Archive for the ‘Greencon GreenBuilding Research’ Category

It’s true that structures that incorporate “green” design elements are inherently inventive, since they often utilize state-of-the-art technologies in order to have minimum impact on the environment. However, there are some buildings that go above and beyond even green conventions in order to meet Gold- or even Platinum-level LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) building certification standards. From a water facility with a 30,000-square-foot green roof to a nonprofit center with a 42-gallon water tank that stores rainwater for reuse, these eight award-winning architectural superstars are truly green trailblazers.

Gish Family Apartments in San Jose, California

This 35-unit energy-efficient housing complex is LEED Gold-certified for homes and new construction. Built on an urban brownfield (a vacant property that may require additional cleanup due to possible contamination by hazardous substances) and located near public transportation, the complex obtained 20% of its materials from within 500 miles of the structure, and 90% of the construction waste was later recycled. The building has a rooftop photovoltaic array—which harvests photons from the sun to convert into electricity—that offsets 30% of the energy costs. The apartment complex also uses 62% less potable water due to the installation of minimal-flow sinks, showers and toilets. Photo courtesy of Bernard Andre Photography and First Community Housing

The Animal Foundation’s Dog Adoption Park in Las Vegas, Nevada

Rather than adhere to the standard layout, a large room filled with individual dog kennels, The Animal Foundation opted for this adoption park filled with 22 identical “bungalows” that each house 10 to 12 dogs. Built according to LEED Platinum requirements, this complex uses the region’s ample wind and sun resources to its benefit; mounted solar panels provide shade while generating 25% of the daily required energy, and outside air is cooled by indirect evaporative coolers before being circulated throughout the rooms. The park uses a “living machine” to treat waste water that is then reused on site, thus reducing water needs by 50%. Overall, the animal shelter uses 81% less energy than comparable structures. Photo courtesy of Tate Snyder Kimsey
Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology in Hemet, California

Designated as the first Platinum LEED museum in the United States, this building is connected to the virtually identical Center for Water Education via a pedestrian walkway. The 70,000-square-foot twin-building complex is located on the Diamond Lake Reservoir, and fossils found during the reservoir’s creation are housed within the Western Center. The buildings utilize photovoltaic panels, which provide almost 50% of the structures’ energy needs, and heat-blocking glass, to keep out the arid region’s intense sun while allowing in natural light to minimize use of electric lights. Outdoors, a drip-irrigation system uses reclaimed water to nourish native and drought-tolerant plants. Photo courtesy of James Horecka, AIA, Architect
Heifer International in Little Rock, Arkansas

The headquarters for this nonprofit, which is dedicated to ending world hunger, is located on 22 acres of land that was once 60% covered by paving (which was crushed and reused during the construction process). The brownfield—and former railroad switching yard—now has restored wetlands partly surrounding this green structure. The building uses 55% less energy than a conventional one, and a five-story-tall, 42,000-gallon water tank collects rainwater used for toilets and cooling systems. The steel, timber and aluminum used were all locally sourced, and recycled denim is used for the insulation. Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, Maryland

For environmental advocacy group the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, it was important that its headquarters be as eco-friendly as its causes. This structure uses 90% less water than a conventional office building by utilizing composting toilets and capturing rainwater to reuse. Geothermal walls keep the interior warm in the winter and cool in the summer, solar panels heat water used indoors, and a “total energy management system” monitors energy usage and daylight levels and alerts employees when windows are open—all contributing to the center’s designation as the first building to ever receive a LEED Platinum rating.Photo courtesy of Andreas Kollegger via Flickr.com
Pocono Environmental Education Center in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania

The goal for this building was to create a hands-on classroom experience that promotes the group’s mission to raise environmental awareness. To that end, many of the structure’s elements were intended to be teaching tools. For instance, tires found in the surrounding rivers and park grounds were recycled and used to build the structure’s north wall, showcasing how items can be reused for new purposes. Located within a native forest, the site for this center was chosen because the area had already been cleared by a previous owner and construction would have no adverse effect on local ecosystems.Photo courtesy of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Pocono Environmental Education Center

