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The Empire State Strikes Back

kyle — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:44:20 +0000

Q&A: Dana Schneider, VP, Sustainability Services Market Lead, Jones Lang LaSalle

By Brian Libby, for NEEA’s BetterBricks Initiative


Dana Schneider Jones Lang LaSalle

In 2009, owners of one of New York City’s great architectural landmarks, the Empire State Building embarked on a renovation to reduce the skyscraper’s energy use by more than one-third by 2013. Part of an overall $500 million building makeover, the energy efficiency strategies, ranging from window replacements and insulation to electrical upgrades and tenant education, are bringing annual savings of more than $4 million, with just a three-year payback on the investment.

Originally built in 1931, the Empire State is no ordinary office building, of course, but a symbol of American achievement and strength—and now efficiency. At 102 stories with 2.6 million square feet of space, some 6,500 windows and 73 elevators, it has the scale to reap significant energy efficiency savings and to substantially reduce its more than 105,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year. Besides many tenants now having LEED-rated interior offices, the Empire State Building is also expected to fall in the top 10 percent of ENERGY STAR office buildings when its renovation is completed, the project designers said.

More than that, though, this Art Deco icon at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, because of its unique status as perhaps America’s most famous skyscraper, has the opportunity to serve as a model for other office buildings around the world seeking to transform.

They’re showing the rest of the city that existing buildings, no matter how tall they are, no matter how old they are, can take steps to significantly reduce their energy consumption,” New York mayor Michael Bloomberg told The New York Times.

Recently BetterBricks’ Brian Libby spoke with Dana Schneider of Jones Lang LaSalle, VP of Sustainability Services, a global real estate services firm overseeing the Empire State Building’s green retrofit.

BetterBricks: You grew up in New York. Do you remember the first time you saw the Empire State Building?

Schneider: I was a little kid the first time. My family has lived in New York for generations. I was there several times as a little kid, but the first time I really remember it is when I was in 5th grade. It was so huge! It was a whole city block. I remember going to the top and thinking, ‘O my gosh!’ You can see forever. Looking down the ground almost looked fake. It put things in perspective.

The Empire State Building carries extra symbolism, doesn’t it?

Yes. In 1931 it became the tallest building in the world, and it was built during the Great Depression. Now it’s one of the world’s most energy efficient buildings, with the retrofitting work also done during tough economic times. It was a beacon of hope when it was built, and I think that’s what it is now.

Could you explain the role you played in the Empire State Building Retrofit Project and the role of Jones Lang LaSalle?

I was the program manager for all the updates that go on. I lead our work on the energy retrofit there.

You have written that in ESB “Under the plan, actions taken by tenants are expected to reduce the building’s energy use by more than 6 percent, about one-sixth of the total reduction target of 38 percent.” What tools did you develop to involve tenants?

We’ve done a lot of things. We’ve developed a set of really detailed design guidelines for building out their spaces, and how they can achieve LEED certification and built a prebuilt LEED platinum space for them to see our recommendations in action. We also have a tenant energy management program. This is actually a new technology that enables tenants to see their usage in real time and get recommendations to reduce their use. And I personally work with tenants coming into the building to make sure they integrate our recommendations. We also wrote into new leases a whole set of performance requirements such as a five year or less payback.

We understand that tenant involvement was voluntary? What percentage of tenants are participating now and how are the numbers looking re this 6%? Is ESB achieving its goals with regards to the tenant piece?

The tenant initiatives are really focused on new tenants. When we started our work, there was an existing program for tenants. They’re moving to get more prestigious tenants. New spaces will be built out this way. It’s in the lease language. We can’t make anybody do anything, especially in this market. But we present it as a massive added value. We are providing industry leading expertise to build out these spaces at a high level: It’s like, why not? It will save money to have a better-performing space. It’s the carrot rather than the stick. And it’s a huge selling point for the building.

How have you handled long term tenant disruptions during the retrofit process?

The work that would affect tenants in their spaces is already finished. We scheduled it around them. We did work overnight and were in constant communication. We did it on overtime so we would minimize disruption. Extremely extensive work like replacing ducts was only done in empty spaces.

Were lease renegotiations part of the strategy? If so, what new language, requirements, and sustainability language was inserted into the new leases?

There’s a huge part of the strategy in the lease with respect to payback period. I’m literally at the table supporting these people. The building is moving towards sub-metering all the tenant spaces. So it incentivizes them. We’re trying to move to larger full-floor and half-floor tenants. At its peak there were 598 tenants. There are a little under 200 tenants now.

It’s the whole idea of a class-A asset. It’s major tenants instead of little mom and pops. A lot of that drives us. We have more opportunity to optimize spaces for performance. Those tenants tend to be stakeholders who have more interest in these issues. Whereas with a lot of smaller tenants, it might not be something they’re concerned with. Larger spaces are easier to work with, but we didn’t establish that as a goal.

You wrote back in 2009 that “with nearly 40 percent of the building’s space due to turn over within four years, the success level of the tenant engagement program will soon be evident.” What does it look like now? How engaged are the tenants and how is the retrofit impacting the lease up of the building?

They’re very, very engaged. We’re targeting new tenants, and those who have come on have been part of the process. Skanska’s office is LEED platinum, another is LEED silver. Another tenant is signing on to a half a million square feet and it will be LEED silver.

How does this project tie into the overall marketing strategy of the Empire State Building? In what ways are you counting on the energy efficiency “story” to help add value to the property?

It’s a huge part of the marketing, the repositioning of the assets, the performance of the building and all of the environmental initiatives. It’s a class A asset now. In addion to all the upgraded infrastructure, the whole lobby has been restored to its art deco grandeur. It’s a totally different building than it was. It’s very difficult to pull out the value of an environmentally responsible retrofit or even in a new building because there are so many other aspects that add value. But it absolutely does have to do with the increased tenant retention.

How is Jones Lang LaSalle spreading this experience and tools to the rest of your portfolio? Where are you on that?

We’ve had international training sessions for our own experts. We’ve spoken at every major industry conference to make sure people understand what we did and what the benefits are—AIA and USGBC’s Green Build. We want to get the word out. We’ve done numerous publications and case studies, we have a website, www.esbsustainability.com where all of our processes are detailed for everyone to see. We’re trying to engage select corporate clients as well. We’re replicating this in about 30 buildings nationally.

What other barriers are you seeing out there now? What needs to change to help accelerate this level of renovation to the existing building stock? What new tools do we need to make this easier?

We’re working really hard at a state, city and federal levels to encourage policies that encourage retrofit. I think the greater greener building code requires a lot from building owners to make sure their buildings are operating officially: mandatory benchmarking, audits, commissioning. All of it requires better energy efficiency in buildings. And we worked with the city of New York to make sure it reflects how buildings get built. And we’re working to ensure that the incentives work too, for retrofit and for new construction. It’s a matter of getting those tools out there. The more successful cases we have, the more we can move the needle. If the only place we succeed is the with the Empire State Building than we’ve failed. It’s about convincing other people this is an intelligent business decision.

NEEA’s BetterBricks plans to launch region-wide deep renovation initiative later this year. Any words of wisdom for the Pacific Northwest?

Use our model because it works! We spent over a year developing it. We did all kinds of peer reviews. This kind of approach is extremely effective. Take an integrated approach: the envelope, but also tenant behavior. I’m a huge fan of energy modeling. It gives far more robust information. And be open-minded. Let the numbers speak for themselves. Looking at things objectively and outside the box is important: considering measures not typically thrown out there during an energy audits. And work together. We work very closely with the building managers and engineers in every project we work on.

UW Team Wins $1.2 Million Grant to Radically Reduce Hospital Energy Use

kyle — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:21:52 +0000

June 19, 2010

CONTACT
Catherine O'Donnell / University of Washington
206/543-2580
cath2@uw.edu

Seattle, Wash. - Sen. Maria Cantwell has announced that University of Washington researchers will receive a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy that will help them reduce energy consumption in Pacific Northwest hospitals by more than 60 percent.

The work of the UW team reflects a fundamental game change. Once upon a time, it was enough to create a building that was energy efficient. Now the goal is net zero: the structure creates as much energy as it uses.

“Hospitals and health facilities are second only to fast-food restaurants in energy consumption. They consume approximately four percent of all energy used in the U.S., so lowering the amount is very important,” said Joel Loveland, a UW professor of architecture who directs the Integrated Design Lab at the university. He and Heather Burpee, a UW research associate in architecture, lead Targeting 100, which is named for an energy use index (EUI) and reflects the goal of significantly increasing energy efficiency. The EUI is the total amount of energy used by a building (electricity and natural gas) per square foot of floor area, measured on an annual basis to establish baseline energy use.

Together with experts who aided the initial research, Loveland and Burpee will model energy strategies for hospitals in seven cities besides Seattle: Miami; Phoenix; San Francisco; Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Chicago and Minneapolis.

The UW team’s initial strategies have been included by NBBJ Architects in the new patient South Tower under construction at the UW Medical Center. Also, ZGF Architects is considering more extensive use of these strategies for the patient tower addition to Seattle Children’s Hospital. Mahlum Architecture is considering them for their Living Building hospital for Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor.

The work addresses the 2030 Challenge instituted by Architecture 2030, an environmental advocacy group. Architects, engineers and building owners are adopting the goal, which targets a greater reduction in energy use every five years. Buildings constructed by 2030 are to be net-zero energy consumers. For buildings that will begin operating between 2010 and 2015, the goal is a 60 percent reduction from standard operational use.

The UW team’s research so far demonstrates that there is little additional cost – approximately 2 percent – for their strategies.

Part of the group’s work is based on contemporary Scandinavian hospital designs that consistently use one quarter to one half the energy of their American counterparts. Along with energy efficiency, Scandinavian strategies include abundant use of daylight from windows that may be opened and closed.

The UW researchers found heating the biggest target for energy reduction. In the U.S., more than 50 percent of hospital energy is used to heat space or water. It’s ironic, says the researchers’ report, because a study of a 225-bed hospital in the Puget Sound region found that “hospitals generate enough heat from internal mechanical or electrical sources to need no additional heat until the outside temperature drops below 20 degrees.” And in the Seattle region, that kind of cold rarely happens.

This new kind of hospital integrates goal setting, energy modeling and the means to verify performance from initial conception to building operation. It also targets three key systems with a number of strategies:

Architecture:

Increase use of daylighting.
Use solar heating when possible.
Balance heat loss and environmental comfort with high-performance equipment.

Building systems:

Separate tempering of air temperature from ventilation air.
Optimize heat recovery from space heat and large internal equipment.
Turn off equipment not in use.

Plant systems:

Use advanced heat recovery at the central plant with heat pumping or enhanced heat recovery chillers and highly efficient boilers. Also use ground-sourced heat exchange.

Researchers emphasize that their strategies work in concert: to get that 60 percent increase in energy efficiency, the means must be bundled.

The UW award builds on health design research at the College of Built Environments’ Integrated Design Lab for Puget Sound. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), through its BetterBricks initiative, has supported the lab’s work the last four years.

The department of energy grant is one of 58 totaling more than $76 million funneled from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The goal is more energy-efficient buildings and training for technicians who maintain commercial buildings.

Along with Loveland and Burpee, the research team includes Solarc Architecture and Engineering Inc., NBBJ architecture firm, TBD Consultants Inc., Cameron MacAllister Group, Mahlum and Mortinson Construction. Substantial matching support from NEEA’s BetterBricks program.

To read “Targeting 100,” go to http://www.betterbricks.com/graphics/assets/documents/Targeting100_ExecutiveSummary_Final.pdf

For more information, contact Joel Loveland at 206/616-6566 or loveland@uw.edu; Heather Burpee at 206/616-6566 or burpeeh@uw.edu.

An Interview with Peter Clegg, Feilden Clegg Bradely Studios

kyle — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:43:39 +0000

By Brian Libby for NEEA's BetterBricks

Peter Clegg is a senior partner with the London architecture firm Feilden Clegg Bradley, having established the practice with Richard Feilden in 1978. Educated at Cambridge University and Yale University, he is a visiting professor at the University of Bath previously taught at the University of Oregon. Clegg remains actively involved in a spectrum of research, design and education.

His firm’s designs has been recognized with numerous awards including in 2008 the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize. Clegg was senior partner in charge of the architectural developments at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the new Central Office for the National Trust in Swindon. Current projects include the Leventis Art Gallery in Cyprus, several new schools and colleges, a new business school for Manchester Metropolitan University and a substantial Higher Education scheme at Broadcasting Place for Leeds Metropolitan University.

Clegg was also the primary author of Feilden Clegg Bradley: The Environmental Handbook. Published in 2007, the book chronicles the firm’s experience over the last three decades, while also serving as a primer on leading-edge sustainable design acumen. He has served as a member of the National Trust's Architecture Panel and is a founder member of the British Council for School Environments.

Recently Peter Clegg visited the Pacific Northwest for BetterBricks-sponsored talks in Portland and Seattle. He spoke with BetterBricks at the University of Oregon’s White Stag Block shortly before delivering his Portland lecture.

BetterBricks: What do you do best? What is your primary skill set?

Peter Clegg: I guess I like the complexity of my job most. I do a wide variety of things. I get involved in the design of a number of projects through my office. I get involved in design criticism of other projects through a government organization that is there to actually raise the quality of design. And I get involved in charitable work in Africa, building schools.

My practice does a lot of work in Uganda. I was just out there three weeks ago opening a new school building that we built in four weeks—actually they built it in four weeks. I attended a graduation ceremony there. It’s just a great counterpoint to what we’re doing in the UK because a lot of our work in the UK is schools-based. To build a school in the UK you need 25 million pounds, it takes three or four years, it’s a huge kind of hassle right from start to finish in a way. You build a school in Uganda it costs you 50 thousand pounds and they just build it. It’s great. So there’s that aspect of my work that enriches my life. And I enjoy the teaching work that I do.

This (lecture) is in a sense an offshoot of the teaching work, because I used to teach at the University of Oregon. That’s how I know Charlie Brown of the Energy Studies and Buildings Lab. And I’ve maintained contact with my friends and colleagues in the Pacific Northwest. It’s great to come along and exchange ideas. That’s what this trip is all about, really. Although you feel guilty about the carbon footprint and the carbon in the air miles, you kind of feel this two-way inspirational communication is something that we have to keep a place for in the world even though we have to cut down our air travel.

And traveling around the US or the world to discuss the challenges of climate change and energy-efficient design is arguably part of an architect’s responsibility.

We have to get more involved, particularly in terms of energy and sustainability. Our carbon footprint, a lot of it is down to how we use energy in our buildings. And we can really dramatically reduce that if we put our minds to it. But the critical thing is engaging occupants of buildings and making them understand that they have a role to play just as the professionals have a role to play. We can design really low-energy buildings, but they often don’t perform as we designed because people actually are not using them properly, or perhaps we design them in too complex a way. But the critical thing is to get people engaged in the process, and the business, of reducing CO2 emissions. That does mean more awareness and lifestyle changes.

There’s a great movement happening here in the Pacific Northwest that is perhaps more encouraging than what’s happening in the rest of the US. And it’s closeer to where I think we are in Europe in terms of a general awareness of environmental issues. And in fact, some of the work being done by ESBL on daylighting analysis is very interesting to me and is actually ahead of us (in Europe).. Maybe I can pass on some of that experience to other areas. It’s good to have that kind of exchange of information.

What do you make of the new building labeling efforts going on in the UK and how has it affected your practice?

I think it’s absolutely essential. It’s amazing: we’re already seeing results. What we have to do for all public buildings now—there has to be what’s known as a Display Energy Certificate, which means in the foyer of that building, for everyone to see, is a very clear statement about the energy use of that building, both in terms of its carbon footprint, the kilograms of carbon emitted per square meter per year by the building, and also how good that figure is in terms of an A to G rating. For us it simulates the kind of energy performance rating you get when you buy a refrigerator or a television set. If it’s ‘A’, it’s very good. If it’s ‘G’, it’s useless. It’s embarrassing for the government for its newest building to have a ‘G’ certificate, but that’s what it’s actually got. And so the government is looking at its own energy performance, and everybody is looking at energy performance.

It does mean that when that figure has to be filled in on a year-by-year basis, someone is looking at whether it goes up or down. It’s kind of education by embarrassment, really. So I think it has changed public perception. It’s changed the way architects and engineers start thinking about things. I can now boast about a building we built ten years ago and it's got a 'B' rating. That’s great. Ten years ago it was really ahead of its game. On the other hand, I’ve designed a building which has got a ‘G’ rating, and I want to know why. We discovered why, which is that the maintenance of the filters in the air supply system wasn’t working. It makes you want to go and understand what’s wrong, or to pat yourself on the back if you get things right.

It also goes back to the fact that increasingly architects have a responsibility to keep track of their designs and how they work out after the building is completed.

You can’t just walk away. Our experience tells us that the easiest time to save energy in a building is during the second year of occupation. By then you discover a lot of problems. You’re going through the commissioning and the detailed analysis. You’ve had all those discussions with the occupants to try to get them to understand how the building works and how they can reduce the carbon footprint of what they’re doing. If you stay with the building for two or three years, you can usually make a step change in people’s performance as well as the building’s. But you’ve got to stay with it.

I’ve just learned some results from a building we did five years ago. Suddenly the performance has gone sky-high, and we don’t know why. We haven’t figured it out yet. But we will go back and figure it out and talk to the people and actually work to make sure we get that high performance next year.

Could you also talk about the increasing role of research in design? An architect or integrated design team’s responsibility is related more today to scientific information than it used to be.

I always think of architecture as halfway between art and science. In a sense, research is considered relatively slow and precise. Quite often the design process is messy and often counter-intuitive. You’re shooting off in different directions and trying things out, going at a very fast speed compared to research which is slow and considered. In a sense diametrically opposite disciplines, but they’re both absolutely essential to good quality sustainable buildings.

First, I think it’s very important for us to have people with different mindsets on the same team. You have one person who is actually intuitive and throws out ideas, and other people who test those ideas and considers them carefully. You could say one is more of an artistic mindset, the other a more engineering mindset. It’s often important to be able to work between those two opposing principles. What’s always fascinated me is we’re treading this tightrope between art and science. The artistic side makes you create wild, intuitive hypothesis, and the more disciplined research side allows you to formally test and document.

We’ve always done a lot of research either with academic institutions or engineers in order to test our ideas thoroughly. The best way of testing your idea is actually building a building and testing it – learning from it. One thing I keep getting my practice to do better is to record the research. Quite often we’ll find something out and get as far as you need to do to prove whether you’re right or wrong, but then we don’t record and document, which is part of the academic research discipline. It’s a way of presenting it to the rest of the profession.

For instance, we recently developed a tool that allows us to quickly look at an intuitive idea–we wanted the window patterns on the façade of a building to look as though the façade had been ingrained by water running down it. When the water starts in a sliver and then spreads out, you get different patterns coming out on a façade. We wanted a building to look like that. But we also wanted the right number of windows to provide a view, to provide daylighting, and to avoid solar overheating. We knew that this is a multifaceted building. To get this patterning in the façade to work, we developed a computer program that would look at all those variables and very quickly give us a lot of iterations from which we could select a design concept that suited our initial idea and met the performance needs of the building.

Thomas Hacker, who got his start in the great architect Louis Kahn’s office, told me he remembers Kahn saying that private architectural practice was a place to teach, and the classroom was a place to practice design. How do you see the relationship between teaching and practicing?

I’ve always believed that education and research and architecture should be fully intertwined. I like the idea of a practice becoming a school of architecture. Why don’t we think about all that freedom you have at a school of architecture and bring it into a practice? You have to focus it more because you’ve got to be disciplined by time constraints and making money and all those kinds of things, but the kind of freedom of thinking at a school of architecture and the disciplined research is something that needs to happen in a practice. In other words, you have to be practicing all the time in your practice.

As the profession becomes more science and research-based, how do you still achieve that soulful quality of great design that architects like Kahn represent?

Kahn would have the pre-eminent architect to deal with an energy crisis. He really would. Although he despised pipes and wires with great vitriol, he also, in some ways, celebrated the way you got daylight into buildings and materiality in materials like concrete versus timber and how they play off each other. I think there’s a whole range of work that has come up from California to Oregon to Vancouver, things like the work of Patkau Architects, have a very Kahnian material quality in their approach to daylight. He’s someone I always cite in these critical issues of daylight and ventilation, which is also celebrated in his work, and how to approach the mass of building.

One of the things we preach in the UK and over here is the integration of thermal mass into buildings, which is certainly something in the UK climate we are completely wedded to. We don’t like lightweight buildings.

It seems like the public at large, or maybe even the building industry too, doesn’t completely understand the importance of radiant temperature and thermal mass in achieving comfort.

I think that’s one of the problems we have. I don’t think we’re training the current generation of architects as well as I was trained and Charlie Brown was trained. I think somehow we have lost that connection between practice, teaching and research. Which I think is a great shame, and I’m committed to trying to reform those links.

Are there differences you see in how designers approach energy efficient design in the UK versus the US?

I think of the Pacific Northwest as being at the forefront of thinking in terms of environmental design in the US. And the Northwest is relatively close—interestingly close—in climate to the UK. We’re pretty close in terms of energy commitments. What we have in the UK that’s different is a much stronger regulatory framework. And we have acknowledged long term commitment to reducing carbon emissions. There’s an overriding one that says 80% reduction by 2050. There are ones that say all new homes must be carbon neutral by 2016, and all new buildings must be carbon neutral by 2019. All those are incredibly tough targets to meet. Closer to home, we’re talking about all new schools having to have between 10 to 20 percent of their energy come from renewable sources onside. We’re meeting ever more stringent targets in the knowledge that they’ll get even more stringent. Having made these commitments, the profession is really feeling the pressure as a whole. Whereas here, I get the sense that there are some architects and engineers who are leading the way, and the rest of the 90 percent are waiting around to see what happens.

Your talk is part of the Transformational lecture series and called “Transformational Architecture”. What does the word mean to you?

It is an interesting word, particularly because most of our work at the moment is in schools. In England we’re rebuilding a lot of our schools, and one of the buzz terms is “transformational change” in education that is led by the design of the schools. It’s a very significant brief to be getting as an architect: “Create us a school that transform the education that we can provide.”

It’s almost design as social engineering.

Absolutely, but in the best possible way. We’re looking at ways you can get away from the 60-square-meter classroom. Why do all kids have to be taught in groups of thirty? Is it something to do with how far you can see the blackboard? There isn’t a clear rationale for a thirty-person class. Why aren’t we teaching some subjects in groups of 100 and some subjects in groups of one or two? Within this new thinking about education, we could by allowing flexibility within the design of the building you can encourage transformation in the way education is delivered. There are some really exciting concepts about how school design can impact education.

At the other end of the spectrum, are there any particular leading-edge technologies in energy-efficient design that have caught your attention?

There are things that are interesting me at the moment. Screening technology is one. We’re designing an art gallery with apartments above it, which kind of helps the development finance the art gallery. It’s in Cyprus, which is a new climate for us. We haven’t designed for a Mediterranean climate, where light is intense and where there is a scarcity of water. One of the things we’re doing is designing a beautiful solar screening system for all the windows. It’s a punched bronze-finished aluminum panel that lets in about 15 percent of the daylight. The pattern of it, when seen from a distance, is taken from a photograph of an olive grove, which is actually a huge part of the flora in Cyprus. It gives you a beautiful, dappled light through very large areas of glazing. It always has excited me how you emit light into buildings and what you emit and how you emit it. It gives us so much flexibility in how you control the mood of the building with where the light comes from.

BOMA Seattle | King County Challenge Office Buildings to "Crackdown" on Energy Use

kyle — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:53:36 +0000

Contact Information
Jack Davis/BetterBricks
503/827.8416 ext. 235, jdavis@neea.org

Kyle Stuart/Coates Kokes
503/241.1124, kyle@coateskokes.com

Seattle, Wash. – The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Seattle King County announced the launch of the 2nd “Kilowatt Crackdown,” a competition challenging all Puget Sound-area office buildings to improve building energy consumption. This unique contest will allow property managers and building owners to demonstrate their leadership in energy efficient building operations, identify the most energy efficient buildings in the market, and which properties are making the greatest gains in performance. Participants will assess their building’s energy performance; calculate their ENERGY STAR® rating and work to improve that score over a two year period.

Registration is available from January 25th – April 30th online at: http://kilowattcrackdown.betterbricks.com

“This is a tough market right now, so it’s natural for building owners and property managers to focus on operational savings through lower energy bills,” said Rod Kauffman, president of BOMA Seattle King County. “The power in this event is that it’s about forward thinking – putting your building in the best competitive position for when the market recovers.”

Several new categories this year offer additional ways to recognize achievements in energy efficiency. In addition to the highest performing and most improved building categories, separate categories for smaller buildings (40,000 to 100,000 sq. ft.), the Climate Leader Award, and the Most Valuable Tenant Award will be given out to deserving leaders that have taken energy management to the next level.

Kilowatt Crackdown sponsors -- including Seattle City Light, Puget Sound Energy, Tacoma Power, Snohomish PUD, BetterBricks and Seattle City of Seattle -- have all stepped forward to make technical and educational assistance available to participants, as well as media coverage and recognition.

For more information about the event, or to register, visit http://kilowattcrackdown.betterbricks.com

Established in 1912, BOMA Seattle King County is a professional trade association that is the voice of the office building and commercial real estate industry. BOMA Seattle King County has several hundred members from 250 firms who either own or manage commercial real estate or provide goods and services to the industry. BOMA Seattle King County works to actively represent the best interests of the commercial real estate owner, the real estate professional and its allied members through effective leadership in advocacy, the collection and dissemination of information and professional development and accreditation. BOMA Seattle King County is a local association federated with BOMA International.

BetterBricks is the commercial initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, which is supported by local electric utilities. Through the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, BetterBricks advocates for changes to energy-related business practices in Northwest buildings.

The Greenest Lease Around: NEEA and Unico Collaborate on a Win-Win

kyle — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:20:36 +0000

Download a PDF of this article

In October, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) completed the move into our new offices in downtown Portland’s Commonwealth Building, securing a cost-effective, energy-efficient space with an environmental footprint well below the market norm. Earlier in this series, you read about the carbon factor (how the carbon footprint of our employees’ commutes factored into our choice of locations) and the human factor (how a cross-functional team collaborated to identify and create an office that meets our needs). Now, learn how we introduced innovative green concepts in another traditionally tricky area – the commercial lease.

Wins All Around
Because all parties ultimately felt the lease package made financial sense, it would be a misnomer to say that some items were “wins” for the tenant and others for the landlord. So, here are some of the green provisions that ultimately made it into the lease, which really were wins all around.

Category	Lease Provision	Implication
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
Tenant Improvement (TI) Practices	The lease specifies that NEEA agrees to perform all TI work in accordance with sustainability practices, engage a third-party sustainability consultant to assist with our TI, and pursue and maintain LEED for Commercial Interiors certification for our space. The landlord, Unico Properties, is obligated to cooperate with these efforts, including such specific activities as modifying their construction waste processes. (We didn’t let ourselves off the hook there: we’re required to recycle or reuse construction waste and report this activity to the landlord.)	NEEA and Unico both proactively committed to these activities, a rare sight in today’s market. Because of this and other sustainability commitments, our brokers are confident we have the greenest lease in the city. Though these provisions might impose additional costs on NEEA and Unico, our executives supported them with the understanding that they’re part of our mission and core values, and Unico was confident that the built-out space would be more re-leasable in the future if it were built green now.
Tenant improvement costs	Unico agreed to a “turnkey” TI, where they essentially incur all the costs of building out the space and oversee the process, then hand us the key to the space. If the project exceeded the agreed-upon budget, those extra costs would be assumed by Unico.	NEEA’s TI posed some challenges for the process. For example, the construction budget assumed building-standard lighting, but NEEA’s selected lighting package was more costly; the indoor bicycle storage area is an unusual allowance, but one we felt was critical to our corporate culture. These items required us to negotiate and redefine what exactly “turnkey” means – what specifications and standards should be used to price the project, what is considered an “additional” cost beyond the building standard, and who should pay for it?
OPERATIONS
Benchmarking	Unico is required to benchmark energy and water use in ENERGY STAR’s national benchmarking tool, Portfolio Manager, and disclose performance data to NEEA quarterly.	Though benchmarking is a common practice among environmentally-conscious real estate owners like Unico, the lease kicked their efforts into high gear. Benchmarking creates transparency into the building’s utility consumption and costs.
the ENERGY STAR label	The lease requires Unico to strive to attain an ENERGY STAR label for the building (applicable to buildings earning a 75 or higher in the 1-100 energy performance rating system within Portfolio Manager).	The lease holds Unico accountable for making every effort to meet a well-defined, accepted industry standard for energy performance – removing some of the ambiguity about what constitutes “energy efficiency.”
Separate metering	NEEA’s electricity consumption must be separately metered. This makes it possible to structure our lease as a net lease, in which our utility costs are our own responsibility – and are under our control.	In theory, a net lease with separate metering ensures that a tenant is financially motivated to operate their space efficiently and invest in energy-efficient technologies. On a practical level, the accounting is tricky unless all other tenants in the building are sub-metered as well. Other tenants at the Commonwealth Building have expressed an interest in separate metering in pursuit of LEED-CI certification; the property management team is currently assessing the best way to implement this, while determining how to track and allocate energy costs in the meantime when only some tenants are directly metered.
Ongoing green initiatives at the building	The lease stipulates that Unico will form a Tenant Sustainability Committee to act as a voice for all tenants in decisions about building operations. NEEA is obligated to comply with the Sustainability Committee’s current and/or future programs intended to promote sustainability at the building (including recycling, energy and water conservation efforts, and indoor air quality), and we’re prohibited from operating our space in a manner that would negatively impact our ENERGY STAR rating or LEED certification.	Some landlords might feel that they’d lose some control over building operations by having a committee provide input on decisions, but Unico was open to the idea. The committee will give other tenants the chance to easily join NEEA in sustainable practices and procedures – whether or not they previously considered them. Future leases at the Commonwealth Building will incorporate similar provisions for tenant compliance with building sustainability initiatives. Certain building-wide services mandated in NEEA’s lease (such as green cleaning) will inevitably impact other tenants in one way or another, so why not involve them more directly?
Itemizing energy costs	In many leases, utility costs are charged as a total “utility” line item that includes multiple building services. However, Unico is required to disclose specific, itemized energy costs, separate from other utility items such as janitorial, water, and trash removal.	This gives NEEA insight into the true impact of efficiency measures on the total cost of occupancy. If utility costs were lumped together, changes in the costs of one service (such as janitorial) could be confused with changes in another (such as energy). In this example, decreasing janitorial costs could mask increasing energy costs, and the tenant may not realize that efficiency goals are not being met.
Hours of operation	The hours of operation specified in the lease are 7:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday. For HVAC services to be provided on Saturdays, we’re required to give the landlord advance notice – in contrast with the many commercial buildings that regularly condition empty space on weekends.	Most landlords believe that if Saturdays are included in lease hours, the building must always be conditioned during that time – even if it’s sitting empty. In our lease, we reversed these customary assumptions about Saturday HVAC service, setting an example for other landlords and tenants looking for mutually-agreeable, financially-sound efficiency strategies.
Operating expenses	Most leases define the operating expenses that the landlord is allowed to pass through to the tenant. In NEEA’s lease, this definition is expanded to include the costs of energy-efficiency improvements – meaning Unico is incentivized to improve efficiency because they can recover these improvement investments fairly quickly.	The next challenge? Convincing the other 90% of the building tenants to agree to this model, so that it can be used effectively for common-area projects.
GENERAL LEASE PROVISIONS
Lease term	Because longer leases are inherently more sustainable (and earn a LEED credit), NEEA committed to a 10-year lease.	Some tenants don’t have the flexibility or stability to commit to a long lease, but all parties tend to benefit from them. The landlord gets a steady income, NEEA locks in our green lease terms and our rental rate, and fewer office moves mean less waste and natural resource consumption.
Educating the market	The lease gives NEEA the right to share some of its provisions with third parties in connection with its work...	…the reason that you’re able to read this article today!

