manager for SubZero Constructors, one of the largest IMP contractors in North America. “Not only are they committed to superior customer service, we’re also seeing more high-quality products from them. That gives us and our clients greater design versatility, which really helps.” gbdmagazine.com
INNER WORKINGS
PHOTOS: RYLAND HORMEL
EXCITING PROJECTS
Among AWIP’s recent and ongoing projects—including 10 more wineries, Whole Foods grocery stores, and even a dental office—perhaps the most intriguing is its early-stage work with aerospace research and development firm Blue Origin. If someday you find yourself watching a blastoff of one of its commercial spaceships, you’ll know the vehicle was assembled in a building protected by AWIP-made cladding and fire panels. Of course, extraordinary products require extraordinary people, and Lowery is rightly proud of the highly trained team that meticulously oversees AWIP’s panel-crafting processes. “Suffice it to say that continuous line IMP production requires some unique skills that are not necessarily common to other industries,” he says. “Our trained operators are tasked with maintaining exceptional best practices in quality control. We really stress limiting scrap levels so we can maximize our resources. That means our foam composite formulas have to be spot-on, and that requires a deep understanding of the chemistry in our manufacturing process. It’s not that difficult to make a lot of panels, but it is a challenge to maintain the high quality our customers expect in every panel.” With AWIP and its ever-expanding line of panels leading the way, Lowery envisions a future in which IMPs are the construction standard for every commercial project in North America. Because when it comes to securing a building’s thermal envelope, he says, referring to an all-in-one air, water and vaper barrier. “Nothing is better.” And, thanks to AWIP’s stylish innovations, better looking. gb&d gb&d
“We can do the modern, sleek look, but there's a growing demand for non-metal appearance.” Christopher Marchetti, AWIP National Marketing Director
A look under the HR3 roof panels and the facade of the insulated wall panels
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Perfectly Perforated Highly recyclable perforated panels keep costs low and satisfaction high by Emily Torem Good conservation starts with good design, and with this recent addition to their green design cannon, The Ventura County Medical Center of Ventura, California, the team at Accurate Perforating continues to follow this ethos to a tee. Accurate Perforating, a Chicago-based company, has forged the route for dynamic perforated metal designs for the past 70 years in projects all over North America, such as in New York’s JFK Airport and at the New World Symphony. The 364 perforated metal panels that frame the custom designed medical center are composed of aluminum, a highly recyclable metal, that contains
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up to 85% recycled content—and is 100% recyclable, to boot. But it’s not just that Accurate Perforating’s metal sheets contain high amounts of recycled metals, or that they can easily scrap unwanted projects to become the foundations for new ones— it’s how the perforation The undulating design on the perforated functions to help guide panels scatter glare, sound, light, heat, and airflow provide pleasant to boost building efficiency ambient light, on a variety of levels. and cut the heat The east-facing medical tremendously, without center is in the target zone darkening the interior.
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ACCURATE PERFORATING
for massive amounts of glare and accumulated heat, especially in the early morning hours. “It would have made the whole area inhospitable,” says Damon Henrikson, director of marketing at Accurate Perforating. But the undulating design on the perforated panels both scatter glare, making it a pleasant speckle of ambient light, and cut the heat tremendously, without darkening the interior the way an opaque or solid shade might. At night, the light will peek through the wave pattern of perforations creating a beautiful “firefly” effect of the night sky being punctuated with pinpricks of warm light. “We chose this 2-D pattern that really looks 3-D,” says Senior Project Architect Paul Morgan. “The panels are versatile because the pattern was designed to be self-contained within each panel, so the panels did not need to be installed in any particular order and the pattern flows seamlessly through all of them without anomalies or awkward terminations. They even turn 90 degrees without breaking the pattern,” Morgan says. Beyond elevating the experience of guests and patients, providing a buffer to direct sunlight while still maintaining excellent levels of natural daylight, it will help the Ventura County Medical Center cut energy costs in the form of cooling and providing artificial lights. With its ability to let in natural light yet provide a visual barrier, perforated metal sheets play versatile roles. Consider the Park Place parking garage in Missoula, Montana, a project using perforated metal in an earthy array of colors, ranging from deep orangeyred to rich mahogany brown; it won an Architectural Achievement Award for being so visually captivating. “You can’t see the cars from the outside,” Henrikson says. “Parking garages use them for screening so they’re not a blight on the neighborhood.” Beautifying a parking garage is a great application, but better yet, these sheets may provide comfort for patients facing medical challenges. “The panels were designed to
Accurate Perforating By the Numbers 6,552 Weight of the perforated panels 1,185,184 Number of holes in all of the perforated panels 70+ Years manufacturing perforated metals 364 Panels at the Ventura County Medical Center 3 Coats of PVDF anti-corroding finish on each panel
“Perforated metal can be adjusted to help you achieve whatever goals you have.” Damon Henrikson, director of marketing
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provide privacy to patient rooms,” Morgan says. “To prevent the public from seeing into the room from outside while allowing for enough natural light to enter the patient room.” Privacy extends from visual to sonic, as the panels assist a process called sound attenuation, which is the combined effect of sound scattering and absorption. “The configuration helps tune the room to give you the right amount of sound. It’s not an echo chamber, but it’s not a completely dead space.” This, like almost all elements of the perforated panels, is highly customizable. “Perforated metal can be adjusted to help you achieve whatever goals you have,” Henrikson says. You can adjust the size and shape of the holes, the patterns that appear on them, their configuration, and the spacing to fine-tune light, sound, and ventilation, he says. The panels’ materials can also vary depending on tastes and aesthetics, and include projects in bronze, weathered steel, and copper. The holes themselves can make up abstract patterns, like on the medical center, or display a brand logo or composite picture when viewed from afar. Accurate Perforating prizes durability in the future as well as the guest experience in the present, which is why it chose low-VOC, high-durability finishes for all its projects. The panels on the Ventura County Medical Center are triple coated in
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PROJECT TEAM GENERAL MANAGER Kathy Hoosier, Sashco, Inc. PROJECT MANAGER Martin Svoboda, Clark Construction Group PROJECT MANAGER Paul Morgan, HOK HEALTHCARE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN LEADER Mara Baum, HOK SDC Scott Ciley, Architectural Solutions PROJECT MANAGER Chris Berthold, Accurate Perforating
Polyvinylidene Fluoride, a non-reactive polymer that is warranted to last two decades. Aluminum coated in PVDF is extremely resistant to corrosion, even in the face of salty coastal air, lowering maintenance and repair costs to practically nil, as the panels protect the structural materials behind them. Lowering HVAC costs, cutting down on the need for artificial lighting during the day, and providing highly recyclable materials with supported longevity all help the medical enter become an excellent candidate for LEED and SMART certification. It’s an even stronger candidate when you consider Accurate Perforating reuses its own stores of scrap metal, surpassing LEED’s “20% or more materials from recycled content” with flying colors, elects to use low-VOC finishes, and reduces the overall energy requirements of the building in a multitude of ways. Accurate Perforating’s portfolio, including the medical center, snap up LEED points with ease. The California medical center is expected to receive a LEED for Healthcare Silver level certification when the project is complete. The hospital design includes green roofs, a healing and viewing garden, skylights, exterior canopies and screens, and a pediatrics play area. “The panels are one of my favorite things about this project because they came out so well,” Morgan says. “I enjoy looking at them every time I walk in the building.” gb&d gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ACCURATE PERFORATING
INNER WORKINGS
GREEN BUILDING INNER WORKINGS & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Trendsetters Features Spaces Punch List
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54 The Future of Flooring nora systems has been providing the best in rubber products since the 1930s.
58 A Quest to Protect Against Climate Change Flood Panel is on a mission to prepare and educate in times of rising sea levels and changing needs.
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TH E FU T U R E OF FLO OR I NG nora goes from a small family business in the 1930s to a sustainable powerhouse By Laura Rote
Tim Cole is no stranger to sustainability. He’s worked in the field for years, holding positions like head of global sustainability and sitting on numerous sustainability committees. Now, as the vice president of marketing for nora systems, he’s part of a team that’s expanding on an already progressive approach, with a goal to make the best flooring products for customers and the environment alike. nora itself can be traced back to the 1930s in Weinheim, Germany, under the original name of Freudenberg, a company that made sleeve gaskets and rubber shoe soles. The name nora began being used in 1949 for the company’s newly established business unit of rubber floor coverings. The name evolved from the Latin form of the chemist Walter Nürnberger’s name, who was responsible for the rubber shoe soles of that time. nora’s commitment to sustainability began on day one. The products are made from high-quality industrial rubber and natural rubber, which is a rapidly renewable material. The rubber is supplemented by raw mineral materials extracted from natural deposits and environmentally compatible color pigments. More than 60% of the raw materials are sourced locally. But it’s not just the materials that make nora sustainable. It’s everything else, too.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE Cole says nora is looking at both its commitment to the environment as well as providing a high-performing
product to customers, the largest of which are hospitals. A product’s life cycle and durability plays an important role in the sustainability story as well, he says, adding that some manufacturers get caught up in looking at environmental footprint but deliver products that fail to accomplish their set task. “We want to make sure we show our commitment to sustainability, but at the same time give a high-performing product to the customer.” First and foremost, customers want flooring that is easy to install and easy to clean, Cole says. A sustainable product is the icing on the cake. “After they find out it’s easy to install, easy to clean, it has acoustical benefits, ergonomic benefits, it’s slip resistant, and all these main attributes, then customers ask, ‘What is your sustainability story?’” That’s when he’s able to get into all of the other benefits—nora’s low emissions, indoor air quality, and the fact that it eliminates the need for harsh chemicals, requiring only water for cleaning, for instance. nora’s floor coverings are also GREENGUARD Gold Certified for low-VOC emissions, a high-level certification that offers stringent criteria to meet the strict emissions levels required by UL Environment. SMARTER PRODUCTS nora isn’t simply selling flooring, though they do that very well— you’ll find their flooring in such high-profile places as the New York City Subway and London City Hall. But what the company is really focused on is establishing long-lasting relationships with customers, asking, “What will benefit the end user?” For nora, the journey of improvement is continuous, and the company is not afraid to push the envelope. “That’s our main goal—to be the most customerdriven product manufacturer in the flooring industry,” Cole says. Just look at the pro steamer system nora developed. It gives health facilities a non-disruptive way
BRIGHT BENEFITS
The benefits of nora flooring are many—improved safety, indoor air quality, easy to clean, high sound absorption, among other things. In a health care setting, sound and comfort are especially important, as staff are on their feet all day and no one wants to hear noisy carts rolling back and forth. Of course, the fact that nora’s floors are stain-resistant is vital, too. They require no harsh chemicals to clean them—just water or steam, and you’re done. A dense, nonporous surface eliminates the need for waxing or sealing. Since they don’t contain PVC, nora’s floors are also guaranteed to not generate any hydrochloric acid, dioxins, or furans in the event of fire. nora flooring is also free of plasticizers (i.e. phthalates) and halogens (e.g. chlorine) and Greenguard Gold certified for low-emissions. And the durable floor coverings have extended life cycles, typically 30 years, so they reduce the need for frequent removal and disposal.
