HKS LINK 04

MEET THE

GREEN TEAM

left to right: Nancy Hulsey, Brian Wolfe, Chris Mundell, Ellen Mitchell, Roy Gunsolus and Kirk Teske

HKS DesignGreen, the sustainable consulting studio of HKS whose mantra is “form follows performance”

green design

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and the link to a sustainable future

Montage Deer Valley is Utah’s First LEED-certified resort hotel, receiving LEED Silver certification. The completion of Montage Deer Valley represents the culmination of nearly a decade of planned redevelopment of land that was part of the historic ore mining and the processing site of the Daly West Mine. Operation of the resort will continue to be focused on sustainability through purchasing policies, green housekeeping and an integrated pest management program.

50%

The percentage of energy consumption attributable to the building industry in the United States.

It is also the percentage of HKS projects seeking LEED or other third-party sustainability certification.

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The RadioShack Riverfront Campus earned LEED Silver certification. The 886,870-square-foot headquarters project, with a 2,493-car parking garage, is part of the Trinity Uptown project. The corporate campus transformed 37 acres of previously blighted development and restored the existing natural area along the Trinity River floodplain. More than 84 percent of demolition and project construction waste was recycled or diverted from landfills. The building’s interior provides a flexible, healthy environment through low VOC construction and high fresh air ratios in under-floor air distribution.

for building product manufacturers

by Kirk Teske, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Chief Sustainability Officer, Principal and Senior Vice President, HKS, Inc.

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Architects have a greater ability to improve public health than medical professionals.”

This provocative statement was made by a physician, Dr. Claudia Miller, an assistant dean at the University of Texas School of Medicine, during our Healthy Building Materials panel discussion at HKS’s second annual GreenWeek.

More than 800 of us heard nationally recognized leaders discuss everything from the impacts of LEED v4 to the latest in energy modeling software.

In addition to Dr. Miller, the panel included Jason McLennan, founder and creator of the Living Building Challenge and CEO of the International Living Future Institute; Bill Walsh, executive director of the Healthy Building Network; and Howard Williams, vice president at Construction Specialties, a global building materials supplier.

Though the panelists – a designer, physician, manufacturer, sustainability activist, and a

building certification creator – offer different skill sets and perspectives, their combined knowledge and collective purpose was clear: they made a unanimous call for cooperation and transparency from building product manufacturers. This is exactly the type of collaborative action our industry needs to shift the building materials paradigm from translucent to transparent, and from toxic to healthy.

Architects and designers can leverage their specification power to transform the building product marketplace, suggested Dr. Miller.

Like medical professionals, the design community has a duty to protect the public, which has the right to know what’s in the products that surround them. And the specifiers of those products are obliged to select building materials that minimize impact on the environment and the people who occupy the spaces they create. Doctors can treat only one patient at a time, Dr. Miller added, while architects who specify environmentally responsible products help safeguard the health of a far greater number of people.

McLennan, an architect himself and author of the Living Building Challenge’s chemicals Red List, empathized with designers who want to do the right thing but

face huge challenges when they try. The design community is daunted by the obstacle of sorting through volumes of lists, varying standards, certifications, materials evaluations, and possible greenwashing. “The reality of all of this must seem overwhelming to an architect on a deadline – you shouldn’t have to be a toxicologist to specify healthy building products,” said McLennan. “The paradigm is backward. We shouldn’t have to go out of our way to specify healthy building materials. The opposite should be true.”

Williams pointed out that architects and specifiers have numerous resources at their disposal to determine which ingredients should be avoided without having to fully grasp the science. These resources include the Healthy Building Network’s Pharos Project, with its comprehensive chemicals library of more than 22,000 materials profiled. HKS’s Design Green practice has adopted the HBN’s Pharos tool and uses it rigorously in its products specification research.

Walsh reminded us that the volunteers of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative are working to address the transparency challenge with their HPD Open Standard, a

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universal format that systemizes reporting language to enable transparent disclosure of building product content and associated health information. The HPD collaborative, a group of dedicated green building industry leaders, spent a year developing the standard, which launched in November 2012.