In our lease negotiations, we often aimed pretty high. One of our bolder ideas that didn’t make it into the lease: a financial penalty for the landlord if the building were to fall below a specified energy performance threshold. We also originally wanted the landlord to post the ENERGY STAR rating in the building’s lobby each month, but settled for the requirement that Unico must disclose this data directly to NEEA quarterly.

“People are fixated on the lease itself, but there’s a whole package of documents that all link together. If you don’t have your ducks in a row, something might slip through the cracks in one of those other documents. It’s not a green lease, it’s a green lease document set.” –Jack Davis, NEEA's BetterBricks Initiative

Before diving into the leasing process, our brokers (Gordon King and Mike Holzgang of Colliers International) coached us on setting reasonable expectations as well as consistently and continually communicating our needs to the landlord so both parties always knew what was coming next. Our brokers also played the critical role of organizing all of NEEA’s diverse, dynamic requirements and understanding their implications for not only our lease, but also the various associated design documents: materials that stipulate ongoing operating conditions, the tenant improvement plan, and contractor rules and regulations. Some of the most substantive components of the “lease” actually appear in these other documents, including requirements that contractors use practices and products compliant with our LEED goals. It’s important to put leases in context: you’re not just negotiating a lease – you’re determining the plan for your occupancy of the building over the next ten years.

A Two-Way Street
From day one, our lease was intended to be a partnership with the landlord (including the Commonwealth Building’s General Manager, Brian Pearce). Our brokers only introduced us to landlords they deemed to be willing to enter into such a partnership. To make the cut, not only did the owner need to have space available in our target location priced within our budget, they also had to share our sustainability vision to some degree – and come to the process with an open mind. A number of buildings in Portland would have met most of our criteria for location, available space, and rent; and a number of landlords would have happily partnered with us on a groundbreaking green lease. At the Commonwealth Building, we found the intersection of both.

“If you decide sustainability practices are important to you, you should make your landlord commit to them. There are enough landlords out there who will.”
–Brian Pearce, Unico

Economics certainly flavored the discussions. It is a tenant’s market throughout most of the real estate industry, with landlords making concessions to attract or retain tenant companies. NEEA’s lease was also important to Unico and the Commonwealth Building for building-specific economic reasons. Though this backdrop may have tipped the scale in NEEA’s favor on some items, Unico was already pursuing sustainability initiatives and green leases in their portfolio, making them better-positioned to respond to our requirements than other landlords might have been.

So why push for these items to be included in the lease at all, if the landlord is also environmentally-conscious? Wouldn’t it be sufficient to have a separate policy document in which the tenant and owner put their mutual sustainability goals in writing? The advantage is that if the building sells, the next owner will be required to stick to their predecessor’s commitments if they are written into the lease.

Brian is confident that Unico will be able to continue to do business with NEEA and Colliers International on a long-term basis because of their willingness to partner and innovate in this lease. Unico is also embracing the Commonwealth Building’s new role as a hub for green businesses, hosting publicity and networking events and promoting tenants’ green leases in the local media. In the real estate industry, such relationships and reputations are critical to success.

“It’s a ‘win’ to get these elements in the actual lease documents. On the tenant’s behalf, this will hedge against future sales of the building: if the building sells, ‘I’ll try my best’ clauses don’t really cut it.” –Gordon King, Colliers International

Moving the Market
Embodying the emerging culture shift among some eco-minded owners, Unico accepted the costs of our green build-out and the burden of some of our green lease provisions, with the knowledge that this would put them at the forefront of a market transformation to redefine “normal” landlord costs and services. Unico is now expanding the use of its green lease addendum for new and extended leases, partly inspired by the NEEA transaction.

Our brokers from Colliers International are also recommending green leasing to their other clients, using the NEEA lease as a model. They’ve found that perhaps seven out of ten tenants have some level of interest in discussing the pros and cons of a green lease. If the green lease provisions are considered early and often, and all team members informed and educated about the process from the start, those that take action will find themselves with mutually-beneficial results that are good for the environment and the bottom line. In NEEA’s new home, we look forward to seeing how our green lease plays out in practice.

Additional Resources
To learn more about NEEA’s move into new space, visit http://neeasuitesearch.wordpress.com/. Stay tuned for upcoming articles on the space planning process and our LEED CI certification.

For more on green leases, read the briefing 10 Goals for Green Leasing. See also the briefing Leasing & Energy: Allocations.

It Takes a Village: Teamwork Facilitates NEEA's Move to New Office Space

kyle — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:07:55 +0000

From brokers to landlords, from interior designers to employees, it takes a village to move a company. In NEEA’s search for a new home, that village consisted of a cross-functional, collaborative team made up of people from both within and outside of our organization.

Having the right team in place was critical to reaching an end result that met all the assorted requirements of our move: creating a productive space for a growing organization, representing the NEEA brand, demonstrating our value to our funders, and – not least – walking our talk by creating a showcase energy-efficient, green office. Each partner brought something different to the table, but each came to the table with the understanding that decisions would be considered through the lens of sustainability. Even with the most significant decisions of all (the location, space plan, and lease structure among them), energy was always at least part of the discussion. Just as sustainability influenced each decision, the corollary is also true: each decision will impact the future environmental footprint of our location in one way or another.

With so many goals – some competing and some complementary – the process was bound to include some tradeoffs. But with a cross-functional team in place to consider all the angles, we were able to find synergies and capture value in areas where a more “siloed” team wouldn’t have. For example, at the same time as our new space was being identified and designed, NEEA’s strategic planning team was creating a vision for our growth as an organization, which would necessitate creating a more collaborative workspace. With that viewpoint represented at the table, we were able to translate the vision for growth into an actual space design that will meet our growing workforce’s needs.

Here are the team members that collaborated to make NEEA’s new offices a reality:

The Inner Circle
The core internal team consisted of Lloyd Johnson, a consultant working nearly full time on the move; Susan Hermenet and Suelynn Callahan, NEEA’s business operations managers; and Jack Davis, the BetterBricks office real estate program manager. These individuals drew upon and coordinated the expertise and guidance of other NEEA stakeholders, and together they represented the needs of the “tenant.”

NEEA employees: Though Jack was engaged to represent the incorporation of innovative energy and sustainability goals into our lease, he also ultimately served as one of the staff representatives on the core team, giving a voice to the broader needs and interests of NEEA employees. When employees expressed concerns about lack of privacy in an open workspace, for example, Jack and the team addressed the issue by incorporating “phone booth” offices – quiet locations to take private calls – into the design.
Executive team: Though this team drove the program requirements, NEEA’s executive directors played a role in decision-making upon being presented with various options for buildings, lease components, and space designs. Their support was crucial in incorporating innovative elements into the lease, especially since some (such as our advanced, highly efficient lighting system) came with added expenses. Bearing in mind NEEA’s mission to test out new energy-efficient technologies that aren’t yet the industry standard, our executives supported the lighting design despite the costs it added beyond our TI allowance.
The marketing department: Becca Yates, one of NEEA’s marketing and communications specialists, was recruited to help us create a space that appropriately reflected and embodied NEEA’s brand, from concept to color palette.

Building the Network
With the internal team established and initial goals in place, NEEA recruited outside partners to help solidify the program requirements and intended outcomes of the move. Besides building on the groundwork our internal team had already laid, they also contributed their unique experiences and ideas to the process.

The interior designer and space planner: The team held a charette to enable the staff to identify their ideal office environment. Not surprisingly, there were tensions between the desire for privacy and the need to create a collaborative work environment with plenty of open space and natural light. The lucky man selected to sort that all out was our interior designer and space planner, Paul Gibbons of WGS Design. His job was to help us develop the fundamentals of our “program” – what we wanted to accomplish with our space – and orchestrate the give-and-take that would get us there, calling upon the other team members’ expertise for various components.
The brokers: The broker selection process included interview questions about sustainability aptitude, so naturally the brokers ultimately chosen to manage our search and leasing process (Mike Holzgang and Gordon King of Colliers Portland) were very enthusiastic about its green aspects. In the environmentally-conscious Pacific Northwest real estate market, they recognized that assisting with a successful green lease was a good business move. Based on experiences with another client that had similar sustainability goals, they were able to help us understand whether certain landlords would or wouldn’t be receptive to the introduction of innovative lease concepts, and whether the open workspace idea would work as well in reality as in theory. One of the most important things our brokers brought to the table was the extended team they assembled – including Paul.
Building ownership and management: Eventually, Unico Properties, the landlord and property management staff of the selected building, became part of the extended team. Their willingness to engage with NEEA to help us reach our energy and sustainability goals was a significant factor in our choice of buildings. For example, they allowed us to install a bicycle storage room on our floor (an unusual component of tenant improvement but one we felt was vital to our low-carbon culture) and to use lighting technologies that deviated from the building standard. They also funded the sub-meters that will allow us to closely monitor our space’s own utility consumption, ensuring that the actual data reflects the investments made to create a highly energy-efficient space.

Other external team members included LEED consultants and the Energy Trust of Oregon, which provided rebates. We also pulled in product suppliers and furniture designers, all of which were considered in the context of their sustainability expertise; at least one, Herman Miller, was selected because of it.

If I Had to Do It All Over Again…
The cross-functional team was highly successful, but we didn’t get everything right the first time! Here are some of our lessons-learned, including what we did right and what we might have done differently:

Pick a point person. Communication challenges could be a shortfall of having a broad, multi-disciplinary team. It’s not always possible to involve every single team member in every meeting or decision, and everyone has other tasks on their plate. To make sure nothing gets lost in translation or slips off the radar, it’s helpful to have one point person (in our case, Lloyd) to be the eyes and ears into every piece of the process.
Foster inclusiveness. Make sure that the external team members know that their advice is welcome and valued – they shouldn’t feel that they have to hold back.
Lay the groundwork early on. We knew from the start we wanted a model energy-efficient office. If we had instead decided to pursue aggressive energy goals a few months into the process, it would have taken much more time and effort.
Take a birds-eye view of your organization. Step back from the task at hand and consider who else in your organization should be involved, looking down the road at future phases of the project. It’s never too early to invite someone to participate, even if their participation is only tangentially required at that phase. Also look across your company at other significant initiatives underway. Is there anything going on that the move’s timing or strategy should tie into? In our case, the move coincided with a rebranding initiative – an excellent opportunity to tie together our new space and our brand identity.
Get an executive on your side. Invite an executive-level decision-maker to be closely involved. You’ll have an “in” with the rest of your company’s senior management. He or she can help you set realistic boundaries for what management will and won’t approve (or help you frame the options in advantageously to increase the chances of approval).
Don’t forget about your staff. New offices are a big adjustment for some employees. In our case, many will have less personal storage and less privacy with our open workspace design; some didn’t think that the resulting energy savings and natural light were worth the tradeoff. We had to continually remind employees of the mission-driven reason for the space plan and other aspects of our building selection and leasing process – and to continually listen to their input and feedback.

The Bottom Line
At each step of the search and leasing process, energy efficiency and sustainability were significant pieces of the discussion. With a collaborative, cross-functional team in place to weave these considerations into the decision-making process, we pulled them together into a cohesive whole – and created our new home.

An Interview with Ulf Meyer, Ingenhoven

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:13:25 +0000

By Brian Libby for NEEA's BetterBricks. An excerpt of this interview originally appeared in Sustainable Industries.

Ulf Meyer is an accomplished architectural critic and author who has been published in major newspapers and architectural magazines both in Germany and abroad. He is the editor of ARCH+ journal and serves as the German correspondent for World Architecture. NEEA's BetterBricks caught up with Ulf during a recent visit to Portland to discuss the next wave of green design.

What is your overall approach to designing buildings in the 21st century?

We at Ingenhoven believe form should follow performance. You've probably heard that form follows function, but we feel it's important to go beyond that.

I also believe that nature is the great role model. While human engineering is amazing - nuclear submarines and iPhones - if you think about the wonderful ways your hands and eyes work, for example, it's really amazing. Nature has very efficient forms and great beauty and aesthetics that go hand-in-hand. That's something we aim for.

Your firm has designed numerous buildings around the world with double-skin facades, like RWE Essen in Essen, 1 Blight Street in Sidney, and the Breeze Tower in Osaka. Is this the wave of the future?

I don't know if there's any other firm in the world that has had to deal with all the different sustainability rating systems: Australia and New Zealand, the United States, Japan. We have buildings in all these system rated at the top.

The space between facades acts as a thermal buffer in winter and summer. The first skin is airtight and the second is not. It's similar to how clothes help us adjust to seasons. A shirt will keep us warm in winter and shade us in the summer. It's not just the fabric itself; it creates a layer of air between the clothing and the body.

The other major advantage of double skin is it allows you to have stack ventilation, a chimney effect. It works without any mechanical means. You can get an airflow that will pull the exhaust air and make it disappear into the sky.

Along with double-skin facades, another key to Ingenhoven achieving non-air conditioned buildings seems to be creating intensive stack ventilation effects.

For 1 Blight Street, the building was raised by three floors at the bottom. The raising on stilts allows the public realm to find its way back onto the site. Operable glass louvers will serve as air intake. The air will moves up and pulls the exhausted air from the offices with it.

But in the case of other projects, like the Stuttgart Main Station, you couldn't employ that same stack ventilation strategy because the building is underground. Is it true that the trains themselves help ventilate the space?

Yes, it will be neither heated nor cooled. The trains will push and pull air out of the station. If you do it right, the trains can provide air conditioning for your building.

The station itself also has an intriguing form where it reaches the surface. Was that a case of bio-mimicry?

The unique shape came about through the famous German engineer Frei Otto. It's a high performance concrete. They use nets and fabrics to weight the concrete and see how they want it to behave. It's shapes that find their own way, just like nature does, a kind of bio-mimicry.

Europe has more stringent rules about offices and daylight. How much does that help efficiency?

One of the contradictory demands of sustainable design is you want light to penetrate your whole room but not summer sun. Having a double skin façade protects the inner façade from these elements.

In Europe, no desk may be further than about seven meters from the façade. In America they use these deep floor plates which are good for real estate investors but not for sustainable design and the occupants access to daylight.

In your lectures, you often suggest there may not even be such a thing as sustainable design. What do you mean?

The more I study this, the more I believe designing buildings in an energy efficient manner is great but it's not enough. If we all saved 20 percent of our energy consumption tomorrow, we'd still be causing a lot of trouble for the planet. I think looking at building performance is not enough. We should look at how our cities are designed. Both booming cities and shrinking cities are inherently unsustainable. This is a bigger issue than what architects deal with.

Even shrinking cities are exploding two-dimensionally. Sprawl has even accelerated in some areas. If we allow this kind of dramatic loss of urban fabric replaced by big boxes and parking lots-we create problems as architects we'll never be able to fix.

In the last 60 years, the U.S. population has doubled, and the urbanized population has tripled. Yet urban density went down dramatically.

If architecture can help to save some of the mess we're in, I think it involves reinventing urban design. All through the 20th century it was done using color markers on paper-residential here, industrial here. Frankly, that no longer works. We have to think in 3D. Urban design is a dead profession. We have planning, but planners are not designers.

You may think this is not a problem in Portland with your Urban Growth Boundary. But living in the Midwest [in Kansas and Nebraska], I can tell you that it is a creeping problem. Portland is the laboratory nationwide but it still has to deal with the same problems.

What can be done to green urban design?

There are a lot of things you could do. You could disallow above-ground parking garages. Why not prohibit one-story buildings altogether? We have restrictions to prohibit the height of tall buildings, but I think prohibiting low buildings should happen instead. Make Portland car free and build more rail lines. Don't slow it down.

I'm sure you familiar with the 2030 Challenge. How would you characterize the best approach or strategies to get to net-zero carbon buildings? What do you think our greatest challenges are to getting there?

Ultimately, I think the rating systems are great but they have their limitations. They're voluntary. Why should sustainable design be a rich man's toy? Why isn't it a prerequisite for everything we do? Why can't we make LEED platinum our code? We have rules for our car performance. Why not for our buildings?

What role does the Integrated Design process play in achieving buildings with high levels of efficiency (+50%)?

The team process and the collaboration is one in the same. Then there's the content of the design, the actual design activities: the goal setting, the give and take. If the opposite of that is designing a building and last minute consulting with the engineer, that's silly. But frankly, I also think that the influence of engineers sometimes is too strong. I have a feeling that architects let design slip into the hands of others.

What is happening in Europe with Deep Energy Renovation? How is Europe addressing the opportunities for energy savings in the existing building stock?

Ultimately there are things that make a building more or less sustainable that are hard to measure. For example nondescript floor plans. Why are lofts attractive? They have load bearing walls, open structure and an open floor plan. It can be something else tomorrow. In Germany we overdesigned our floor plans in the '70s and '80s. The bed can only be here because there's a power outlet there? That's silly. It's unsustainable. We should design less determined floor plates.

What are some projects around the world that represent to you the best in energy efficient and sustainable design?

It's from a competitor. There's a building, the federal environmental agency in Dessau, Germany by sourbroof and hutton. They did everything possible. That could be a big mess. But as you walk into that building, you go, "Ahh. This is nice. Cool, vegetation, wood, color, diffused light." Physically it affects you. It talks to your body.

What about the role of tenants/ building occupants? What needs to change there to make sure buildings that are designed (or undergone deep renovation) maintain savings over time?

In a way you want to change people, but you don't want to be God. A building should be intuitive and work without too much of an explanation. Architecture has a tendency to be authoritarian. Ultimately that's off-putting.

What do you think needs to change in the U.S. to ensure a more sustainable future?

Here's a broad statement. This country needs to develop a better understanding that the abundance of space is what makes this country beautiful and rich. People look around and say, 'We still have Oregon. Portland could be 10 times larger.' But people come here to look at the nothingness. There's beauty and value in both the farmed areas and the unspoiled areas. We don't come here to look at strip malls. If you spoil your abundance, you're screwed economically and socially. The abundance of land is what makes this country great.

What has inspired you in both your career path and your commitment to sustainable design?

Critiquing a building as a journalist is very similar to critiquing a student's works. You want to see qualities and weaknesses. The transition [to designing buildings] wasn't hard. What I like about architecture is it talks about so many aspects outside itself. It talks about ecology, law, climate, politics. Architecture is a political art. Fine art you can avoid. You don't go to the museum. But you are surrounded almost 24/7 by architecture.

What do you see as future energy trends in the sustainable building market? What about future business opportunities?

I hope there is a trend to think of sustainable design more on the urban scale than the object scale. Even if buildings are great performers, if the city fabric doesn't support it, it's still no good. Generally people think growth is good and shrinkage is bad. Why isn't it the other way around? What cities are great? It's New York and San Francisco. They have confinement, a natural topographic confinement. This city doesn't have that, so it needs to have an artificial one. The Berlin wall was awful, but urbanistically it was great.

Engaging Tenants and Brokers in Your Sustainability Initiatives

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:17:51 +0000

By Alison Drucker for NEEA's BetterBricks

You know you're already doing everything within your control to operate a high-performance green building - retrofitting lighting, tuning up your HVAC systems, offering recycling bins - but you may feel your hands are tied when it comes to your tenants. It's their space, their equipment, and their decisions; if they choose not to throw their soda cans in the right container or to shut down their computers at night, so be it.

Two outstanding buildings in Seattle are pushing the boundaries of sustainability by showing that educating tenants about sustainability pays off. At the same time, they're extending their outreach to brokers, starting the sustainability conversation with tenants before they even sign a lease.

Tenants and Teslas
Wright Runstad's director of property management, Jeff Myrter, is what you might call a sustainability champion. For several years, he and his team at 1201 Third Avenue have organized Earth Day events for their nearly 3,000 tenants, initially focusing on energy conservation and recycling. The building has a 2010 ENERGY STAR label with a top-notch energy performance rating, and is currently awaiting LEED EB certification.

This year, they ventured into a relatively new frontier: electric cars. "Given that we have been able to not only stabilize building energy consumption over the years, but also reduce it," said Jeff, "we were looking for the next challenge." Jeff's assistant property manager, Celjeta Xaxa, convinced the local Tesla showroom to display a model in the building lobby. Tenants came to view it throughout Earth Day, learning about the future of electric cars and their environmental benefits.

The feedback from tenants was extremely positive, whether or not an electric car purchase is in their future. Ric Thorning, office services manager for building tenant Perkins Coie LLP, said that his associates were excited to learn about the new technology and appreciated the team's efforts to reach out to them. Lisa Wabik, the facilities manager with another large tenant, Davis Wright Tremaine, echoed this feedback; a few of her associates even followed up to ask when electric vehicle recharging stations would be installed. The event certainly accomplished its primary goal, which was to start a dialogue with tenants and get ahead of the potential market shift toward electric cars. As a result, the Wright Runstad team is now evaluating options for adding recharging stations to the parking garage.

"Collaborating with tenants and showing the concrete measures we're taking to reduce their costs gets them more invested into the property and can improve tenant retention over the long term." - Craig Goldsmith, Coast Real Estate Services.

While cool new technologies are exciting, it's the more routine interaction with tenants that truly gets results. Through tenant meetings and memos, the Wright Runstad team regularly shares energy-saving tips and provides updated statistics on the building's recycling program. With a campaign called "Turn It Off, Save Some Juice," led by director of engineering Jeff Kasowski, they recruit tenants' involvement to reduce plug loads (the energy used by office equipment, appliances, and other energy consumers, excluding lighting and HVAC). And by partnering with Perkins Coie to pilot a commercial composting program, they were able to prove the concept feasible, and subsequently rolled it out to other tenants.

Getting Through to Brokers
Just as challenging as engaging tenants, educating brokers about a building's sustainability efforts and convincing them to use that information as a market differentiator has been a hurdle for many real estate owners and managers. With the Tesla event, Wright Runstad was able to get the message to the brokerage community, too, with a broker open house in the building's new marketing center the evening before the tenant event. In addition to viewing the electric car, brokers perused a series of information boards about the building, including one highlighting Wright Runstad's past and current projects to reduce the building's environmental footprint.

"For brokers, it boils down to the ENERGY STAR score and LEED certification," said Jeff. "ENERGY STAR and LEED are right up there with all the other statistics about the building, like how many floors you have and how much parking is available. Brokers now seem to be savvy about connecting tenants that are already interested in sustainability with the right buildings."

But a broader market transformation toward high-performance buildings will require convincing those brokers who aren't quite there yet. Wright Runstad's philosophy is to offer up this information during building tours even if they're not asked about it. It is also built into the standard marketing material for 1201 Third Avenue.

Usually, the financial argument is the one that hits home. "If you're talking to a numbers-oriented audience and they tune out when you talk about carbon footprints, start talking about the escalation of energy costs that will be billed back to tenants," said Jeff. "There is a business reason and an ecological reason. You can deliver the message either way but you still get to the same end result."

Convincing tenants to drive electric cars doesn't have as clear a financial argument; in fact, adding charging stations could increase Wright Runstad's costs. So why go through the trouble? They felt the Tesla event was worthwhile to simply enhance tenant and broker relationships and to establish a reputation for environmental stewardship.

Those relationships may be the reason a tenant decides to stick around. Perkins Coie recently extended its lease for another 22 years, and Ric Thorning reported he had never worked with a better property management team. How's that for a satisfied tenant?

A New Normal
At the Bellegrove Building, a medical office complex in Bellevue, another building team leveraged Earth Day to start a dialogue with tenants about sustainability and energy efficiency. After participating in a scoping study with NEEA's BetterBricks program and implementing changes to their lighting and HVAC systems, owner Henbart LLC convened a tenant meeting to present information about their sustainability commitment. Along with the Coast Real Estate Services management team, they described the improvements that had been made and how the building's performance compared to its peers. Then, with some "fun facts" like how much energy tenants' workstations are using, the team generated discussion about the tenants' roles in making the building more efficient. Fourteen of 16 tenants were represented at the event, many of whom offered up concrete suggestions for additional energy efficiency opportunities.

Our tenants are our customers - building relationships with them is very important to us. To the extent that we can build these relationships by sharing knowledge toward the goal of sustainable, efficient buildings, we always endeavor to." - Mark Craig, Henbart

In a third-party managed medical office building where tenants are directly metered and fully responsible for their energy costs, it's unprecedented for a building owner to take the initiative to bring tenants together in a conversation about reducing utility consumption. But, coming from a property management background, Henbart president Mark Craig sees his role as an owner in a different light. "Our tenants are our customers - building relationships with them is very important to us," said Mark. "To the extent that we can build these relationships by sharing knowledge toward the goal of sustainable, efficient buildings, we always endeavor to."

When tenants pay their own utility bills, the economic message is all the more meaningful in engaging them in sustainability initiatives. "Some of the suggestions we provided might require a little more effort from the tenants," said Robert Shipley, Bellegrove's chief engineer. "But we tied them all back to saving money. It is just as important to show tenants that this is an economically smart way of doing business as it is to increase their environmental consciousness."

Tenants were receptive to the team's ideas for how they could take action to reduce their businesses' environmental footprints and operating costs. Since the event, the team has noticed a difference in behavior, with more tenants turning off lights and computers and utilizing the building's recycling program. Besides that, the event created a greater sense of community at Bellegrove: "We received very positive feedback not only on the material we presented, but also on the fact that tenants had the opportunity to meet each other and get to know their neighbors better," said Mark.

The Earth Day event was originally conceived as a way to kick off a Tenant Advisory Committee, which will meet regularly to discuss a number of topics, sustainability and energy efficiency among them. Through tenant representatives on the committee, the team will present new ideas for ways tenants can modify their operations, while receiving feedback on the best ways to communicate with the broader tenant group. With a tenant base consisting mostly of busy company principals, they know it won't be easy to secure regular participation from everyone. But, said Robert, "The goal is for the meetings to be fun and engaging so that those who cannot make it to one meeting are enticed to come to the next."

With these successes under their belts, Coast and Henbart are preparing to hold similar joint events at other properties, and plan to back up the presentation with property-specific facts. At a multi-tenant office building, they're currently going through the steps of benchmarking energy performance in ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager, then identifying and planning improvements. "The tenant informational meeting will follow these other steps," said Coast's vice president and property manager Craig Goldsmith, "because it's important to go into it having things to show."

Henbart and Coast both find that these activities are key to sustaining positive relationships with tenants. "Collaborating with tenants and showing them the concrete measures we're taking to reduce their costs gets them more invested into the property," said Craig, "and can improve tenant retention over the long term."

At the same time, by always looking for opportunities to improve a property's sustainability and efficiency, Coast adds value to its property management services. Just like any other aspect of operations, Robert said, "reassessing the status quo is a good way of doing business."

To have a real impact, this practice needs to be continual. "The goal is keeping energy and sustainability in the forefront of tenants' minds over time," said Robert. "If this was a one-time event, we would see a good initial response, but it would slowly taper off. With a continual process, we can change the overall culture to a 'new normal.'"

Performance-Based Design

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:28:15 +0000

The Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction strives to be the first of its kind: an urban mid-rise Living BuildingTM. The vision of the Bullitt Foundation and its director, Denis Hayes, is to develop a game-changing place that creates a ripple effect to change the way designers, cities, and occupants think about their buildings.

One of the many unique factors of the project is the development process and the fact that the players have been willing to think differently at each step of the way. In essence, the team that enables this kind of performance includes the designers/developers, the tenants, and also the city. "We all feel like we have a chance at promoting much larger change if we can get others to do this kind of building," says Chris Rogers, principal at Point32, the project's developer .

Big ideas about how to reduce and capture energy drove the highly iterative design proecss. According to Rogers, this was largely due to the openness of the team. The architects were willing to let the performance vision drive the design, allowing for a highly collaborative relationship where the engineers were as much in the drivers seat as the architects.

The Cascadia Center is a 50,000 SF commercial structure in Seattle's central district slated for completion in late 2011. The team includes Point32, The Miller | Hull Partnership, PAE Consulting Engineers, and general contractor Schuchart as well as the University of Washington's Integrated Design Lab with support from the BetterBricks initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. The Bullitt Foundation is the anchor tenant, but will only occupy half of one floor; other leases are in negotiation.

A Performance Driven Team

The process was almost entirely driven by the project's energy goals, which are to meet the net-zero energy imperative of the Living Building Challenge.

Rogers says that these energy goals were the "most intriguing part of the process and has influenced every step of the design." Before the design team was even hired, the Integrated Design Lab was engaged to develop an energy profile for the hypothetical building.

When the Miller | Hull/PAE design team began its work, aesthetic design was not up for discussion until every aspect of the technical performance was understood. Craig Curtis, partner at Miller | Hull, says the team refers to it as "performance-based design."

Big ideas about how to reduce and capture energy drove the highly iterative design process. According to Rogers, this was largely due to the openness of the team. The architects were willing to let the performance vision drive the design, allowing for a highly collaborative relationship where the engineers were as much in the drivers seat as the architects.