DID YOU KNOW? 80% of costs generally associated with floor coverings come from maintenance. As nora rubber
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF NORA
TRENDSETTERS
to clean that relies on steam to deepclean nora flooring in patient spaces. It uses distilled water—no chemicals— and has no VOCs or weird smells. It also has a special microfiber pad that does not become saturated as it absorbs dirt, so drying time is short and you’re less likely to slip or fall. Then there’s nora nTx, a huge timesaver in settings like hospitals, as the pre-applied, solvent-free adhesive backing minimizes prep work and eliminates drying protocols. At Reading Hospital in Pennsylvania, a project that seemed to be behind before it even got started, time was of the essence for a 476,000-square-
foot expansion. “Using the nora product with nTx, you can turn a patient room around in a single day instead of three days,” Cole says. Project staff said nora saved them two months in construction. “It eliminated the need to put a moisture mitigation system down on the concrete slabs prior to application of the flooring product,” says Jeff Hutwelker, project executive for LF Driscoll. The product is resistant to high moisture vapor emissions and extensive pH limits, eliminating the need for moisture testing and remediation before installation. Cole says nora nTx also eliminates other common problems in resilient flooring with wet adhesive, like applying too much or not enough or getting bubbles. “nora with nTx totally eliminates that issue,” he says. And it’s not shiny like many floors, which can be disorienting to patients. The peel-and-stick process is quick and easy, and the solvent-
THIS SPREAD From making better shoes possible in the 1930s to providing groundbreaking floor solutions in settings like hospitals, nora systems continues to raise the bar.
floors do not require any waxing, stripping, or finishing, those costs and the impact on the environment are low.
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ABOUT NORA • Leading manufacturer of commercial rubber flooring • 60-plus years in rubber floor coverings • Popular in hospitals, schools, public buildings, transit, and more • More than a dozen offices worldwide and represented in around 80 countries through export partners • Eco-label Blue Angel for noraplan standard floor coverings • GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), USA
GREAT EXPECTATIONS Most recently, nora has been looking at how it can use new green chemistry to develop even more new and exciting products. “We’re trying to develop products using different green chemistry to address those customers who still have a demand for an alternative.” “Now we’re seeing the push toward transparency. People want to talk about what raw materials go into a product. ‘What are the impacts of the ingredients?’” Cole says. “It’s up to the product manufacturers like nora that have had long-term commitment to sustainability to evaluate where we are and what we’re doing and say, ‘Now how do we raise the bar? What is our next commitment going to be?’” nora is no stranger to sharing the details about its products, which have EPDs, or environmental product declarations, revealing the life-cycle environmental impact of products. The company has an EPD for both its noraplan sheet and tile products and the norament tile products, which cover the entire range of their core product offering. Cole also recently joined the Health Product Declaration (HPD) Collaborative board of directors—an organization committed to improving the building industry’s performance through transparency, openness, and innovation. The organization is committed to accurate reporting of material contents and potential health hazards. nora’s also involved in the International Living Future Institute (working with ILFI to evaluate nora’s products in the Declare certification program), is looking at Cradle to Cradle, and was previously involved in the Pharos Project. “We figure if we’re going to do this transparency thing, we might as well be involved with as many of these projects as we can to meet the demands,” Cole says. ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY nora employees are committed to reducing their carbon footprint in general, too. The company’s recycling program encompasses paper, bottles, computers, and office equipment as well as the use
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of recycled shipping materials and office furniture. Lighting motion sensors, low mercury compact fluorescent lights, and programmable thermostats save energy. And even the coffee and tea employees drink is fair trade. Worldwide, nora contributes to various charities by volunteering time. “If you go and spend a day volunteering, which we encourage, we don’t dock your pay. This is part of what we want you to do,” Cole says. At the main office in New Hampshire, employees contribute to a charity called The Upper Room, which helps families in need get back on their feet. The company doesn’t just contribute financially, but employees are also encouraged to give in other ways, like with a recent shoe drive. “We want our employees to live and have the same sustainability commitment the company does,” Cole says. “Everyone thinks about the planet part but not the people part. It’s just as important internally in an organization as it is externally.” gb&d
“NOW HOW DO WE RAISE THE BAR? WHAT IS OUR NEXT COMMITMENT GOING TO BE?” TIM COLE NORA SYSTEMS
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF NORAS
free environmentally compatible adhesive is designed to stay down for decades. And the polyethylene film can go right in the recycling bin. Plus, when you’re done, you’re done. There’s no drying or curing time like with other products. You can move that hospital bed right back in and get back to work.
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A Q U E S T TO PR OTEC T AG AI NS T CLIMATE CHANG E Faced with climate change and rising sea levels, Flood Panel steps in to offer education and protection By Kiley Jacques
Imagine facing the prospect of a flood. Now imagine facing that prospect every few days. Soon, it won’t take much twisting of the imagination. New research by Climate Central indicates that by 2045, coastal flooding from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northeast could occur three times a week. If coastal communities fail to adapt to climate change, heavy future impacts from rising seas are certain. It’s time we brace ourselves. Literally. “Climate change is on a lot of designers’ radars,” says Lisa Switkin, landscape architect and co-principal of James Corner Field Operations, adding that some municipalities are already changing the way they respond to natural disasters. She sees a shift in urban planning toward designing for longevity, while building professionals are evaluating projects in terms of how they will be able to withstand heavy rain or floods. “Already there are requirements in terms of lifting ground levels to get things out of that flood elevation level of the 100-year flood. That’s the requirement, but I think a lot of people are taking it a step further and thinking about ways they can begin to showcase both sustainability and smart design.” Whether preparing for a superstorm or taking precautions against so-called nuisance flooding, resiliency is critical. That’s where Tom Osborne comes in. His company, Flood Panel, designs
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and manufactures commercial-grade flood-proof panels and doors that should be part of every building professional’s flood protection arsenal. PREPARING FOR THE STORM Osborne and the Flood Panel management team have nearly 30 years of collective experience in building construction and flood mitigation. Today, Florida-based Flood Panel, established in 2008, provides the most comprehensive line of flood barriers, flood doors, and flood systems on the market. Creators of the first dry floodproofing training courses, Flood Panel has assembled a nationwide network of qualified flood experts that includes architects, engineers, and contractors trained in the most up-to-date systems, codes, and requirements. Company products include modular barrier systems, solid removable panel and post systems, single- or double-door shields, hinged floodgates, Puddle Panels, and customized systems. While what you need to be prepared for flooding is changing, strength and weight remain key design considerations for products like flood shields. Flood Panel barrier systems are made of extruded aluminum alloy filled with polyurethane elastomer—materials that allow them to resist the pressures of a deluge while remaining physically light enough to store and move in accordance with OSHA safety standards. gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
TRENDSETTERS
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“THE WATER IS GOING TO RISE SIGNIFICANTLY IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.”
FLOOD PANEL BY THE NUMBERS
TOM OSBORNE, FLOOD PANEL
Federal agencies may have underestimated 100-year flood levels by as much as five feet, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis. The projected highwater mark for a 100-year flood event on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, for example, is 51.5 FEET—21 feet above flood stage. Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Maryland, could see more than 120 HIGH-TIDE floods every year by 2045—that’s one flood every three days.
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In response to rising seas and fluctuating flood maps, Osborne says some municipalities have modified their local code requirements to include higher freeboard, or the height above the recorded high-water mark of a structure. “Miami Beach is already doing this, as are a lot of coastal areas around the country,” he says. “They’re looking at the studies and saying, ‘We believe the water is going to rise significantly in a short period of time, so we’re going to change the codes proactively instead of reactively.’” Osborne urges anyone who plans to build in flood-prone communities to contact their local building department officials for guidance. Understanding building codes and floodplain management requirements are the first line of defense. Then it’s time to get familiar with flood insurance rate maps, flood boundary maps, flood insurance studies, FEMA technical bulletins, and state and local land use regulations. To further help people navigate the pre-flood depths, Osborne offers some lessons of his own. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER Osborne developed three one-hour AIA-certified seminars to help building professionals better understand flood mediation, from commercial building requirements to flood maps to installing flood safety systems. “The reason we developed the seminars is that we would get calls every day from engineering departments, architectural firms, and developers asking the same questions,” he says. “It’s not just the openings that you need
to protect—you have to make sure the entire Flood Panel offers the building can float.” most comprehensive line Seminar participants of flood barriers, flood take home signed flood doors, and flood systems on the market. certificates, which are required to participate i n t h e Na t i o n a l Insurance Flood Program for dry floodproofing. “At least 90% of the people we talk to over the phone don’t even know what that certificate is,” Osborne says. “Those certificates are signed by an architect or an engineer, indicating an expert has looked at the project drawings, evaluated the structure, and [confirmed] the design and structure are in accordance with accepted standards.” Graduates of the seminar series may join a national network of partners that includes engineers, architects, and floodplain consultants. “If they’ve taken our seminars and keep up with the continuing education we provide, we consider them flood mitigation experts,” Osborne says. “We’ve become a resource. That’s what really drives the company.” Osborne says education is key to resiliency. Beyond buying and installing barriers, building professionals must invest time and energy to understand what it takes to be protected in the age of climate change. Flood Panel’s commitment is evident. “I want to get structural engineers, architects, contractors, construction professionals, and commercial building owners involved in our network so we have knowledgeable industry leaders to call for flood mediation and protection.” gb&d gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: COURTESY OF FLOOD PANEL
Between 2010 and 2014, the average commercial flood claim was $89,000; nearly 25% of businesses were permanently closed following a flood.