The Molecular Foundry in Berkeley, California

This nanotechnology research laboratory had major hurdles to overcome to achieve a LEED Gold rating, since it housed areas such as wet and dry labs, sterile cleanrooms and a server room, which traditionally demand a large amount of energy. Once completed, the structure ended up using 28% less energy than required by the extremely stringent California building efficiency standard. Almost all wood used was sustainably harvested, and 85% of construction waste was recycled. Photo courtesy of Roy Kaltschmidt

Whitney Water Purification Facility in New Haven, Connecticut

This 360-foot-long steel building, which was designed to look like an inverted water droplet, provides water to southern Connecticut and includes an educational center. The 30,000-square-foot green roof contains 900 pounds of grass clippings and 7,000 perennial flowers—making it the largest green roof in the state. No natural habitats were affected by its construction, and the surrounding wetlands, which are home to migrating birds, were actually enlarged during the construction process. Photo courtesy of Chris McVoy and Steven Holl Architects

Source: Womans Day On-line

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1. WORLD HEADQUARTERS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE–YARMOUTH PORT, MASS.

Building green can often mean breaking the bank. But the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was able to build their world headquarters in Cape Cod for about $220 per square foot. Resting on what used to be a brownfield site, the new building restored green space to the area and filled it with native plants. In order to cut down on operating costs, Boston-based designLAB Architects situated the nonprofit’s buildings so as to increase ventilation and natural daylight. The organization’s 200 employees helped to design the workspace plans to improve efficiency while also cutting down on square footage per person by about half.

2. THE TERRY THOMAS–SEATTLE, WASH.

When surveyed about what they hoped to get in a new office space, workers of the architecture firm that was one of the building’s first tenants asked for more natural light, improved ventilation and better open spaces. So the Weber Thompson firm in Seattle set out to bring all of these wishes to fruition, along with assuring that the building would stay in good financial standing to attract future rentals. (The total project cost came out to about $9.7 million.) The building also sits along a new streetcar line and includes showers for workers who opt to bike to work.

3. SYNERGY AT DOCKSIDE GREEN–VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Residents of Synergy, the first of a four-phase development project in Victoria, British Columbia, live in a carbon-neutral building. They water their rooftop veggie gardens and flush their toilets with rainwater and can control rolling canopies to cut down on unwanted solar heat. An on-site heat and power plant hooks up with hydropower to supply electricity to the building, and it buys renewable offset credits to make up for the rest of the power. Vancouver-based Busby Perkins+Will Architects selected quick-to-regrow materials, including bamboo and cork, to finish off interiors.

7. GREAT RIVER ENERGY HQ–MAPLE GROVE, MINN.

It might be fitting for a nonprofit energy cooperative to be hyperconscious of its power consumption. With its new building, Great River Energy (GRE) became the most electrically energy-efficient building in Minnesota. GRE aims to be a model for its consumers to reduce energy use. The structure, whose total project cost came in at about $57 million, sits at the end of a main road in suburban Maple Grove and uses sunlight—from atria—to light work spaces for most all of its 425 workers. A nearby urban wind turbine helps in the headquarters’s 75 percent decrease in fossil fuel use.

9. CHARTWELL SCHOOL–SEASIDE, CALIF.

10. CHARLES W. HOSTLER STUDENT CENTER–BEIRUT, LEBANON

You can see the carbon emissions rising by the day over the skyline of Guangzhou, where armies of construction workers are busy throwing up skyscrapers that will soon surpass anything in New York in terms of height and ­energy consumption.

Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China. Artist’s impression: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 2009 It is the same story all over China where, despite the economic crisis, engineers are completing four more tower blocks every day – almost all fitted with air conditioning, heating, lighting and lifts that will run on coal-powered electricity.

The country is in the middle of the greatest building boom in human history. Six of the world’s 10 tallest buildings completed last year were in China, including the 492-metre-tall Shanghai World Financial Centre. Even taller structures are on their way – such as the Shanghai Centre, 632 metres,  and at 600 metres, the Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin.

