I wrote this article as a member of the news bureau editorial team at McKinstry, a sustainable design-‐ build company based out of Seattle, WA. It was published on the home page of their intranet.
November 4, 2013
David Daniel Receives Honors for AIA National Design Award Senior Project Manager David Daniel, who currently resides in Denver, was recently honored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for a LEED Gold® certified residential home he designed. This one-‐of-‐a-‐kind project, designed six years ago for a private homeowner in La Jolla, Calif., is one of the first homes to ever achieve LEED® certification. In an incredibly rare opportunity, the homeowner, (who asked to be referred to by his family name, Barr), had both the passion about energy conservation and the funds necessary for the design team to delve into cutting-‐edge technologies. Barr met Daniel at an industry conference in Las Vegas, where they hit it off right away. Barr spoke with Daniel for more than an hour, asking questions about his design capabilities and the most innovative technologies available in the industry. More than a year later, he called Daniel up with this unique offer. “To date, this is the only project I’ve designed where I was given full range of creativity and control,” said Daniel. “It was incredibly exciting. The owner’s only stipulations were that the design be cutting edge and that it stay within the $3 million budget.”
The innovative design featured a green roof, solar photovoltaic and thermal service system on the roof and in the side yard, and a solar thermal heated floor rather than a furnace. The project was completed with drought-‐tolerant landscaping. Whenever possible, recycled fixtures were used. “Barr was so intent on sustainable options that we actually designed a number of the home’s features around the specific recycled items that were locally available,” said Daniel. “It was staggering to see his commitment to sustainability, and it inspired me to find the most creative solutions I could imagine.” Other notable design features included a rainwater collection system in the basement, which used greywater to water the rooftop garden, as well as auto-‐tint glass window panes on the house’s south side, which cut down on solar heat gain and maximized heat retention in the winter within the selected building materials’ thermal mass. The project took about a year to design. In addition to California’s Title-‐24 code, which requires very stringent energy standards, Daniel wanted to adhere to LEED® platinum requirements. (Although the architects originally aimed for platinum certification, the home ended up being certified as LEED® Gold.) Come early 2014, the project will be featured in Dwell, a prestigious journal of architectural and interior design. Daniel’s knowledge of sustainable design alternatives, as well as his design-‐build experience, is a huge asset for McKinstry. Daniel envisions dispersing this knowledge to other energy engineers and team members company-‐wide. “I’d like to see McKinstry focus on efficiency in design—of the building as a whole—rather than just the efficiency of separate systems,” he said. “We have incredibly capabilities within the company, and at least in the Rocky Mountain region, more and more clients are starting to realize what we have to offer. When we perform mechanical renovations, we have to tear down part of the building anyway. At that point, why would we not offer to redesign it to make it better and more sustainable?” By Samantha Mack, Brand & Business Services Specialist