GREEN BUILDING TRENDSETTERS & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Features Spaces Punch List
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62 People in Focus People-centric design is at the heart of everything flooring manufacturer Tarkett does.
72 Life’s Good with LG LG Electronics’ new system of VRF controls makes heating and cooling complex buildings a breeze.
80 8 Ways One Company is Managing Water Smarter ACO uses smart design in its advanced drainage systems.
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E L P O E P US C O F IN POE T E R A G R BY MA
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A FLOORING MANUFACTURER PUTS CUSTOMERS AT THE CENTER OF ITS SUSTAINABLE APPROACH gb&d
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hen you’re climbing up a mountain trail, you pay close attention to the uneven path beneath your feet. Your attention is likewise focused when traversing a pothole-buckled city street. But this attention doesn’t stop when you walk into an office, hospital, or school. Whether you’re inside or out, the surface below your feet shapes your experience. That’s a realization increasingly common among architects and designers today, says Jonathan Klinger, chief marketing officer for Tarkett North America, a manufacturer of flooring and sports surface solutions. “The floor isn’t just the floor,” he says. “The floor plays a role in influencing how people fundamentally feel in the space.” Creating people-focused spaces is fundamental for Tarkett, which has been developing flooring solutions for health care, retail, education, housing, hospitality, sports, and offices for more than 130 years. It’s a focus that aligns with Tarkett’s decades-long commitment to using sustainable practices to create safe and healthy environments.
USER-FRIENDLY MATERIALS
PHOTO: COURTESY OF TARKETT
The company’s commitment to sustainability holds strong. Tarkett launched its first recycling program in 1957—well before it became an industry buzzword. “Recycling is a huge part of our DNA,” says Diane Martel, vice president of environmental planning and strategy at Tarkett North America. Tarkett is working toward ambitious goals for 2020, too. By that year, the company aims to send zero industrial waste to the landfill. In doing so, Tarkett aims to double the volume of postconsumer products it gathers through “take-back” programs. After taking back used flooring products once customers are done with them, the company will recycle them into new products—creating an endless production cycle without extracting new materials. You can’t have people-friendly spaces without materials that respect both people and the environment, Martel says. It all starts with good materials: You can’t respect the environment without practicing good resource stewardship in the materials you use. And you can’t handle the resources in a sustainable gb&d
“The most successful developments are those that begin with a customer issue or need that does not currently exist in the marketplace. Innovative development and customer satisfaction is the highest level of accomplishment for our entrepreneurial driven research and development team.” PAUL EVANS VICE PRESIDENT OF R & D, TARKETT NORTH AMERICA
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way if you’re not reusing those materials at the end of use. In order to ensure the highest quality materials are used, collaboration between all the teams who work on a project is essential, says Paul Evans, vice president of R & D, Tarkett North America. “R & D and sustainability team up from the beginning of projects so safe materials are chosen and the new product has an end-of-use solution when it is created,” he says.
ENHANCING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
A collaborative, people-centered approach was essential to the execution of one Tarkett installation in Oregon. While surveying stakeholders is a standard part of most projects, it’s not every day those stakeholders are 6-year-olds brimming with ideas for, say, a slide in the school library. Yet that’s exactly what happened at Trillium Creek Primary School in West Linn, Oregon. The project incorporated input from teachers, administrators, staff, community members, and, yes, the kids themselves. All told, some 300 people were weighed in during the planning process, Klinger says. The process led them to Powerbond, a resilient solution that is 100% recyclable and promotes healthy indoor air quality. The hybrid sheet flooring allows for colorful inlays that add a whimsical element to the school design. For school officials, there were bottom-line benefits. The flooring both resists soil entrapment and masks wear, reducing maintenance costs. And for cost-conscious administrators, a long-lasting product
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FUTURE IN FOCUS
Tarkett flooring resists soil entrapment and masks wear, while also allowing for colorful inlays.
For Tarkett, three megatrends will shape the globe—and its business— in the decades to come. First, increasing economic opportunities are pushing people to cities. Just over half the world’s population lived in cities in 2014, but by 2050, that share will jump to two-thirds. As a result, megacities—those with populations over more than 10 million—are popping up all over the world. The United Nations expects 41 megacities by 2030. And the population isn’t just growing—it’s aging, too. Virtually every country on earth is experiencing growth in both the number and proportion of older adults among their population, the UN reports. Over just 15 years, from 2015 to 2030, the number of people ages 60 and older is projected to grow by 56%—to 1.4 billion. That will reach 2.1 billion by 2050. This growth is accelerating the pressure on resources. Over the last century, water usage has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase, the UN says. And by 2025, nearly 2 billion may be living with absolute water scarcity. Further, much is being lost: Of the $3.2 trillion in global materials value consumed each year, only 20% is recovered, according to the World Economic Forum. Just 20 to 30% of construction and demolition waste is recycled or reused. The interplay of these enormous challenges will shape the future. The people, organizations, and companies that understand this have the capacity to make a major difference in our world. gb&d
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF TARKETT
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“If they know they can install a product that’s going to last 50 years, then that provides them an economic peace of mind they would not find in an alternative product.” JONATHAN KLINGER CMO, TARKETT NORTH AMERICA
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LEADING THE WAY It’s hard to be a pioneer, Martel says, but as Tarkett has found, it pays off. Throughout its history, the company has been a leader. For example, Tarkett began phasing out ortho-phthalates in 2011 as a precaution, given the potential for negative impacts on human health. Thanks to its rigorous R&D, the company discovered an alternative material that offered the same performance and durability. For years, Tarkett was a lonely voice, but by 2015 the major industry players were scrambling to replace ortho-phthalates. Tarkett, alone, had the head start. As it looks toward the future, Tarkett has focused on three mega trends: urbanization, aging populations, and resource scarcity. As increasing numbers of people live in cities, the built environment becomes where they spend most of their time. Making sure that environment is safe and healthy is essential, especially as the aging population faces greater health risks from indoor air pollution. And creating safe, healthy spaces means keeping the people in those spaces at the forefront of all decisions.
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Tarkett’s approach to the built environment is always people-centric, whether it’s an office, hospital, or any other space.
is simply good business. “If they know they The Cradle to Cradle can install a product that’s going to last 50 standard assesses years, then that provides them an economic the broader impact peace of mind they would not find in an of a product upon alternative product,” Klinger says. both people and the The highly collaborative process was environment. After acknowledged, as the project earned weighing five factors— share of the James D. MacConnell Award for its material content, Americans’ comprehensive planning process. The material reutilization, time spent award, named for an internationally share of renewable indoors, renowned educator, honors educational energy, water according to facilities built through a process of stewardship during the EPA collaboration and communication with production, and the broader community. The success socially responsible of this project represents the power of principles—the incorporating so many views. Or as Trillium product receives a Creek Principal Charlotte Morris says, certification, from share of basic to platinum. “What happens when a community comes American Tarkett together to think hard and dream together adults worked with the to make the world better for our kids?” potentially This type of collaboration is essential in Environmental affected by a world where ubiquitous interactions are Protection and allergies, the new currency, says Chris Stulpin, senior Encouragement according to vice president of design at Tarkett. “We Agency to create AAFA are truly taking the principles of design a document to thinking and focusing on how we can create a material enhance the human experience with the health statement things we make,” he says. This empathetic document to disclose share of and experiential approach gives the the results of its American company powerful tools to solve problems. C2C assessments. children Tarkett’s approach to the built This provides full potentially environment, whether in a hospital, office, visibility around affected by or school, is consistently people-centric, the composition allergies Stulpin says. By taking the principles of of its products and design thinking, product teams focus the environmental on how they can truly enhance people’s impact of materials lives, he says. “We’re no longer developing throughout the materials because they need a color update, or we think manufacturing process. It’s it’s a neat aesthetic,” he says. “It’s really about, ‘How will just one way in which the these products enhance the human experience?’” company embraces “radical transparency,” Klinger says. To Evans, transparency RADICAL TRANSPARENCY around materials is For Tarkett, the focus is constantly on the way products essential. “We are providing and people interact with the environment. The company is the safest products and committed to sharing the details about those interactions systems in the industry with the public. Third-party certification is a huge part of for our customers and our that. So far, third-party experts have certified more than employees,” he says. gb&d 2,700 raw materials within Tarkett products.
DID YOU KNOW? 90%
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF TARKETT
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SMART TECHNOLOGY ISN’T JUST FOR HOMES ANYMORE THANKS TO LG ELECTRONICS’ VRF TECHNOLOGY AND NEW SYSTEM OF CONTROLS BY CAROLINE EBERLY LONG
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LG Electronics is trying to disrupt this status quo, and to shift the perception of HVAC from “afterthought” to “smart, sustainable design choice.” They’re doing this by placing people at the center of their technology—striving to make their “life’s good” motto a reality. “LG products are designed to enrich the lives of those who use them,” says Kevin McNamara, senior vice president and general manager of air conditioning technologies for LG Electronics USA. “That’s especially true in LG air conditioning technologies. Our focus is to work to fundamentally change the way the U.S. heats and cools buildings, and in doing so increase comfort and efficiency for those who use our products.” This includes property developers, contractors, building owners, and occupants—all the players who not only design, but also live and work in, today’s buildings.
GO WITH THE FLOW Pushing toward this industry change, the company’s air conditioning technologies division specializes in VRF, or variable refrigerant flow systems. As the name implies, these systems offer varied and zoned rates of heating and cooling throughout a building. Rather than running according to on/off mode or maintaining one temperature for an entire building, VRF can heat or cool spaces at different rates and temps. Think of it in terms of a hotel during winter: The lobby can be heated comfortably for guests, while the hotel kitchen stays cool for chefs. This ability to tailor the temperature to the use of a specific room leads to energy savings.
ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF LG PREVIOUS PAGE, PHOTO: ISTOCK
Pretend for a moment that the technology you rely on throughout the day had resisted innovation for the past half-century. Your cell phone would be a blocky device that only placed calls. Your computer (a desktop) would connect to the internet at plodding dial-up speeds. Your TV—those microwave-like boxes—would display fuzzy, muted images. Yet for another everyday technology— HVAC—you wouldn’t need to do much pretending. In many cases, old-school machinery remains the standard for how we heat and cool our homes and buildings in the United States. “A lot of people don’t think about AC unless it’s malfunctioning,” says Patrick Barry, LG’s U.S. senior manager of air conditioning product development. “The U.S. has an established system, and people choose what they’re familiar with.” This norm of conventional, unitary central air-conditioning involves pushing cold air through leaky ductwork to cool or heat distant rooms, often resulting in an inefficient system that fails to deliver comfort.