But among the giants there is one that could hold out hope for a low-carbon future. The Pearl River Tower, now being erected in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong province, is being billed as the most energy efficient superskyscraper ever built.

With wind turbines, solar panels, ­sun-shields, smart lighting, water-cooled ceilings and state-of-the-art insulation, the 310-metre tower is designed to use half the energy of most buildings of its size and set a new global benchmark for self-sufficiency among the planet’s high rises.

Engineers say the tower could even be enhanced to create surplus electricity if the local power firm relaxes its monopoly over energy generation.

Due for completion in October 2010, the structure currently looks no different from the many other masses of steel and concrete that are reaching for the sky in Guangzhou.

The horizon is rising fast and grey in China’s wealthiest province. By the time the Asian games begin next year, the provincial capital will boast a 432-metre-high TV tower, excluding its 150-metre antenna, and the 391-metre Zhongxin Plaza. Both structures will be bigger than any building in New York.

While Dubai and other cities in the Middle East are building a handful of still loftier structures, nowhere can compare with China for the sheer mass of supertowers being planned or under construction.

One management consultancy firm estimates that China will erect up to 50,000 new skyscrapers by 2025. Along with smaller structures, McKinsey ­estimates that buildings will account for 25% of China’s energy consumption by then, up from 17% today.

More efficient buildings could drastically reduce this demand, though few are likely to go as far the 71-storey Pearl River Tower, which combines many of the world’s leading energy-saving technologies on a scale never seen before.

The most spectacular feature will be the four wind turbines built into the belly of the structure. The building has been shaped to drive air through the cavities at maximum velocity so the ­turbines can generate 1m kilowatt hours of electricity a year. The building will also produce electricity via the photovoltaic cells of the solar shades cooling its east and west facades.

The biggest contribution to energy efficiency will come from the radiant ceiling technology, which uses piped water to keep the internal space cool. Energy will also be extracted from the difference in air temperature between the building’s inner and outer walls. Rather than use fans to recirculate old air, fresh air will be delivered to every floor through natural buoyancy.

According to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the US architectural firm behind the design, the energy efficiency devices add about $13m (£8m) to the construction costs. But this could be earned back within five years by reduced electricity bills, lower maintenance costs and extra rent from the space not used for air ­conditioning ducts.

Roger Frechette, the firm’s chief engineer, estimates the tower will reduce energy consumption by 58% compared with a standard building this size.

Under the initial design for a “zero-emission skyscraper”, it could even have generated surplus energy with micro-turbines that could sell electricity back to the grid at night. But this proposal was dropped after opposition from the local utility company, which is cautious about allowing rival sources of power generation.

This may change. Faced by a deteriorating environment, uncertain world energy supplies and pressure to act on climate change, the Chinese government is trying to shift towards a more sustainable model of development. It is experimenting with ecocities and introducing new green building codes.

Guangzhou is following this trend. As the workshop of the world, the city has a reputation as a humid, heavily polluted sprawl. But it is trying to change this by building taller structures as well as improving the infrastructure for service industries.

“We are trying to make our city more energy efficient. In the past, we expanded too fast. That was a mistake we are trying to correct now,” said Chen Qing, the deputy director of the city’s Urban Planning and Research Centre.

Not everyone, however, is convinced that skyscrapers are the best way to achieve the city’s green goals, given that the Pearl River Tower will be built with 26,500 tonnes of steel and more than 40,000 cubic metres of concrete, and that its main tenant will be a tobacco company.

Meng Qinglin, a professor at the ­environment and energy laboratory of the South China University of Technology, says urban planners are following global fashions without paying sufficient attention to whether low emission buildings are what they claim to be.

“There is a misconception that buildings can generate sufficient wind and solar power for themselves. We need to look deeper at how much pollution is caused and how many resources are used in the development and manufacture of those technologies,” he said.

“They call it clean energy, but often the burden is simply being shifted to other places, where the silicon is mined and the turbines and solar panels are made.”

