Kentucky Promise

Kentucky Promise

Living Lab for Ecosystem Harmony LOCATION

Louisville,

KY

|

DATES

2013

Case Study -

2014

|

SIZE

100,000

SF

A building that models biomimicry to anchor a new garden district TYPE Community SERVICES Environmental Analysis 4Daptive Data Management Concept Development Schematic Design Architectural Design

CHALLENGE | Conduct an environmental analysis to inform the design and renonvation of a landmark building into a net zero energy building to anchor a redevelopment district.

CONTEXT | Kentucky Promise, a Louisville philanthropic foundation, aspires to transform a defunct but historic industrial district into Louisville Gardens, an eco district of parks and usable open space. Central to this vision is the renovation of the landmark Business Women’s Club (Molee Building) at 425 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard into the Harmony Building, which will serve as a model and experimental lab for sustainable living and environmental wellness

Š 2017 MKThink

MARK MILLER, AIA, LEED CEO | Co-Founder, MKThink As director of the project, Mark translated the vision for Louisville Gardens into an actionable strategic plan that integrates research, analysis, planning, and design.

APPROACH | MKThink, in collaboration with RoundhouseOne, collected data on the environmental conditions and use patterns of the district and conducted a structural assessment of the existing building. This established a baseline to scope out renovations and inform building systems and programming. The environmental factors measured included air temperature and humidity, solar availability, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide levels, wind speed, and average rainfall. Sensors deployed around the building detected unique Wi-Fi devices, a proxy for pedestrian traffic.

FINDINGS | Analysis yielded the following findings: • Solar panels on roof could produce only 5.3% of a typical office building’s energy demand in June.

• Rainwater harvesting on 1/3 of the roof yields 43,000 gallons — enough to supply 100% of the building’s usage.

• 25% of the recommended light level is provided naturally • Average wind speeds (1.4 mph) are insufficient for wind turbines.

• Average pedestrian traffic was 86 per hour over 50 days.

• The roof and 3rd floor terrace receive sufficient sunlight to support a garden.

CHRISTY BROWN

Founder and Chair, Institute of Healthy Air, Water & Soil We are creating new models to empower “citizen scientists” to reveal the connections between environmental and human health, starting with air quality and asthma.

Kentucky Promise: Living Lab for Ecosystem Harmony

© 2017 MKThink

CLIENT

Kentucky Promise

PROJECT

01 Baseline Opportunity Assessment

CHART

425 WMA: Wall Illuminance 2nd Floor [8AM - 8PM]

DIMENSIONS

1d

SHEET #

2d

3d

R.20

DATE - UPDATE 03/30/2014 PREPARED BY sdasey

T

V

SCALE

DATA INPUTS

North Wall

South Wall

West Wall

Sensor (1/4) - Illuminance (ft-c)

Sensor (1/4) - Illuminance (ft-c)

425WMA - Floor Plate 2 - North

425WMA - Floor Plate 2 - South

Wall Interior Face

Wall Interior Face

Recommended Office Wall Illuminance

East Wall

ITEM ATTRIBUTE MEAS. DEVICE

Sensor (1/4) - Illuminance (ft-c)

Sensor (1/4) - Illuminance (ft-c)

425WMA - Floor Plate 2 - West Wall Interior Face I,425WMA - Floor Plate 2 - West Wall Interior Face I

425WMA - Floor Plate 2 - East Wall Interior Face I

,,

SENSOR TYPE SENSOR REF Sensors

measured indoor temperatures over 3 months to inform the design of HVAC solutions.

TEST LOCATION TEST INTERVAL TEST DURATION

-

-

-

-

North Wall South Wall West Wall East Wall Recommended Office Wall Illuminance

50ft-‐‑c

40ft-‐‑c

Illuminance

-

30ft-‐‑c

20ft-‐‑c

ec 2.

D

. N ov 18

4.

N ov

. O ct 21

7.

O ct

ep . S 23

9.

S

ep

ug . A 26

12

. A

ug

. J ul 29

. J ul 15

17

. J un

0ft-‐‑c

1.

J ul

10ft-‐‑c

Date

Sensors measured light levels over 6 months to inform the design of energy efficient lighting systems

DATA OUTPUTS STAT

North Wall

South Wall

West Wall

East Wall

MAX

17.2 ft-c

MIN

1.1

AVE

2.376 ft-c

3.077 ft-c

1.609 ft-c

2.049 ft-c

STDEV

1.867 ft-c

5.991 ft-c

0.494 ft-c

1.033 ft-c

ft-c

57.5

ft-c

4

ft-c

12.1

ft-c

0.4

ft-c

0.4

ft-c

0.4

ft-c

Recommended Office Wall Illuminance

FINDINGS The south wall received the most light out of all the walls for most of this time period, with the exception of late August/early September when the north wall received the most. The south wall received the most

Kentucky Promise: Living Lab for Ecosystem Harmony

© 2017 MKThink

sunlight during the late fall. The east and west walls always received low levels of light. Only the south wall received the recommended amount of illuminance for normal office work, but only in November.

The south wall is preserved; the east wall becomes a living facade that extends the building into the adjacent George Garvin Brown Park.

STRATEGY | Findings informed the schematic design for a building that incorporates a series of labs to monitor and perform ongoing tests of building systems. Labs are designed to inform system improvements and to educate the public about environmental issues in the district, Louisville, and the world beyond. The proposed building features office space, research labs, a healthy corner store, and green-rooftop restaurant to foster community dialogue around environmental and human health. Building systems are designed as labs that simulate natural systems to not only reduce the building’s environmental impact but also to improve air, water, and soil quality in the surrounding neighborhood.

RESULTS | MKThink worked with Hyphae design laboratory, Brown + Kubican Structural Engineers, and K Norman Berry Associates Architects to develop the schematic design for the Harmony Building. The design employs biomimicry to model the building and its systems after the riparian ecosystem of the Ohio River Bluffs.

Kentucky Promise: Living Lab for Ecosystem Harmony

Š 2017 MKThink

The design and building systems simulate the riparian ecosystem of the Ohio River Bluffs.

Kentucky Promise: Living Lab for Ecosystem Harmony

Š 2017 MKThink

1500 Sansome Street | San Francisco, California 94111 mkthink.com | office@mkthink.com | 415.420.0888