LG ELectronics’ new VRF controls are sleeker, smarter, and more efficient.
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OUR FOCUS IS TO WORK TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE WAY THE U.S. HEATS AND COOLS BUILDINGS.
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VRF IN CONTEXT Euclid Chemical Company, Cleveland, Ohio A retrofit installation within the building of a construction-products supplier new LG VRF system + Areplaced an old Variable Air Volume system that incurred hefty above-nationalaverage utility costs old system kept + The running while the new one was being installed ductwork was + Existing reused where possible to cut costs
building, which + The features a diverse group of rooms, can now be controlled on a space-by-space basis taken from one + Heat room can be used to cool another years later, utility + Two savings equal around
LG completed a retrofit installation at Euclid Chemical Company that resulted in significant savings.
70% over the previous model
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF LG
VRF also saves energy through the so-obvious-it’s-brilliant concept of “heat recovery.” Rather than dumping the heat drawn from rooms being cooled to the outside, the heat is recycled by transferring to rooms needing to be warmed, or even to other systems that need heat like water systems or swimming pools. Further energy is saved by using the heat-transfer medium of refrigerant rather than air. Flowing through a network of narrow insulated pipes, this fluid controls temperature on the spot. “It heats or cools air right where it’s needed,” Barry says. “It’s directly analogous to a tankless water heater.” Used throughout Asia and Europe since the 1980s and arriving in the U.S. in the early 2000s, VRF can reduce energy use by around 55% over its conventional counterparts. It also delivers design flexibility to architects and project engineers. Those narrow pipes (around one inch in diameter) and reduced or eliminated ductwork can be easily retrofitted to older buildings and help conserve space in new projects. What’s more, the condensing units require less space and run quietly, a plus for hotels and resorts where utility equipment often sits next to pools and patios. gb&d
INDUSTRY FIRSTS Lately, LG has been doubling down on innovation. Earlier this year at the AHR (Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating) Expo in Las Vegas, the company debuted the smallest footprint, largest capacity single frame VRF model on the market, the 20-ton Multi V 5, designed for commercial applications, and—perhaps most head-turning—a suite of smart building controls. These controls systems are called LG MultiSITETM, and they bring the ease of smart-home thermostats to the complexity of large, multi-purpose buildings such as condominiums, schools, and offices. They not only manage VRF, as did LG’s previous generation of controls, but also sync with the entire building to regulate systems like electricity, lighting, and water. (Good news, mechanical contractors: You no longer need to coordinate multiple controls systems.) “For the first time ever, designers can implement VRF technology directly into an existing BMS through an intuitive platform,” McNamara says. “This is a huge shift in the way VRF technology has been incorporated into building management systems.” Like most good ideas, MultiSITE was inspired by lots of conversation, listening, analysis, and optimism. “Our engineers and product team talked to everyone from contractors to engineers and owners about what they wanted to do with their buildings,” McNamara says. “Buildings get used in a lot of different ways. So the key concepts that came up were flexibility and customization.” may–june 2017
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LG recently debuted its Multisite system, with the smallest footprint, largest capacity single frame VRF model on the market.
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USER-FRIENDLY FLEXIBILITY
DATA-DRIVEN DESIGN
With these smart controls, property managers own the building rather than the building owning them. And that starts with centralizing everything they need to know in order to monitor the space. “People want to be able to manage their building from a single point,” says James Benville, senior manager of national sales for air conditioning technologies at LG Electronics USA. LG MultiSITE does this by giving people the option to view the control display via an in-building touch-screen panel, a remote control, and/or their tablet, smartphone, or computer. The display itself received a user-friendly makeover, too. “VRF used to have a European/Asian style control interface,” Benville says. While the look and feel of that design may have worked well for overseas audiences, it wasn’t intuitive to American users. “With these new controls, you still have the same logic and functionality behind the scenes, but the interface is U.S.-friendly, with customizable displays and colors,” he says. “You don’t have to train people to use it.” The whole setup is also easier to integrate. Previously, control systems were designed by technicians and required a third-party gateway to connect all the parts. Now, with a little training, system integrators can easily incorporate the systems themselves. If a maintenance issue arises, owners simply run diagnostics within the system, then click to send a report to a local service rep if necessary.
Behind the scenes of this front-end flexibility is data-centric engineering. To actually gauge a building’s performance, LG MultiSITE compiles data from sensors within the outdoor unit and throughout the space on humidity, temperature, and occupancy. Based on these readings, the system manages energy use throughout the day, downshifting use during the evening, for example, or when spaces are vacant. In turn, working with the patterns they see, owners can fine-tune how they want the system to respond. “These systems are designed to react,” Barry says. “And now the owners can see that data, too. They can say, ‘I’m going to manipulate the system to work a little differently.’ It’s just another point of feedback.” Further, owners can choose which features they want to be displayed, and how much they want to interact with the system. Barry calls this “flexibility to match the application,” which is a technical way of saying “design that fits the setting.” The end goal? “You’re making the building work together as a whole so it’s optimized,” he says, adding that it’s a win-win
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“THESE SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED TO REACT. AND NOW THE OWNERS CAN SEE THAT DATA, TOO.”
for owners and occupants. The system pays for itself in energy savings (happy owners) and people working or living in a multi-use building can choose how they want their spaces to feel (happy occupants).
PHOTO: COURTESY OF LG
A SMARTER FUTURE With all of this latest technology now reaching the market, LG Electronics plans to keep right on innovating. From here, they plan to further “improve and balance” their current VRF models, Barry says, to gb&d
explore creative ways to redistribute and reuse heat within a building. They also plan to focus on home automation and greater connectivity to the Internet of Things (IoT). This is all part of intelligent design, whereby technology intuitively works to make life better for humans and the environment. “Buildings will continue to get smarter,” McNamara says, adding that he believes this starts with HVAC, one of a building’s largest systems. And as this more intelligent future arrives, maybe today’s inefficient systems will become one of those outdated memories. gb&d may–june 2017
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WAYS ONE COMPANY IS USING SMART DESIGN TO MANAGE WATER By Caroline Eberly Long
E
ven though they might not receive an overall design credit, a company called ACO is playing an important role in the building of some of the world’s greatest venues—sites like Rio’s Olympic Park, New York City’s World Trade Center complex, Dubai International Airport, and L.A.’s Hollywood Boulevard. The list goes on to include hospitals, military bases, fire stations, wineries, food manufacturing plants, and others. If you’ve visited any of these sites, you’ve likely benefited from—and yet overlooked—ACO’s work. That’s because most of it is underground. The ACO team specializes in advanced drainage systems: the largely invisible channels built into parking lots and plazas that “save people from water and water from people,” says Jaclyn Revis, marketing services manager for the company’s U.S. division. “Without a way to evacuate water from the surface of a site, it’s going to sit there,” she says, adding that the water could also freeze and become dangerous. “It’s going to deteriorate the pavement, which leads to potholes that could be dangerous to pedestrians.” Beyond redirecting surface water, ACO’s systems also help treat and repurpose it, preventing pollutants from entering the water table and contributing to sustainable water practices. The company began as a small workshop in Büdelsdorf, Germany in 1946, founded by then-22-year-old JosefSeverin Ahlmann. The young inventor experimented with various designs (from hay feeders to excavation equipment and drainage) on the site of an iron foundry started by his ancestors in the 1820s and overseen by his mother, who was said to be one of the greatest female entrepreneurs of her time, beginning in 1931. Eventually, Ahlmann and his growing company, ACO (short for “Ahlmann Company”), found their specialty in drainage systems, emphasizing durable materials, smart design, and environmental care. The Ahlmann family continues to advance this vision today, operating in more than 40 countries under the direction of Josef-Severin’s nephew, Hans-Julius Ahlmann, and Iver Ahlmann, the son of Hans-Julius Ahlmann. The company is especially active in the U.S., where smart drainage systems are becoming more relevant alongside tightening water regulations. HERE’S HOW ACO IS RETHINKING DRAINAGE— AND WHY IT MATTERS:
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THEY TRADE STANDARD MATERIALS FOR
SMART ALTERNATIVES.
WHILE CONCRETE HAS BEEN WIDELY USED
to make drainage pipes throughout the past century, the material actually breaks down when used to channel water. That’s because concrete made with cement is highly porous: As it comes in contact with fluid, pollutants in the water such as road salts or pesticides seep into the material, causing it to crack. It’s also weakened as it freezes and thaws. This leads to hefty repair costs and material waste as concrete pipes degrade over time. ACO solves for these issues by designing with polymer concrete, an alternative to concrete that’s bound with resins rather than cement. Through the addition of these polymers, which boost the material’s thermal stability and resistance to chemicals, it becomes less porous and more durable (not to mention stronger and lighter), according to the International Journal of Polymer Science.
The ACO Freestyle solution offers architects a chance to create truly unique drainage grating designs.
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DRAINAGE ON DUTY AT THESE SITES, SMART AND HARDWORKING DRAINAGE SYSTEMS ARE ESPECIALLY KEY:
AIRPORTS
Not only does drainage need to keep runways and pavement water-free for safety reasons, but it has to hold up to the impact of heavy vehicles and aircraft. Systems also need to be able to handle chemicals like de-icing fluids used on planes.
“IT’S ABOUT BUILDING A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE WORD.”
SPORTS VENUES
These technical and specialized settings require an especially calibrated drainage system—one that keeps a variety of surfaces dry and protects athletes in the process.
COMMERCIAL KITCHENS
These highly regulated facilities rely on heavy water use for both food prep and cleaning. Drainage needs to keep water moving, eliminate bacteria, and help prevent food contamination.
Laurel Harrison, senior principal at Stantec
PLAZAS AND BOULEVARDS
Given that these hardscaped areas receive high volumes of pedestrian and car traffic (and often add to local beauty), drainage systems need to quickly evacuate water and blend in with the site design.