The idea is for the building to not only be a point of departure from a performance standpoint, but also from a regulatory perspective for the local policy agenda.

Similarly, the contractor was brought on early and was able to weigh in regularly with cost checks to keep the concept within a reasonable budget.

Major energy savings will be achieved through a highly efficient envelope (preassembled and delivered to the site air tight); automated shading; and heat recovery on the mechanical and ventilation systems. As the architecturally imposed loads headed towards net zero, the internal equipment load took over. The team realized they needed an expert in computer and server loads.

The building and systems designs were so highly calibrated that every tweak threw the energy concept slightly out of balance. Joel Loveland, Director of the Integrated Design Lab, explains the need for a "facile modeler as part of the engineering team to pick up the results of small and nuanced energy changes during Schematic Design."

The performance requirements even affected the program. Early plans included a coffee shop on the ground floor, but the internal loads were too high to meet the net zero goals, so a restaurant tenant was out of the question.

Loveland describes Miller | Hull and PAE as a dream team. "Everyone has been incredibly dedicated, way beyond the call of duty. It is pretty exceptional."

An Open Minded City

In addition to the highly capable and dedicated design and development team, the City of Seattle has made the unique process all the more manageable.

Last fall, Seattle passed an ordinance that allows twelve projects to go through a process that identifies regulatory obstacles to achieving the Living Building Challenge. Rogers characterizes it as the city essentially saying, "Let's use the Cascadia Center and 11 other buildings to explore how our current codes and methods for supporting the building design and development process could be modified to achieve better performance."

Given that the major energy consumers are expected to be the computers and server systems, the team is exploring new ways of sharing these services across companies with the expectation that tenants become more collaborative.

Part of the process is for the design team to help the City to think differently about its regulatory structure and to understand performance-based design. In the case of the Cascadia Center, the City will allow a zoning exemption for a larger rooftop solar array (essential for meeting net zero targets) than is typically permitted in urban areas.

The idea is for the building to not only be a point of departure from a performance standpoint, but also from a regulatory perspective for the local policy agenda.

This is essential because, as Curtis points out, "everything about the design is unique to this particular location in the world."

Flexible Occupants

The final members of the performance team are the occupants. Design and technology can only take the performance so far; the final increments of energy savings depend on the tenants of the building.

Occupant behavior is a fundamental factor in meeting the net zero goals. Plug loads are the primary occupant-imposed energy loads and are expected to be half of typical building use.

The design team developed a survey for prospective tenants, to determine how many people expect to bike to work, shower at the office, and the length of each shower. The energy and water impacts of these habits will ensure availability of excess water for irrigation and the ability to not exceed energy use allotted to water heating. In this way, every individual action plays into energy assumptions, to ensure adequate resources to meet other needs. If someone takes too long a shower, the plants in the greenhouse will bear the consequences.

Given that the major energy consumers are expected to be the computers and server systems, the team is exploring new ways of sharing these services across companies with the expectation that tenants become more collaborative.

One idea that is being explored is an internal cap and trade system among tenants, by which a high energy user may be able to trade credits with a light energy user.

The Opportunity

Ultimately the goal is a building that inspires more of its kind. While some may dismiss Living Buildings as one-off solutions, only possible with an owner who values innovation and is willing to pay more for it, The Cascadia Center team is committed to a design solution that is broadly applicable to the industry and thus has the potential to be transformative. At every decision point, the team was thoughtful about the replicability of a particular design. The initial design concept included an unusually shaped floor plate with atrium to optimize solar potential, but the shape would be difficult to emulate (and far exceeded average construction costs) so a more conventional floor plate was selected to fit the urban grid and still maximize daylight.

As Rogers says, "The goal is for the building to become a catalyst, not to stand alone" The project is being designed for a 250-year lifespan, to adapt to evolving needs and technologies, chances are it will soon be standing among similar buildings that it inspires.

Kennedy Associates: Setting the Bar for Tenant Improvements

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:43:46 +0000

Download Kennedy's Tenant Improvement Manual

Office space is constantly being built out to suit the needs of a changing tenancy. After the dust settles from a series of tenant improvement (TI) projects, will a building owner still be left with the same high-performance green building he or she started with? How does an organization protect an asset's value, and ensure consistent, long-term performance levels across its entire operating portfolio?

To tackle this dilemma, Kennedy Associates, a Seattle-based commercial real estate investment advisor, partnered with NEEA's BetterBricks initiative to develop a Sustainable Tenant Improvement (TI) Manual. By establishing minimum green requirements for all TI's - and providing extra suggestions for tenants that want to go above and beyond - the manual enables Kennedy's asset management team to both maintain and improve sustainability over time.

With over $2 billion worth of LEED-certified assets and one of the first portfolios in the country to proceed through the USGBC's volume certification program, Kennedy is well aware of the market's demand for LEED certification. As such, the TI Manual aligns with two rating systems - LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED CI) and LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB: O&M). The first can help facilitate certification of the tenant space for those tenants that wish to pursue it; the second ensures that new or renewed leases in EB: O&M certified buildings are adhering to the buildings' documented efficiency standards. "For both LEED certified and non-certified buildings," said Christian Gunter, Kennedy's VP for Responsible Property Investing, "the TI Manual establishes a core set of practical, cost-effective strategies related to energy, water, materials, and indoor environmental quality, while providing key technical assistance resources."

Kennedy has established itself has a leader in Responsible Property Investing (RPI), which considers the environmental and social aspects of property development and operations in addition to typical financial considerations. With the TI manual, Kennedy promotes RPI by proactively engaging its tenants. Because a basic level of sustainability is inherently going to be part of their TI, it gives tenants the opportunity to occupy sustainable space and demonstrate market leadership without the burden of additional costs. "We can say to prospective tenants, 'You know that when you lease space in one of our client's properties, you're not only getting a green building that is healthier and more productive for your employees, but ultimately becoming a partner in making green a reality,'" said Christian.

"The manual is a quality control tool for asset managers, property managers, tenants, and legal counsel," said Jack Davis, Market Manager for NEEA's BetterBricks office building initiative. "It sets the bar high for the portfolio, aligns with other Kennedy policies, and delivers on Kennedy's promise of a superior product." Kennedy's green lease model already requires that tenants implement certain sustainability measures, including pursuing LEED CI in certain cases; now, with the TI Manual, Kennedy asset managers have a clear, consistent way to explain these requirements to new and existing tenants and their lawyers as they work through the lease terms. The manual also gives team members involved in the TI process a better understanding of what's expected of them - and where they may need to develop additional expertise.

To support both the successful development and implementation of the TI manual, Kennedy formed a Sustainable TI Committee composed of Kennedy asset managers and sought insight from other experts in sustainable TI's. As they pilot the manual, they'll collect data along the way about what works and what doesn't, and incorporate those lessons-learned at other properties in the portfolio. Meanwhile, the team will look at developing supplemental resources like construction contract language, product specifications, and case studies - which are already in high demand.

To advance the practice of sustainable TI's throughout the real estate community, the Kennedy Sustainable TI Manual is being made available to the public via the BetterBricks website.

Download Kennedy's Sustainable TI Manual.

An Interview with Ada Healey

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:47:53 +0000

Former BetterBricks Developer Winner Ada Healey from Vulcan Talks About What's Next

Since joining Vulcan in 2002 as its vice president for real estate, Ada Healey has helped the company, formed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, become the principal developer in Seattle's burgeoning South Lake Union neighborhood, adding some 10 million square feet of mixed-use office and retail space to the edge of downtown. Healey manages Vulcan's entire real estate development portfolio, which primarily includes property in the Northwest. She also manage a variety of projects and relationships with real estate brokers, developers and other business partners to maximize the portfolio's value and leverage development projects in various markets.

Healey won a BetterBricks Award in 2006, a time when the real estate market was booming, for Vulcan's commitment to high performance buildings. In the ensuing three years, the marketplace has become very different, but Healey's values about promoting sustainability and green construction are stronger than ever.

BetterBricks: What do you know now that you wish you had known three or four years ago when you won the BetterBricks award about developing high performance buildings?

Healey: I think what we probably should have done a better job on was measurement tools, refining the cost premium for being LEED certified and tracking that in a more vigilant manner across projects. And also convincing our tenants about measuring the validity of successes: productivity, absenteeism, retention, or some of the other measurement tools.

What challenges have you seen in making sure your buildings' perform as designed and keep performing over time? Are your tenants willing parties in this? What steps have you taken to ensure energy performance is maintained?

Ultimately, it's a partnership between landlord and tenant. Certain tenants are extremely focused on energy consumption and the bottom line across the entire spectrum of their operations from energy consumption to water to recycling. Other tenants, it's just not a priority. For example, daytime janitorial: some tenants are all about having them start earlier when the lights are still on. And other tenants do not want that disruption. The challenge is every tenant has a different view and we can't always pick and choose whom we'll lease to.

On the residential side, often times you need to secure tenants' permission to measure (energy), and for whatever reason some don't want to do that. Also there tends to be more turnover on the residential side. Maybe an occupant is there for 12 or 18 months and a new occupant comes in with a different use pattern. It's harder when people turn over to come up with a unit-by-unit baseline.

In terms of how we're trying to deal with that, we have and continue to try to share with our commercial tenants the value proposition about energy consumption. We have data we can take to our less enthusiastic occupants. On our residential leasing focus, we try to get tenants to approve us having access.

Have you seen changes in how important sustainability and being in a high performance building are to your tenants? Have you seen the demand shift?

I do think there's definitely a higher degree of knowledge around it. In many cases it's a criteria that you have to beat to be considered. It's a competitive advantage for Vulcan real estate, that our product meets those standards. I do believe it's a differentiator. I think over time, and even more so with the new administration and its focus on energy efficiency, I think it will continue to gain acceptance. As companies have reflected on what sustainability really means, it has a positive impact on their bottom line. In trying economic times, saving money and passing that on to the customer is a wining competitive strategy. I think of companies like Walmart. They're obviously very focused on the bottom line.

I do see the knowledge base of the average tenant significantly higher than it was four or five years ago. The brokerage community has also become more knowledgeable. More corporations have created that demand and brought the brokerage community up to speed.

You have a lot of biotech and tech-industry tenants. Do you think Vulcan's focus on sustainable developments has helped you market to these types of prospective tenants?

I absolutely think so. It was a competitive advantage when no one was doing it. Now you have to because everyone's doing it. Certainly in Seattle, the marketplace has spoken. That's the level of product you have to deliver or you'll be at a competitive disadvantage.

Have you changed how you structure your green leases?

We haven't gone from a triple-net lease, which is the market here in Seattle, to a gross or a modified gross structure. We'd have to look at it. The structure we use today is very accepted in the market. It passes on to the tenant any cost increases, but also the benefits of any cost savings. Which of course is one of the challenges of investing in existing buildings: the landlord doesn't share in the profit or the payback. So that's one of our to-dos, is to look at whether it makes sense to transition to a green lease. That also has implications with our financial partners. In the long-term it may be of interest.

Have you changed how you hire brokers, property managers?

I think we initially didn't have the luxury of hiring firms based on their commitment to sustainability. There just weren't that many who had that level of commitment. Today I think most brokers or property managers we engage are up to speed and certainly are even leaders in sustainable development and operations. I wouldn't say we wouldn't hire anybody who doesn't have those credentials because we can teach them, but our preference wouldn't be to have to be the educator.

Looking forward from your perspective how do you think we are going to meet the 2030 Challenge goals? What needs to change for us to get there?

I think one significant piece of the puzzle that needs to be figured out soon is we need a common nationwide standard for how you measure carbon. I don't know if the industry and the government and other players have come together that way. That really needs to happen. Without a common standard, it's hard to measure progress across the country. It probably is similar although not identical to what the EPA has done on ENERGY STAR. And I can imagine that tool being political because certain industries will look better or worse.

Secondly, once we have that standard measurement tool, government at all levels needs to figure out how to motivate people with a carrot and a stick alike. They both are needed. There needs to be incentives for people achieving those goals, incentives as well as penalties. And as a cost effective way of determining whether you're meeting the goals, a number of developers are abandoning the cost of LEED certification and saying 'built to LEED standards'. This tells me that the name has some value but the cost is more significant in this challenging economic environment.

What's ahead for you and Vulcan?

We're trying to benchmark our portfolio for energy, water consumption and waste management. Once we get that, it will be easier for us to measure how our policies and investments are producing results.

In terms of specific projects, we're building a new headquarters for amazon.com. We're seeking LEED gold certification. We're really on hold in terms of new development activity until the capitol market improves. Part of the benchmarking really gets back to securing LEED-EB designation and what value that brings. So we're looking at investing in new energy-efficient technologies. We're doing a little experimenting.

How do you see the market performing in the 2010?

In terms of the next twelve months, I think the market's going to continue to be challenging. I don't see things improving dramatically. In this market we still have a lot of supply and not enough demand. I think that'll make occupancy rates high and rental rates low. I think holding our ground would be a victory of sorts. If you look at the residential market, we're going to have a lot of supply delivered with apartments. On the condo side, I think most of the supply has been delivered. In the commercial class-A office market, the lion's share has been delivered. Perhaps the technical end of the recession has passed, and there are certainly some industries that are growing. I think many businesses have continued to right size. It's unclear when they will start to grow again.

An Interview with Amanda Sturgeon

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:53:11 +0000

For For more than a decade Amanda Sturgeon has been a leader in the emerging sustainable building field. Working in both the private and public sectors through the course of her career, Sturgeon has been a leader helping convince clients and colleagues to embrace energy-efficient design. This is why Sturgeon received a BetterBricks Award for Architect in 2008.

Sturgeon is an architect and was previously senior associate with the Seattle office of architecture firm , where she served as co-director of sustainable design nationally. Prior to Perkins + Will, she was a sustainable building specialist at the City of Seattle, and before that, was an architect with the acclaimed Seattle firm . While at Mithun, in 2002 Sturgeon served as project architect for the acclaimed, LEED Gold-rated on Bainbridge Island.

Over the last five years at Perkins+Will she certified the first LEED platinum project in Washington State and was a winner of the first Living Building Challenge competition for the Department of Ecology, Northwest regional office project.

Sturgeon was educated at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Sydney. While in Australia in the mid-1990s, Amanda worked on the Newcastle University School of Nursing building, which won the Royal Australia Institute of Architects (RAIA) New South Wales chapter's Environment Award. Sustainable strategies included geo-thermal heat retention/rejection, natural ventilation, shading and lightshelf daylighting strategies.

Amanda was a founding Board member of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council. Last year she has also served as a member of the Greenbuild Program Committee for the U.S. Green Building Council, and she was previously a member of the AIA Seattle board of directors. Sturgeon has taught sustainable design at the University of Washington's School of Architecture and has recently become a Living Building Challenge Ambassador. She is credited with re-starting the AIA Seattle Committee on the Environment in 1999 as well as the annual What Makes It Green? conference.

Recently BetterBricks spoke with Sturgeon to discuss what's changed and what the future looks like.

BetterBricks: What's changed since you won the BetterBricks award in 2008?

Amanda Sturgeon: When I won the award I had just become the co-director for sustainability for Perkins + Will nationally. We have 21 offices worldwide. There's been quite a lot of growth for me personally in terms of working out strategically how you lead that many people from diverse geographic locations toward a sustainable design attitude.

Also, when the economy took a turn in 2008 there was so much uncertainty. How will the economy affect green building? Will owners be able to afford them now? Luckily, I've seen the opposite turn out to be the case. People are realizing green building is a really sound investment and as construction costs come in below the expected budget more sustainable features are being added to the projects.

What encouraging signs do you see?

I think in this economy people are reassessing their priorities. I've seen a lot of interest in sustainability… the federal tax credits, the new energy policy, grants for geothermal and solar. I think that's going to kick-start use of some new renewable sources we haven't seen before in buildings.

What is the architect's role in the process besides design?

We need to take our role beyond our own projects and offices and toward the green building profession as a whole. We need to be more collaborative and share our resources and research. We released two research tools last year. One is called the 2030 e2 Tool, which helps guide professionals on achieving the 2030 Challenge. At Greenbuild, we also released the Precautionary List - a list of chemicals commonly found in building materials that are scientifically known to be harmful to human health. We identified alternatives to most of these materials.
Our goal is to release two research projects each year that are shared with the public on our website. We want to transform the marketplace, and we want to have shared knowledge. Global climate change is an urgent issue, if we don't share resources we won't succeed in turning it around.

What's the best argument to help clients and the architect profession take that extra step?

Talking about how green building will save on energy costs is still the best argument. We still have some clients that aren't convinced about climate change, and many do not want to take the risk of being a leader in a new technology. So saving money over time is the way to get them to do the right thing. Benchmarking and post-occupancy evaluations are key to making this persuasive, if we track how our building actually performed we have better resources to show future building owners and clients how successful energy efficiency strategies will be.
There's a lot of opportunity to educate building owners. With more of an emphasis on energy audits and evaluations, we might have the opportunity to educate some owners on the benefits. The knowledge is out there, but it's not widespread enough. Some architects are better educators and some are better designers. It's a burden to be the one to bring that to the surface. But there's a huge potential for growth.

What factors make a green building market?

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:35:14 +0000

New index marries real estate economics with green design metrics.

Why does one market tend to have more LEED Certified buildings than another? What is the impact of vacancy rates, utility incentives, or public policies on the feasibility and economics of "going green?" In this new study, Cushman & Wakefield and NEEA's BetterBricks initiative have published the Green Building Opportunity Index - a comprehensive ranking of the top 25 U.S. markets for green buildings. Combining fundamental indicators from real estate sector with cultural, policy, and technical aspects related to green buildings, the Index highlights the ingredients necessary for a healthy green building market.

What industry professionals are saying:

"This index marries real estate economics with green design metrics and is a constructive next-step in shedding light on the triple bottom line of sustainable development." - Uwe Brandes, V.P. Initiatives, Urban Land Institute

See how your home town ranks by reading the Green Building Opportunity Index.

Download the Green Building Opportunity Index
Download the New York Midtown Profile

An Interview With Norm Strong

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:35:10 +0000

In 2007 Norman Strong, managing partner ofThe Miller | Hull Partnership, a venerable Seattle architecture firm, received a BetterBricks Award in the Advocate category.

"Norman has been ahead of the curve, leading his firm and the architectural community forward," the judges wrote of Strong when he won the award. He is working at a national level to promote change, a challenging and time consuming effort that is commended."

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Strong helps oversee business operations for a company that received the AIA's national Firm of the Year Award in 2003 and has won more than 130 design awards. Since its beginnings in 1977, Miller | Hull has long been a recognized leader in sustainable design, which an unprecedented five projects listed in the AIA Committee on the Environment's prestigious annual Top 10 Green Projects list.

BetterBricks: You have been a local and national leader in sustainable design for some time. How has your career changed or progressed since winning a BetterBricks award two years ago?

Strong: I just celebrated thirty years with Miller Hull. Thirty years ago we were talking about basic good design that used concepts like passive solar, and we were doing it before we even knew what sustainability was. I think in the Pacific Northwest in particular, as designers, we now have the opportunity to go back to that day. As an individual and as part of a firm, I'm still committed to changing the way we do business. It's going to be a continuing goal for many years.

How have advances in energy-efficient design or technology affected what you do as an architect?

We're taking a lead in rough (preliminary) energy modeling now. Instead of engineers doing it at the end of a phase, we're getting our hands dirty with software programs like Revit and EcoTech to better understand performance implications of design decisions. We're way to the left of the decimal point. We're looking at things at a broad scale, not down to the thousandths of a degree. We can make decisions early on using those tools. But none of the technologies replace both the commitment and the common sense that needs to be factored in.

We are using a number of software programs as applications to our Revit (BIM) based design. Right now we are using "Grasshopper" for alternative energy studies and EcotTech to model both lighting and energy consumption pieces of a project. There are many applications out there for architects to explore; it just depends on the project.

What has been your biggest challenge or something you'd like to see change?

I think the thing that hasn't changed enough, unfortunately, is there's still the perception that climate change is not real. That's still a real concern. Two years ago I was on the road a lot for the AIA promoting the Architecture 2030 Challenge goals. I got a lot of comments and questions like, "Is this a hoax?" I'd say, "I believe in the science. If you don't that's fine, but what's wrong with saving people money?" Unfortunately, the perception is still out there. But, as architects in the industry we have to be responsible and we know we need to do something.

What projects have you worked on since winning the award that have been shaped by new innovations in energy-efficient design?

We're attempting to do two Living Building projects right now and are really focusing on those: the Bullitt Foundation Headquarters in Seattle, and the Cascadia Community College Wetlands Education Center. Both are in the predesign phase.

Another recent project, the University of Washington Conibear Shellhouse and Student Life Center is not a Living Building nor certified as a LEED project, but it is a very sustainable natural solution. It is a very innovative building that uses natural ventilation in a new way, coming off the water through the skin, all the exercise areas and up these vent stacks. The only parts of the building that are fully air-conditioned are the computer areas. The thing that was interesting was the occupants wanted to do natural ventilation. The athletic department said, 'we live outdoors, why don't we create our spaces like that?'

For another project, the South Lake Union Discovery Center, in a very short time period, we used a very integrated design process and then opened a sales center within nine months using prefab materials and systems. We're also looking at how it can be disassembled and reused in the future. The idea of adaptive reuse is critical. And we've started to focus more on it. There are so many projects that need to get renovated in a sustainable manner. We're seeing that market is there. You can't achieve the broad carbon reduction goals by just building efficient new buildings.

How are you able to walk the talk and demonstrate to clients your design values?

Since 2007, our firm has officially gone carbon neutral. We had an audit by Seattle Climate Partnership. We've bought some offsets through Bonneville Environmental Foundation's "green tag" program to offset some of our air travel and our work commutes. It's been very interesting. We're a firm of about 50 people. When we looked at our paper consumption in a given year, we were shocked to learn how much we use. As a business, though, we can specifically say how much now. And once we realized our commutes should be factored in, we offset that through green tags.

I've also become involved nationally as a co-chair of the AIA's 2030 Commitment. Architecture firms are not just agreeing to meet these goals but reporting back on their projects, both the great ones and the ones not doing so well, and we try to learn from each other. That's been one positive trend: people are starting to band together.

The 2030 Commitment is a guidebook for how firms can structure themselves to produce sustainable design. How does that complement the Architecture 2030 Challenge?

The Architecture 2030 Challenge is an initiative of the nonprofit organization Architecture 2030. It is fantastic. They've done a great job of making the whole issue real, both to politicians and also everyday people. Still, you commit but you never report. That's the big difference in the AIA program. It's real results verified through reporting.

What do you see in the future for LEED and other green building rating systems?

LEED is a fantastic system and has done a great job of making the general public aware. But we need to explain to the public that even LEED may not meet energy goals. We need to get way beyond LEED in our thinking. The ratings and the plaques are fantastic. But the New Buildings Institute website has a report funded by the USGBC that talks about projects at a Gold or Platinum level that don't come close to some of the energy efficiency goals that the AIA has.

What challenges have you seen in making sure your buildings' energy efficiency performs as designed and keeps performing over time? Are your tenants willing parties in this?

As designers, we no longer can just get a project done and move on. We need to understand how our buildings are performing and step up to the plate. If something's not performing, why?

One thing we're finding is that we can design very smart buildings but if the tenants or occupants don't understand that building, there can be lots of unintended consequences, like choosing to override systems. To avoid that, we are doing post occupancy interviews. That's more a part of our culture now.

And of course it takes occupant cooperation as well.

Definitely. I've been in many sustainability charrettes where I say, "How are you going to change the way you occupy the building? We can't have a plus or minus degree. We need a wider temperature swing. Are you okay with that?" It has to be a new way of thinking and a new tolerance level. One thing that's become apparent to me is people don't want to sacrifice. As architects, we should say that energy conservation is not a sacrifice. It's a new way of thinking. A new tolerance level that's needed by everyone to make this happen. Here in the Northwest, most of our houses aren't air-conditioned. Why not have them breathe and bring in the clean air we have? It's a more natural approach.

Have you seen progress made in related professions like building development and real estate?

Since 2007 I've become more involved with the National Association of Industrial Office Parks (NAIOP), which is basically commercial developers. I'm co-chairing a sustainable development committee for them. The commercial developers of the world are becoming more and more aware of the marketability of doing energy responsible projects, especially in the Northwest because we're not typically in the mode of just flipping buildings. We have a lot of owner-occupied buildings. It's nice. We still have to talk about the business case, but more people are realizing there's a competitive advantage to operating a high-efficiency building and being able to say that to your clients and tenants.

One of our first naturally ventilated buildings was a credit union. They said after a year of occupancy, the amount of sick leave their staff took and staff retention really changed. People felt better and they wanted to stay.

Research Based Design

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:42:41 +0000

Written by Naomi Cole, Konstrukt, Inc. for BetterBricks

The Value of Research

A transformation began at SRG Partnership in 1999 when Principal Architect, Kent Duffy, began collaborating with the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory (ESBL) while designing the University's Lillis Business Complex for the Lundquist College of Business.

Little did he know that this relationship would forever change his and his firm's approach to design and professional practice. The value of ESBL's research-based approach became clear through tested scale models and the effectiveness of its director, G.Z. Charlie Brown, to demonstrate a principle. How could a designer argue with daylighting potential in the Northwest when Brown opened the blinds and turned off the lights to show sufficient footcandle measurements using a table top light meter? Brown brings a fully equipped research lab, experienced professional staff, extensive research data and a long history of project experience to prove the effectiveness of particular design innovations.

"When we saw what Charlie and the Lab could do, it gave us the information to make informed descisions, not guesses," - Kent Duffy, SRG Partnership

"When we saw what Charlie and the Lab could do, it gave us the information to make informed decisions, not guesses," says Duffy. On the Lillis project SRG, applied a variety of passive strategies that they had used intuitively in other projects, but the application at Lillis was very different. This time the design was backed up by tested research and analyses done by the Lab.

For Duffy and others at SRG, including Design Principal Jon Schleuning and Managing Principal Dennis Cusack, this ability to distinguish between perceptions and reality was increasingly valuable to their design process. ESBL's support has allowed them to optimize building performance with concepts specific to building type and location.

Over the last ten years the relationship between SRG and ESBL has gradually transformed the approaches of the firm's design leaders, the management and business model for a multi-office practice, and related impacts to the rapidly evolving profession of architecture.

Transformation of the Designers

As individuals at SRG began to understand the value of ESBL analysis to verify design performance through tested models, the Lab's research took on increasing importance in their design routine. Once Lillis was built, SRG wanted their next project to perform at an even higher level. "Understanding performance changed the value system of how we judge buildings and perceive things," says Schleuning.

The most defining transformation for both design principals is that environmental responsiveness has become form generating. From project outset, they now systematically work through the analysis of daylight or natural ventilation to ensure an approach really works and is properly integrated into a concept to inform spatial and material qualities. Instead of presuming what a building will look like and then figuring out how to make it work, Duffy and Schleuning now explore what works passively and use that information to give form to a structure. As Duffy says, "What you build reflects what you believe." They consider local environmental characteristics before even developing a design concept. And for both architects, that reversal in process has been the greatest transformation.

A new SRG building for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife exemplifies this transformational approach. While still negotiating the contract, and prior to any design workshops, Schleuning scheduled a meeting with Brown and mechanical engineer Paul Schwer of PAE Consulting Engineers to discuss key questions to ask during programming. He knew that effective programming would inform occupants' behavior in the space and that collocation of similar functions would help optimize the resource demands of different space types. Energy demands and comfort zones were accounted for before building diagrams were ever conceived. The first thing he asked the owner-where is the nearest weather station?

Brown has worked with many architects over his long career and has found a unique give and take with Duffy and Schleuning because they take his participation as a university-based researcher very seriously. This is partly because the two principals are highly collaborative with one another and openly critical when appropriate. They have found a similar relationship with Brown. At a recent work session at ESBL, Duffy and Brown were exploring optimum configurations for a daylit classroom. When Duffy suggested what he personally knew was an unusual, and potentially unreasonable, configuration, Brown beamed in response and said, "I knew eventually you'd start listening to me."

Each design is an evolution of the one before it and SRG and ESBL are exploring new ways to shape the reflectors and deliver light to a room while also providing shade in special situations

This kind of give and take between Brown, Duffy and Schleuning is unique in the design practice because it is unlike that of architect and client or architect and consultant. As an independent, academic research institute, supported in part by BetterBricks since 2002, ESBL ensures that design explorations are idea-driven, as well as service-driven in response to a client. This facilitates a two-way free exchange of ideas and challenges in both directions.

Transformation of the Firm

Though the Lab collaboration began as a successful dynamic primarily involving Duffy and Schleuning, under Cusack's leadership this approach to performance and research-based design now permeates the firm. Across SRG, attitudes are changing. A new sense of inquiry ensures that designers first think about environmental performance and use lessons from previous innovations, while new iterations improve on lessons learned from previous models. It even creates a healthy competition among designers who want their own projects to achieve the best performance results and use the least energy. "The end result," observes Brown, "is exemplary buildings that leverage the resources of their context, amplify the productivity and health of their occupants and demonstrate high levels of performance."

One example of this evolution is the daylit classroom concept first used at Mount Angel Abbey. Over the years, Brown and his collaborators had developed a model of a large central skylight situated above reflectors to diffuse light throughout a room. He finally found the right application opportunity with the SRG team and the Mount Angel project. The project has now found much success along with a few challenges. SRG's enthusiasm for the design and the lessons learned from the first installation has encouraged them to keep refining the concept, which has since been used in other SRG projects like the da Vinci Middle School, Chemeketa Community College, and Spokane Falls Community College. Each design is an evolution of the one before it and SRG and ESBL are exploring new ways to shape the reflectors and deliver light to a room while also providing shade in special situations.

Architecture schools have traditionally taught the descipline through structure and form, and designers are now being asked to understand architecture through environmental resources like light and air, which require engineering techniques to be understood at a higher level.

Through over 30 collaborative projects with ESBL the SRG staff has transformed, much like Duffy, Schleuning, and Cusack, to recognize the value of research analysis and modeling of a design providing the direct link to better building performance. The proliferation of SRG and ESBL partner projects means that there are now 24-30 people within SRG who can readily communicate with Brown and his team about integrated design to produce higher levels of building performance. This also provides ESBL an opportunity to try new things outside of the lab. The relationship goes both ways.