In December 2012, HKS sent an open letter to manufacturers requesting that they disclose the chemical contents in their products through the Health Product Declaration Collaborative.

Since then, several other design firms have issued their own letters.

The marketplace is taking notice.

Manufacturers are reaching out to learn more about our goals.

While the chemical industry has been reluctant to open up, said Williams, there’s good reason for optimism. With the growing demand for greater ingredient

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transparency in all we consume and use from all sectors of the building industries, the voices of architects and designers, companies demanding green office space, policymakers, health and green advocates and, most importantly, consumers, are being heard.

“I’ve had some extremely positive conversations with CEOs – there’s a noticeable market shift here and in Europe,” said Williams. He added that progressive companies like Google don’t allow their workplaces to include substances on the LBC’s Red List. Along those lines, HKS’s new headquarters office in downtown Dallas is slated to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

The panel agreed that progress is being made toward better transparency, and actions taken by architects and specifiers will lead to more rapid change.

A holistic approach to the problem among those pressing for the disclosure of product ingredients, coupled with consumer demand and manufacturers with credible answers from their supply chains, all contribute toward creating safer, cleaner building products.

Architects have the power to seek out and specify healthier building materials. It’s our fundamental responsibility as design professionals to do so. Simply put, 21st century buildings must be designed and built a deeper shade of green. Our buildings need to address the long-term wellbeing of life, human and otherwise, and the environment that supports all living creatures.

The Panelists:

Kirk Teske, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Chief Sustainability Officer, Principal and Senior Vice President, HKS, Inc.

Jason McLennan Founder and Creator of the Living Building Challenge and CEO of the International Living Future Institute

232

The number of toxic chemicals found in the blood of the average

newborn in the U.S.

Dr. Claudia Miller Assistant Dean, University of Texas School of Medicine

Bill Walsh Executive Director, Healthy Building Network

Although there are no perfect building materials, we aspire to ultimately remove from our projects all hazardous chemicals and substances known to be harmful to human health and the environment.

HKS is working toward a future in which green design and products become the baseline standard in all projects we undertake, from initial strategic input to building materials selection and product procurement.

Howard Williams Vice President, Construction Specialties

University of North Texas Apogee Stadium Denton, Texas Fulfilling the promise to be the “Mean Green” of North Texas, the 29,000-seat stadium achieved USGBC LEED Platinum certification. The stadium features state-of-the-art, high-efficiency mechanical systems; water-efficient plumbing; regionally obtained materials; and permeable paving. Three 150-foot tall wind turbines provide about a half-million kilowatt-hours per year to UNT’s power grid.

leed v4 beta program: staying ahead of the curve A Conversation with HKS DesignGreen Leaders a publication of

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he U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED certification program continues to influence our industry and forge new guidelines for a cleaner, greener path toward sustainable communities. The newest version, LEED v4 beta program, addresses important multi-faceted strategies that advance building performance to superior levels, as well as ensure that construction worker and building occupant health is part of the equation.

The USGBC selected HKS – just one of a handful of firms – to pilot the LEED v4 beta program on its behalf, and provide feedback on how the proposed new rating system works. Here, HKS DesignGreen professionals break down what we can expect in this latest LEED version. Our experts include: Chris Mundell, AIA, CSI, CDT, LEED AP BD+C, vice president/ sustainable design coordinator Ellen Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, associate/sustainable design coordinator Nancy Hulsey, LEED AP BD+C, executive sustainability administrator and resource center manager What are the advantages of enrolling in the LEED v4 beta program?

Mundell: The biggest advantages are direct contact with USGBC personnel and first viewing of the new version, which helps all of us better understand the various changes and requirements for future projects.

Are there any new building types addressed in this new version?

Mitchell: There are three new building types in LEED v4 beta program including data centers, warehouses/distribution centers

and hospitality projects. When LEED first began, its focus was primarily on office buildings.