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF ACO, ILLUSTRATIONS: GABRIEL DE LA MORA; PREVIOUS PAGE, PHOTO: COURTESY OF ACO
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2 No
THEY MAKE THE MOST OF
MODULAR DESIGN. 84
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ONE OF THE COMPANY’S MOST-USED SYSTEMS
is a modular trench drain, which is essentially a long, narrow trough featuring a continuous grate that captures water along its span. These systems draw on the concept behind prefab homes, in which relatively lightweight components are designed to be easily shipped and assembled on-site. The segments come in meter and half-meter lengths, in a variety of channel sizes, and they fit together according to male/female ends. “You don’t need big excavators like you would for a 10-foot pipe,” Revis says. “You’re digging a couple feet down to be able to install these modular trenches, and it takes one to two people to move the pieces.” These trenches also come pre-sloped—meaning the gradient required to actually redirect water is built into the system, as opposed to needing to be calibrated and dug by installation crews.
ACO’s modular trench drain goes together in a snap, with lightweight pieces.
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THEY MAKE DRAINAGE DESIGNS
THAT CAN DISAPPEAR...
PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF ACO
IN MANY CASES,
the best thing drainage can do for the aesthetics of a site is blend in. This is what the company sought to achieve with its “Brickslot” system. The modular system features a very narrow grate (as slim and heel-friendly as .3 inches) that, when installed, sits flush with the hardscape. The design especially appeals to landscape architects, Revis says. “They’re working with plazas and parks where they need drainage in a big way, but they don’t want to make it a focal point. They can put it along the edge of a fountain, and the [line of the] grate becomes a design element.” gb&d
4 No
...OR
ACCENT A SITE. For architects and engineers wanting to embellish the details of a site (and perhaps surprise pedestrians), the company offers grates with custom surfaces—think geometric patterns, dimensional leaves, or even a company’s brand mark. ACO also recently launched an online tool to help architects and engineers envision various grate and pavement pairings in the context of their project (acovisualizer.com). You select just a few details such as project type, desired drainage features, and surface finish, and the tool serves up product specs and an image of the elements in play.
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Drainage is especially important at sports venues, like at this track at Kenyon College.
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FEATURES
THEY’RE CHANGING THE (DRAINAGE)
GAME AT SPORTS VENUES.
One of the company’s most “disruptive” designs, Revis says, is its applications for sports venues. In fact, the company has provided drainage for nearly every Olympic venue since 1972. These venues are highly specific, and drainage on-site is especially visible, so high-performing systems and accurate construction are key. With features like rubber grate edges to keep athletes safe, ACO Sport is a drainage system designed to integrate with playing fields and multi-purpose grounds (i.e., a track and field). “Putting drainage in between those two surfaces is a real need,” Revis says, adding that standing water on turf or courts is not only dangerous to athletes but deteriorates the facilities.
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ACO
THEY KEEP
WATER (AND FOOD) CLEAN. SIMILARLY, SMART DRAINAGE IS CRUCIAL TO COMMERCIAL KITCHENS AND FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS,
spaces where poor water management could lead to food contamination. Here, drainage has to work doubly hard: These settings not only involve heavy water use (for both food production and cleaning) but they create grease and solids that can’t be released back into the public sewer system. For spaces like these, ACO has done the dirty work of engineering a range of “hygienic” drainage— systems made of parts that are specifically shaped and streamlined to avoid food and bacteria buildup. These systems, which go beyond U.S. standards to meet European regulations, feature components like slipresistant grates, foul air traps (to stave off food odor), and selfcleaning grease separators.
ACO BY THE NUMBERS 1946
The year ACO was begun as a small workshop by a young German inventor
4
The factor by which polymer concrete is stronger than standard concrete (in terms of compressive strength)
28-60
The weight in pounds of one of ACO’s trench drain segments (varying according to depth and slope)
700
The linear feet of ACO drainage installed at Yankee Stadium in New York City
11,000
The linear feet of ACO drainage installed in the aircraft hangars at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico
139
The number of world airports that rely on ACO drainage
33
The number of U.S. pedestrian plazas and parks using ACO drainage
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THEY
PROTECT WILDLIFE. Since the late 1980s, the company has worked with environmental specialists to develop a series of “amphibian tunnels,” designed to allow small animals to safely move through developed areas. “These tunnels go under highways and roads, allowing animals to cross underneath,” Revis explains. In Santa Cruz, California, for example, the developers of a high-end housing development used this line to protect the area’s endangered Santa Cruz longtoed salamander. Built using materials recommended by local conservationists, the system pairs fences to prevent animals from reaching the road with tunnels to guide them below. Near Calgary, in Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park, a similar system steers small creatures clear of park roadways.
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THEY FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE
DRAINAGE.
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ACO
IN OPEN NATURAL AREAS, rainfall organically filters back into the water table, but in developed or hardscaped areas, stormwater needs to be thoughtfully managed—that is, collected, treated, and reused when possible. This is the practice of sustainable drainage. To this end, ACO has designed a system called StormBrixx to help sites harvest—and repurpose—large amounts of rainwater. The system is a network of cell-like containers installed beneath the surface of a parking lot or airport, for example. These containers pair with water-treatment devices such as oil-water separators to enable water to be reused on-site (an increasing demand in dry states like California). “Designers and engineers are scrambling to meet new regulations and trying to make sure products they use help keep water on the property,” Revis says. Designs like this also help projects earn LEED credits for capturing and repurposing runoff, and for reducing a site’s water use. This is the future of drainage—a widespread use of systems that save and recycle water, just as nature intended it. gb&d gbdmagazine.com
GREEN BUILDINGFEATURES & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Features Spaces Punch List
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92 It Takes a Village
Assembly Apartments offers community-style living in the heart of Melbourne’s business district.
96 Above and Beyond
Ben Callery Architects transforms this Australian terrace-style house to bring in light and air.
100 The Sky’s the Limit
A massive solar project at one of the Australia’s tallest buildings inspires greatness.
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MAKING OVER
MELBOURNE
By Laura Rote You don’t just become one of the world’s most livable cities—you have to work at it. The top livable city according to The Economist’s Liveability Ranking 2016, Melbourne, has been working toward this accolade and others for well over a decade. And it’s paid off. “Today, with the support of industry, Melbourne boasts the largest concentration of green buildings in any Australian capital city,” says Councillor Cathy Oke, chair of the City of Melbourne’s Environment Portfolio. “We are hopeful that these trends will continue as we progress toward 2020, and that we can drive greater retrofit action in the future.” In 2003, the city announced its goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2020. The city also has a target to achieve 25% renewable energy for the municipality by 2018. Through the 1200 Buildings retrofit program, the commercial office program CitySwitch, and the residential apartment program Smart Blocks, the city also provides building owners and tenants with access to financial incentives and grants to help existing buildings increase their uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. Since 2010, the owners of more than 540 commercial office buildings in Melbourne have retrofitted to improve energy and water efficiency. “This is crucial, as 78% of our municipality’s greenhouse gas emissions are generated from existing buildings. The bulk of this impact comes from the commercial sector,” Oke says. The city’s 2015 retrofit survey identified that an additional 21% of commercial office buildings in Melbourne plan to retrofit for energy efficiency in the next five years. The city is also the host of Ecocity World Summit 2017, where Al Gore will be the principal speaker. Turn the page to take a look at just a few of the many inspiring, sustainable spaces helping to transform Melbourne.
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PHOTO: ISTOCK
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THIS SPREAD A rooftop terrace provides an extension of the residents’ living rooms overlooking the local neighborhood and city vista beyond. A series of laneways ensures the buildings are permeable while a European-style courtyard at ground level provides a private space for residents year-round.
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IT TAKES A VILLAGE The Assembly Apartments in the heart of Melbourne break the rules with urban living that’s sustainable, too Cyclists leave the comfort of home to stretch their legs and get some fresh air, cycling through their building’s unique laneways (like alleyways but for cyclists and pedestrians only) and out into the action of Melbourne’s central business district. At the end of the day, residents take to the rooftop to catch up with neighbors or host friends. As Melbourne continues to grow, builders and architects are faced with a challenge—how to responsibly respond to urban needs while ensuring livable, sustainable spaces. Assembly Apartments, completed in June 2016, offers all of this and more. The architecture firm of Woods Bagot designed the village-style community as a group of four buildings (the smallest of which has 20 apartments, the largest with 43) to create a sense of place on a site that once was home to a dilapidated redbrick, sawtooth warehouse. The industrial heritage of the area and the raw materials of the existing warehouse informed the selection of materials for the new buildings, according to Peter Miglis, principal at Woods Bagot. gbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: TREVOR MEIN
TH
PHOTOS: TREVOR MEI
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THIS SPREAD Windows are “punched” into the facade at Melbourne’s Assembly Apartments to feel sculptural. They’re arranged to balance solid insulation on the outside with a passively thermal-performing skin.
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ALL IN THE DETAILS Miglis says the residential buildings are meant to feel sculptural, with windows “punched” into the facade—a departure from a more typical approach in which windows are designed to maximize glazing. Windows were also arranged to balance solid insulation on the outside with a passively thermal-performing skin. A surrounding metal extrusion, varying in depth based on its orientation, protects from the sun. Inside, residents have views that angle away from neighbors’ homes, while ground floor apartments have private lightwells that pierce into the building while maintaining privacy. From a sustainable standpoint, the design also uses small floor plates to allow for more corner apartments, good cross-ventilation, and plentiful
PROJECT LOCATION North Melbourne, Victoria COMPLETION June 2016 SIZE 9,000 square meters
daylight. Lobby areas are naturally ventilated with windows and connect tenants to the world outside. Rainwater is captured via the angular roof forms providing irrigation to both the rooftop courtyards and landscaped laneways, while solar collectors provide pre-heated water to the hot water system. Miglis says the Assembly Apartments project sets new standards for low-rise, multi-residential developments, from its low-rise scale to its comfortable community spaces and 4.5-meter laneways. No matter where you are, you have quick access to—and a beautiful view of—the city’s bustling activity. gb&d
PHOTOS: TREVOR MEIN
While metal and concrete make up much of the design, you’ll find a touch of playfulness and an abundance of life here, too. Inside, light streams in through large picture windows and open spaces to complement the pared back, contemporary aesthetic. Light also filters into the apartments from the private European-style courtyard. Each building incorporates metal and zinc cladding for a light industrial aesthetic. Inside, concrete gives residents “a greater sense of volume and space while allowing an insight into the structural integrity of the building,” Miglis says. The exposed concrete ceilings complement rich timber floors, while an open kitchen and living areas provide plenty of room.