SRG has now proven, internally, that certain design strategies will be givens for their projects, and each new project starts at a higher level, with a smaller learning curve because previous buildings have proven the value of a particular strategy. Teams now know to ask for climate data at the very beginning of a project. The level of insulation on the exterior of a building no longer requires proof on each project. There is no debate about whether to daylight a space, only the question of how. Lessons learned from one project become standard for the next. At Mount Angel, the ceiling fans were all wired on the same circuit so the retroactively installed monitors could not isolate fan energy use for a particular room. SRG now asks electrical engineers to place fans on individual circuits for more effective monitoring. Because infiltration was a challenge at Mount Angel, SRG now requires blower door tests for all their new projects.

Out of all these lessons learned, and a desire for greater efficiency, SRG has developed a matrix to help guide new projects through the analytic process that they have learned from Brown. It takes a quantitative approach to break energy demand into lighting, fan power, and plug loads, for example, and a qualitative approach to consider comfort and visibility as an example of occupant satisfaction. This comprehensive analysis helps to drive down energy demand before a project even hits the drawing board and is just one approach to help further integrate energy analysis in a consistent manner across projects. "We're very enthusiastic about it," says Schleuning, "But it's harder than we ever thought."

This is one of many related initiatives within the firm that were inspired by the relationship with the Lab. The project level work was the catalyst, and from that Cusack was challenged to standardize the quality of analysis and performance of every new SRG project across multiple offices. A 2007 Strategic Plan for Integrated High Performance Buildings helped institutionalize this approach and formalize related intentions for 100 percent LEED Accreditation of Principals and 85 percent of design staff, as well as emerging partnerships with other leading thinkers and a new accounting model to assess the value of an existing building or site. Cusack creates the environment across the firm to share lessons learned and stimulate new initiatives so that designers like Duffy and Schleuning can remain project-focused and build the next-generation high performance building.

Transformation of the Profession

From the application of this research-based approach in SRG's own practice and firm, Cusack observes a huge challenge for the architecture profession-an increasing awareness of performance and resource consumption requires that designers essentially relearn professional practice. Architecture schools have traditionally taught the discipline through structure and form, and designers are now being asked to understand architecture through environmental resources like light and air, which require engineering techniques to be understood at a higher level.

"We may understand the intuitive aspects, like the fact that it's easier to heat water than air, but what do we do about it?" asks Schleuning. ESBL helps bridge this knowledge gap with practical, hands-on application and models that connect form to performance and allow designers to optimize the two. Duffy explains that passive systems require more engineering because they must respond to small nuances to achieve performance targets. "It takes the most refined level of engineering imaginable to get a building to breathe and stay warm without turning on fans or boilers," he says.

Schleuning adds that it is not only the buildings, but also the behavior of their occupants, that must change. He characterizes Brown as a behavioralist because he considers the power of people to impact building energy use. If occupants fail to open the blinds in the morning to let in sunlight, then the electric lights become the default and an entire daylighting scheme has no impact. Similarly, Schleuning is adamant that designers must learn not to design for extremes, which he refers to as the "5 percent solution," where an entire HVAC system is oversized to respond to five days of above average weather annually, rather than letting occupants respond to the variation through clothing, open windows, or individual fans.

While this increasing awareness challenges architects, it can be even more challenging for building owners who are not trained to think about performance of their facilities. And because some design decisions require new flexibility to allow greater comfort ranges or different operating routines, the significance of conveying these opportunities to clients cannot be underestimated. By working with decision makers at all levels, SRG may explain opportunities in a different way to administrators, facilities managers, and the users because each interest group brings a different set of priorities that directly affect building performance. While many of these client groups are still evolving in their thinking about energy demand and occupant behavior in their buildings, SRG brings trust and added value with a portfolio of research analysis and tested building performance.

Over their careers, Duffy, Schleuning, and Cusack have seen trends come and go. In this era of increasing awareness of resource consumption and the impact of buildings worldwide, they feel a burden and responsibility to see that the evolving responsiveness to climate assets and building performance has endurance. "We're back in a phase when we're trying to have an impact, and if we can cement values that have lasting merit, then we are in fact successful and of value," says Schleuning. "We're in a position now to change the world."

The Impact of Innovation

The implications of this innovation process are not underestimated by SRG. It is very serious work. "When you're doing innovation, if it doesn't work, then it jeopardizes a whole series of very, very positive acts that other people are doing," explains Schleuning. If, in fact, the daylighting approach at Mount Angel had not worked, then all its visitors and observers would have spread the word that this particular approach to a daylit classroom was a bad idea. Fortunately, it did work. There is an awareness within the firm that each act of innovation creates a precedent, making the testing and modeling process during design even more important.

Yet Duffy looks forward to a future of architectural practice with continued experimentation and exploration of the possibilities that he has valued so greatly in his relationship with ESBL.

Considering this and the seriousness of their experimentation, SRG felt that the missing piece of their research was a comprehensive approach to monitoring the performance of their buildings. They were concerned about making unsubstantiated claims and also wanted to reciprocate the benefits they received from ESBL. At Cusack's suggestion, SRG is sponsoring a two-year research fellowship at Brown's lab for a position fully dedicated to monitoring, testing, and verifying building performance.

Beyond the lab position, Duffy, Schleuning, and others in their office are committed to spreading their approach to collaboration and lessons learned throughout the design community. With the assistance of BetterBricks, the commercial building initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, they have worked to expand and share ESBL's lessons learned and expertise. For a project in Montana that includes designers from SRG's Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco offices, Brown was recruited as the lead design researcher, but the workshops brought together all the academic labs that are part of the BetterBricks Integrated Design Lab Network to help others embrace this kind of collaboration.

While this has been largely personal for SRG and its design leaders, they recognize that the relationship with ESBL must have a legacy and are looking to expand ESBL's reach to partner with similar labs around the country and expand the network around the world. Duffy, Schleuning, and Cusack hope to see a similar network of research labs pop up in Frankfurt, Paris, and Sydney to support local architects.

A Conversation with Guy Battle - July, 2009

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:40:23 +0000

Guy Battle is one of the founding partners of Battle McCarthy Consulting Engineers, a multi-disciplinary practice that specializes in the design and delivery of sustainable solutions for the built environment. Guy has worked on a wide range of international projects and is credited with developing an innovative approach to sustainable environmental master planning. Brian Libby, blog author and BetterBricks contributor, had a chance to catch up with Guy before a lecture in Portland, Oregon.

Brian Libby: When you were visiting Portland in 2005, you said you thought within five to ten years the U.S. would switch positions with Europe in leading sustainable design and building. So today, is that the case?

Guy Battle: The thing about America is when it gets its act together and gets into gear, there's not many things that can stop this sort of mad, massive machine. Today I was doing reviews of projects, and I think that even within the past four years since I talked to you last, after just looking at these projects today, [there have been] massive changes.

Yesterday I was reviewing the Oregon Sustainability Center design. There is no way that building would have been built or even discussed four years ago. Dennis Wilde and his team are really pushing it. These guys have really been researching what's been happening in Europe. In terms of a mental switch, it's massively important. It's a recognition that, 'We Americans are not leading in this area.' Which is quite hard for Americans. To recognize that someone else has been leading the charge on this has been really important.

The thing I like most in the process is the early interaction with the architects - where you start with a piece of white paper, and yet it's always really scary.

Libby: Kind of like the auto industry.

Battle: Yes, all of this comes together. We have a saying in England: You can be waiting for a bus, and then the next time you look up five buses come along at the same time. It's that sort of thing. Barack Obama's been elected, and there's been a stimulus package. The recession has been good for this, I believe, because it means people have got time to think. The US Green Building Council, and the Cascadia Chapter particularly, have been pushing this Living Building Challenge, which I think is just fantastic.

The Living Building Challenge, the objectives they've encompassed are up there with what Europe and the UK, which I think is leading it still. It's saying, "We have to be doing it." Within the UK, we've got to achieve zero carbon buildup and zero energy by 2020. The challenges here in the US are for 2030. So you're somewhat behind.

But having said that, the Sustainability Center project is really up there with the best that I've been working on. I was really impressed by the rigor of the analysis and the architecture that was coming out was beginning to test the accepted norms.

Libby: How do you see that as an example of America's progress in sustainability? Or do you see it more as particular regions of the country?

Battle: I think there's no doubt about it that North America, has developed centers of excellence. The great morass is still out there wondering what or how to do it. But there are some great successes out there. That's been a massive change. We didn't have those same centers of excellence out there four years ago. I could sense that they were coming.

The recession gives us an enormous opportunity to just take some time out and rethink.

The great danger, though, especially here, is this whole issue of greenwash- now you can't move without engineers and architects saying they do sustainable design. When you get down into it, a lot of them are only saying it. That's a challenge, especially with clients. They need to sift through architects and engineers who can still deliver and are not just saying they can. But at least everyone is talking about climate change.

Libby: Where are you seeing these centers of excellence?

Battle: There's firms, and there's areas. I've been really impressed over these couple of days with the attitude in the Northwest. There seems to be much more openness. Now, admittedly the climate is kinder. But the opportunities are really being explored. We've had some great conversations about daylighting and natural ventilation. Natural ventilation four or five years ago, people were saying, "No way." Now they're even talking about it for laboratories, which is fantastic.

Libby: How has the integrated design process changed how you and other team members work together?

Battle: Since I set up the practice with Chris McCarthy, we've always recognized having as many disciplines under one roof as possible. It is really the only way to generate this. Because you've got to get everyone's input, working together, all with a common attitude, a common culture of excellence and sustainability.

Libby: How do the US and UK systems contribute to that?

Battle: It's easier in the UK because while there are specialists, there tends to be less specialization. By that I mean, you take an engineering practice and there are quite a few services engineers and MEP engineers who are multidisciplinary. They're all together. And sustainability has always existed within those practices. It hasn't been a specialist consultancy.

In this country, it's that much harder because the industry appears to be so fragmented. There's this new group of people who have come up over the past seven or eight years that are called sustainability consultants, mostly for facilitating LEED I'm told. One of the problems with those individuals is that they are quite often just people who have earned the LEED qualification. They've had no real experience of delivering it. But put that aside for a moment. The challenge then over here is that you have so many different specialties.

The role of the conductor, the architect, is to get everyone playing to the same piece of music and then to actually all go in the same direction. It really is so much harder in this country than it has been in the UK. In the UK you need the architect, you need the structural engineer, the MEP engineer, and the cost consultant. And really that's all you need. Everyone has enough information around their subjects to do what they need. But here we need at least double that, it seems. You need a specialist on ecology, acoustics, daylight, energy use.

Libby: What about the responsibility for overseeing materials?

Battle: In the UK the materials are handled quite often by a combination of architect and structural engineer and services engineer who tend to be the LEED equivalent. Because we have BREEAM [British English Environmental Assessment Method],it's been the service engineers who have done BREEAM. So we've had to learn all about sustainable tools. So we bring that to the table.

The other thing I think we've seen a big change in is just the analysis tools that are now available. 15 years ago the tools by comparison to now were clunky. Clunky CFD, clunky thermo analysis. Yes, we had them, but they weren't particularly fine tuned. Now we're finding that there are analysis tools that allow for quicker, smarter assessment of projects. And that has also raised the ability of teams to deliver on this vision.

Libby: Are there certain projects either recently or in your career that represent breakthroughs like this, or have felt like important stepping stones?

Battle: Yes. I guess the first was one I did personally before I set up the office, eighteen years ago when I was at Arup. We did a project called Tomigaya with [architect] Richard Rogers. It's basically a building that was designed to be a zero-energy building. It was designed all around the wind: the whole shape, form. That made me really explore the link between architecture and the environment. I saw there was a real opportunity within the discipline of architecture to create a new architectural form that is much more responsive to the environment.

And we're seeing that now. On the Oregon Sustainability Center there was some artistic interpretation of the [roof] teardrop. They were really beginning to get it with the roof and the sun. The rest of it was still lacking some rigor, but the top of the tower was really beginning to respond to the sun-path diagram.

Libby: How do you see today's projects fitting into a larger sustainable design trend?

Battle: I think we're in just the beginning… where we'll look back in five years' time and realize that we're in the middle of a new architectural philosophy, architectural movement, which is environmental architecture, modern, whatever you want to call it. I've heard lots of definitions of it. Some call it a formless architecture, architecture that responds to environment.

Libby: It reminds of me of the phrase that Le Corbusier coined: "machines for living".

Battle: Yeah. Machines for living is a kind of interesting term, isn't it? We look back and see it was really kind of sterile, wasn't it? You had this light bulb hanging in the middle of the space and this double skin. It was a celebration of the technology without realizing that people are fundamental to everything. Now there's an understanding that buildings have to create an environment for people to live in. I'm seeing that sort of movement.

Tomigaya 18 years ago was just the start of that. And then after setting up the practice [Battle McCarthy], the first building we did was called the St. Johns Innovation Centre. It was the first modern architecture in Europe to have wind towers for ventilation. It was a very simple stack effect, daylight, external shading-really basic. The architecture doesn't make you go, "Wow." It's not like a Morphosis building. But it's really honest.

Libby: It's interesting that your career was influenced by doing an ahead-of-its-time green building with Richard Rogers, because some of his most famous works like the Pompidou Center and Lloyd's of London have been described as having the insides of the building on the outside, and vice versa. It made the structure and mechanics of the building part of its identity; just as sustainable building does today.

Battle: You're absolutely right. The thing is Rogers was very experimental with structure. He was working very closely with Peter Rice at that time, and it was all about form following function. And the structure was used to express it. Now we're through that period where structure is expressed. We're expressing the environment, which is much more subtle.

I guess along the way another building that was pretty seminal for us was the University of Rwanda with Ralph Johnson (of Perkins + Will). I did a lot of work with Ralph. We did the L.A. Courthouse. [An atrium with a soaring, curved solar wall optimizes daylight, provides natural ventilation and captures energy through high-tech cells imbedded in the glass.] That was all about the wind and the sun. You had to respond to the sun to keep it out, but the form really was designed to capture the wind. It's a large site and it also integrated the landscape. So that was also an important project.

Libby: How similar or different are some of these architects you've worked with like Rogers, Perkins + Will, Norman Foster or Daniel Libeskind? Is it a more similar process from project to project and architect to architect than people realize, or is it a matter of learning new dance steps every time?

Battle: Oh no, it's definitely learning to dance. Compare Rogers to Foster. There's a real contrast. Foster is really sort of, like, the product. He somehow really encapsulates things. Rogers is very left of center, and social. He's all about collaboration and discussion. You go to workshops and there's a process of evolution. Foster's projects are somehow more refined. You're working on a much tighter box in terms of your input. You have to learn to work with these guys, and you learn what pushes their buttons, what sets them going, how to seduce them. Because at the end of the day the engineer is in very basic terms…I often call myself a prostitute, inasmuch that it's not my building. I'm not the architect. At the end of the day, society celebrates the architect and architecture. But you need to learn to influence these guys, and you have to understand that the language is subtly different with each one, and push them certain directions, certain ways. A good engineer learns very quickly that you've got to sort of step back and move forward again with the right language and push, emotion and encouragement, through communication, through sketching, whatever the language might be.

Libby: In almost any field as one advances into a leadership role there is the personal risk of getting away from the work one enjoys-going to lots of meetings, always traveling, and so on. What is your skill set and what do you like the most about your job, and are you still able to do it?

Battle: I guess I'm a designer first and foremost. The thing I like most in the process is the early interaction with the architects-where you start with a piece of white paper, and yet it's always really scary. You've got the brief, you've got the client saying, 'We want this.' Where the hell are we gonna start? It's kind of daunting. And every now and again there are blocks, you get literally designer blocks, where you just can't think. You can't break through. You're looking for that idea. You always come up with something, but it's that process of working with the other people on the design team, where we're sparking off each other-that sort of thing. I really enjoy that bit.

Meetings are a fundamental part of that, and the travel I can take or leave. But the trouble is I really enjoy going to different climates. If I were working in England all the time I'd get bored. I mean, it's cold in the summer, warm in the winter. You come over to New York, the South and the Northwest and there are different kinds of climate extremes. We've done work in some extreme places. We just finished up a new tower where it gets down to minus 27 degrees Centrigrade. It's a really cold place. That's an extreme. I love going to these different places and working with an architect who's willing to listen and see what it's going to grow out of it. Because it's always different. This new movement of architecture needs to be regional and about the place and climate.

Libby: You mentioned the economic downturn being good for green building because it necessitates more innovation and long-term thinking about building performance. But looking at Battle McCarthy's website, in the 'highrise' category particularly, a lot of projects are listed as being in the conceptual stage. How has the firm and its portfolio going forward been affected by the worldwide economic downturn?

Battle: Well, inevitably the economy has put some projects on hold. But having said that I think that the recession gives us an enormous opportunity to just take some time out and rethink. I think because there was such a boom over the past several years leading up to this time last year, everyone just sort of ran with it, and no one really spent the time to think about it. Now you've got that space, an enforced sabbatical. It's time to think and learn and bring those ideas to the table.

Libby: Battle McCarthy is identified as a sustainable firm. How does that help marketing for you?

Battle: Everyone is doing sustainability these days. It was much easier five years ago. Let's just take London, which is my home market. When we kicked off sixteen years ago, we were one of only about two or three firms doing it. Most of the major engineering firms in the early 1990s couldn't even spell the word sustainability, let alone know what it was all about. Five years ago the whole market just switched. Developers were demanding it. And now every single practice, without fail, has a sustainability section or sells it in some fashion. That knowledge used to be a sort of winning card. Now we can't win on that alone. We can win on delivery, because we've got so much more track record. But that doesn't always play out, so we have to look for new ways and new approaches.

I guess what we sell now is that interactive approach with the architects. It's that knowledge, a base of knowledge, saying that 'If you build a building with us, you'll be able to do a better building than if you work with this other practice. Even though they'll bring the sustainability, it's because of our knowledge and creativity within the practice that you'll end up doing better. It's about service.

Libby: What projects or places today have you excited?

Battle: I think there's actually some really interesting work happening out in the Middle East at the moment. With HOK we're doing some work for King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia. And then you've got this Masdar [development in Abu Dhabi, 2003-2007, the headquarters will be the world's first large-scale, mixed-use "positive energy" building, producing more energy than it consumes.]. We're sort of involved in Masdar, but on the periphery, not on design. We're doing carbon management. But Foster's done this master plan for Masdar. And then Smith and Geary are doing a project there. Foster's also doing the headquarters.

Libby: Where do you see the most opportunity?

Battle: The challenge of climate change is not so much what's happening in countries like America and those across Europe. The amount that we build is relatively small. We have a turnover of new buildings at about two percent, three percent of the stock every year. But if you move over to the Middle East, or to Southeast Asia, China or other places, it's another story. If there's a place where we need this step change, I think it will be places like the Middle East and China. And it will be Africa. Africa's not economically there yet. But that's where we're going to see massive growth in people and populations and resulting demand for shelter and housing and commercial projects.

Podcasts

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:21:26 +0000

Moving toward Zero-Net Energy Buildings
In this AIA podcast, learn how architects in California are addressing environmental concerns through support of net-zero energy buildings and green legislation.

Central Kitsap School District

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:11:46 +0000

By Kelly M. Kirkland, CSBA, O'Brien & Company

Commissioning in Schools
The fourth grade classrooms are too warm. A motor is broken. The vice principal's office is stuffy. A louver is stuck. What happens when problems like this crop up in most school districts? How do they impact the building's energy use? How does it detract from the quality of the teaching and learning? Can most school districts even begin to answer these questions?

Photo by W.B. Abbot IV

At the Central Kitsap School District, the core team of facilities professionals know exactly what is going on in each school, and how it impacts utility costs district-wide. The ongoing commissioning they undertake improves the indoor environment for both students and teachers, and saves the district hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Definition of Commissioning: Commissioning is a systematic process of ensuring that a building is working as it is designed, in accordance with the owner's needs, and at peak efficiency.

Commissioning: Facilities manager as Detective
It may not be as full of drama as CSI, but it's every bit as meticulous. Each month, Central Kitsap School District's crack team of facilities professionals review their utility data for clues to wasted energy, and investigate the problem schools to find the culprit. The commissioning process started with simple metrics. By comparing the Energy Use Index (EUI), which is kBTUs per square foot, against schools across the Puget Sound region and within the District, Central Kitsap identified which of their schools were the biggest energy users.

Richard Best, Director of Capital Projects and Facilities, says, "our maintenance staff understand individual components of their buildings well, but not how the whole system works together." To get the help he needed, he hired an outside firm to help the district in their first attempt at commissioning. "We found enough good information on the first four projects and, in anticipation of additional mechanical/electrical capital projects, we decided that we should hire someone in-house."

Funded in part by Puget Sound Energy's Resource Conservation Manager (RCM) program, Central Kitsap hired an in-house commissioning agent and Facilities Project Manager, George Kevins. George is a mechanical engineer who works hand-in-hand with Becky Asencio, Environmental Resource Coordinator. Kevins worked as a private commissioning agent before moving over to the school district. Asencio, a chemical engineer by training, handles indoor air quality issues, energy tracking, asbestos issues, and materials safety data sheets. "They are a great match" Best says. "George looks to make sure we're getting the best energy savings, and Becky keeps an eye out for the comfort of the students and staff." Asencio manages a database to log the energy data, and creates graphs and charts to bring to their meetings. Best meets with his team monthly so that they can compare current trends to recent history. "When we see energy use beginning to creep up we go back out and take a look. That's why measurement is so important. Given that the degree days were the same, why are we burning more energy? Was it a special event or something that needs to be fixed?" explains Best. (Degree days are a measurement used to determine heating and cooling needs.) The team compares each school against other schools and since the last time it was commissioned.

Staff using PDC program

Their monthly meeting, looking for minor variations, is just part of the picture. They also take an in-depth look at the top three or four worst-performing schools from the previous year. Armed with utility bills, and a full inventory of the types of systems in the building, age and history of the equipment, Kevins and the mechanic assigned to those buildings inspect every piece of equipment and take note of what they find. Is it operating? Is it operating as it was intended? If not, why not?

Control Issues
Besides a dedicated staff, the best thing Central Kitsap has going for them is a robust Direct Digital Control (DDC) program that not only turns equipment on-and-off, but allows staff to view the precise conditions in multiple spots in each school in nearly real-time (within 24 hours). "This data is much more useful than an electric and gas bill every month or two," laughs Best. The DDC doesn't record energy use, but Central Kitsap gets data from their utility, Puget Sound Energy. Best says, "We're a member of their EUI [energy use index] program so we can print out exactly what we use each day by going online. I use that to look at how much we're burning in the middle of the night. We should be using roughly half a Watt per square foot."

Modern DDC systems are a network of equipment controls and sensors, with a software program that talks to and coordinates them all from a central location. When the 4th grade classroom at PineCrest Elementary gets too warm, the DDC can open a louver to increase ventilation. Most schools have some kind of central building control system, but the newer DDCs are superior in that they provide an exceptional level of detail to the building operator. Central Kitsap can see the floor plan for every school in the district, and click on individually-controlled pods to see what's happening with each piece of equipment in that area. "When we look back at the data one day at a time, we can tell what time the kids were in class versus when they were in between classes in the hallways," says Kevins. Sensors can send back information on the temperature, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, relative humidity, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). "We usually don't care what the exact CO2 level is at any given moment, it's more helpful for us to look at trends." Sometimes, the exact data is critically important. Kevins adds, "if the temperature in the central district server room gets too high I get an urgent email from the DDC which means I don't get a frantic call from our IT staff."

While Best's team looks at the big picture, the mechanics assigned to each school can access the DDC from any computer in the district, set their building to run on whatever schedule is needed, and receive at their discretion email alerts about anything the DDC monitors.

Results
In 2005, Central Kitsap took a closer look at Silver Ridge Elementary. The 50,000 square foot building, constructed in 1990, was using much more energy than the District's other elementary schools, so in 2005 it was targeted for an energy improvement project and retro-commissioning. Silver Ridge utilizes electric heat pumps for heating. The DDC control system for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) elements was upgraded to allow more control of the heating schedules and locations, as well as better damper controls. The HVAC system and its DDC system were fully commissioned. The combination of the upgrade and commissioning resulted in a 32% reduction in energy use and avoided costs of $22,000 in the first year. The following year, in spite of a colder than normal winter, the school had a 20% reduction in energy as compared to the base year, with additional avoided costs of $6,000.

Since 2001, Central Kitsap has received over $800,000 in grants and rebates for energy efficiency improvements mostly from Puget Sound Energy. Typically awarded for a specific project, they've received money to upgrade everything from programmable thermostats to a new lighting system for the stadium. They figure that the 30 hours they spend annually in planning meetings compared to the $150,000-$200,000 they save each year is a pretty good return on investment.

The school district used the above chart to compare individual schools' performance over time, to the target EUI, and to other schools that should have similar energy use. They identified poor performers and commissioned those buildings. .

Central Kitsap's Top Tips For starting a Commissioning Process

1. Start somewhere. If you don't have good historical energy data for some places, start by measuring your Energy Use Index (EUI) and comparing it to schools, both in and out of the district.

2. Make time for it. If you don't have dedicated staff to manage the process, look into getting a Resource Conservation Manager. These positions are often partially funded by utilities.

3. You can't manage what you can't measure. Set up a system that allows you to monitor energy use data on an ongoing basis. If you have the resources, and have a DDC system work with a vendor who will set up floor plan graphics that precisely match your buildings so you really know what you're looking at.

4. Make a plan. Put together an energy program for each building that takes into account the age of the building, its history, and the type and age of its systems. This will help guide your commissioning process and provide a way to track your findings.

5. Get the right help. If you don't have someone one staff who is qualified to do commissioning- and it is a highly skilled profession-consider hiring someone to do it for you.

6. Document everything. Documentation will help you track exactly what you have, where it's located, what it's supposed to do, when it was tested and the results, what needs to be fixed and what needs to be monitored.

7. Listen. Your commissioning agent or DDC system won't tell you the whole story. Listen to the building staff and students to make sure the building is working for them. A successful commissioning process should save energy and reduce indoor environmental quality complaints.

8. Look for incentives. Contact your local utilities to see what kind of programs are available to help schools with energy upgrades. Many grants are available for specific projects, especially if you can demonstrate that you've done your homework and can show how much energy you'll save.

9. Punch that list. Your documentation will help you fix problems as you find them or delegate tasks across the maintenance department.

10. Be vigilant. At some point you may have trouble reducing your energy use dramatically any further. Congratulations! But unless you continue to monitor there is nothing stopping waste from creeping back.

Additional Resources

Kelly M. Kirkland, CSBA is a Project Associate at O'Brien & Company, a sustainability and green building consulting firm that works with educational facilities to achieve certification under the LEED rating system and the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol. The firm has been instrumental in bringing sustainability improvements to schools from design and construction to operations and maintenance. Kelly can be reached at kelly@obrienandco.com.

Winners of the 2009 Kilowatt Crackdown

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:41:36 +0000

2009 Kilowatt Crackdown Fact Sheet

Industry Expert Shares Advice on Energy Savings and Smart Hospital Operation

admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:52:19 +0000

Download a PDF of this interview

Mike Hatten is an internationally known engineer, recognized for his expertise in building energy efficiency and is a principal of SOLARC Architecture and Engineering, Inc. He combines a design, analysis and training background in his roles as project manager, educator and project engineer. He has conducted analysis efforts on more than 20 million square feet of residential, commercial and industrial space.

Mike works as a technical advisor for both BetterBricks' building operations and its design and construction efforts. This interview focuses on his work with building operations in healthcare facilities. Mike provides on-site support to customers and their service contractors to help them achieve energy cost savings from tuning-up and improving the operations and maintenance of equipment and systems. Mike has provided support on 20 hospitals for BetterBricks. He has a deep understanding and appreciation for the type, magnitude and low cost of these tune-up and O&M savings opportunities.

BetterBricks:How many and what types of hospitals have you worked with?

Hatten:Through the BetterBricks program, I've worked with nearly 20 hospitals in the Northwest - half of which are large facilities. Primarily, I review the facility and meet with staff to provide the 50,000-foot-level energy assessment of their energy savings potential and suggest a logical starting point. Of the 20 hospitals I've worked with, three or four have progressed to levels where implementation of opportunities has begun. I've also worked with the Integrated Design Labs (IDL) on the design and construction of about 10 new facilities.

BetterBricks:Is there an example of one project that exemplifies energy efficient practices?

Hatten: St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise is an ideal model for what tune-ups and recommissioning can do for existing hospitals. The energy savings is tremendous. For the first phase of diagnostics, we looked at the 10 largest air handlers and found electric and gas savings potential of well over $250,000 per year. This represents an energy cost reduction of about 5% of the annual energy cost of the facility. We're now in the thick of implementing operational changes to capture those savings.

BetterBricks: What's the typical range of possible energy cost reductions from a tune-up and improved O&M practices that you are seeing in hospitals?

Hatten: We typically see potential for a 10-20 percent cost reduction, especially when strategic energy management (SEM) initiatives have been championed at the executive management levels. A key piece of information to look for is some kind of realistic performance goal and it seems that 20 percent is a very realistic goal.

However, the potential energy savings is much greater in large facilities such as an integrated medical campus with a substantial amount of equipment that operates continuously serving spaces that have variations on occupancy patterns. There are opportunities to cut energy use in half within certain portions of the facility if it's being operated like a hospital. I look at a clinic space to determine whether it's operating in a way that matches typical acute care occupancy patterns or in a manner that actually syncs up to the clinic occupancy patterns. These two instances always have very discreet occupied and unoccupied periods.

It's not about finding more operating or capital dollars. Rather, it's simply about reallocating the operating budgets already approved.

BetterBricks: What's the range if you add in retrofits and capital projects?

Hatten: We typically see total savings potential in the range of 20-40 percent when we add in retrofits and capital projects. That said, it's important to note there's a general lack of knowledge with respect to what's possible with tune-ups and retro-commissioning.

Once these first few hospitals complete a comprehensive tune-up throughout their facility, we'll be able to analyze the data to determine if energy savings were underestimated. I will not be surprised if we find that our initial estimates of savings were conservative. As these efforts are completed and the savings are documented, it will be important for this information to flow back into the conversation within the hospital community - both through professional organizations as well as incentives that the utilities offer.

BetterBricks: What needs to happen to achieve a higher level of energy savings?