Other building types with different factors such as hours of operation, water or energy demands, and materials requirements often have a difficult time fitting within the commercial office building framework.

With an overwhelming 86 percent vote, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) membership approved the fourth version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program on July 1, 2013.

LEED v4 will be released at the Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Philadelphia in November 2013.

What is the biggest change in LEED v4 beta program?

Hulsey: The biggest change is in the materials and resource category. This new version of LEED will truly change the way we select materials and products for our buildings. A big push is taking place in the industry for more sustainable and healthier materials through product disclosure. LEED v4 beta program is looking at organizations, like the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and the Health Product Declaration Collaborative, to provide teams the opportunity to evaluate other aspects of materials and products such as lifecycle assessment and chemicals of concern. In December 2012, HKS started asking all manufactures to provide Health Product

Declarations (HPD) for their products.

Will there be any new requirements for LEED documentation?

Mitchell: As with every new version of LEED, there will be a learning curve on what is required for credit documentation. After reviewing the proposed LEED v4 beta program reference guide, it is clear that we can anticipate more rigorous documentation on the part of the design and construction teams. This added level in complexity appears to be consistent across all credit categories, but especially in the materials and resources category, which has been completely overhauled in v4. It will be imperative for teams to look closely at each credit at the beginning of a project in order to understand what is required of them.

Any final thoughts about this new version of LEED? Mundell: HKS has been involved in LEED projects since the certification program began about 13 years ago. We have seen the transformation of our buildings over the years to address site conditions, finding ways to reduce energy and water consumption, and provide a healthy indoor environment for building occupants. This new version of LEED will continue to elevate our pursuit of a sustainable future.

11/13

LEED v4 to be released concurrent with v3

6/15

LEED v3 closes and v4 becomes the sole certification option

The University of Connecticut Health Center’s John Dempsey Patient Tower is under construction and will be completed in late 2015.

taking aim on

energy the design process for high performance buildings

by Brian Wolfe, CDT, LEED AP BD+C, Sustainable Design Coordinator, HKS, Inc.

T

he day of your father’s architect is a bygone era. Unlike simpler days, designers today must consider far more than aesthetics and the safety and welfare of building occupants; they also must integrate energy-modeling strategies throughout the design process to benefit everyone in the end – people, planet and the bottom line.

Designing buildings for dramatically lower energy

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consumption is an integrated, collaborative effort that includes not only the building owner and architect, but numerous project stakeholders. A coordinated effort throughout the design process is the key to designing buildings that reduce energy demand, carbon emissions, dependence on local utilities, and fiscal and resource costs over the building’s lifespan. Modern-era, energy-efficient buildings: • Establish energy consumption benchmarks against similar

buildings • Set an energy-use intensity (EUI) target before design begins • Are designed with respect to the local environment • Utilize renewable energy • Measure and optimize actual energy use Early Goal Setting HKS’s University of Connecticut Health Center project utilized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Target Finder for energy benchmarking of its new

target and influence the building shape, orientation, exterior envelope and just about every other building system.

Investigations As a part of the process, our team studied the local climate conditions, weather patterns and the neighboring built environment, which is critical to any project with an aggressively low energy target.

We analyzed the conditions affecting the design of the project, including: • Heating- or cooling-dominant – determines insulation and glass selection • Humidity – impacts the mechanical system • Wind speeds and direction – influences building orientation on the site • Sun angles throughout the day – impacts building orientation and shading strategies • Adjacent structures – impacts shading and glazing

381,000-square-foot patient tower in Farmington, Conn. The benchmarking figure is based on building size, climate zone, number of employees, number of hospital beds and more. Once a benchmark is established, the development team targets an energy reduction percentage it believes to be aggressive – but achievable – which then establishes the project’s Predicted Energy Use Intensity (PEUI), which is the predicted annual energy consumed by the building per square foot. By setting the PEUI target, the design team can begin parametric modeling of design strategies that take aim at that

Efficiency by Design Following our thorough review of the prevailing conditions, our team researched multiple design strategies for energy reduction.