ARCHITECT Woods Bagot DEVELOPER Cbus Property INTERIOR STYLIST Simone Haag PROJECT MANAGER PDS Group STRUCTURAL ENGINEER 4D Workshop SERVICES ENGINEER Aurecon LANDSCAPE DESIGN Jack Merlo MAIN CONTRACTOR LU Simon
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DOING MORE This project went above and beyond when it comes to energy efficiencies and making the most of what you have. Here are just some of the sustainable features: • 3.5kW grid-connected solar power using Enphase microinverters • Large corrugated metal water tanks used for laundry, toilet flushing, and garden • Passive heating: The central void brings sun from over the roof deck and studio space into the ground floor • Remote controlled operable external blinds • Passive cooling: Openable windows allow breezes to pass through • Sanden heat pump for hydronic heating in ground floor slab • Daikin reverse cycle air conditioners • Locally sourced silvertop ash shiplap cladding • Colorbond external walls for low maintenance • Natural fiber carpet in bedrooms • Timber framed, double glazed, low-e coated windows • Sunway Cellular thermal internal blinds • LED downlights used on ground floor
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SPACES
THIS SPREAD This long terrace house style was common to Northcote, but its southfacing position was a challenge that made it dark, cold, and overshadowed.
ABOVE AND BEYOND This house in a Melbourne suburb has a bright future, thanks to help from some great architects Photos by Peter Bennetts A decade after moving into sign was at least in part an a lovely terrace house in effort to save space and minthe Northcote suburb, these imize materials used in conhomeowners realized they struction. “They were origineeded more space—and more nally workers’ cottages and sun. While they considered so were fairly austere,” he says. moving, their connection to “Funnily though, despite being the space and the neighbor- space efficient, they could be hood held strong. They didn’t energy-inefficient and they had very little regard for uswant to leave. The existing home—a long ing the sun to passively heat terrace house indicative of a building.” this area of Melbourne—was Inefficiency wouldn’t do for south-facing, dark, cold, nar- this sustainably minded courow, and overshadowed by ple with a school-age child. To walls on both sides, accord- transform the house, Callery ing to Ben Callery of Ben Call- and his team integrated a roof ery Architects, whose firm was deck, a plethora of indoor tasked with taking the old planters, and lots of windows to bring the outside in. A cenand making it new again. Built a century ago, houses tral void in the house, next like this family’s were long to a studio space that opens and thin blocks with shared onto a roof deck, also allows walls. Callery guesses the de- the family to stay close to the
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SPACES VANCOUVER
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SPACES
PROJECT LOCATION Northcote, Melbourne SIZE 236-square-meter site COMPLETION December 2015 AWARDS 2016 Sustainability Awards Finalist 2015 International Green Interiors Awards shortlist
TEAM ARCHITECT Ben Callery Architects BUILDER Truewood Constructions
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outside world, and natural light now fills the space. The void area is Callery’s favorite part of the project. “Both of these bring light and ventilation down into the ground floor rooms and allow occupants to connect to the world beyond,” he says. The new roof deck also provides a space for a productive garden that couldn’t exist before on this south-facing block. The house also has a stellar view of Ruckers Hill, a geographic and social center of the neighborhood, from multiple rooms. The view is a pleasant surprise in and of itself. “You can actually see a hill with lots of houses dotted on it looking back toward the house,” Callery says. “You can also see many treetops and sun and get lots of sun in. Compared to the house that was there, which was dark and dingy, it is such a change.” Sustainably speaking, the house collects rainwater to use for laundry and the toilets,
house. On the i n c o r p o ra te s roof you’ll find greywater from THIS SPREAD One of the the laundry in solar power, and architect’s favorite features the garden, and inside a clothes is the house’s central void, which brings light and dr ying rack controls t he ventilation into the ground hangs from the summer sun floor while also connecting ceiling. The famwith adjustable the residents to the world ily wanted a susexternal louvers, outside their walls, as or angled slats, tainable addition natural light and a breeze on the windows, at the rear of the fill the space. among other house, too, with features. While sun for heating eaves would have resisted the and breeze for cooling, plus waheritage support, Callery’s team’s ter harvesting. use of external operable louvers The house also includes reallows the homeowners to con- cycled materials like a window trol how much sun gets in. Cross and a carefully dismantled and ventilation flows from south to reassembled kitchen. “The clinorth so breezes move through ents wanted to keep their old most rooms by openable win- kitchen, partly because they dows and the central void. had designed it themselves and The homeowners—who don’t so it had sentimental value, and own a car and do most of their also because of its embodied commuting by bike—sought to energy—it felt wasteful to deimprove their home as soon molish it and build a new one,” as possible, and you can see Callery says. The Callery team their commitment to the envi- carefully reconfigured it with a ronment today when you look few new cabinets. “It came toat almost any element of the gether really well.” gb&d may–june 2017
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THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
101 Collins Street is home to the largest and highest private commercial solar PV installation in Melbourne
This Melbourne skyscraper became home to 180 solar panels, further proving the building owners’ strong commitment to sustainability.
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Rising 57 stories into the sky, 101 Collins Street (circa 1990s) continues to change with the times—most recently, with a massive solar project you might not expect for such a large, prestigious building. But in Australia, sustainability is of utmost importance, and this project is just one example of what’s possible. “The commercial office market in Australia is highly focused on sustainable ratings,” says Ross Boreham, senior manager of engineering and sustainability for 101 Collins. In fact, disclosing commercial office buildings’ “star” ratings (which range from 0 to 6) under the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) is mandatory under federal law. “It is important for significant, prestige buildings to be positioned in the market with a high star rating. We are presently a four-star energy rated building, which is highly regarded for a building of this size and age.” 101 Collins is currently the fourth tallest building in Australia when measured up to the tallest architectural point—its 60-meter-tall spire. It’s considered Melbourne’s most prestigious commercial address, according to Commissioner Cathy Oke, chair of the City of Melbourne’s Environment Portfolio, and it’s 98% occupied—home to tenants like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. The building’s owners and management team take sustainability seriously and wanted to keep making strides to improve energy efficiency in particular, so they began to explore the possibilities of solar. With the solar PV system, they knew they could generate carbon-free energy for years to come. Several options were explored, including installing traditional solar panels at a lower level, affixing them on the building’s vertical facade or even trying photovoltaic window film. But after years of deliberation, timing and pricing pushed them toward solar. Boreham says the “set and forget system” of solar was a no-brainer, especially as it worked on this multi-story level in ways that wind power never could. All told, 180 panels were installed, each at 330 watts output. It’s the largest and highest private commergbdmagazine.com
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF 101 COLLINS
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cial solar PV installation in Melbourne. “It will operate for well over 25 years with little or nil maintenance,” he says. Initial tests assessed wind strength to see how secure the panels needed to be, but further testing found that the panels needed to be significantly more secure. While the team received capital works approval in January 2015, getting the design and engineering took seven months and the panels were in storage for months before installation could commence at level 56. Yes, adding solar to a skyscraper was not without its problems. “The biggest challenge was designing for the wind forces on the Solar PV installation at 610 feet above ground level,” Boreham says. To solve the issue, the team placed the panels vertically against the existing structure to capture the sun’s rays while taking up minimal roof space. The solar PV system essentially acted as the new facade. And it looks great, too. Finally, the sun is shining on 101 Collins. The panels generate 47,000 kWh of electricity per year, or more than the annual amount of electricity used in over 12 houses. This sustainable building also has LED and motion sensor lighting, new high efficiency VSD chillers, an upgraded BMS, and double glazed windows with surface coated tempered glass to increase thermal efficiency. The project is thought to be the highest in the southern hemisphere, as it’s installed on the 56th level of the building. gb&d
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF 101 COLLINS
LOCATION Melbourne SIZE 180 panels SYSTEM SIZE 59.6 kW TOTAL OFFICE AREA 860,670 square feet OUTPUT Approximately 60,000 kWh COMPLETION October 2015
Melbourne’s prestigious 57-story 101 Collins Street building is 98% occupied.
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GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
Up Front Typology Inner Workings Features Spaces Punch List
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104 Why You Should Adopt Biophilic Design
The International Future Living Institute’s Amanda Sturgeon lays out the facts.
106 Person of Interest
Kim Coupounas explains why B Corporations matter.
108 Lessons Learned
USGBC cofounder and IWBI CEO Rick Fedrizzi shares what he’s learned over his many years in the industry.
110 In the Lab
Tom Szaky takes a different approach to recycling with TerraCycle.
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PUNCH LIST
VanDusen Botanical Gardens
Transform spaces and regenerate life
2015 WSLA WINNER
Amanda Sturgeon FAIA, CEO of International Living Future Institute I became an architect because of biophilic design. I developed a deep love of life while backpacking around Aus-
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tralia in my early 20s. The sheer beauty of the country, its unique flora and fauna, and the vast quantities of wild land that had not been changed beyond their natural ecological state was life changing—it was a stark contrast to the landscapes of England where I grew up. I entered architecture with the commitment to connect people and nature through the buildings we spend 90% of our time in. We’ve all experienced buildings where the movement of the sun through the sky creates shadows and pools of light that connect us to the time of day, season, and our sense of inner rhythm. Realtors know buyers will pay more to have a view, and we eagerly make early reservations at a favorite restaurant to get a table by windows rather than sit in the middle of the room. As building occu-
pants, we’re drawn to spaces that interact with nature. But often we’re left with spaces that don’t give us that choice, ones with no windows, no fresh air or views of anything other than a wall or parking lot. The conscious discipline of biophilic design has emerged to intentionally reconnect us with nature through buildings and is core to the framework of our organization’s Living Building Challenge. Some project teams add plants and trees or a fountain in their buildings as a nod to nature, but that misses the power of this discipline to revolutionize the way we create and design our places. Biophilic design has been practiced for thousands of years, but since the industrial age we’ve used our buildings as an expression of our domination of nature and our sep-
Amanda Sturgeon, FAIA, is CEO of the International Living Future Institute and was named one of the 10 most powerful women in sustainability in 2015 as a recipient of the Women in Sustainability Leadership Award (WSLA). She joined the institute in 2010 following a career as a licensed architect with 15 years experience designing and managing some of the most sustainable buildings in the Pacific Northwest.