Hatten: We need some model efforts, testimonials and real results. We are all striving to get to a point where facility managers can call on one another as resources and ask the right questions. By the end of 2009, we'll have several of those case studies. This will begin to change the whole conversation internally within the hospital. As more success stories find their way to the ASHE conferences and the state engineering conferences, there's going to be momentum building up among other facility managers to achieve what these model projects have accomplished. They'll think, "if they can do it, why am I not looking at that?" It is going to start a market initiative that can't really kick off until we have a few of those model efforts in place with results documented and verified so that information can start being exchanged.

BetterBricks: What are the top energy cost savings opportunities from tune-up and improved O&M?

Hatten: Every time I walk into a facility, the first place I focus on is occupancy patterns. I want to know how the systems are zoned and scheduled, and if they are operating consistently when people are in the facility - this is true for both HVAC and lighting.

A big opportunity is to address lighting needs for the visual tasks being performed in a given space and understand lighting maintenance practices. Almost every facility has done a lighting retrofit project, so it's not about upgrading your lamp and ballast. Rather, it's about changing the way light levels are tuned and relamping is done. Lighting technology keeps marching on, which allows for group relamping to bump light levels up or down depending on the needs. In general, we're seeing a large potential to reduce lighting energy use.
The other big opportunity areas are on the HVAC side. There are three big categories, which are all different manifestations of set point optimization. The first category is to look at the kinds of pressure conditions the facility is trying to maintain in the air distribution system. Usually, the general report is a shortage of pressure from day one. On the surface, this interpretation of operating conditions seems accurate. However, once you look under the hood, the area turns out to be rife with savings opportunities. In response to a "I'm too hot" complaint, a common response might be to increase the pressure set point to force more air through rather than truly understand what's making that zone hot in the first place. Over time, we end up with a bunch of systems with pressure set point cranked to the max - occasionally at set points higher than what the system can deliver.
The second HVAC set point opportunity is on the temperature side. There're big potential savings here because there's a whole cascading series of interdependent temperature set points. Assess the set points starting at the space level then move to the group of set points that work internally to an air system. Know the temperature of the air being delivered and the temperature of the air as it enters into the air handling system. Finally, take a look at the set points that go back to the central plant - primarily the chiller plant. This also indirectly translates into questioning how much hospitals are running their chiller plants in cold weather conditions. It's not unusual for hospitals to run air conditioning when it's quite cold out. I tend to put this into a big opportunity category for temperature set points changes and optimization.
The last of the big three are the air flow set points. These set points happen at two places - at the outside air intake and at the zone level. At the outside air intake, it's important to know the minimum outside air set point in really cold or hot weather. What people think the set points are and how much is actually being brought in are usually two very different numbers. We aim to restore original design intent to the air flow system. At the zone level, it is important to know the minimum airflow set point on these variable load volume terminal units. Knowing if it is set to the appropriate range can inform the operator if it could it be set lower to save heating and cooling energy.

BetterBricks: In this economy, we imagine that low-cost and no-cost opportunities are of particular interest to customers. Do the opportunities you've described fall in this category and what is a typical return on investment for the hospitals of these activities?

Hatten: Cost dynamics are quite a bit different than what we've historical thought about in respect to energy projects. Typically, it costs more to do the diagnostics and investigation phase than it does to implement the findings. In that respect, these are no-and-low cost opportunities. Paybacks might be as quick as a couple of months or more typically in the 4-8 month range. When we talk about internal rate of return, it becomes ridiculous because it usually is 300-400 percent.

BetterBricks: How do you convince people?

Hatten: Well, a four month payback is usually pretty compelling. The obstacle is rarely the payback, but rather the upfront costs to get started on the diagnostics phase and where that money comes from. Once a facility gets started, the economics for a sustained effort should fall into place. It's kind of like pushing a sled down a hill - once you get started, it is self perpetuating.

We're really not talking about trying to justify an investment in a conventional way. We are talking about what I call "boot-strapping" your way to energy efficiency. The first step is to take a percentage of a hospital's operating budget and invest it in the organization and facility to start getting energy savings. These savings can be thought of as a revenue stream, and that revenue can be used to fund more savings and so on. Each time a subsequent step is completed, the revenue stream becomes bigger.

We are fundamentally changing the way large hospitals maintain their facilities and it's very appropriate to talk about this boot-strapping model.

Often times, a tune-up will uncover long standing problems with HVAC that have an adverse impact on indoor air quality, which is especially important in a hospital.

Ultimately, what they are doing is diverting some of the money they pay utilities to continue to reinvest and upgrade. It's quite a compelling vision, but it does imply some hesitation. Right now, it is still a little disconcerting to many folks who are accustomed to thinking of an energy project as a discreet thing just like building a new patient tower. What we are driving for is a new process, layered into the maintenance culture, that allows more dollars harvested from the existing operations budget to be reinvested in enhanced operations to improve energy efficiency over time.

It's a lifetime proposition, not a discreet project and "we're-done-with-it" kind of proposition. That's probably the biggest cultural shock I've observed in the conversation and the activities that we've had. We are changing a mindset.

BetterBricks: What does this mean for ongoing costs and new positions?

Hatten: Most advanced hospitals are starting to create resource conservation manager positions (RCM). This person is initially responsible for running the tune-up efforts and making sure implementation happens. It's incorrect to perceive this position as a cost at first. After the initial investment of the RCM's first-year salary while he or she establishes tune-up and improved O&M practices, this person then becomes a cost reduction because of the year after year savings. If the RCM leaves their position, the hospital will have to increase their operating budgets within a year because the persistence will be gone and they will be back consuming more energy.
It's more of a challenging concept to understand from the economic side. It is not about finding more operating or capital dollars. Rather, it's simply about reallocating the operating budgets already approved. Once a hospital starts this process, they are on a permanent reduced cost mode. Achieve the initial savings and keep those savings in place. It's that simple.

BetterBricks: How much does it cost for a large hospital to get started?

Hatten: Large hospitals typically need between $40,000 and $60,000 to get started with an acceptable scope of work. In the context of hospitals budget, that number isn't huge, but it has been an issue for some hospitals in the last couple of years. However, they must complete the first diagnostic and investigation phase and invest that money in order to reap the financial rewards down the line.

BetterBricks: What are the steps that need to be taken for the hospital to achieve these savings?

Hatten: This is really the BetterBricks model for energy savings. First, get commitment from the top of the organization down to communicate the organization's motivation to reduce the overall energy bill. This commitment creates a general line of accountability.

Second, assess what role tune-ups and retro-commissioning can play in achieving larger energy performance goals. Do the quick 50,000-foot-level energy assessment and determine how energy use compares to other hospitals. Collect information from facilities staff that has an operating history with the facility. Do a visual inspection and gather all relevant information to determine the opportunity areas.

The third step and most important, is moving from the assessment and scoping level to the first diagnostics effort, finding the funds to complete it and creating the action plan. By the time the action plan is fully implemented, it almost becomes a self-perpetuating program. There is some scope and planning discussion that needs to happen - defining who the team will be, what does the tune-up team look like, who is internal and external to the hospital, etc. The ideal situation is for the same team to work together on multiple efforts throughout the hospital.

Finally, close the loop on the first diagnostics and implementation with tracking and follow up. At the same time as implementation, have tracking, verification and persistence strategies in place. Some of that is education and training. Some of it is direct metering, sub-metering and monitoring. When the director of facilities is asked, "What have you done and how much energy has been saved," that director can very specifically provide data to illustrate the energy savings in each system. This step also sets the stage for the larger sharing of information with other institutions and professional organizations.

From there, simply repeat.

BetterBricks: Are there some aspects of this process that need to be accomplished by an outside service provider rather than internal operations staff?

Hatten: In my experience, I have not seen any tune-up effort that can be done completely internally - both large and small. It doesn't seem practical in the context of the hospital building operations staff time constraits who are maintaining the facilities. Conversely, I cannot conceive of a tune-up taking place without their involvement. The one exception is if the hospital has appointed or is considering hiring an internal resource conservation manager (RCM). That position can take on a larger position in tune-ups.

Ultimately, a diverse skill set is needed to address these operational issues. Usually, the team consists of someone who knows the control systems inside and out and someone who knows energy efficiency and energy engineering. The second person is able to take these observed deficiencies and translate them into energy cost savings. These two skills rarely land in the same organization. Some knowledge and experience on both the design side and the major construction side about general HVAC is also helpful.

BetterBricks: What additional benefits do you think hospitals gain from this kind of approach besides energy cost savings?

Hatten: Often times, a tune-up will uncover long standing problems with HVAC that have an adverse impact on indoor air quality, which is especially important in a hospital. Through this process, the facilities staff may discover that an air intake has been clogged or is bringing in pollutants. A major benefit to hospitals is to address these system problems. In large hospitals, certain systems are neglected and are not operating as they should. A tune-up sleuths out these failures, repairs them and ultimately puts the system back in balance.

Finally, the education and ongoing knowledge the internal maintenance staff gains from this process is profound. It's a safe bet that any maintenance person involved in a retro-commissioning effort will emerge with much more detailed knowledge of the systems than they had going into it. That's because of both the direct hands on experience, but also the supplemental training and educational opportunities that would be part of the BetterBricks model for tune-ups and enhanced O&M.

BetterBricks: Are any of these ideas being taught in engineering school?

Hatten: Good question! I recently met with Joel Loveland and Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, both BetterBricks Integrated Design Lab directors, to discuss the current higher education infrastructure. Joel mentioned that 20 years ago there were four professors teaching building energy systems within the four major schools of engineering in the Northwest. Today, there's only one professor left and he's close to retirement. Unfortunately, there are no new professors to fill these empty spaces. Higher education has not developed the capability to teach this even in a limited way. In fact, the capability has declined over the last 20 years in the Northwest.

This will be a hot subject in higher education over the next ten years. It starts with funding, but it certainly doesn't end there. Conventional education will be insufficient to meet the growing demand. The first 5-10 years on the job is when people learn the significant skills and knowledge. I tend to look at the entire education process as that whole window, which has historically taken the best and brightest about 10 year and rest of us about 15-20 years. We have to figure out how to take a beginning student entering a program all the way to a practicing professional on the job in half the time. Really, it should be an exciting challenge for energy educators and absolutely paramount to driving market change.

Additional Tools & Resources:

BetterBricks Building Operations
BetterBricks Hospital
SOLARC Architecture & Engineering, Inc
Kaiser Permanente Case Study

File Attachment:

Interview with Mike Hatten

Delivery Process

admin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:48:36 +0000

AIA Integrated Project Delivery Guide
This guide provides information and guidance on principles and techniques and explains how to utilize IDP methodologies in design and construction. The approach integrates people, systems and practices into a process that collaboratively harnesses the talents of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction.

Integrated Design Steps for Designers
Click here for a summary of key steps for the design team for the Integrated Design process. The steps are organized as a checklist for each of the traditional phases of design.

The Canadian Integrated Design Process
Developed from experience gained from a small Canadian demonstration program for high-performance buildings, the C2000 program. The C-2000 process is now called the Integrated Design Process (IDP), and focuses on providing advice on the design process at the very early stage of design.

High Performance Building Design Charrette and Sample Agenda
How-to-guide on organizing and running a design charrette. Helps define what it is, when it should occur, who should participate, role of the owner, and desired outcomes. Includes a sample charrette agenda.

Guide to the Design and Construction of High Performance Hospitals
Describes why and how to use "Integrated Design" as a technique and process essential to helping achieve high performance facilities on time, within budget and with less risk.

Additional D&C Partners & Resources

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:45:16 +0000

NEEA's BetterBricks coordinates with local, regional and national partners who offer additional tools and resources that can help you.

AIA's Integrated Practices | Integrated Project Delivery
Integrated Practices | Integrated Project Delivery leverages early contributions of knowledge and expertise through the utilization of new technologies, allowing all team members to better realize their highest potentials while expanding the value they provide throughout the project life cycle.

AIA's 50to50
50to50 is a how-to resource intended to assist architects and the construction industry in moving toward the AIA's public goal of a minimum 50 percent reduction of fossil fuel consumption in buildings by 2010 and carbon neutrality by 2030. Note that this is a 7 MB file.

AIA's Integrated Project Delivery Guide
This Integrated Project Delivery Guide developed by the AIA is offered as a tool to assist owners, designers and builders to move toward integrated models and improved design, construction and operations processes. The goal of the Guide is to identify the characteristics of IPD and to provide specific information and guidance on how to utilize IPD methods to achieve enhanced design, construction and operation.

American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and AC Engineers's (ASHRAE) High Performance Buildings Magazine
ASHRAE publishes a new quarterly magazine called High Performing Buildings distributed to building owners, facility managers, architects, contractors and engineers. It is designed to help decision makers in the building community learn about the benefits of innovative technologies and energy-efficient design and operation. Filled with case studies of exemplary buildings, developed through the support of leading practitioners in the sustainability movement. High Performing Buildings is available in digital form at no cost.

Architecture 2030
Architect Ed Mazria and Architecture 2030 issued 2030 Challenge in response to the global-warming crisis. 2030's mission is to rapidly transform the US and global building sector from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the solution to the global-warming crisis. Their goal is to achieve a dramatic reduction in the global-warming-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the building sector by changing the way buildings and developments are planned, designed and constructed. A brief overview of the 2030 Challenge is available to download and distribute HERE.

Cascadia Region Green Building Council
The Cascadia Region Green Building Council is one of three original chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council. Incorporated in Oregon in December 1999, the chapter covers Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska, but also includes members from Idaho and Montana. Cascadia delivers programs and training and developed and promotes Living Buildings.

Early Identification of Building Construction Projects - Early ID
Early ID, a program sponsored by the Bonneville Power Administration, helps you maximize energy efficiency in your new commercial building. Consider energy efficiency in the concept design phase to develop cost-effective strategies and maximize benefits from participating utility programs and reduce the cost of your building through integrated design, utility incentives and tax credits.

Energy Smart Design™ - Office (ESD Office)
Prescriptive Packages are structured to reduce the incremental cost of a package of measures, without requiring building energy performance modeling. This package of energy-efficient measures, when installed according to ESD Office specifications, may be eligible for incentives from your utility: high efficiency cooling systems; high performance windows; enhanced economizer; integrated design of HVAC system, and high performance lighting and lighting controls.

ENERGY STAR'S Building Design Guidance
These guidelines are a strategic management approach, not a technical reference, to incorporate energy performance in the building design process. It is a set of suggested actions for design professionals and building owners to establish and achieve energy goals. These guidelines encourage best practices for energy design as part of the overall design process, and can help translate design intent to top energy performing buildings.

Energy Efficiency Pilot Program for Small Commercial Market
A new energy efficiency pilot program for owners who construct office, school or retail buildings 10,000 to 70,000 sq. ft. is now available through the Energy Trust of Oregon and Earth Advantage Institute. Eligible new construction or major renovation projects can receive design assistance and cash incentives from Energy Trust, and can achieve certification as a green building for implementing a wide range of sustainable features developed by Earth Advantage institute.

International Living Building Institute
The International Living Building Institute is a non-governmental organization dedicated to the creation of a truly sustainable built environment. The Institute’s mission is to encourage the creation of Living Buildings, Sites and Communities in countries around the world while inspiring, educating and motivating a global audience about the need for fundamental and transformative change.

The Living Building Challenge^SM is is a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that promotes the most advanced measurement of sustainability in the built environment possible today. It can be applied to development at all scales, from buildings - both new construction and renovation, to infrastructure, landscapes and neighborhoods. Living Building Challenge is comprised of seven performance areas: Site, Water, Energy, Health, Materials, Equity and Beauty.

New Building Institute (NBI)
NBI works with national, regional, state and utility groups to promote improved energy performance in commercial new construction. NBI manages projects involving building research, design guidelines and code activities to ensure all elements of this chain are available for use by energy efficiency programs throughout the US.

NBI's Getting to 50
A resource by the New Buildings Institute to help designers, architects, owners and contractors achieve their goals of truly high-performance buildings. Research by NBI indicates there are about 100 new commercial buildings whose energy efficiency features are 50 percent better than code.

Oregon Sustainability Center
As one of the highest performing commercial buildings in the world, the Oregon Sustainability Center will achieve triple net-zero performance in energy and water use and carbon emissions. It is designed to meet the world's most stringent green building criteria, the Cascadia Region Green Building Council's Living Building Challenge. The OSC will also serve a "living laboratory" to maximize experimental opportunities and provide an optimal setting for hand-on green training, research and growing Oregon's green economy.

Small Construction Pilot Program
A new pilot program is now available through Energy Trust of Oregon and Earth Advantage Institute for owners who construct office, school or retail buildings 10,000 to 70,000 square feet. Eligible new construction or major renovation projects can receive design assistance and cash incentives from Energy Trust for designing and constructing an energy-efficient building, and can achieve certification as a green building for implementing a wide range of sustainable features developed by Earth Advantage Institute.

US DOE Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative: Design & Evaluation
This USDOE initiative aims to achieve marketable net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2025. Net-zero energy buildings generate as much energy as they consume through efficiency technologies and on-site power generation.

US Green Building Council (USGBC)
USGBC is a non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings accessible to everyone within a generation. USGBC developed and implements the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ that encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.

The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG)
WBDG is a gateway hosted by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to up-to-date information on integrated 'Whole Building" design techniques and technologies. The goal of WBDG is to help users apply the integrated design method and the team approach to projects during the planning and programming phases.

Zero Energy Buildings Database
The Zero Energy Building Database features profiles of commercial buildings that produce as much energy as they use over the course of a year. Learn more about the types of zero energy buildings HERE. This database highlights projects from across the country and provides ideas that can be applied to any new building. The Zero Energy Buildings Database is part of the High Performance Buildings Database, which lists many additional projects. Visit the High Performance Buildings Database to discover more energy efficient building techniques.

Articles

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:50:12 +0000

An Interview with Ulf Meyer, Ingenhoven
Ulf Meyer is an accomplished architectural critic and author who has been published in major newspapers and architectural magazines both in Germany and abroad. He is the editor of ARCH+ journal and serves as the German correspondent for World Architecture. NEEA's BetterBricks caught up with Ulf during a recent visit to Portland to discuss the next wave of green design.

Performance-Based Design
The Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction strives to be the first of its kind - an urban mid-rise Living Building. The vision of the Bullitt Foundation and its director, Denis Hayes, is to develop a game-changing place that creates a ripple effect to change the way designers, cities and occupants think about their buildings.

Targeting 100! Envisioning the High Performance Hospital: Implications for a New, Low Energy, High Performance Prototype
This groundbreaking new research effort reveals how hospitals, which account for four percent of all energy consumed in the U.S., can achieve a 60 percent reduction in energy utility use by redesigning the way they use energy. The most salient outcome of this work is the definition of a process that brings together architectural, mechanical and central plant systems to deliver significant efficiencies. Download materials here:

Targeting 100! Executive Summary
Targeting 100! full report
Energy in Healthcare Fact Sheet
Targeting 100 Infographic

An Interview with Amanda Sturgeon, Perkins + Will
For more than a decade, Amanda Sturgeon has been a leader in the emerging sustainable building field. Working in both the private and public sectors through the course of her career, Sturgeon has been a leader helping convince clients and colleagues to embrace energy-efficient design. This is why Sturgeon received a BetterBricks Award for Architect in 2008.

Architect, author and educator, Peter Clegg, is a senior partner with the London based firm Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Peter visited the Northwest in late 2009 for the BetterBricks-sponsored Transformational Lecture series, where he caught up with BetterBricks to discuss the current challenges and opportunities within sustainable architecture.

An Interview with Norm Strong, Miller | Hull Partnership
In 2007 Norman Strong, managing partner of The Miller | Hull Partnership, a venerable Seattle architecture firm, received a BetterBricks Award in the Advocate category. In this interview, Strong shares his insights on the current state of the green building industry and how architects are continuing to progress energy efficiency.

Research Based Design
This article presents SRG Partnership's evolution in embracing a research based design approach through a collaborative relationship with the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory. This partnership has transformed the approaches of the firm's design leaders, the management and business model for a multi-office practice, and related impacts to the rapidly evolving profession of architecture.

Shining a (Natural) Light on Green Schools
This article in Green Inc., a New York Times energy and environment blog, discusses the unique collaboration between of the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Lab (ESBL) and Da Vinci Art Middle School in Portland, Ore. Architecture firm SRG Partnership worked ESBL to design the green prototype classroom, which uses natural dayligting, passive heating and cooling systems, solar roof tile and other green features that yeild a 70 percent efficiency improvement over Oregon building code requirements.

A Conversation with Guy Battle - July, 2009
Guy Battle is one of the founding partners of Battle McCarthy Consulting Engineers, a multi-disciplinary practice that specializes in the design and delivery of sustainable solutions for the built environment. Guy has worked on a wide range of international projects and is credited with developing an innovative approach to sustainable environmental master planning. Brian Libby, blog author and BetterBricks contributor, had a chance to catch up with Guy before a lecture in Portland, Oregon.

An Interview with Patrick Bellew, Founder of Atelier Ten
Patrick Bellew is the founding director of Atelier Ten and a Chartered Building Services Engineer with more than twenty years' experience in the design of high performance buildings and their systems. His success in integrated innovative technologies with noteworthy architecture has been acknowledged by the Royal Institute of British Architects, who've made him an Honorary Fellow, one of only three in his field. BetterBricks had the privilege to catch up with Patrick before a presentation to conduct the following interview.

An Interview with Peter Rumsey
BetterBricks recently caught up with owner and managing principal of Rumsey Engineers, Peter Rumsey. Peter has worked in engineering and energy consulting since the mid 1980s, and is widely recognized as global player in energy efficiency and a leader in sustainable building design.

Getting to Net Zero
Many designers, engineers and developers are pushing the envelope by designing and building carbon neutral and net zero buildings. What is a net zero energy building (NZEB)? Paul Schwer, P.E. LEED AP has written an article, found on the BetterBricks website, called "Carbon Neutral and Net Zero Buildings-How Soon Can We Get There?" explaining the importance and describing NZEB.

Daylight Dialect - Architectural Lighting, March 2008
Daylighting is a common 'high performance building' strategy and is an essential element of integrated design. However, even the experts have a hard time explaining what a well daylit space is. This makes it challenging for integrated teams to have a meaningful conversation about daylight in buildings and even more challenging to design daylit spaces. This article by Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, Director of the Integrated Design Lab in Boise, appeared in Architectural Lighting. It outlines the problem and proposes important definitions to develop a pathway toward a common daylighting language, or daylighting dialect.

Integrated Lighting - Architectural Lighting, April 2008
Integrating daylighting and electric lighting is an important part of full building integrated design-some would say it is the most important part. However, it is not without its challenges. This paper outlines the concept of holistic lighting design comprised by both daylighting and electric lighting sources. It presents some of the road blocks to holistic lighting design and highlights several important aspects for designing the lit environment.

Mount Angel Integrated Design Roundtable Discussion - Part I
Hear from the principal project team members responsible for the design of the new theology building. Through an extensive, collaborative process that searched for synergies between the elements of climate, use patterns, smaller loads and corresponding systems, the team was able to achieve a high performance building expected to save 62percent more energy than the code. This was all achieved at a lower cost.

Mount Angel Integrated Design Roundtable Discussion - Part II
Part II, focused on daylighting, continues the roundtable discussion about integrated design, among principal project team members responsible for design of the Annunciation New Center for Theological Studies graduate theology building at Mount Angel Abbey.

Mount Angel Integrated Design Roundtable Discussion - Part III
Part III of the Mount Angel integrated design roundtable discussion focuses on building envelope design challenges.

Energy Performance of LEED® for New Construction Buildings
New Buildings Institute has just released the broadest study to-date of measured energy performance of LEED buildings. The study gathered whole building energy data from 121 LEED New Construction buildings across the country that had been occupied for at least one year.

Meeting the 2030 Challenge with Integrated Design
How to meet the 2030 Challenge with a new way of thinking about design: searching for synergies.

Lillis Business Complex, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR - A Five Year Review
What started as a simple remodel of the University of Oregon's existing business school grew into the new Lillis Business Complex - a LEED certified, four-story, 140,000 square-foot building that demonstrates responsible business through sustainable design. Completed in December, 2003, the Lillis Business Complex is a focal point for not only the business school, but the University for its green design and prominent presence on campus. In this article, Kent Duffy, Principal at SRG Partnership, Inc. assesses the building's performance and provides a snapshot of the integrated strategies that contribute to energy efficiency.

Green Revisited
The 2006 study shows essentially the same results as 2004: there is no significant difference in average costs for green buildings as compared to non-green buildings.

Eco-Charrette
Explains the history of this design strategy and how it can be applied.

Unico Appoints Sustainability Director

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:55:06 +0000

by Alison Drucker
JDM Associates for BetterBricks

Margot Crosman

After pursuing a sustainability vision for several years, Seattle-based real estate investment and operating company Unico Properties LLC recently formalized that vision by promoting a forward-thinking property general manager to the position of Director of Sustainability. In this new role, Margot Crosman will lead sustainability efforts for more than 10 million square feet of office, retail and multifamily properties in the western United States, as well as Unico's related investment, development and corporate initiatives.

Unico's sustainability vision has been in place since 2005. With an understanding that conserving natural resources is in the best interest of Unico and its communities, the company made a commitment to developing and operating environmentally responsible, healthy buildings, and to running its business in a responsible manner.

Since then, to a great extent, environmental stewardship has been deeply integrated into the fabric of Unico's approach to real estate development and operations. Margot had already been serving informally in a leadership role for green initiatives. So why did Unico expend the resources to create a new position if they were already going strong?

It was a matter of maintaining their market competitiveness and being more effective in their ongoing green initiatives by establishing a formal leadership team. When Margot attended a BOMA conference last year, she ran into a number of her peers who were playing similar roles in their firms as she was within Unico, but with a greater degree of empowerment and corporate recognition, and perhaps most importantly, a budget. She realized Unico needed a point person to carry the vision forward.

"We had to formalize something that was already going on," Margot said. It became imperative to identify a clear leader with the authority to drive Unico's sustainable agenda across their different property teams and business units. A more official structure would establish clearer responsibility and accountability and enable Unico to take advantage of economies of scale. They would now be able to streamline practices and share knowledge across the portfolio, using "prototype" projects to develop ideas for best practices.

Margot herself was the obvious choice to fill the role. Her long-term commitment to environmental stewardship is rooted in part in its ability to bridge the gap between traditionally oppositional groups - landlords and tenants; environmentalists and more conservative property owners - who can all find common ground in the need to save energy and conserve resources. "This is an opportunity to bring all the parties together," Margot said. "If we're working together positively on something, we'll have a better community within the buildings."

Margot and Brett Phillips, Unico's Sustainability Project Manager, now serve essentially as internal consultants for Unico, collaborating with building operations, marketing, development, investment, and corporate staff. Weekly meetings with property teams help Margot and Brett ensure that the energy and sustainability projects in each property's annual business plan are being implemented and that actions are being taken toward properties' LEED for Existing Buildings (EB) certification. For each project that involves a capital investment, the sustainability team carefully weighs the costs with the projected annual energy and cost savings.

Streamlining the energy performance benchmarking process was one of the first hurdles tackled by the new sustainability department. Said Brett, "Our entire office portfolio was registered with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager; all the chief engineers knew it was their responsibility to update and track energy performance. But it was inconsistent - some were updating scores monthly, some every six months; some were looking to increase their ENERGY STAR score, some were just going through the motions. Following a portfolio-wide benchmarking effort, properties are now operating in a consistent and understandable way with regard to Portfolio Manager."

Cobb Building

Property managers and engineers are particularly critical to these efforts - and are fully on board. "Our engineers love this stuff," said Brett. "It's an engineer's dream to make a list of all the things you'd like to do to your building to improve energy efficiency." Property managers and engineers utilize real-time metering in combination with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to monitor energy consumption and costs at the building level. Margot and Brett also have access to this data centrally and share it with anyone else who may need it - including ownership partners, who receive ENERGY STAR ratings as a part of their monthly reports.

Having a sustainability department in place provides a structure that allows property managers and engineers to communicate with each other, sharing goals, experiences, lessons learned, and information about new concepts and technologies. Organizational knowledge is distributed via the weekly LEED meetings, weekly engineering meetings, quarterly chief engineer meetings, and informal emails and phone calls among property managers.

Service providers, vendors, and contractors form another core group that have a hand in the success of sustainability initiatives. Sustainable purchasing policies have been developed, covering everything from ENERGY STAR-qualified office equipment to ongoing consumables to recycled content building materials, and properties are being pulled into the program in stages. Sustainability criteria are communicated to architects working on tenant improvements or remodels; to contractors performing mechanical upgrades and retrofits; and in some markets, even to trash haulers.

Many of the initiatives underway involve building upgrades and operational changes in support of potential LEED certification. "In 2009, our primary goal is to accomplish LEED-EB certification for as many properties as possible. The incentives for energy reduction targets are built into achieving the 69 EPA energy performance rating required for LEED-EB," said Margot.

Key Center

Other specific goals have been set for each department, such as helping the investment department better understand how sustainability can add value or introducing cost-effective sustainable practices in the multifamily portfolio. Across the office portfolio, Unico has endorsed the BOMA 7-Point Challenge, which calls on organizations to reduce energy usage by 30% as compared to an average portfolio. So far, Unico has reduced energy usage by 28% compared to the national average.

Among their initial successes, Unico counts 10 ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings and two that are currently LEED-certified. By the end of 2009, Unico expects to have 12 buildings with a LEED certification under either the LEED for New Construction (NC) or LEED-EB rating systems. 100 Pine in San Francisco, where Margot continues to manage, has the distinction of being the first multi-tenant building in California to earn LEED-EB certification.

Unico has also developed creative programs and services for tenants, such as green dry cleaning services, water filtration systems to cut down on bottled water consumption, and education on green practices to implement at work and at home. Bike parking is now available in every Unico office property. Office leases are being updated to encourage tenants to follow green guidelines. Tenant responses to these initiatives have been overwhelmingly positive.

To further engage tenants, Unico recently began using green lease language (adapted from the BOMA Green Lease Guide) with each new tenant. Basic requirements include purchasing only ENERGY STAR qualified office equipment, complying with LEED requirements for waste diversion, and conserving energy day-to-day by taking simple actions like turning off unneeded lights. "Green sustainability fairs" in office building lobbies aim to keep tenants inspired to participate in sustainability efforts once they've moved in, and lobby signage periodically updates tenants on new initiatives such as lighting or mechanical upgrades.