Several energy conservation measures (ECM) were reviewed and compared to a baseline ASHRAE 90.1-2007 building, which provides a standard used in many U.S. states outlining the minimum requirements for energyefficient design. These ECM measures include: • Window-to-wall ratio • Glazing performance requirements • Lighting power densities • Wall and roof insulation The ECMs provided a direction for the design team for reducing initial energy use. Going a step further, the mechanical and electrical systems were designed to attain added energy savings, which aided us in meeting a PEUI that was 20 percent below the norm, meeting Connecticut’s mandate for state-funded construction.

Target Confirmed Throughout the design process, the team modified its design strategies based on the design performance modeling until it reached the targeted PEUI. Once the new patient tower has been operating for one year, the team will analyze and compare the actual energy use with the predicted usage to evaluate the building’s performance and calibrate both the model and the building systems.

As part of the investigation process, the team studied local environmental conditions including wind patterns as shown in this diagram.

The University of Connecticut Health Center’s John Dempsey Patient Tower is under construction and scheduled for completion in late 2015, and is pursuing LEED New Construction v2009 Silver certification. For more information about the University of Connecticut Health Center expansion and Bioscience Connecticut, please visit http:// biosciencect.uchc.edu/.

For more information about the EPA’s Target Finder, follow this link with your smart device.

HKS DesignGreen HKS DesignGreen is the sustainable consulting studio within HKS that assists our design staff in implementing sustainable design processes and strategies. The studio has catalogued sustainable strategies and “lessons learned” from our vast project experience and utilizes this data on a daily basis to assist our designers in identifying a successful and appropriate sustainable approach for their projects. Daily communication and contact with the project design team makes HKS DesignGreen exceptionally effective at delivering successful integrated design solutions for its clients.

DID YOU KNOW?

HKS is consistently ranked as one of the top ten green firms in ENR’s Top 100 Green Design Firms survey. This year, we moved up to the No. 9 slot, and were also ranked No. 3 in the healthcare market and No. 5 in the sports, entertainment and civic market.

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See video of Kirk speaking about sustainable design by following this link with your smart device.

HKS designgreen Leadership Team:

“Designing green is good business. It is good for our clients, our community and our environment.”

Kirk Teske, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Principal and Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer kteske@hksinc.com

“I am committed to developing a high-performance and efficient project that uses sustainable materials and optimizes connections to nature.”

Roy L. Gunsolus, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP BD+C

Principal and Senior Vice President, Director of Healthcare Sustainability rgunsolus@hksinc.com

“Transforming sustainable ideas into green design is my passion, for not only our clients but our firm as well. My focus on materials at the project level includes selecting the best products for human health and building performance. At the firm level, I oversaw the repurposing and recycling of 52 tons of paper, supplies, and material samples for our headquarters office relocation. It’s important for HKS to serve as a change agent toward a sustainable future.”

Nancy M. Hulsey, LEED AP BD+C

Executive Sustainability Administrator and Resource Center Manager nhulsey@hksinc.com

“My fundamental goal on each and every project is to incorporate sustainable design aspects that maximize economic benefits while minimizing effects on the environment.”

M. Ellen Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Associate, Sustainable Design Coordinator emitchell@hksinc.com

“Working with clients and design teams to provide viable, cost-effective and inventive green building design solutions is paramount to providing a brighter future for generations to come.”

Christopher T. Mundell, AIA, CSI, CDT, LEED AP BD+C Vice President, Sustainable Design Coordinator cmundell@hksinc.com

“My love for the outdoors and desire to protect the environment motivate me to exceed clients’ sustainable goals and expectations with thoughtful design, ingenuity and collaborative team work in a cost-effective manner.”

Brian Wolfe, CDT, LEED AP BD+C

Sustainable Design Coordinator bwolfe@hksinc.com

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