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF VANDUSEN
Why You Should Adopt Biophilic Design
aration from it. Once electricity was widespread, naturally ventilated and lit buildings became a thing of the past. Energy seemed plentiful and so it was wasted, people relied on automated air and became passive observers—no longer manually opening windows or pulling down shutters. The air conditioner kept us cool no matter what it felt like outside. Now that the effects of global climate change require urgent solutions, buildings and their more than 40% share of energy consumed are an essential influencer. With biophilic design, we have an opportunity to connect to a particular ecology of a place—to its culture, history, and beauty—and to create a building that will bring life to the relationship between people and nature. For broad adoption of biophilic design to happen we need to shift our current systems-based design approach. We must change the way we train architects and designers so they can think and act systematically and develop the tools to communicate with building owners and developers. With today’s increased focus on the health and wellness of buildings, now is the time to achieve biophilic design.
PUNCH LIST
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Person of Interest Kim Coupounas “Millennials seek meaningful work and investments that make money and make a difference ... They will shape the future like no other generation in history.”
More than 2,000 B Corps in 50-plus gb&d: What is a B Corp? countries—and they’re all making the world a better place. Kim Coupounas, Coupounas: Simply put, B Corporathe director of B Lab, has been a part tions—or “B Corps”—are good businesses. of the B Corporation community since Think of the B Corp certification as the 2007, after she and her husband cofound- “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” ed an outdoor brand called GoLite. Go- for mission-driven businesses. B Corps Lite went on to become a Certified B achieve an external certification simiCorp as it made beautiful outdoor equip- lar to LEED certification for buildings or ment and apparel in an environmentally USDA Organic for food, but the B Corp and socially responsible way. Certification evaluates a company along Over the years, Coupounas has a comprehensive set of sustainable busiwatched the B Corp world flourish under ness criteria. the nonprofit B Lab, which develops and B Corps voluntarily undergo one of maintains the standards underpinning the most rigorous social and environthe B Impact Assessment companies mental assessments in the world. They undergo to pursue B Corp certification. are for-profit companies demonstrating “I’ve spent the past three years engaging that great business and good business and growing the community of B Cor- go hand-in-hand. porations in Colorado,” Coupounas says. “In three years, we more than tripled the gb&d: Why use business as a size of the B Corp community in Colo- force for good? rado and generated a number of truly innovative practices that are being used Coupounas: We’re at a pivotal point throughout the global B Corp communi- as a civilization. Financial, environmenty now to enhance B Lab’s mission over- tal, social, and political crises have led all. I’m now focused on reaching compa- to unprecedented populist unrest and nies beyond Colorado and getting them lack of confidence in the capitalist syson the path to measuring and improving tem. Wealth is overly concentrated in the hands of few, carbon in our atmotheir impacts.” From early on, Coupounas wanted to sphere has surpassed the 350 parts per fix what she saw as a flawed system, to million widely considered dangerous, encourage businesses to be more respon- and more than 80% of young people sible. “Business is the cause of many of no longer identify with the economic the world’s biggest human and environ- system that has helped create unprecemental problems of our time,” she says. dented growth and comfort in the past “They externalize the negative impacts 100 years. A lack of standards makes it they were having on people and planet difficult for consumers, investors, poliwith impunity.” cy makers, and workers to distinguish We recently sat down with Coupounas good companies from good marketing. to find out just how much of a difference These are challenges that can’t be solved B Corps can make. by government and nonprofits alone.
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What if we could mobilize the enormous power of for-profit business to solve some of the most intractable problems of our time? The growing movement of people striving to use business as a force for good is one of the most important social trends of our time. There are tens of millions of consumers, investors, and workers who want to align their purchases, investments, and employment decisions with their values. Research shows millennials seek meaningful work and investments that make money and make a difference. And since they represent 50% of the global workforce, they will shape the future like no other generation in history. gb&d: What’s one thing every business could do to be a force for good? Coupounas: Measure their impacts on their key stakeholders. We’re really good gbdmagazine.com
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KIM COUPOUNAS
Interview by Laura Rote
PUNCH LIST
As director of B Lab, Kim Coupounas has watched the B Corp community flourish across the world.
at measuring our companies’ financial performance, but globally, businesses are abysmal at measuring the impacts of their operations on their other key stakeholders. If every company could measure their social and environmental impacts with as much rigor as their financials—and could really deeply understand where they’re solid and where they have room to improve—we’d be on our way. The backbone of the B Corp community is a free online assessment and set of standards called the B Impact Assessment, bimpactassessment. net. More than 60,000 companies have used this assessment to work toward a more responsible business model. Every business should start there. How can you know how to be better if you don’t know where you are?
tion, whether for-profit or nonprofit, can use and benefit from the standards embedded in the B Impact Assessment tool. But only for-profit companies can become Certified B Corporations. B Corps can be of any size and from any geography. We have a Standards Advisory Council that reviews cases of companies seeking certification from controversial industries such as tobacco or cannabis. A company needs to achieve 80 earned points on the B Impact Assessment (out of 200 points) to achieve certification and has to modify its legal structure to keep its full set of key stakeholders in mind in its decision-making, beyond just shareholders.
gb&d: Who can become a B Corp?
Coupounas: The B Corp movement has grown tremendously. With the establishment of global partners in South
Coupounas: Any entity or organizagb&d
gb&d: How has the community grown?
America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa, B Corps are spreading across the globe. We’ve also seen tens of thousands of companies using the B Impact Assessment to measure their impacts on their stakeholders and chart their path to a sustainable business model, even if they never choose to certify. gb&d: What inspires you? Coupounas: The things that inspire me every day are the real changes companies make when they learn about B Corps and they choose to get on this path themselves. I hear so many inspiring stories from business leaders about how they are building values deeply into their business and how that work is not only transforming their business but transforming them as people and giving them hope for a brighter future for humanity. It’s deeply meaningful to me to be a part of that. gb&d may–june 2017
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PUNCH LIST LESSONS LEARNED
Rick Fedrizzi LESSONS LEARNED Interviewed by Laura Rote Photography by Michael Dambrosia
u “I learned early on the spirit of teamwork.” Fedrizzi has
had a job since he was roughly 14, when he lied about his age because you had to be 16 to deliver newspapers. On Sunday mornings in Syracuse, he struggled to lug those heavy papers from house to house, but his father was eager to help. That laid the foundation for him to continue to work hard and work smart as part of a team. u “Work was always a really big part of who I was and what I believed in.” Teenage Fedrizzi
went on to scoop ice cream, work in a meat department, put himself through undergrad, run a liquor store, and work at UPS before getting a full-time job with Carrier and United Technologies. u You can take all of the knowledge you’ve learned over the years—how to grow a business,
how to care for customers, how to market a product or system efficiently—and make that work for the environment. When Fedrizzi met David Gottfried, who also cofounded USGBC along with Mike Italiano, late in his career at United Technologies, he had an epiphany. “The intersection of capitalism and value-driven environmentalism blew my mind.” u You can solve anything with time in nature. Fedrizzi’s father
always said, “You think you have problems—there are no problems that can’t be solved by a long walk in the woods.” He inspired his son to be an en-
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“People coming together at one time with one mission, one focus, energy, and passion, that’s what changed the world. I think it changed the world forever.”
CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, cofounder of USGBC, and author of Greenthink: How Profit Can Save the Planet
vironmentalist and to realize simply being outside gives you time to open your mind to new ideas. “You may be at the end of a road and things are terrible, but that compression time— it’s a wellness strategy—those moments give you the ability to catch your breath, regroup, and think clearly. It has never failed me.” Fedrizzi’s favorite spot is his Syracuse garden, where he escapes from Manhattan on weekends to unwind among his 25 species of trees, each of which he brought home himself. u People can change the world.
Gottfried told Fedrizzi they would change the world. “I thought he was a lunatic,” he laughs. “Gandhi changed the world, Mother Teresa changed the world, and you could argue a few others, but I don’t think David Gottfried and Richard Fedrizzi are going to change the world.” And, he says, they didn’t. Not exactly. “We didn’t change the world—it was the thousands of people attached to the movement that banded together in a way I don’t think we’ve seen in 30 or 40 years. Those people coming together at one time with one mission, one focus, energy, and passion, that’s what changed the world. I think it changed the world forever.” u We’re making buildings better. Many people ask Fedrizzi
why transition from USGBC to the International WELL Building Institute, but he refers back to how buildings were when USGBC started. “The buildings
going up were cheap glass facades. They were lifeless.” Class A office space meant Italian marble in the hall and ridiculous gold fixtures in the bathroom. “It was a broken model for what mattered.” The USGBC and the advent of LEED made a difference in how we value our buildings, even if developers slammed the door in Fedrizzi’s face at first. “Early on developers told us, ‘You’ll never do it.’ We were too stupid to quit.” That renaissance for sustainability was the first wave, and focusing on people inside the buildings is a logical next step. u “We are not going to save the planet by chaining ourselves to a fence. No disrespect
to anyone who’s had the guts to do that, but we have to find a way to incentivize the people who are most against environmental regulation.” USGBC has many examples that show successful bottomline on ROI with happy boards of directors and inspired employees. “It’s a model President Trump has no clue about. He’s the poster child for the old way, thinking it’s either you pollute the hell out of the planet to inspire business or you protect the planet and business loses.” But Fedrizzi says we won’t go backwards. Of the many CEOs he’s asked, all laughed when asked if they planned to change their product development plans. “Everyone has said, ‘Are you kidding me? We want our business to be a healthy, successful business for the next 100 years. A political cycle is meaningless to us.’” u “If we can transform every school, not only in America
but around the world, we set the baseline for the future. The children will benefit, the teachers will benefit, the connection between teachers and students will benefit, and kids will have more self-esteem, be healthier, and it will give them the incentive to want a better life ... That’s a long-term play but, my god, it’s the most important play we can make.” gb&d gbdmagazine.com
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TerraCycle keeps hard-to-recycle items out of landfills and turns trash into treasure. Even the company’s New Jersey office is made of reused and recycled materials.
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RECYCLING PUNCH LIST
In the Lab
Tom Szaky TerraCycle CEO and founder, Princeton, NJ Written by Mikenna Pierotti Photography by Dean Innocenzi
For green entrepreneur Tom Szaky, his interest in recycling started in college about 16 years ago—with worm poop and a few childhood friends. “We were growing up in Toronto. When we got into the universities we wanted to get into, we decided to start growing ‘certain plants’ in our basement,” he says. But when they couldn’t quite get those indoor plants to thrive, one of Szaky’s friends decided to try using one of nature’s great recyclers to jumpstart their efforts—worms. Specifically, he used their castings, the nutrient-rich recycled organic material that has passed through a worm’s body, as fertilizer. The plan worked. “That was the genesis. That was how our company began,” Szaky says.