This continual inspiration and motivation is a consistent theme in the new sustainability department's approach. "A lot of managers tend to get lost in the paperwork and lose sight of the inspiration behind embracing sustainability. It's important to have someone outside the immediate property team to keep the spirit alive and keep looking for new ideas," said Margot.

Along those lines, Unico's sustainability department staff leverages industry resources to keep abreast of new innovations, learn from their peers, and move projects forward. Both Brett and Margot are pursuing LEED accreditation through the USGBC, and Unico is working to have as many staff members as possible become LEED-accredited. For every energy efficiency project being pursued, property teams work with the local utilities to leverage rebates and incentives; for example, the Seattle portfolio collectively received over one million dollars in rebates from Seattle City Light for 2007 energy efficiency projects.

The biggest challenge Margot expects to face in her new role is the fact that there are only 24 hours in the day. Also currently serving as President of BOMA San Francisco, she has a lot of demands on her time - though the two positions complement each other. Holding a corporate-level role at Unico gives Margot greater credibility in her BOMA leadership.

When asked what advice she would give to other companies looking into creating a similar job, Margot said, "Get going! There is a lot of energy and direction in the marketplace around green issues right now. I'm very hopeful that this will be a positive growth area in a suffering economy."

Brett added, "There are obvious environmental reasons to reduce your carbon footprint and reduce strain on natural resources, but from a business standpoint, reducing energy use is equal to working toward having a high performance building. It's a huge advantage to put together a sustainability department to be able to harness all the things going on in the market."

100 PineBuilding

Margot stresses the importance of maintaining a bit of healthy skepticism. "It's important to keep your feet on the ground and be aware of unintended consequences. Sometimes something that seems like a good idea is not always a good idea in the long run - there's a grain of salt to all of this," she said. For example, the 100 Pine team was committed to replacing all the restroom fixtures to incorporate low-flush toilets. But the San Francisco Bay Area didn't offer a viable option to recycle all the old ones, so the environmental benefits were not as clear-cut.

Yet Margot remains inspired by the broader sustainability vision: "The West Coast is so attuned to nature and the great outdoors. That's a value that's worth agreeing upon and promoting."

*The national EPA energy performance rating provides a metric of a building or portfolio's energy efficiency as compared to other properties around the U.S. On the 1-100 scale, an average building earns a rating of 50; a rating of 69 means that a property is among the top 31% most energy efficient in the nation, or in the 69th percentile. The LEED green building certification program for existing buildings requires a minimum energy performance rating of 69.

Design Approach

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:59:23 +0000

Integrating Energy Engineering & Performance Modeling into the Design Process
This PDF provides a recommended scope of energy engineering and performance modeling services to support the development of very energy efficient, high performance buildings. This energy engineer/modeler will enhance the design team's understanding of project opportunities and constraints, challenge the design team to examine key questions, act as an advocate and serve as a design team resource to improve a building's energy performance throughout each design step.

ReThinking Design
At the heart of the process from programming through schematic design is the search for synergies, a highly iterative, open ended analysis of all of the major components and options.

Energy Design Resources Online Energy Analysis Tool
EDR Charette is an online tool that allows you to quickly investigate the energy impacts of various design scenarios on a typical building, and then review the analysis graphically in an easy to understand web-based format.

Understanding the Energy Modeling Process: Simulation Literacy 101
Demystifying energy modeling for design and facilities-planning professionals.

High-Performance Building
High-Performance Building gives architects a practical guide to excellent, sustainable design, showing how to analyze and evaluate the buildings "as built." Taking a hands-on view of sustainability, the author provides designers with specific benchmarks for high performance and energy efficiency. Utilizing the latest methods for analysis of climate responsive design.

MIT's Design Advisor
Architects and Building Designers can use computer modeling to explore options to improve indoor comfort and energy performance of conceptual building designs. But most simulation tools are too complicated for this purpose. Quick, visual comparisons are needed for early-stage design. The MIT Design Advisor is a tool which allows you to describe and simulate a building in less than five minutes. No technical experience or training is needed. An annual energy simulation can be run in less than a minute, and graphical results are immediately available for review. And it's free.

Additional Grocery Resources

admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:06:35 +0000

Refrigeration and Thermal Test Center
Summaries of evaluation projects on topics such as how glass doors affect energy efficiency and food quality, the effect of anti-sweat heat controls on display-case efficiency, and the impact of relative humidity on display cases.

Southern California Edison's CommericalProgram
SCE has several grocery specific factsheets discussing the effects of air curtain interference, FDA product temperature requirements, and the relationship between energy use and supermarket temperature and humidity.

Design Lights^TM
Clear, practical guidance on high quality, energy-efficient commercial lighting. Click on Guides to view and download the seven-part knowhow^TM Series, which covers retail, office, high- and low-bay industrial, and daylighting applications. Each eight-page guide is filled with colorful graphics, photos, and recommendations for lamps, fixtures, and controls, plus full design layouts developed by leading lighting designers. Select Case Studies to view over 20 examples of how others have applied the information in the guides to address their lighting and budget challenges.

Food Service Technology Center
The Food Service Technology Center (FSTC) is a leader in commercial kitchen energy efficiency and appliance performance testing. This site is a rich source of information on equipment performance, commercial kitchen ventilation, and building energy efficiency, including lighting, glazing, and HVAC. Be sure to check out their Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Best Practice Design & Specification Guidelines.

Sporlan
A collection of practical educational bulletins on such topics as "Fundamentals of Head Pressure Control," "Supermarket Subcooling," and "How to Maximize Supermarket Compressor Life."

Wal-Mart High Efficiency Prototype Stores
Details on the HVAC, lighting, and refrigeration systems in the recently-opened store in Kansas City, the first in a series of High Efficiency stores that will use 20% less energy than a typical supercenter. Click on the thumbnail images at right for a brief description of each feature. The HE-1 Press Kit below the images provides additional information and perspective on Walmart's approach to energy efficiency in new store design.

EnergySmart Program
The EnergySmart Program provides free energy audits and financial support for equipment upgrades that improve efficiency in grocery stores. Audit reports summarize the cost, savings, and financial payback on equipment replacement and upgrade opportunities broken out into three categories: low/no cost projects with immediate payback; slightly higher-cost, high return investments; and longer term possibilities with less compelling, but potentially worthwhile, return.

Energy Trust of Oregon
Site of the Business Efficiency Program of the Energy Trust of Oregon, which provides financial support and information resources to commercial customers in Oregon of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, Northwest Natural Gas, and Cascade Natural Gas.

Lab Network

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:59:11 +0000

The labs provide free analysis and consultation to help Northwest design professionals create sustainable, high performance buildings with more productive and comfortable work environments. More

Idaho

Integrated Design Lab| Boise
Operated by the University of Idaho
kevinv@uidaho.edu
208.724.9456

Available services:

Daylighting analysis
Electric lighting analysis
Information, tools and resources on integrated design and other high performance building practices
Consultations on lighting and HVAC systems

Montana

Integrated Design Lab | Bozeman
Operated by the Montana State University
twood@montana.edu
406.994.4717

Available services:

Daylighting analysis
Electric lighting analysis
Information, tools and resources on daylighting and electric lighting techniques
Lighting system consultations

Oregon

Energy Studies in BuildingsLab | Portland & Eugene
Operated by the University of Oregon
terryb@uoregon.edu
541.994.4717

Available services:

Daylighting analysis and modeling
Information, tools and resources on various daylighting techniques
Consultations on integrated design, minimizing loads, and natural ventilation

Washington

Integrated Design Lab | Puget Sound
Operated by the University of Washington
daylight@u.washington.edu
206.616.6566
or toll free 877.604.6592

Available services:

Daylighting analysis and modeling
Information, tools and resources on various daylighting techniques
Lighting system consultations

Integrated Design Lab | Inland Northwest
Operated by Washington State University, Interdisciplinary Design Institute
jtheodorson@wsu.edu
509.358.7964

Available services:

Daylighting analysis
Electric lighting analysis
Information, tools and resources on daylighting and electric lighting techniques
Lighting system consultations

Regional

Lighting Design Lab
206.325.9695
or toll free 800.354.3864 for ID, MT, OR and WA

The Lighting Design Lab, located in Seattle, works to transform the Northwest electric lighting market toward higher efficiency and quality through education and training, consultations, technical assistance, and demonstrations.

Available services:

Classes and workshops
Lighting system consultations
Model studies
Information, tools and resources on various lighting strategies and
technologies

Higher Education

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:29:39 +0000

Mount Angel Center For Theological Studies
Mount Angel Abbey's new Annunciation Center for Theological Studies completes the Benedictine teaching, retreat and worship center on the hill above Mount Angel, Oregon. With its expansive views of the Willamette Valley, and soaring, arched windows and ceilings, the building nurtures the contemplative study of God.

Stanford's Y2E2 Environment and Energy Building, CA
The Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) set the bar for Stanford University's new Science and Engineering Quad 2. The building developers set ambitious goals of using 50 percent less energy than the federal code and cutting building water use by 30 percent. Within the first year of occupancy, the building is set to meet its energy savings goal and is on pace to cut water usage by 90 percent. Y2E2 is the first of the four buildings planned to total 500,000 square feet and a new space for the university's environmental scholars.

Seminar II, Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
To create smaller learning communities based upon the academic program, five semi-independent academic clusters are fingered into the landscape as Seminar II. The design of this academic facility reflects the Evergreen State College's commitment to rigorous interdisciplinary teaching and to environmental advocacy.

Lillis Business Complex, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
The project, designed by Portland's SRG Partnership, consists of a new, four-story complex that will add 145,000 square feet of space to the business school and replace the 40,000-square-foot Gilbert Bridge Building that was demolished. The new construction will act as a connector between the remaining three buildings, bringing the business school's total square footage to 196,500.

Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, Merritt, BC(project report)
One of Canada's first post-secondary facilities shared by a native and non native institute, designed to reflect the cultural characteristics of the aboriginal students, and provide state of the art learning spaces required by University College of the Cariboo.

Schools

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:47:12 +0000

Shining a (Natural) Light on Green Schools
This article in Green Inc., a New York Times energy and environment blog, discusses the unique collaboration between of the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Lab (ESBL) and Da Vinci Art Middle School in Portland, Ore. Architecture firm SRG Partnership worked ESBL to design the green prototype classroom, which uses natural dayligting, passive heating and cooling systems, solar roof tile and other green features that yeild a 70 percent efficiency improvement over Oregon building code requirements.

Central Kitsap School District Strikes it Rich with Commissioning
The core team of facilities professionals at the Central Kitsap School District took a closer look at the district's energy consumption and found tremendous opportunities for improvement. The ongoing commissioning they undertook improved the indoor environment for both students and teachers, and saved the district hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Endeavor Elementary School, Nampa, ID
The Endeavor Elementary School high performance demonstration classrooms are the latest effort by the innovative Nampa School District and their partners; the Boise Integrated Design Lab; the designers; Idaho Power and the Idaho Office of Energy Resources. These classrooms sit next to conventional classrooms and are providing reliable energy data that will be used to better inform the District's future design decisions. These classrooms, as well as certain aspects of the rest of the school, are an innovative model for energy efficiency in Idaho and the rest of the US.

Clackamas High School, Clackamas, OR
The North Clackamas School District established basic goals for the design of the new high school: energy efficiency, high-quality indoor environments, environmental responsibility, and resource efficiency became integral to meeting the school district's established goals.

The Dalles Middle School, The Dalles, OR
Students at The Dalles Middle School can be proud that their new school "went for the gold." The 97,000-square-foot building, is about to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's Gold Certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-the first Oregon school to achieve LEED™ status.

Clearview Elementary School, Hanover, PA
The Clearview Elementary School in Hanover, Pennsylvania is a 43,000 square foot new construction project. The new school which replaces an existing facility at the same location and serves kindergarten through grade 4 will receive a 30% reduction in water use, 40% reduction in energy use, and superior indoor air quality.

Ash Creek Intermediate School, Monmouth, OR
Ash Creek Intermediate School presents a new model for state-of-the-art, sustainable school design. Opened in fall 2002, the new 58,000-square-foot building is an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly school within the district's limited budget. The project team also followed LEED guidelines but did not seek certification due to budget constraints.

Maplewood K-8 Co-op and Maplewood Center, Edmonds, WA
In January 2002, students at Maplewood K-8 Co-op and Maplewood Center returned to school after the winter break and found a lot to be excited about. The new 51,000 square foot, two-story K-8 school serving 450 co-op students and parents was integrated with an existing, modernized 26,000 square foot Center that serves 50 special needs children.

West Salem High School, Salem, OR(report)
West Salem's development spanned years of hard work to bring needed resources to the growing area, which helped to transform the once rural property into a community center. A primary goal of the project was to respect the land, by reducing the scale, minimizing site grading, and utilizing landscaping and layout to reflect the land's former use.

Bainbridge Island High School, Bainbridge Island, WA
The 255-acre campus of Bainbridge Island High School provides visitors with discovery-based learning and outdoor field experiences. The buildings are a model of energy conservation and community living, and preserved ponds, wetlands, marshes, bogs, and forests encourage learning adventures for 4,000 school children each year.

Eco-Charrette

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:35:55 +0000

by Nathan Good

What, exactly, is an eco-charrette? It's an intense meeting, half a day or more, in which all participants in a building design project focus on ideas for efficient use of energy and resources in the new building. The group generates goals and then develops strategies for accomplishing those goals. Eco-charrettes, also called sustainable design or environmental design charrettes, are becoming a common element in the design of high performance buildings and have been used successfully on some of the most progressive buildings in the Pacific Northwest.

A Brief History
The word charrette is derived from the French word for cart. At the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in the 19th century, proctors would circulate with charrettes at the deadline hour, collecting the drawings of the student apprentices for delivery to the master artist for critique. Apprentices would jump onto the carts with their drawings, often still frantically making last-minute changes. Thus, the word conveys a sense of the intensive, concentrated effort.

These days, the charrette is a tool for moving a development project through phases of design quickly and efficiently. It is a carefully orchestrated event in which the participants, the schedule, and the location are chosen to encourage focused creativity within a structured framework.

A well-conducted charrette pulls the right people with the necessary skills together to make decisions within a short period, thus saving substantial time and money. The final result is a concrete plan that helps key decision makers understand the practical implications of a concept for a project.

Description of an Eco-Charrette
The concept might sound familiar, but the eco-charrette differs from a project team kick-off meeting because it generally focuses on sustainable development goals, strategies, and integrated design solutions.

The eco-charrette process begins when a new project is launched, sometimes before architects and engineers have been hired. The facilitator may interview the client before the eco-charrette to determine the client's environmental and energy efficiency goals for the project and the desired outcomes for the work session. It is also common for sustainability goals and objectives to be developed during the eco-charrette.

Once the design team for the project has been selected, the entire team-architect, engineers, contractor, building user representatives, and owner-meets in the eco-charrette for at least a day, sometimes two or more, to devise strategies for attaining the project's goals for sustainability and energy efficiency. Multi-day charrettes can also be used to launch the architectural design of a project.

To achieve greatest success in an eco-charrette, it should involve everyone-that is, anyone who might build, approve, use, sell, or even attempt to block the project. We all know that when people are involved from the outset, they are more likely to feel ownership of, and work for, the success of the project.

The time spent in the eco-charrette is designed to be highly productive, and profound change can result. Each participant brings specialized expertise or knowledge that may contribute to achieving the goals. The eco-charrette enables a group of people to discover solutions themselves, which creates a sense of ownership and consensus. For a sustainable building project, this is a formula for success.

A Successful Eco-Charrette (a true story)

THE CLIENT wanted to optimize use of natural light in his new office building and contain costs. THE ARCHITECT proposed high-performance glazing for the windows to maximize light coming into the building and to control heat loss. THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERTHE CONTRACTOR surmised that the glazing and the lights with sensors would substantially increase the project budget. In response, THE MECHANICAL ENGINEERTHE CONTRACTOR determined that this integrated solution would reduce total project cost. Furthermore, THE ELECTRIC UTILITY REPRESENTATIVE offered substantial rebates for the high-performance glass, energy-efficient light fixtures, and daylight sensors. THE OWNER was delighted with this collaborative problem solving.suggested using fluorescent lamps with light sensors to modulate the electric light in proportion to available natural light, and then proceeded to calculate the annual savings. suggested smaller mechanical units because the building would be in a cooling mode most of the year and the electric light fixtures would be a source of heat. Quickly calculating the cost of the smaller mechanical units,

THE RESULT: a high-performance building for less cost, annual energy savings, and naturally lit interior spaces for the building's users.

Patrick Bellew Interview

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:14:53 +0000

Download a PDF of this interview

Founding director of Atelier Ten, Patrick Bellew is a Chartered Building Services Engineer with more than twenty years' experience in the design of high performance buildings and their systems. His success in integrating innovative technologies with noteworthy architecture has been acknowledged by the Royal Institute of British Architects, who have made him an Honorary Fellow, one of only three in his field. We had the privilege to catch up with Patrick before a presentation and conduct the following interview.

BetterBricks: What and/or who has inspired you in both your career path and your commitment to sustainable design?

Bellew: The early part of my career was very much influenced by Professor Ted Happold, who was the founder of Buro Happold and was a Professor at my University from 1977. I was also influenced by Professor Derek Clements Croome, who ran the Environmental Design Module at Bath University back in the late 70's, early 80's.

Ted was a structural engineer, but was a great believer in the application of a pragmatic approach, and the qualities of reductive design for making great buildings. Derek was a very different animal, inspired by philosophy as much as engineering and a firm believer in the application of biomimicry to the development of architectural design.

I came out of Bath University in 1981, having spent four years exposed to these two amazing educators, and joined Buro Happold, which was at that time a small office in Bath. Working with a very small group of structural engineers at Buro Happold, I quickly realized that the difference between structural engineering and environmental engineering was in the way that they applied their tools and attempted to minimize and be the most economical they could be. At that time, in the field of mechanical design, there were no real guidelines for minimizing the size of plant or equipment; one never got sued for putting in equipment that was too large. There was a very limited dialogue between architecture and mechanical engineering at that time, but there was a very strong dialogue between the architect and structural engineer. That has changed a great deal in the time that I have been practicing as an engineer.

The other major inspiration on my career has been my wife, Lois. She has been a committed environmentalist since I met her, and her concerns for ecological matters have always been the key part of our conversations and discussions throughout our life together.

It was really by combining the pragmatic influences that I learned at university with her belief in the importance of minimizing building impacts, that allowed me to recognize the possible role of the mechanical designer in the production of more sustainable buildings.

Two architects that I have worked with in the UK from the very early stages of my career included Peter Clegg and Richard Feilden, of Feilden Clegg Bradley; in particular Peter was a major influence on my thinking about environmental design from the outset. He is just one of many architects that I have been fortunate enough to work with, who have been inspirational during collaboration and with whom I have enjoyed a fruitful and interesting career. I think there is no doubt that the writings of people like Amory Lovins and George Monbiot, and to some extent William McDonough, have also been an inspiration as the environmental movement has accelerated it's pace and the application of these design principals have become much more the norm.

BetterBricks: You've explored considerably the use of environmental technologies in regard to heating and cooling. How do you convince your clients to adopt these strategies and coordinate with other team members, e.g. engineers?

Bellew: We have explored and developed high performance building technologies overmany years with greater and lesser degrees of success with our clients. In every project, we attempt to bring in a degree of environmental thinking; usually phrasing it in terms of 'no-brainers' that one ought to do as a matter of course on the building. The next level are things that are slightly more of a stretch to reach, and then on to the more complex things that require a major shift in thinking about how buildings perform. We have been fortunate, however, to work with many clients for whom a push towards more sustainable design has been at the core of the selection process of their design team. In the early days, this type of client tended to be either owner/occupiers of buildings, such as universities and schools, or they would come from the government sector or cultural buildings such as art museums, schools again or public buildings of any kind. These were people who both owned and operated the buildings and, as it's now phrased, the triple bottom line applied to very well. This means that they were paying the fuel bills, and so the benefits of investment in energy reduction were clearly demonstrable throughout the life of the building. It has been far more difficult to persuade the developers of commercial buildings, who are not paying their own fuel bills, to come to the party and build high performance, sustainable buildings.

This has changed somewhat in recent years, particularly the last two years in the UK, where the corporate social responsibility demands of the potential building tenants have moved our commercial sector much more towards the development of high performance buildings. I would say this has certainly been helped by the emergence of benchmarking rating systems. In the UK this is BREEAM, and in the US this is LEED. The impact of these benchmarking systems has been really significant in encouraging developers to achieve higher standards for their buildings, and recognize that they have a better chance of leasing a building that's deemed to be high quality, than leasing a building that's either not certified or of a lower quality. In a way this is exactly what the benchmarking systems set out to achieve in the first place. They are frequently derided by the nay-sayers as being a painful process, involving too much paper pushing, and many other negatives. However, I think they add extraordinary value in providing a level playing field for comparison of designs and design qualities.

Plaza at PPL Center in Pennsylvania

Our experiences in the US in recent years have very much paralleled this situation in the UK. Our earlier projects were almost exclusively with universities and one or two enlightened developers, such as Liberty Property Trust out of Philadelphia. The universities were beginning to recognize the benefits of reducing their energy consumption and their infrastructure costs when developing new buildings, if they built them to a higher standard. At the same time, or soon after, the property development sector recognized that there were some pretty big changes on the horizon and started to respond. I wouldn't say that they are all the way there yet, but certainly a good start is being made in certain parts of the country.

To respond to the second part of the question, about how to coordinate with other team members; the truth is that sometimes it's very straight forward, and sometimes it's not. Despite the fact that it is widely recognized that the architecture of the building is a key component of the way that buildings perform, and despite the fact that all the architects that we work with seek to incorporate environmental design measures into their buildings, there still remains a reluctance on the part of many architects to compromise architectural or aesthetic considerations for a technical one, no matter how carefully they are explained!

As the calculation tools have become more user friendly and particularly more graphical in the way that they represent energy flows within buildings, we have found it increasingly viable to speak with the architects at a graphical level, get them to understand the consequences of their decisions, and start to move towards making better buildings. For the most part however, the collaborative relationship within design teams, whether it be architects or structural engineers, has been exciting and for the most part fruitful.

Nonetheless, a realistic look back at many of our projects would suggest that most clients prepare a little bit in their ambitions, but moving them to more innovative environmental ideas still remains extremely difficult. I do think that sometimes we over analyze the things that we are doing.

In the earlier part of my career, we used to do what we called "stealth" engineering where we would simply install something, such as heat recovery, as standard on all the ventilation systems in the building, having satisfied ourselves that the energy efficiency gained was worth having. We wouldn't necessarily do the detailed life cycle cost analysis to show that the client would realize a benefit over the long term, because we knew it would be so. The minute that you put it up as an additional item in the "green column" of the analysis, it is then a hostage to fortune and to budget cuts, whereas we would rather see it as being an intrinsic part of a good building. So these days, we do a combination of things that we just do as standard, and we then look for areas where we can "push the boat out" to make for buildings that move the debate about green design forward.

BetterBricks: Are you familiar with the Architecture 2030 Challenge? How would you characterize the best approach or strategies to get to net-zero carbon buildings?

Bellew: I have some knowledge of the 2030 Challenge documentation, and I think that it contains a very strong message. In the UK, our government is looking to mandate a more ambitious time line to carbon neutral buildings, aiming for the domestic sector to be carbon neutral by 2016 and the commercial sector to be carbon neutral by 2019.

There is some debate about the meaning of carbon neutral, and a particular debate is developing about the fact that the carbon neutrality of the project is intended to be established without the ability to import energy from green sources offsite, or by using certified renewable energy credits. As you can imagine, this makes life rather challenging! There is also some debate about the definition of zero carbon and the tax breaks that are being allocated to zero carbon buildings; one supposes the treasury tries to make it difficult to achieve them in order to minimize the number of tax concessions they have to give!

I wouldn't take issue with any of the points raised in the 2030 Challenge headlines, except to highlight that one thing we are very interested in looking into is how we can make the construction of new buildings somehow link to the energy reduction in the existing building stock. To me it always seems crazy to spend a million dollars on a photovoltaic array to take a building from a 60% carbon reduction to a 64% carbon reduction, when the same amount of carbon could be saved by spending $250,000 on an adjoining building or nearby housing estate. How do we put in place mechanisms to allow the money to flow from one sector to another, and avoid wasting the green dollar on uneconomic renewable energy systems, when there are much softer targets nearby? I know this is a really difficult problem to solve, but it seems to me to be one that our legislature needs to get its head around in order to allow it to become part of the planning system.

In the UK, the town of Brighton has recently introduced a system that allows developers to realize the best building performance possible by incorporating economically feasible renewable sources into the design. Any short fall from the required 10-20% renewable energy target, in effect any residual carbon emissions can be paid off via a one-off development charge. This then goes into a community fund and is used to provide zero cost installation for existing residential home owners. Installing solar panels, insulation, double-glazing and the like to dramatically improve the energy performance. Personally, I think that this is one of the biggest tools in the box beyond design for very high performance buildings.

It would be a very long interview if I were to try and deal with how you go about getting to zero carbon buildings! I think the process of demand minimization and then the installation of very high performance building systems is clearly the key, but how we deal with delivering electrical renewable energy in particular on these projects is still a very challenging question.

BetterBricks: What have you learned from your experience incorporating biomimicry principles into buildings? Any advice for architects? Or engineers?

Bellew: In my lecture I cover my favorite bit of biomimicry, which is the nest of the termite. I talk a little bit about the magnetic termite and the barossa termite. These creatures have an amazing way of constructing their nests, and in particular they use a thermal storage system contained in the ground and the earth tube that brings air into the nest. They also use evaporation of water to provide cooling in these same heat stores to produce an air conditioning effect without actually running any chillers. We have used these principals many times on our buildings to integrate subterranean thermal storage into air conditioning pre-heat and pre-cooling systems to minimize the demands on the air handling plant in the building, providing comfortable conditions with very low energy consumption. So I believe very strongly in the principal of biomimicry as a way of mirroring design techniques. However, I think there is a limit to the extent to which it can be applied. Nonetheless, I have found it extremely useful in getting across to clients the benefits of certain types of systems, and establishing a clear understanding that it's physical principles that we are working with and not smoke and mirrors!

BetterBricks: What do you see as future energy trends in the sustainable building market? What about future business opportunities?

Bellew: I think there is no doubt that the renewable energy market will follow a broad range of applications in the years to come. The question is, which one will give us the biggest benefit? I have always been a big fan of earth energy systems, and how we have applied a wide range of earth energy techniques to buildings in recent years to minimize demands and reduce or eliminate the need for air conditioning.

To me this seems to be one very logical place for us to start from. I would have to say that I am not a great believer in the application of building based wind technologies. Recent trials underway in the UK suggest that the performance of building integrated turbines are rarely as good as one would hope, largely because of the very disturbed air surrounding the buildings. The move towards biomass based heating and combined heat and power systems in the UK is gaining some momentum, and I think in a balanced, green energy world, should such a thing exist, we will be looking at a proportion of our building energy demands being met from biomass equipment. The argument about the macro economic and social economic implications of this continues to rage, and as an engineer I am not sure I have all the answers regarding what the right solution is, but I do think in the right application, biofuels have a role to play.

We have installed many solar hot-water heating systems as an integral part of both residential and office schemes, and it seems to me that this is one of the simpler technologies that we should be using a lot more. PV is altogether a more difficult question, but there are an increasing number of examples of economies that have benefited greatly from setting tariffs to generate a strong PV industry at the same time as offsetting a small proportion of building energy loads. I would certainly say that they have a role to play in the future of high performance buildings. When it comes down to it, however, the real gains that are to be made have to be in the way that architecture and engineering work together to produce buildings that are just altogether leaner and greener, and have to rely a lot less on these new technologies to meet their energy demands.

One area of design that really doesn't get enough attention in this regard, I believe, is the importance of daylighting. The more one works on projects, both in the commercial and retail sectors, the more one realizes the amount of energy we actually waste on lighting buildings when there is perfectly good daylight outside. Even in buildings that have huge amounts of glass, and on days that are not very sunny, one still sees massive amounts of lighting on. This is because lighting control systems are not adequately developed or invested in to produce the energy savings that go with good daylighting. It seems to me that there are many areas here that we can get our house in order before we move to a great and anxious debate over how big the solar panels should be.

On the positive side, there is no doubt that the future business opportunities in this area are considerable. As more and more corporations and large businesses take up their corporate social responsibility statements and start to try to make them real, they rapidly realize that it is their real estate they have to look to, to quickly promote the improvements that they are claiming. They will also be looking to occupy new buildings that have better environmental credentials than the buildings that they currently occupy. It seems to me that this is the key lever in the development of high performance buildings in the future. The future trends in this building market are all about clients demanding more, and design teams working in a more integrated way to deliver the solutions that they need.

A particular interest to us in the US market has been the emergence of the sustainable design consultant in the design team. This is the space that Atelier Ten occupies in the US, although in the UK we also work as MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) engineers. It seems to me that the US market is very open to the idea of a designer working with the architect, helping to develop the best possible building envelope and response to orientation, massing and form, but at the same time also working with the MEP engineers to integrate high performance systems into these building envelopes. The influence will spread right down the supply chain; I am talking now about designers, but it also extends right through from material suppliers, contractors, water engineers, water treatment engineers. Everyone who is involved in some inflow or outflow from our buildings will have a part to play in building a more sustainable future for the construction industry.

Architecture 2030 Challenge

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:32:39 +0000

Download a PDF of this article

In response to global climate change, key leaders of the building design industry have established a goal of "zero net energy" buildings by the year 2030. In May 2007, representatives of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Architecture 2030 Challenge, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), supported by representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, finalized an agreement of understanding that they hope will result in carbon-neutral buildings.

The Challenge
This agreement provides a common basis and measure of progress as building design professionals create greater numbers of buildings that use substantially less energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create spaces that are healthy and comfortable. The agreement specifies energy performance targets, beginning with an immediate reduction of 50 percent in energy use for all new buildings . This target increases rapidly, with a 60 percent reduction proposed for 2010, adding an additional 10 percent reduction every five years, until carbon neutral buildings are the norm by 2030.

How to Get There?
With the introduction of the Challenge, the design community is asking… How will these targets be reached? Is it possible? Well, it's clear that getting to these targets will require significant changes in the way buildings are designed and built. Rapid diffusion of innovation will be required. New technologies and building materials will make a contribution, but the fundamental innovations needed to immediately cut average energy use in half will have to come from designers learning to rethink the way they design buildings.