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The organizations responsible for the world’s three leading environmental assessment systems for buildings have agreed to establish consistent methods for measuring and reporting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. 

The goal of the efforts, according to the organizations, is to allow comparisons of buildings rated by different tools. The organizations have no plans to fold the various systems into one. “Each rating tool has grown in response to market needs in different countries, and it is healthy for them to be different in some respects,” says Townsend. Michelle Moore, UGBC senior vice president of policy and affairs, agrees: “We all just want to measure apples to apples,” she says.

For several years the USGBC has been working on a revamp of LEED to place more emphasis on reducing carbon emissions and mitigating global warming. Set to launch in late April, the new rating system, known as LEED 2009, could reflect further refinements that result from the London agreement within a year. “There’s an urgency relating to climate change and, if anything, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing more rapidly than we imagined,” says Moore.

In the U.S., buildings are the largest single source of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, contributing almost 40 percent of such emissions to the atmosphere, according to some estimates. “The economy is in the news right now because it’s the point of pain, but the clock is ticking on the environmental front,” says Moore, adding, “buildings are a big part of the problem and they can be a big part of the solution.” 

Source:  Architectural Record.com

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FYI

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LOS ANGELES, April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Today Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), as part of its commitment to accelerate and broaden its sustainability efforts, announced it is expanding its solar power program in California. The company plans to add solar panels on 10 to 20 additional Wal-Mart facilities within the next 18 months.

This commitment is in addition to the 18 solar arrays currently installed at Wal-Mart facilities in California. When combined, Wal-Mart’s total solar installations are expected to:

• Generate up to 32 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy per year - the equivalent of powering more than 2,600 homes*;
• Avoid producing more than 22,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year – the equivalent of taking more than 4,000 cars off the road*;
• Provide 20 to 30 percent of each location’s total electric energy needs. 

“Increasing the use of solar energy is the right thing to do for the environment and makes tremendous business sense, especially in these economic conditions,” said Kimberly Sentovich, Wal-Mart’s California regional general manager. “Thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger’s leadership, California is an excellent environment for us to grow our investment in renewable energy and help create more green jobs for America. Wal-Mart is excited to continue collaborating with our partner BP Solar on expanding our solar footprint.”

“All over the state we are harnessing the power of the famous California sun and creating energy that is pollution free,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This project is all about taking bold action so we can see solar panels on commercial rooftops all across California while putting people to work. Today’s action helps prove that even in an economic downturn, it is possible to get serious about clean, renewable energy.”

“Wal-Mart is a leader in implementing cost-effective clean energy solutions,” said Christopher Lau, World Resources Institute’s California Green Power Group manager. “With this commitment to expand the use of solar power, Wal-Mart demonstrates that businesses can pursue long-term sustainability goals during tough economic times to the benefit of the environment, customers, and bottom line.”

This latest series of projects is expected to create about 130 jobs, including engineering, design, and installer technician jobs. Smaller numbers of workers will be engaged during the periods leading up to and following peak construction.

Wal-Mart is committed to expanding its solar presence in California. As construction nears completion on this group of 10 to 20 sites, Wal-Mart will evaluate the feasibility of expanding the program to additional sites. The company will take into account a variety of factors, including available locations, economic conditions, energy prices, as well as local, state and federal renewable energy policies and programs.

Wal-Mart will continue learning from its renewable projects to find additional ways to achieve its goal of being supplied by 100 percent renewable energy. In November 2008, Wal-Mart announced a major purchase of wind energy that will supply up to 15 percent of the retailer’s total energy load in approximately 350 Texas stores and other facilities. In Puerto Rico, the company is planning to outfit up to five stores with solar panels this year, and expects the project to expand to 22 stores in the next five years. Additionally, Wal-Mart de Mexico will eliminate approximately 140 tons of CO2 emissions annually through the completed installation of more than 1000 solar panels on the roof of the Bodega Aurrera Aguascalientes.

Wal-Mart’s ongoing commitment to renewable energy projects is helping the retailer build a more diversified energy portfolio and create more opportunities for advancements in clean energy through research and innovations. 

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