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Although he had always been concerned about the issue of waste and how to get more people to address it in our modern, consumerist culture, it wasn’t until he saw how well the worm castings worked as both a fertilizer and a symbol that he got his big idea. Not only could he get people excited about reusing waste and spread awareness about the need for recycling using, essentially, worm poop in soda bottles, he could also make money at it—and maybe interest some major companies in promoting and getting involved in the efforts, especially if those efforts would give those companies a greener image. Thus, TerraCycle was born. They started small, selling liquid worm castings through companies like
gb&d: One of TerraCycle’s most prominent brand statements is about “solving for waste.” How are you doing that in ways other companies aren’t? Tom Szaky: We realized, after a few years building a multimillion dollar worm poop business, that if we focus only on the product as the hero, we won’t necessarily be able to solve for all types of garbage because it will take the very best types of garbage to make, effectively, the very best products. So we changed our model and refocused on the garbage as the hero. We built a business model around figuring out how to collect it and process it in a circular way, primarily focusing on things that are not typically recyclable. gb&d: As a green business owner, what is your biggest challenge?
Walmart and Home Depot, but have since evolved, branching out from soda bottles and collecting many more former waste materials. The company’s in-house R&D department and laboratories then come up with closed loop systems for turning collected waste into something new. Today, TerraCycle has become a global leader in the recycling industry. “Since then we’ve had straight growth. We operate in 23 countries around the world, and we’ve had really good success,” Szaky says. Across the world, their waste collection programs work for even the hardest to recycle items—think baby diapers and cigarette butts—keeping them out of landfills and oceans with innovative ways to reuse them, like
Szaky: It all has to do with making people care. We are trying to solve something—garbage—that goes out of sight, out of mind. We are asking a person to invest their time and money to be able to do something with it that’s significantly better but not nearly as simple. And that’s not necessarily easy. gb&d: How have you convinced the more than 63 million people who’ve participated in your collection programs to care? Szaky: It’s all about making it personal to the individual. Because the environment is such a broad topic, it’s sometimes very difficult for people to figure out what’s in it for them—whether that individual wants to fulfill their personal sustainability goals or something else. Many entrepreneurs, especially social entrepreneurs, they do the
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inverse. They go around saying, “Please, help me because it’s the right thing to do,” and that really just doesn’t go far. gb&d: What new TerraCycle developments are you most excited about? Szaky: Last month at the World Economic Forum, we launched the world’s first shampoo bottle with Head & Shoulders made from 25% ocean plastic. This is an interesting case study because ocean plastic is especially difficult to source and it’s expensive, more expensive than recycled plastics. And it’s less capable. This plastic has been floating in the ocean. It’s degraded. So why would P&G put a plastic into the world’s top shampoo brand that is both more expensive and turns their iconic white bottles into gray ones? The reason is that it will actually create value for them. Rather than investing capital in TV commercials or advertising, they’re investing in something like this. Now, if we just went to them and said, “Hey, guys, ocean plastic is a problem.” They’d say, “We agree, but we don’t see a business way to solve it.” Instead, we go in and say, “If you do something with ocean plastic, you can really win big against your competition.” gb&d: You’ve gone into countries like Mexico and Brazil and offered recycling programs with great success. How did you approach those markets? Szaky: We offer services no one ever offered. So when we go to places like Mexico or Brazil, or just recently China, there’s usually very, very big interest in that. The issue is getting someone to pay for it. In China, for example, Colgate is the company we work with who funds our ability to nationally collect and recycle toothpaste tubes. gb&d: How do you get these large corporations behind the idea? Szaky: It depends on the stakeholder. If it’s a consumer products company, what we pitch them is that by working with us you can make your waste nationally recyclable and that will allow you to increase your market share, win at retail, and beat the competition. With retailers as a stakeholder, and we work with about 100,000 retailers now on collecting waste at their stores, it’s more about how to drive foot traffic. But in each case, you’ll notice we don’t go in and say, “Do it because it’s the right thing to do” or “Do it for sustainability.” We say, “Do this because it will fulfill your key goals. It will help you grow your business.” If you can’t nail that, then you have to be able to demonstrate to them that not caring will cause the inverse of those benefits. And that’s the unlocking mechanism.
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“Do this because it will fulfill your key goals. It will help you grow your business.”
turning them into tote bags or park benches. Although they do produce products, like flower planters made from crushed computers and fax machines, TerraCycle’s main focus is on the waste itself. A big part of how they do this is through partnerships with large and small companies, retailers, municipalities, and regular people. On a small scale, individuals can send their hard-to-recycle waste (like alkaline batteries or automotive parts) to TerraCycle for a fee, knowing their waste will be recycled into new products. Or, individuals can get involved in one of the company’s many free recycling programs sponsored by a company, organization, or municipality looking to reduce their environmental impact. Even the largest companies are getting onboard, Szaky says, knowing doing so will make their products and image that much greener and more attractive to an increasingly environmentally aware market. Organizations like Colgate, PepsiCo, and Brita are sponsoring collections that allow consumers to send in their spent products to be recycled for free. Municipal programs such as cigarette butt collection
stations are also popping up in cities around the world, as are industrial waste solutions. As TerraCycle has evolved, it’s become known not only for its methods and products but also for its company culture. In the Trenton, New Jersey office, everything from walls to desks are made of reused and recycled materials, local graffiti artists redecorate the facility on a regular basis, and employees’ work lives have become something of a cult hit with their reality TV show, Human Resources. “Every aspect of our business echoes our mission,” Szaky says. “Whether it’s our physical office being made entirely of garbage or our belief in transparency, where not only our walls are transparent but the way our people interact is completely transparent.” Although the company has come far from selling worm poop in old soda bottles (and yes they do still offer their famous liquid fertilizers), their mission has remained the same—to solve the problem of waste no matter what it takes. gb&d
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Directory & Index
ADVERTISERS
A ACO, 80 acousa.com 800.543.4764 Accurate Perforating, 50 accurateperforating.com 888.752.2335 AWIP, 46, 113 awipanels.com 888.970.2947 E Entrematic, 3, 28 entrematicfans.com 866.696.2464 Excel Dryer, 27 exceldryer.com 888.998.7704 F Flood Panel, 58, 115 floodpanel.com 888.744.2607 G Green Scope Solutions, 20 greenscope.biz Green Sports Alliance Summit, 8 summit.greensportsalliance.org
I Intersolar, 2 intersolar.us L LG, 72 lg.com/us 800.243.0000 N nora, 54, 57 nora.com 603.894.1021 O Option One Energy, 20 optiononeenergy.com 312.985.7987 R REHAU Window Solutions, 5, 24 rehau.com S SMDI, 32 smdisteel.org 412.922.2772 T Tarkett, 62, Back Cover tarkett.com 877.827.5388
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PEOPLE & COMPANIES
# 1200 Buildings, 90 4D Workshop, 94
A
ACE 2017, 15 Ahlmann, Hans-Julius, 80 Ahlmann, Josef-Severin, 80 AHR Expo, 17, 77 Alberici Constructors, 41 Alliance to Save Energy, 38 American Water Works Association, 15 Aurecon, 94 B
B Corporation, 106, 107 Barry, Patrick, 74 BEI Associates, Inc , 40 Ben & Jerry’s, 106 Ben Callery Architects, 97, 99 Benville, James, 78 Brecht, Bruce, 24, 26
C Capstone, 39 Carrier, 108 Cbus Property, 94 Chastain, Cheri, 38 CitySwitch, 90 Cliff Lowe and Associates, 19 Climate Central, 58 Cole, Tim, 54, 56 Colgate-Palmolive, 112 Coupounas, Kim, 106 Cradle to Cradle, 43, 56, 89 D Delgado, David, 14 Drucker, Peter, 22 E Ecocity World Summit, 90 Embleton, Garry, 43, 44 Evans, Paul, 66
Harley Ellis Devereaux, 40 Hazzard, Russ, 29 Health Product Declaration Collaborative, 56 Henrikson, Damon, 51 Hoover, Randy, 25 Hutwelker, Jeff, 55 I In-N-Out Burger, 28 International Living Future Institute, 56, 104 Italiano, Mike, 108 J James Corner Field Operations, 58 K Kéré , Francis, 14 Klinger, Jonathan, 65 L LEDDY MAYTUM STACY ARCHITECTS, 18 LF Driscoll, 55 LG Electronics, 72 Living Future unConference, 15 London City Hall, 54 Lowry, Adam, 43 M MG2, 29 Martel, Diane, 65 Mavraganes, Brian, 21 MBDC, 43 McNamara, Kevin, 74 Merlo, Jack, 94 Method, 43 Miglis, Peter, 92 Morgan, Paul, 51 Morris, Adam, 20
G Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center, 33 Germantown Friends School, 32 Goedtel, Eric, 40 Gore, Al, 90 Gotham Greens, 44 Gottfried, David, 108
N National Australian Built Environment Rating System, 100 National Insurance Flood Program, 60 NC Green Power, 39 NeoCon, 14-15 New World Symphony, 50 nora nTx, 55 Novicoff, Gregg, 18 Nürnberger, Walter, 54 New York City Subway, 54 NSA Architects, Engineers, Planners, 41
H Haag, Simone, 94
O Oke, Cathy, 90
F Fedrizzi, Rick | 108 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, 40 Free, Vince, 48
P PDS Group, 94 Pharos Project, 56 Powerbond, 66 R Reading Hospital, 55 Revis, Jaclyn, 80 Russell Gallaway Associates, 38 S Schickedantz, Roger, 43 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 38 Smart Blocks, 90 South Side Soapbox, 43 Stulpin, Chris, 71 Sturgeon, Amanda, 104 SubZero Constructors, 48 Summit Design + Build, 43 Switkin, Lisa, 58 Szaky, Tom, 110 T TerraCycle, 110 Thimons, Mark, 32 Trillium Creek Primary School, 66 Truewood Constructions, 99 U UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, 18 United Technologies, 108 Upper Room, The, 56 U.S. Department of Energy, 22 USGBC, 36, 108
V Ventura County Medical Center, 50 W Walbridge, 40 Waterton Lakes National Park, 88 William McDonough + Partners, 43 Woods Bagot, 92
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