Search for Synergies
Many initiatives are being made to formalize an "integrated design" process. Among these efforts, G.Z. Brown, FAIA, Director of the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory at Department of Architecture of the University of Oregon, collaborating with practitioners such as Kent Duffy, FAIA, SRG Partnership, and Michael Hatten, PE, SOLARC Architecture and Engineering, has been refining integrated design practices that deliver buildings with exceptional energy performance. Says Brown, "The heart of the integrated design process is the search for synergies among attributes of climate, use, design, and systems, that will result in increased performance, while reducing project first cost and operating expense."

Designers practice within a number of constraints: a client's program and the needs of occupants; building codes and zoning requirements; site-specific limitations; the impact of climate; the need to integrate multiple building systems; and the performance capabilities of equipment, technologies and materials. A building's energy performance is broadly determined by four general sets of criteria among these constraints: climate, use, design, and systems. One of the approaches that Brown uses and BetterBricks is promoting to help designers create synthesis, is to begin seeing these constraints as opportunities to generate significant energy savings.

Key Recommendations
Below are a few key recommendations, organized by the four sets of criteria:

Climate. Analyze local site and climate resources for heating, cooling, and lighting: analyze climate effects and resources, the coincidence of climate and building use patterns, and how climate can complement building systems.

Use. Analyze owner and user needs and creatively consider schedules and comfort criteria when developing the program and establishing the construction budget. Most buildings are either unoccupied or are partially occupied, most of the time. Buildings should be designed as carefully for these periods as they are for peak periods. The potential benefits of flexible, rather than fixed, occupancy schedules should also be considered. Classify spaces by the degree of individual ownership and control of thermal and visual conditions.

Loads. Understand the implications of building form, organization, and envelope and the selection of materials-mass, insulation and glazing, for example-upon loads. Use building design to create smaller loads (reducing system costs). This includes passive strategies such as daylighting and natural ventilation.

Systems. Design the building to improve efficiency and performance and to reduce the cost of multiple and redundant building systems: structural, mechanical, electrical, lighting, acoustic, and civil. Explore building and site design opportunities to reduce or eliminate HVAC system loads. Separate the ventilation system from heating and cooling systems.

When loads are significantly reduced, the number of hours the HVAC and lighting systems are used becomes smaller. Make sure that HVAC and lighting system choices and sizing are based upon the actual schedule and the severity of actual loads rather than prescriptive design conditions. Select high efficiency equipment to meet the reduced loads.

Rethinking Design
Many architects describe conceptual design, schematic design, design development and the preparation of construction documents as a design process, when it might be more accurately described as a schedule for deliverables and budgeting. When discussing the practice of integrated design, Brown makes a distinction between those aspects of project management that remain closely tied to the project schedule and the aspects of integrated design that can proceed more independently throughout the project phases.

The discussion of who to involve early in the process, when and how often various project team members should meet, how to improve communication and interactions, and the organization and structure of charrettes and work sessions are certainly important. These elements of integrated design are discussed in more detail in the Tools and Resources Section - Integrated Design

While the search for synthesis and new design solutions is less likely to happen when the members of a design team work in relative isolation, they won't necessarily be enhanced in project team meetings with broad agendas that must also meet the needs of non-designers. Ensuring that activities such as goal setting, commissioning, and energy modeling are properly scheduled and receive the attention required by the team, will help to ensure a successful project and verify project performance, but significant breakthroughs in building energy performance will take place when the design process supports the search for synthesis. Therefore it is recommended that there either be two sets of meetings, or two parts of each meeting: one for goal setting, process and management and another for technical design solutions.

There are critical points where the design process and the project schedule intersect, where proper coordination will provide distinct benefit. By scheduling certain tasks at particular times or in a given sequence, the project manager can facilitate a design that strives for increased performance. It's also recommended that full team meetings be held at key points along the project schedule to check on progress toward the goals.

Michael Hatten, a mechanical engineer with SOLARC Architecture and Engineering, who has worked with Brown to advance the practice of integrated design, has observed the breakthroughs that can emerge from a project team's exploration of new techniques.

"Sometimes the past experience of a design team can become a barrier to new systems thinking. When a team is guided through those barriers by defining the effect of load reducing design strategies using modeling techniques, a conceptual awakening can happen. The "light bulb" comes on as folks realize that, once heating, cooling, and electric loads are moved into a new range, systems possibilities are greatly expanded. This is where building design becomes exciting: where the mechanical engineer and architect begin to collaborate on the design of external shading devices as a cooling system element of a building, and where the reality of achieving zero-energy performance in a building moves from an abstract dream to an achievable design goal.

For example, the evaluation of load reducing design strategies in the high performance classroom, that ultimately inspired the classroom design at Mount Angel Abbey Academic Center in Oregon, indicated that it was possible to maintain occupant comfort without any conventional mechanical systems. Cooling season comfort was maintained by passive ventilation and internal thermal mass. Heating season comfort was maintained by energizing electric lighting (or small electric heaters). In a very real integrated way, the heating and cooling systems were actually a synthesis of envelope insulation, floor and ceiling mass, and daylighting strategies."

The Project Manager's Role
The role of the project manager is critical to the successful delivery of an integrated design process. A project manager can take very real steps to organize project roles and responsibilities to deliver integrated solutions that meet project performance goals. Such steps may include.

Train staff in the use of design tools and analytical techniques that help reveal synergistic opportunities between context, programming, and architectural and engineering design.
Assign individuals the responsibility for delivering integrated solutions or specific services. For example, rather than maintaining daylighting design and electric lighting as separate activities, task someone with an integrated lighting solution.

Commissioning and post-occupancy evaluation are two additional activities, not directly related to the design process, which should be added to the project schedule because of the quality of the information they can provide. Commissioning is critical to assure that the design intent and owner's requirements are met and that systems function as designed. Post-occupancy evaluation will help measure, verify, and document building performance and occupant satisfaction; and provide important feedback about the success of integrated design solutions that the design team can incorporate into a continuous improvement process.

Integrated design, with the potential to spur rethinking of the design process, can make an enormous contribution toward achieving 2030 Challenge goals.

Kent Duffy, FAIA, SRG Architects, when speaking of his experiences exploring integrated design solutions on projects such as the Lillis Business Complex (University of Oregon, Eugene, OR) and the Mount Angel Abbey Academic Center (Saint Benedict, OR) has said:

"Creating buildings of this caliber requires a remarkable level of collaboration founded upon four important cornerstones: 1) a knowledge base that comes from in-depth research; 2) exceptional engineering that efficiently reaps the rich potential of latent environmental forces such as daylight, radiant energy, wind, and pressure differentials; 3) great care in shaping spaces that inspire the people who occupy them as well as thoroughly addressing their comfort; and 4) clearly communicating all of this to those who will occupy, operate and maintain these buildings so that the buildings can, in fact, live up to projected levels of effectiveness and environmental benefit."

Kent Duffy, SRG Partnerships

By Jeff Cole, Konstrukt, Inc. for BetterBricks

Mount Angel ID Roundtable Discussion-Part II

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:13:30 +0000

Part II of III - Daylighting (see Part I and III)

The following article, focused on daylighting, continues the roundtable discussion about integrated design, among principal project team members responsible for design of the Annunciation New Center for Theological Studies graduate theology building at Mount Angel Abbey. The participants in this segment of the Roundtable are:

Kent Duffy, FAIA, a Principal of SRG Partnership, Inc. He was the project architect, and also served as Principal in Charge and Project Designer.

G.Z. "Charlie" Brown, FAIA, Professor of Architecture at the University of Oregon and Director of the Energy Studies in Building Laboratory (ESBL). Under his leadership the ESBL designed, built, and monitored the performance of a full-size classroom prototype, in order to facilitate project team investigation and evaluation of daylighting, night ventilation of building mass, integration of mechanical and electrical systems. The prototype also informed and defined the passive systems approach that was incorporated into the project.

Father Michael Mee served as the Chair of the Building Committee. He began working on this project several years before the actual design process started, as the Monastic Community and Building Committee composed their ideas about project aspirations, and maintained his involvement through the construction phase and occupancy.

Kent Duffy: When we think of LEED standards for daylight, we shoot for an average daylight factor of two. The Mount Angel Abbey Academic Center aims higher than that, so that we can still get the minimum amount of light we need into the building during the winter days when there's not very much light available in the morning and in the afternoon. This objective resulted in an "oversized" skylight (compared with typical LEED designs, as well as most daylighting projects) with operable louvers to let the appropriate amount of daylight into the classrooms at any given time. Sensors determine how much daylight is available. Then a control system adjusts the louvers to the proper position to allow just as much light as we want into the space. And I must say that there was sudden applause in my heart when we walked in here before the classroom was finished-with 9,000 foot-candles outside, we closed the louvers, and there were 45 in the room-which was exactly what we hoped for.

One of the big challenges was distributing the light effectively throughout the room. It's not hard to put a skylight in a room, but it is hard to put one in a room without getting a big pocket of glare on one spot and almost no light in another, with a huge contrast between the two. We needed to find an effective way to distribute the light. So these triangular shaped tubes present a flat surface essentially parallel to the sloping plane of the ceiling. They distribute the light to the perimeter of the room. And the tubes are triangular because we wanted to not look up and see the reflector in silhouette against the skylight. So, by getting raking light across the angled faces, we reduce the glare on the silhouette of those elements and distribute the light throughout the room while keeping the ceiling from being dark.

G.Z. Charlie Brown: One of the things that we try to do, in our research role, is provide clear evidence that something will work before we try to use it in the design process. So, when Kent came and looked at the little black box model for our high performance classroom project, we'd already determined that, "Here are some measurements that show, from a daylighting standpoint, that it will probably work." Kent was kind enough and confident enough to say, "Well, I'd like to use that in a building," and we said, "We would love it, but... this is a model, we need to build a full-size prototype in order to assure ourselves and the client that this will work." And in my view, it works. It has a few little flaws that can be refined in future projects.

The skylight louvers allow us to control this skylight. But, in our full-sized classroom prototype, when we put the louvers in, we still ended up with a bright spot in the middle of the room and we got even lower light levels along the edge. The average daylight factor dropped to about four percent, which is about where we wanted it to be, except that distribution was terrible. We made it worse rather than better when we put the shading louvers in.

So, the next thing we did was put in an earlier version of the reflector. And if you'll look at the model, you can see the reflector in it. This is what it originally looked like. All of a sudden, with the reflector, we were able to demonstrate a totally different distribution of light within our model. It's about the same on average-it's a little higher here-but the middle has gone down while the sides have gone up. Now, that's pretty amazing to say I've got a big hole and, all of a sudden I'm not going to get most of the light right under it, I'm going to get more on the edges. We didn't have this in mind. We were trying to solve this problem as we went along. All of a sudden we put this model in the Overcast Sky Box and measured the results and, lo and behold, it did this marvelous thing.

Daylighting Reflector in Classroom

A product manufactured by CPI is used in the skylights. It was designed for solar shading, not for daylighting, so it follows the sun and does all sorts of things. To CPI's credit, they did a lot of work on this product for our application. We did a lot of modifications to the controls to get it to work as well as it does. So, then we said, let's see what happens with the kind of louvers that are in the CPI product. We learned that the average daylight factor was 3.8-very close to the 4.0 we were after, and the distribution was completely even, much more even than what you would get out of an electric lighting system. So, it was at this point we were leaping about the Lab, saying, "Eureka! Eureka!"

Okay, so this chart shows the illumination with a four percent daylight factor and these are months of the year and these are times of the day, these are all the times when it was above 20 foot-candles with a four percent daylight factor. Twenty foot-candles was the minimum target that we had for this space. You can see there is a lot of the time that you can achieve that with a four percent daylight factor. And if you shift that distribution a little bit in time you can do even better. So, this is a use pattern issue. Can they use this building when the light level is adequate? We talked to the Abbey and we looked at it and we said this happens to match really well the use patterns of the school. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out the right amount of light penetration and reflectivity off of the reflector to get it to work right. We built the first reflector in the full size prototype classroom. It was so ugly that we didn't even finish it. But number two was one that we did a better job at. We spent a lot of time building a series of reflector sections for Kent, trying out round, triangular and flat shapes.

Father Michael Mee: The monastic community wanted a building that expresses our Benedictine values of quality and permanence. One example of that is the lighting, which goes beyond just the energy efficiency the lighting provides, to a theological aspect. The students who study here are studying theology-the study of God-and preparing themselves for the priesthood. They sit in these classrooms so filled with wonderful light, but, of course, they're to be enlightened in these classrooms, as well. It's not enough that they're bathed in light, their minds are to be bathed in light, they are to be enlightened. And for us that source of light and enlightenment is the same as God. So, if you will, the building itself is teaching.

Article by Jeff Cole, Konstrukt, Inc for BetterBricks. For details about Mount Angel Abbey, please see an overview brochure on the Annunciation New Center for Theological Studies developed by SRG Partnerships, Inc.

Photos of Mount Angel building are credited to Lara Swimmer Photography.

Mount Angel ID Roundtable - Part III

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:58:47 +0000

Part III of III- Building Envelope (see Part I and II)

The following article is the third installment of a three part series drawn from a roundtable discussion that occurred in August 2007 about integrated design, among principal project team members responsible for design of the Annunciation New Center for Theological Studies graduate theology building at Mount Angel Abbey. The cross-disciplinary collaboration among project team members was a hallmark of this project, but specific areas of responsibility are indicated for each of the panel participants.

Father Michael Mee served as the Chair of the Building Committee and became involved several years before the actual design process started, as the Monastic Community and Building Committee composed their ideas about project aspirations.

Kent Duffy, FAIA is a Principal of SRG Partnership, Inc., the project architect, and served as Principal in Charge and Project Designer.

Michael Hatten, P.E. is a Principal of SOLARC Architecture and Engineering and was the mechanical engineer and energy engineer for the project.

G.Z. "Charlie" Brown, FAIA, is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Oregon and Director of the Energy Studies in Building Laboratory (ESBL). Under his leadership the ESBL designed, built, and monitored the performance of a full-size classroom prototype, in order to facilitate project team investigation and evaluation of daylighting, night ventilation of building mass, integration of mechanical and electrical systems, and to inform and define the passive systems approach that was incorporated into the project.

Building Loads

Mount Angel Exterior

Mike Hatten ("MH"): Here are a few glimpses into our integrated design thinking. We moved from an understanding of the loads to the system concepts. Initially, we were trying to imagine what would happen at night during the cooling season, what would happen during the day, and what would happen during the transition from night to day. Those of you who have been working on LEED projects and projects where there's formal commissioning have begun to ask these kinds of questions.

Outside air ventilation is the most significant building load, with significant implications for how we address systems concepts. As a general principle, one may want to seriously consider dealing with ventilation in a separate, dedicated way, not just as part of a set of mixed air dampers with air handlers on the roof. In fact, that approach did get expressed in this design, as heat recovery ventilators. Each classroom has its own dedicated heat recovery ventilator. And then for the more complex and integrated spaces-the offices and corridors-there is a building level heat recovery ventilator on the roof that provides ventilation air to some of the other building spaces.

The heating load for this building is almost all about ventilation, easily seen when we graphed heating and cooling loads. We're actually seeing between 70 and 80 percent effectiveness in the heat recovery ventilators that went into this design, reducing the effective heating load to about one-quarter of what the actual load is.

Kent Duffy ("KD"): The building has a modest heating system to provide perimeter heating to meet the remaining heating load. There is no active cooling system. We have made some corrections this summer because we had trouble in the winter with some air infiltration that was greater than we expected. So, there's slightly more perimeter radiant heat than what we included in the original design, and we're working to seal infiltration sites.

As we began to get some experience with this building-it happened to come on line right at the beginning of the heating season-we quickly found out that our assumptions of how much outside air would move through this passively functioning building differed from how much was actually circulating, a very cogent, specific example of where the real world meets integrated design assumptions - in this case, the infiltration component of the building loads.

There is a conference room on the classroom level (the second floor), with a shaft that goes all the way up, through the building, to bring daylight into the conference room, but it's also the ventilation path for the entire second floor to ventilate out the top of the building.

MH: The doors on either side of the classroom windows are manually opened and they have continuous louvers, top to bottom. Above the window is another set of dampers, which are automatically controlled, allowing air to move above the plane of the ceiling and through the room, cooling thermal mass in the floor and the roof. The air flows through the entire volume of the room and vacates through turbine ventilators on the roof above the corridor. We have thermal mass and ceiling fans, a combination that increases comfort range. You normally design a space to allow the temperature in summer to float up to about 78 degrees, but we have actually designed to allow the temperature to get to 83 degrees while maintaining comfort equivalent to what you would have at 78 degrees.

G.Z. "Charlie" Brown ("CB"): The ASHRAE comfort zone is defined so that when building conditions are maintained within that zone it can be expected that 20 percent of the occupants will remain uncomfortable. So designers also have to manage expectations about what a building can actually achieve.

KD: The analogy that I always use is, if you're in the sun, you would feel hot. And if you walked under the shade of a tree with dappled light and a gentle breeze blowing across you, you would feel comfortable. It's the same air temperature, but you would be comfortable. It's a matter of tuning the comfort of people rather than adjusting the building temperature.

Classrooms

MH: So, in a classroom at Mount Angel, during a summer night, in cooling mode, the automatic louvers open up, both on the outlets and the inlets, and we're bringing air through to cool thermal mass in the floors and ceilings, in preparation for the next day where we'll be seeing the cooling loads.

There are some interesting transitional issues that are layered into those automatic controls. One is that we are trying to sense mass temperature in several places in the floor in this building to tell these various automatic controls when to stop the night ventilation mode so we don't overcool the classroom. We are also locking out the heating, because we intend to depress the first few hours' temperature below the mid-60s-we don't want the heating system to come on the following morning. So, two pieces are there-the mass temperature sensing and lockout of the heating system the following morning-to really make this night flush system work without incurring an energy penalty.

When we get to a summer day, we automatically close two of the louvers. Additional louvers are manually controlled, so there is an expectation that occupants, as they become more aware of the dynamics of the room, begin to understand how to manage some of the elements of the comfort system in this room. Occupants can also manipulate the ceiling fans and use the cool surface temperatures to help maintain comfort.

CB: The automatic louver system is designed to handle enough ventilation and enough cooling of the mass on an average cooling day, that you won't need the manual windows at all. You only need to employ the manual windows when you have an extreme day, when they would be opened to increase ventilation. The reason why there's an automated component and a manual component is because the manual windows are a lot cheaper to build and they're not used very much and the penalty we pay for not having them used properly is small compared to potential problems with additional, more complicated automation.

KD: And I would go one step further to mention that each classroom is a stand-alone system, you can operate an individual classroom while the other classrooms remain in an unoccupied mode. Every classroom has its own ventilator.

Offices

Mount Angel office

MH: I just want to mention a little about the offices. From my perspective, as one of the designers of the natural ventilation cooling system, the offices and the office wing were a significantly more complex undertaking (than the classrooms).

To really figure out how air is going to move from inlets in the offices to outlets located in conference rooms is really an integrated design challenge because there are code issues that have to be dealt with by the architectural designers. We need to have a way to transfer air from multiple rooms- via transoms, using hallways, open doors, and ultimately exhausting through outlets located in conference rooms. The complexity of the required airflow is significant and it's one of those issues that, if you're going to tackle integrated design challenges, you really need to get the whole team sitting around the table and engaging in a series of discussions of how "smart" your air is going to be.

Ventilation in the offices is done passively. The offices are not served by heat recovery ventilators, all the windows are operable, and all of the office occupants have control over a dedicated air inlet damper, as well. So they can use both the windows and their dampers to bring in fresh air as needed.

KD: There are manually operated transoms above the office doors and so it's up to an office occupant to open them for air circulation. Or, if you have too much ventilation, you close the transom. If you're here during the day and your door is open, it's no problem. But the big thing with night flush is to move air through the office at night when you're not here. So, it's important to leave the transom open and also to open the air inlet damper under the window.
Air is drawn through each of the offices in independent patterns, and each office operates as an independent system. So, you can have people occupying offices on different schedules all summer long without trying to make all this space operate at the same temperature.

Photos of Mount Angel building are credited to Lara Swimmer Photography.

Drawing and schematics were taken from a presentation given by G.Z Brown, University of Oregon, Energy Studies in Buildings Lab and Mike Hatten, Solarc Architecture and Engineering, Inc. entitled "How to Use Performance Modeling to Support the Integrated Design Process - Case Study: High Performance Classroom and Mount Angel Academic Building."

Mount Angel ID Roundtabl-Part I

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:09:04 +0000

Part I of III (see Part II and III)

The following article is the first part of a three part series drawn from a roundtable discussion that occurred in August 2007 about integrated design, among principal project team members responsible for design of the Annunciation New Center for Theological Studies graduate theology building at Mount Angel Abbey. The cross-disciplinary collaboration among project team members was a hallmark of this project, but specific areas of responsibility are indicated for each of the panel participants.

For details about the project, please see an overview brochure on the Annunciation New Center for Theological Studies developed by SRG Partnerships, Inc.

Father Michael Mee served as the Chair of the Building Committee and became involved several years before the actual design process started, as the Monastic Community and Building Committee composed their ideas about project aspirations. He also participated through the construction phase and occupancy, and knows all phases of the project well.

Kent Duffy, FAIA is a Principal of SRG Partnership, Inc., the project architect, and served as Principal in Charge and Project Designer.

Michael Hatten, P.E. is a Principal of SOLARC Architecture and Engineering and was the mechanical engineer and energy engineer for the project.

G.Z. "Charlie" Brown, FAIA, is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Oregon and Director of the Energy Studies in Building Laboratory (ESBL). Under his leadership the ESBL designed, built, and monitored the performance of a full-size classroom prototype, in order to facilitate project team investigation and evaluation of daylighting, night ventilation of building mass, integration of mechanical and electrical systems, and to inform and define the passive systems approach that was incorporated into the project.

Kent Duffy ("KD"): We had a great conversation a week or so ago, among the four of us about topics to cover during this panel discussion. What came rushing back was what a great time we had doing this project. Everybody up here ended up doing something they'd never done before and counting on the other people at the table to make those innovations work, and although we're always trying to do something more than we've done before we trusted each other to do it together and we just had to keep working at it until we made it work.

Our office has worked with G.Z."Charlie" Brown on at least a dozen buildings and with Mike Hatten on LEED on at least a half a dozen buildings and we see this highly energy efficient integrated design approach getting implemented more and more. However, as much as you hear about LEED buildings, there are still not that many buildings that have done it yet. We're still learning a lot about what works best.

Father Michael ("FM"): From the Abbey's point of view, we began looking at the needs of the hilltop and a master plan long before this project. Many people helped us articulate what we were trying to do in putting a new building on this hilltop. I remember many conversations Kent and I had about our Alto Library and other buildings. One of the wonders I find in this building, even before we get to the energy efficiency, is the beautiful melding between the architectural styles of the hilltop and the library and the unity that's brought about by this building.

KD: There is a tendency on a client's part to think that if a building is passively heated, cooled and lit, it requires less engineering than what we'd call an active system building. In reality, it takes much more engineering and much more sophisticated engineering, because you don't have the benefit of powerful fans and chillers and cooling towers to make things work and achieve the comfort that people expect. You have to find ways of getting the air to move through the building and heat the mass of the building, in really remarkable ways, with the least amount of energy, which is, in my mind, a real test of engineering. Getting the air to flow through a building--it is exactly like water flowing downhill. Air will take the path of least resistance and if you put something in its way, it will go someplace else. You really have to think about creating that path of least resistance all the way through the entire building to get the air to move through.

The classrooms and boardroom are all one-story and have natural ventilation coming through the exterior walls of the building, venting up to the roof. They also have daylight apertures that bring light into the room. Another of the building portions is three stories high. When you enter the building, you're at the middle level of the office portion, with one level below and one above. And so one of the puzzles we had to solve was how to get the daylight into those spaces and ventilation air moving through the whole building to ventilate and passively cool those areas, too.

G.Z. "Charlie" Brown ("CB"): Many of the high performance features of this project had their origin in a high performance classroom prototype project that we did with BOORA Architects, and Mike Hatten was the mechanical engineer on that. Our goal there was to demonstrate that we could get high levels of performance at low cost. And in order to understand how classrooms use energy, we took a look at energy use in schools. For the heating load, one of the things that you can see is how outside air becomes a dominant force in energy use. It's because all of us breathe all the time and code requires that we introduce outside air. On the cooling side the same thing is true. Infiltration is a fairly important factor, lights are fairly important. It's interesting that people are also contributing quite a bit of heat to the building, which turns out to be a cooling load here, but you'll see later how we use it effectively to heat the building.

This is a little diagram that we've developed for BetterBricks to try to explain how things can work together. We begin by analyzing context, in our case, climate. Climate is often seen as a liability, but in our case, we see it as a resource. And you'll see how this building takes advantage of that.

During the programming stage, identify use patterns. The fact that this building is not used all year long is a significant factor influencing the design. In addition to the typical architectural goals, we also wanted to create small loads in the building-small need for heating, small need for lighting, and small need for cooling. Then we want to have systems that are sized to match the small loads. What we're doing is looking for synergies between those elements so that we can get one element to do multiple things, therefore increasing performance while reducing cost.

In the classroom prototype project we started trying to figure out, first of all in the use category, the criteria for lighting and for comfort. We did a fairly extensive look around Western Europe and Asia and the United States and found a lot of variation. Classroom lighting in Denmark is on the order of 20 foot-candles, while the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) standards are quite a bit higher. In the high performance classroom prototype, we were looking for something that is in the 20 to 40 foot-candle range. That criterion for lighting is much lower than what IES would have you think was necessary.

Thermal comfort is the same. ASHRAE now defines the hot end of the comfort zone as 80 degrees, if you have low relative humidity. We're fortunate here that often when we have high temperatures we also have low relative humidity. If you have air movement, you can easily increase the comfort zone by 3 or 4 degrees.

Michael Hatten ("MH"): I want to add to the discussion of loads. One place where the high performance classroom prototype and this project is a bit different is presence of the inlets and outlets in this naturally ventilated design. And that is not an insignificant thermal characteristic of the envelope. We used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) optimization, to size the inlets and outlets. We did not want to oversize them to keep conductive heat loss to a minimum.

Direct solar gain is another interesting load. The central design feature, a humungous skylight in the middle of this classroom, has a cooling load impact and, in fact, a heating load impact. So, this is another reason why we want to provide just as much light as we need and nothing more. We began with considering some of our options with louvers and even potentially insulated louvers, to control solar gain, and possibly provide a thermal benefit. This was one of our significant conversations around the high performance classroom prototype.

Obviously, we're designing classrooms and we're going to have a lot of people in these classrooms who will give off heat. Although, we can potentially use that heat, it still remains one of the major cooling loads.

Charlie mentioned ventilation on the heating side, it's also true on the cooling side-outside air ventilation is the significant load issue, with implications for how we might address these loads with systems concepts. One general principle is that you may want to seriously consider dealing with ventilation in a separate dedicated and special way, not necessarily as part of a set of mixed air dampers and some air handlers on the roof. That principle has been expressed in this design-each classroom has its own dedicated heat recovery ventilator. And then for the more complex and integrated spaces-the offices, the corridors-there is a building level heat recovery ventilator on the roof that provides ventilation air.

As we began to get some operating experience with this building-it happened to come on line right at the beginning of heating season-we quickly found out that our assumptions of how much outside air would move through this building functioning passively and how much was actually circulating were a little bit different.

To really figure out how air is going to move from inlets in the offices to outlets in those conference rooms-and this is really an integrated design challenge because there are code issues that you have to deal with, which comes back ultimately to the architectural designers-we need to have a way to transfer air from multiple rooms-transoms, use of hallways, open doors and ultimately out outlets. The complexity of the required airflow is significant and you really need to get the whole team sitting around the table and engaging in a series of discussions of how smart your air is going to be (or maybe not so smart).

Ventilation in the offices is done passively. So, the offices are actually not served by heat recovery ventilators, all the windows are operable, and all of the office occupants have control over a dedicated air inlet, as well. So they can use both windows and their inlets to bring in fresh air as needed.

KD: The whole issue of people having a level of expectation for what you can accomplish in a passive building is really an important one. I just finished the design for a building in Hawaii and a couple of things hit me in the process. One, is that Hawaii has a temperature that is essentially always in the comfort range. They get a little more humidity sometimes than we're used to-and it may get up to 85 sometimes, or down to 65-but typically it's a ten degree daily temperature range. I was stunned by two things. Most of the buildings are air conditioned and not only are they air conditioned, but people were wearing sweaters inside the buildings. There's a real need for people to realize that they can be comfortable in relatively benign conditions without a huge mechanical plant.

By Jeff Cole, Konstrukt, Inc. for NEEA's BetterBricks.

Photos of Mount Angel building are credited to Lara Swimmer Photography. Photos of roundtable discussion are creditied to Jeff Cole, Konstrukt, Inc.

Download this press release on this project

Carbon Neutral and Net Zero

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:25:07 +0000

The Case for Net Zero Energy Buildings

LOTT Headquarters Renderings
courtesy of Miller Hull Partnership.

A multitude of reasons exist for designing more energy efficient buildings, from the complex and unpredictable social and economic impact of global warming to the simple and straightforward reality of rising energy prices. Quite simply, however, the writing is on the wall: our quality of life, today and in the future depends on using energy more efficiently.

Buildings account for about 40 percent of total U.S. energy use and are responsible for about 50 percent of CO2 emissions. Those of us involved in the design, construction and operation of buildings have an opportunity and a responsibility to work toward maximum levels of energy efficiency, thereby, significantly reducing CO2 emissions.

What is a Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB)?

A NZEB is a building that, on an annual basis, produces as much energy as it uses. This means that at certain times of the year it may produce more energy than it needs, while at other times it produces less. The balance is traded back and forth between the building and utility company in the form of electricity. It's also possible to go beyond net zero and design buildings that produce more energy than they use each year.

What is Carbon Neutral and How Does it Relate to NZEB's?

A building that is Carbon Neutral uses no fossil fuels in its operation, creates no direct greenhouse gases, and, as a result, does not contribute to global warming. The energy it uses may be produced on site or may be drawn from a utility grid but it must be "clean," produced by wind turbines, photovoltaics, or other renewable energy system. Thus, a building that is both Carbon Neutral and Net Zero Energy produces at least as much renewable energy as it uses each year.

Leadership is Mobilizing

Momentum is building quickly within our industry to meet the challenge of Net Zero Carbon Neutral buildings. Among the organizations that have established pertinent strategic plans and programs are:

Architecture 2030 Challengeg. Started in 2002, this non-profit's 2030 Challenge sets a timeline for reducing fossil fuel consumption to zero (i.e. Carbon Neutral) by the year 2030, starting from a 60 percent reduction in 2010, with 10 percent additional reductions every 5 years. The 2030 Challenge has been embraced by organizations including the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
US Department of Energy (DOE).DOE's Building Technologies Program calls for commercially marketable NZEB's by 2025, and focuses on better integration of existing technologies as well as development of new ones. Its Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is investing $100 million in technology research and development to help achieve the 2025 goal.
US Green Building Council(USGBC). It's hard to find anyone in our industry who has not heard of the USGBC's LEED program, a now common measurement standard for green buildings. The local "Cascadia" chapter of the USGBC has raised the bar even higher with its "Living Building Challenge," which sets forth 16 prerequisites that all buildings must meet, including net zero energy.
ASHRAE. This organization of mechanical engineers has rolled out the "ASHRAE Vision 2020" program, focused on developing the "the tools necessary to design, construct, and operate NZEB's" so that they are market-viable by 2030. ASHRAE aims to have the necessary tools in place by 2020 and has already completed its Advanced Energy Guides for small office buildings, small retail buildings, K-12 schools, and small warehouses. In the works are user-friendly energy modeling interfaces, target energy budgets for building types and climates, and, by working with manufacturers and others, equipment with greatly reduced plug loads.

PSU Engineering Building.
Rendering courtesy of ZGF Architects

The path to a Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB)

Designing and constructing a NZEB requires commitment,special expertise, and collaboration in an integrated design process, from all members of the project team including the building owner or developer, architect, engineers, contractor, and even the building occupants. The path to net zero can be summarized as follows:

Establishing clear, aggressive energy goals and communicating them to all members of the project team is a crucial first step. Unlike the process of traditional projects, all decisions affecting a NZEB need to be made in the context of their impact on energy usage. This is a way of thinking that requires a commitment to educate and a willingness to learn on the part of all team members.
Understand the Climate. Traditional designs have focused on maintaining comfort in climatic extremes such as the hottest summers and coldest winters while frequently paying little attention to opportunities for savings when conditions lie between those extremes. More sophisticated controls, better equipment turndown options, and other readily-available technologies and techniques allow buildings to be in better sync with local climate conditions and energy demands throughout the year.
Reduce Energy Loads and Use. Detailed knowledge of how energy will be used in the building will inform choices about where to save energy. Architectural factors such as building orientation, massing and geometry, percentage glazing, insulating values for walls, roof and glass, and daylighting obviously have a huge impact on overall building energy use. The energy efficiencies of equipment used by building occupants also need to be optimized - from computers and copy machines to refrigerators and microwaves-with automatic controls to reduce or eliminate energy consumption when equipment is not in use. Efficient HVAC systems that use no fossil fuels and lighting systems that rely more on daylighting need to be designed in an integrated fashion with the architectural systems. (New Directions in HVAC for a brief listing of such systems)
Utilize Natural Energy Resources. In different areas of Oregon, for example, we see many types of natural energy available at the building site: solar (for heat and/or electricity), wind, wave, biofuels, geothermal and hydroelectric. Green power is also available for purchase from most local utilities. Harvesting these natural energy resources may be the area where the most opportunities exist, and the most progress will be made in the coming years. They are approaching cost effectiveness, especially with assistance from government and utility rebate and incentive programs.

How Close are We?

Our region's building industry is recognized nationally for its tremendous strides in the pursuit of buildings that are carbon neutral and net zero energy. While there are not yet any completed net zero buildings in the region, a few examples from Washington and Oregon, of buildings that are representative of these efforts are:

The Columbian Headquarters. This LEED Gold certified office building in Vancouver, Washington uses 50 percent less energy than code, and with substantial help from its open loop geothermal heating and cooling system, is very nearly carbon neutral.
LOTT Wastewater Alliance Headquarters. Located near Washington's state capitol complex in Olympia, this building will use 40 percent less energy than code and draw much of the energy it does use from a methane-fired, combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The methane will come from LOTT's nearby wastewater treatment plant, where it is a waste byproduct.
Tillamook Forest Center. Tucked in the forest near the Oregon coast, this interpretive center uses 30 percent less energy than code and is heating by boilers that use wood pellets produced from local forest waste products. It approaches carbon neutrality.
Morken Center for Learning and Technology at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). This building on PLU's campus in Tacoma, Washington uses 45 percent less energy than code, with help from natural daylighting, high efficiency artificial lighting, and a closed loop geothermal heating and cooling system. It is the first carbon neutral building at PLU, which aims to become a completely carbon neutral campus by 2020.
Port of Portland Headquarters/Airport Parking Structure (HQP2). Pursuing LEED Platinum certification, projected to use 50 percent less energy than code, this under-construction project features natural daylighting, high efficiency lighting, and a closed loop geothermal heating and cooling system. With help from green utility power, this building will be carbon neutral.
Sokol Blosser Winery Barrel Storage Facility. Among the earliest LEED-rated projects, this facility in Oregon's Willamette Valley uses earth berming to reduce heating and cooling loads and draws all its energy from a photovoltaic (solar-electric) system. This makes it a carbon neutral Net Zero Energy building
Shizen Condominiums. This small condominium complex planned in Portland is projected to use 60 percent less energy than code because of its high performance envelope, photovoltaic system, and biofuel combined heat and power (CHP) system. It is aimed at net zero energy use.

PLU Morken Center.
Photos by Ekert & Ekert Photography.
Courtesy of ZGF Architects

The technology and knowledge base to design and construct Carbon Neutral and Net Zero Energy Buildings exists today, and the momentum to do so is growing rapidly. For those of us involved in the pursuit of sustainable buildings, it is an exciting time.

In the years to come we'll stand together to meet the challenge of designing cost effective buildings that use no net energy and have no negative impacts on the environment around them. We'll do it because it has to be done, and because we are the only ones who can do it.

Additional Resources

Another excellent article on the topic, "The Zero Effect" can be found in Engineering News Record, June 16, 2008.
A number of carbon calculators are available through the Web. EPA has developed several. One calculator that adjusts for specific regional power supply mix is EPA's PowerProfiler.

Written by Paul Schwer, P.E. LEED AP, President of PAE Consulting Engineers, Inc., a leader in sustainably focused mechanical and electrical engineering services and based in Portland, OR. He was named Engineer of the Year in 2004 by BetterBricks, the commercial buildings initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, for his commitment to sustainable, high performance buildings. That same year, the Sustainable Industries Journal named him one of the top 25 Green Building Leaders in the Northwest. He is featured in the new nationally-aired documentary "A Passion for Sustainability."

New Hospital Design & Construction

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:31:56 +0000

Targeting 100! Executive Summary
Targeting 100! full report
Energy in Healthcare Fact Sheet
Targeting 100 Infographic
Oregon Health & Science University's (OHSU) Center for Health & Healing
The LEED Platinum Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Health & Healing maintains a significant position in Portland's portfolio of green buildings. Occupied since October 2006, it was developed with goals to provide cutting-edge health and wellness technology in an environmentally responsible building. In late 2008, the facility underwent a post occupancy evaluation, which revealed impressive energy savings.

Additional OHSU Center for Health & Healing Case Studies:

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's investment in efficiency delivers over a million dollars in annual electricity savings, and another nearly half million dollars in annual water and natural gas savings. This means more money for cancer research.

Othello Community Hospital
Othello Community Hospital in Othello, Washington was faced with a life and death decision in 1998 - die economically or expand its services. The owners elected to expand and constructed a three-story, 54,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art medical facility addition to their current building.

The Top 10 Green Hospitals in the US: 2006
By taking up green practices, whether incrementally or from the ground up, many hospitals are managing to lower energy bills, reduce waste and achieve healthier indoor air.

How Hospital Design Saves Lives
Design changes can cut infection rates, lower physician errors, improve staff performance, and make all the difference in delivering care.

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:32:03 +0000

Download a PDF of this story

An engineering manager at Boise's Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center learned to use persuasive financial arguments and irresistible utility incentives to convince administrators that energy management could improve the hospital's bottom line. Operational changes and capital investments are expected to reduce energy consumption by 25% and save the hospital up to $2.5 million over five years.

Bill Morgan, engineering manager at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise, Idaho, and past president of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, knows that managing energy use is a dependable way for hospitals to save money. Yet it takes money to save money, and he's aware that most hospitals have little funding available to invest in energy management.

"It costs a lot to run a hospital, and there's not much left over," acknowledges Morgan: "Any extra usually goes to new MRI machines and CT scanners. You're competing against a never-ending stream of new clinical technology."

When Morgan arrived at Saint Alphonsus, the 358-bed hospital was building a new patient tower, so there was even less chance of funding energy management efforts from the hospital's capital pool: "Too many feeding at the trough," explains Morgan.

The situation began to change when natural gas prices climbed the winter after Hurricane Katrina, just as St. Alphonsus was using large amounts of natural gas to cure fire-stop materials during tower construction. "Gas prices doubled right when our consumption doubled," recalls Morgan, who recognized new possibilities for persuasion.

But the engineering manager's breakthrough came when he found out about BetterBricks' strategic approach to energy management, and the tools available to help develop a strategic plan and enlist needed top-level support. "For me, that was the turning point," says Morgan. "I learned how to make a well-planned financial case for energy management, one that clearly demonstrates how it can directly contribute to the hospital's bottom line. Engineers may hate me for saying this, but engineers are not money people. Yet when you talk with financial people, you need to show up with financial arguments to get your idea across. If you don't understand finance - learn it."

Morgan also learned to tap into any and all additional sources of project funding, including support from his local electric utility, Idaho Power. "Utility support means a hospital doesn't have to foot the entire bill," says Morgan.

Using these strategies, Morgan floated a proposal to install energy-efficient variable-frequency drives on two large central air-handling units that would help support the new tower. "We presented a quick two-year payback, with annual electricity savings of $75,000," says Morgan, and the proposal included a commitment from Idaho Power to pay fully half the capital cost.

"Idaho Power's $81,000 check made the project irresistable," says Morgan. Hospital administrators were beginning to see energy management the way Morgan saw it - a source of revenue - and they gave the okay.

This project paved the way for a more ambitious strategic proposal: an engineering analysis of Saint Alphonsus' 1970s-vintage South Tower to identify energy management opportunities. The hospital had planned to renovate this older tower once the new tower was built, and now energy-saving improvements might help pay for renovation, suggested Morgan.

Idaho Power again sweetened the deal by offering to fund nearly half the cost of the study by one of BetterBricks' Integrated Design Labs. Saint Alphonsus gave its assent, and several months later received word that the Boise lab had identified improvements that could save the hospital up to 25% a year in energy consumption, annually adding back as much as $500,000 to the bottom line. Best of all, many of the improvements were no-cost/low-cost operation and maintenance practice changes rather than capital projects.

Thinking big, Morgan is now using BetterBricks tools to develop a Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) to carry out as many of the capital and operational improvements as possible. If all are implemented, Saint Alphonsus could save a total of $2.5 million over five years. Morgan hopes to persuade hospital administrators to fund these efforts by reinvesting energy cost savings: "I want to roll operational savings back into capital projects."

His facilities team has already begun making inexpensive, hospitalwide O&M practice changes: "For example, we're reviewing our HVAC system operational programs, set points, chilled water and reheat temperatures, and outside air percentages," says Morgan. Even newly installed systems such as the chillers that support the latest hospital tower are under scrutiny.

Morgan's final advice to fellow facilities engineers and managers: "Don't think with the narrow focus of 'I've got to upgrade my boiler.' Develop a comprehensive strategic plan, use financials to make a passionate presentation to management, and get them to commit."

PeaceHealth Commits to Energy Efficiency through SEMP

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:43 +0000

Download a PDF of this story

PeaceHealth's system casts a wide net, serving communities in Oregon, Washington and Alaska through seven hospitals totaling about 1,000 beds. Although joined through their PeaceHealth affiliation, the hospitals have been largely regionally operated, with each individual hospital managing its own facilities. This independence also extended to energy management.

"If a project came up, we'd price it out, gather information on utility rebates and present it for funding, all at the local hospital level," explains Gary Hall, vice president of facility services for PeaceHealth's Lower Columbia Region, headquartered at St. John Medical Center, Longview, Washington. "There was no system-wide strategic plan behind it. Even with utility incentives, funding by the individual hospitals was usually hit-or-miss," says Hall. "There were limited capital resources for these projects and hospital clinical equipment always had first priority."

A few years ago, PeaceHealth decided that its hospitals could operate more efficiently if procurement and other facilities policies were standardized and it organized a system-wide Facilities Counterpart Group (FCG) to ensure consistency. The FCG, which includes facility managers from each of the PeaceHealth hospitals as well as PeaceHealth's regional vice presidents of facilities, quickly shouldered a number of projects, ranging from standardization of nurse-call systems to development of a master list of pre-approved building services contractors.

But energy management was not yet on the team's agenda until Medrice Coluccio, FCG sponsor and Lower Columbia Region PeaceHealth CEO, heard about BetterBricks' Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) and recognized that it was a perfect fit for PeaceHealth.

"An energy management strategy is an opportunity for terrific hospital savings and a system-wide plan provides a strong focus, synergy and a way to parlay the knowledge of our facilities people across our entire hospital system," said Coluccio.

She asked the FCG to consider the benefits of BetterBricks' strategic approach and the value was seen immediately. The team signed a letter of intent to develop a SEMP and spent the next year carefully crafting its plan. As part of the process, all PeaceHealth hospitals were benchmarked and two representative facilities - a hospital and a medical office building - were surveyed for energy-saving opportunities.

Based on the results, the FCG determined that a cumulative 10 percent reduction in energy use could be attained by incremental efforts over three years. After three years this could lead to a savings for PeaceHealth of up to $800,000 a year system-wide.

"These are dollars saved directly to the bottom line," says Hall, adding, "It's like we're generating brand new revenue."

PeaceHealth is now in the second year of implementing their system-wide SEMP and in the first year, they achieved a three percent reduction in energy consumption, representing $240, 000 in energy savings.

The individual hospitals are now plotting precisely how they'll implement the plan at their facilities, assisted by detailed building engineering analyses, as well as technical support from their regional utility providers: the Bonneville Power Administration, Cowlitz Public Utility District, Eugene Water & Electric Board, and Puget Sound Energy.

As part of SEMP implementation of new construction projects, PeaceHealth created a master template for Request for Proposals (RFP) that includes energy and resource efficiency selection criteria. The RFP's are required in all regions for projects above $1 million. The anticipated outcome of this addition to the PeaceHealth RFP process is competitive bids from design and construction teams with energy efficiency expertise.

This new RFP process helped identify an architecture firm for the new PeaceHealth medical office building, Lakefront Medical Office Park, located in Longview, Washington, which will be constructed in 2009 and will achieve a LEED silver certification.

"The SEMP adds the dimension of being able to see savings over the life of the building," said Scott Tang, system project manager for PeaceHealth. "In the past, we would have designed and constructed a building based on cost alone, but now with SEMP it allows us to design an energy efficient building from the ground up that will be easier to benchmark and monitor over the years."

SEMP strategies have also been implemented in existing buildings' operations and maintenance practices.

"Mostly, facilities maintenance staff just run equipment, they don't fine tune it," explains Hall, "but our analyses show that hospital recommissioning will give us the biggest bang for the buck. We anticipate annual savings of $450,000 - over half our goal - just from tuning up the equipment we already have."

At St. Joseph's Hospital in Bellingham, Washington, building diagnostics and tune up work has already been completed on the North Tower of the facility. R. Scott Dorough, resource conservation manager for St. Joseph, has already noticed a dramatic improvement in operations..

"We started out with the most cost-effective changes first; things like replacing outdated light fixtures, changing filters, cleaning coils, replacing gaskets," said Dorough. "The small changes really add up, especially if you do them system-wide."

Hall notes that PeaceHealth's SEMP calls for review of O&M practices, sharing of best practices and retraining staff to adopt new behaviors. As for new capital investments, lifecycle costing and financial hurdle rates will be used to vet all energy-related projects.

The hospital facility managers have their work cut out for them, but Hall is confident that with the new strategic plan, they'll reach their goal.

"A written, agreed-upon strategic plan is something you can follow, month after month, year after year. Every hospital faces the fires of the day, but you always come back to the plan. It's the relentless 'how are we doing, how are we coming along?' discussion that helps us all stay on track."

CEO Coluccio agrees: "A strategic plan like this can't be shelved. It has to be executed." And PeaceHealth is already seeing benefits from a cohesive, focused SEMP.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:24:21 +0000

By Katherine Morgan and Kathleen O'Brien, O'Brien & Company for NEEA's BetterBricks

As equipment and systems have developed more sophisticated controls and automation, a simple installation or programming error can have drastic implications on energy performance. The Building Commissioning Association defines the basic purpose of commissioning as "documented confirmation that building systems function in compliance with criteria set forth in the Project Documents to satisfy the owner's operational needs.Commissioning requires rigorous testing and measurement to ensure that building systems are working as intended

Since 1988, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has embraced sustainable building and facilitymanagement strategies with $6 million investment. A lot to spend? Not when it's bringing over $1 million in annual electricity savings and another half-million in annual water and natural gas savings. Figure in incentives from Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy and payback has been less than three years. For the Hutchinson Center, that means more money for cutting edge cancer research.

Healthy, high-performance physical environments are a vital part of the Hutchinson Center's mission to cure cancer. As Winston Churchill said, "We shape our buildings, and our buildings shape us." So why not a hospital facility that joins in the pro-health mission? High performance buildings also help attract and retain world-class research scientists, such as the three Nobel prize winners the Center now boasts. With 3,000 researchers, staff and patients spread across 13 buildings with a combined 1.3 million square feet of space, and more to come, Hutchinson's operations staff knew there was plenty of energy to be saved through a host of systems upgrades, electronic controls that allow room-by-room tuning of temperature and air changes to maximize efficiency, and investments in renewable energy.

Fred Hutchinson has undertaken 43 individual efficiency measures as part of new construction and 80 retrofit measures.

With its existing buildings, the Center utilized an innovative approach to using less energy by tying the heating and air conditioning systems as well as the lighting circuit to occupancy sensors that shut off when no one is in the room. It's reaped $42,000 dollars in annual energy savings.

The Center also has upheld its new buildings to a high energy-efficiency standard. The recently completed Public Health Science Building, designed by Portland's Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, achieved LEED certification from the US Green Building Council despite the client deciding to pursue the accreditation halfway through construction. The Center has also embraced the "Laboratories for the 21st Century" program, a joint initiative of the US Environmental Protection Agency US Department of Energy to save energy in this heavily energy-dependent building type.

While it is very important in a high tech laboratory setting to manage risk when implementing new measures, the Center's success demonstrates the possibilities available through meticulous management of resource consumption. All new building projects are designed with an eye towards conserving resources, integrating experienced facilities staff in the design process-particularly through the commissioning process. The Center also uses building occupant feedback to guide continuous improvements.

Efficient use of resources and minimizing negative environmental impacts are core components of the Center's overall mission. This gives the facilities team a mandate to regularly pursue conservation opportunities as part of their general operations. Facilities staff members receive intensive training when a new building is being brought on-line and continuing during regular operations. New ideas are brought forward, tested and evaluated, and then implemented incrementally to allow field-testing.

"It's critical to keep current with the technology and vigilant of the utility rate," says Bob Cowan, Facilities Engineering manager for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. "It pays to do the math every four to five years to identify opportunities. Tools, technologies and costs all change and the cost of not doing something increases as rates go up. Suddenly the payback might justify the project."

The PHS Building, for example, was commissioned by a team of representatives from the engineering contractor (Applied Engineering Inc.), the Center's in-house engineering department, general contractor Turner Construction, and various subcontractors. "It worked well to use a team approach," Cowan says. "It allowed for quick resolution, since adjustments could be made as problems were identified."

Every effort is also made to hire highly experienced, talented engineering staff for the Center. "Bob is great at recognizing employees' efforts to provide excellent service," says Jim Walker, an engineer at Fred Hutchinson. "It fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility, so the team looks beyond their specific duties to identify additional maintenance needs or flag potential problems during the course of their scheduled work." This approach has created internal champions for energy efficiency who contribute significantly to the organization's accomplishments.

In a huge venture such as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, these process strategies are vital to the effectiveness of the conservation measures themselves. Certainly they are fundamental to the Center's nearly twenty-year success story.

Eastern Washington Providence Health & Services

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:37:51 +0000

Download a PDF of this story

Five very different Eastern Washington Providence Health & Services hospitals - ranging from small critical-care facilities to the second largest hospital in the state - came together to develop a single, systemwide strategic energy management plan that will reduce energy use through O&M practice changes and cost-effective capital improvements, saving up to $200,000 a year.

A monthly conference call to discuss mutual issues is a long-standing routine for facilities managers at Providence Health & Services' five Eastern Washington hospitals. The hospitals range from Spokane's 623-bed, 2 million-sq-ft Sacred Heart Medical Center - second largest in the state - and 272-bed Holy Family Hospital, to three critical-care hospitals with 25 beds each: Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville, St. Joseph's Hospital in Chewelah, and Deer Park Hospital in Deer Park. Decidedly different hospitals, yet they share a common goal: stewardship of resources, including energy.

"Hospitals are among the most energy-intensive buildings, but we want to be role models to our communities, to be the best neighbors that we can possibly be. We certainly don't want to be the energy hog on the hill," says Phil Kercher, manager of facilities at Sacred Heart.

Energy management has always been an item on the hospitals' conference-call agenda, and each hospital has pursued it in its own way, doing its best with available budgets and staff. Several of the hospitals have improved lighting, HVAC systems, and building controls; three have benchmarked their energy use; and three have earned EPA ENERGY STAR® ratings.

But the five hospitals' diverse approaches converged when they learned about BetterBricks' Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP). "Before the strategic plan, each individual hospital relied on an individual within that hospital to get its energy management practices off the ground," explains Kercher, who heard of SEMP at a Washington State Society of Healthcare Engineers conference, and helped spread the word among his fellow facilities managers.

"We all recognized that BetterBricks' strategic approach could formalize our commitment to energy management and provide our five hospitals with a ready-made structure for making this a systemwide goal rather than a single-hospital goal," says Kercher, adding, "Structure is our friend: with SEMP, we can set common goals, get funding commitment, and have an agreed-upon standard for measuring our energy performance." Tom Nance, facilities manager at St. Joseph's Hospital, points out, "A strategic plan helps educate hospital decisionmakers." And Kercher notes, "A formal strategic plan brings everybody on board, from the top down. It gives energy management increased credibility with hospital administrators. It builds credibility with other departments: doctors and nurses can see that energy efficiency and comfort can coexist, that you're not trying to make them work in the dark or in the cold. A structured plan guarantees the cooperation and commitment of the facilities department staff. It sends a message to our patients that we want them to be comfortable, and it sends a message to our community that we care about the environment."

Using BetterBricks SEMP tools plus assistance from local utility Avista, the facilities managers developed a single strategic plan for energy management at all five hospitals. The plan's goal is a 5% reduction in yearly energy use, a modest goal that takes the hospitals' previous energy management efforts into account. The reduction will save about $200,000 annually among the five hospitals, and at 6% net operating income, the reduction would equal some $3.3 million in new gross revenues every year. "That's how we're using the language of financial administrators to make the business case for energy management," says Kercher.

The plan, now awaiting final approval, allows the individual hospitals latitude in how to reach this goal, but all will begin by tracking, monitoring, and troubleshooting energy use with an energy accounting system. The five hospitals are also surveying their day-to-day operation and maintenance practices to identify low-cost/no-cost energy savings opportunities.

"All the hospital buildings were built at different times, with different operating systems, and each of those systems has a different sweet spot. We have to figure out how to get the best possible performance from each of our hospitals," explains Tom Nance.

Surveys at two hospitals are already completed, and prime opportunities include fan shutdown schedules for such areas as outpatient clinics and offices; maintenance programs for keeping heating and cooling coils dust free; and steam-trap maintenance programs. The surveys are also identifying cost-effective capital projects, including exchanging inefficient lamps and ballasts for high-efficiency replacements.

There's a long road ahead, but as Kercher advises fellow facilities managers, "A strategic plan is your roadmap to energy management success."

Strategic Energy Management Planning

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:30:11 +0000

Healthcare: A Business & Ethical Case for Sustainability
The U.S. healthcare sector is at a crossroads in resource management. Accounting for nearly a tenth of the country's CO2 emissions and facing rising energy costs, the healthcare industry is embracing energy efficiency as a viable and cost effective path to improve margins and reduce the impacts from their own building operations. Leading healthcare systems now recognize that to provide the highest quality of care, they have a moral and ethical responsibility to contribute to health - inside and outside hospital walls.

Legacy Health Identifies $1.3 Million A Year in Energy Savings
Legacy Health in Oregon underwent a three year Strategic Energy Management Plan yielding potential and realized savings of more than $1.3 million per year. Now on track to reduce energy use intensity by 10 percent per square foot, Legacy is a model health system for sustainability and resource management.

The Business Imperative for Sustainability: The Seven Critical Success Factors
Sustainability resource management is no longer an option. It's a business, societal and global imperative. Sustainability is now the touchstone for system-wide innovation. This article identifies seven critical success factors for maximizing sustainable resource management planning, development, implementation and success.

Willamette Falls Hospital
Once the facility director at Oregon City's Willamette Falls Hospital figured out how to present energy management to hospital administrators as solid return on investment, there was no looking back. He's now mapped out a strategic energy management plan that will cut energy use 25% and save the hospital over $95,000 in three years through a combination of tightened-up O&M and needed capital improvements.

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
An engineering manager at Boise's St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center learned to use persuasive financial arguments and irresistible utility incentives to convince administrators that energy management could improve the hospital's bottom line. Operational changes and capital investments are expected to reduce energy consumption by 25% and save the hospital up to $2.5 million over five years.

Eastern Washington Providence Health & Services
Five very different Eastern Washington Providence Health & Services hospitals - ranging from small critical-care facilities to the second-largest hospital in the state - came together to develop a single, system-wide strategic energy management plan that will reduce energy use through O&M practice changes and cost-effective capital improvements, saving up to $200,000 a year.

PeaceHealth Commits to Energy Efficiency through SEMP
Seven PeaceHealth hospitals in Oregon,Washington, and Alaska approached energy management on a hospital-by-hospital basis until a CEO asked them to tackle a systemwide strategic energy management plan. The hospitals anticipate that they can reduce energy use 10% and eventually save $800,000 annually, mostly through equipment tune-ups, turndowns, and turn-offs.

Case Studies

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:11:48 +0000

The following list of case studies focus specifically on energy management within the design and construction of various building types. If you don't find what you are looking for here, please visit the DOE's High Performance Building database.

An Interview with Peter Rumsey

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:02:32 +0000

Download a PDF of this interview

BetterBricks recently caught up with owner and managing principal of Rumsey Engineers, Peter Rumsey. Peter has worked in engineering and energy consulting since the mid 1980s, and is widely recognized as global player in energy efficiency and a leader in sustainable building design.

BetterBricks: What and/or who has inspired your career path and commitment to sustainable design?

Rumsey: In the late seventies, I was a student at UC Berkley and watched the nation go through this difficult energy crisis due to oil shocks from Arab oil embargos. I remember long lines at gas stations and the escalating national concern regarding energy. This problem really directed my attention to sustainable design and renewable energy. Concurrently, there was controversy surrounding the boom in construction of new power plants. Additionally, tax credits were starting to take off in California within the solar and wind energy industries.

All of these events set the stage for me to start thinking about sustainable design. It was clear that energy efficiency and renewable energy were key parts of the solution, both being cost effective and beneficial to the environment. And they're still part of the solution.

I was also greatly influenced by my mentor, Lee Eng Lock (1) from Singapore, who inspired me to focus on sustainable design. I met him when I was in Southeast Asia working on energy issues. On a more conceptual level, I have also been inspired by people like Amory Lovins.

BetterBricks: For a long time now you've explored the use of integrated design in regard to mechanical and electrical systems. How do you arrive at integrated solutions and how do you convince your clients of these strategies and coordinate with other team members, particularly architects?

Lewis & Clark State Office Building

Rumsey: Arriving at an integrated design solution can happen many different ways. In low-energy design, it takes a whole team to be fully onboard and the person that'sgoing to rally the team around a common understanding is the person who hired the design team in the first place. Integration happens from all of the team members working together. If we are not all on the same page about making sustainability a priority, then we're not all going to work together to achieve that goal.

Once everybody is on the same page, it becomes a question of what we can do within the budget while looking at affordable solutions for sustainability. As designers, we are very good at solving problems and coming up with solutions within these parameters. We spend a lot of time thinking about not just how to make buildings low-energy, but also how to make them affordable. As a result, we constantly look for strategies to achieve a low-energy building at comparable costs to a standard building. For instance, adding more insulation will not only save energy, but allow for a smaller heating and cooling system. Less money is spent on purchasing this equipment, which compensates for the added cost of insulation. We look for these synergies and interactions in order to keep sustainability affordable.

BetterBricks: I'm sure you are familiar with the AIA's 2030 Challenge. How would you characterize the best approach or strategies to get to net-zero carbon buildings?

Rumsey: The energy efficiency strategies will be, in almost every case, more affordable than a renewable strategy like a photovoltaic system. The tax incentives and rebates offered for photovoltaic systems are not that bad in terms of affordability and pay back, but the energy efficiency strategies are always cheaper. When we work on zero-energy buildings, we typically aim for 50 percent or lower energy use compared to the traditional building code required, which is already beating the current 2030 Challenge target. We build beyond the energy savings, which makes the photovoltaic systems smaller and more affordable.

It is fairly straightforward and easy when you are looking at a single or two-story building, but it gets trickier when we are dealing with multi-story buildings. We have to start thinking about putting photovoltaics on the façade, using open space over parking areas and supplementing photovoltaics a little bit more. We've even worked on seven-story, 700,000 square-foot office building outside of Paris that went beyond net-zero and to net-positive energy. There are examples of larger buildings going for this, but then this kind of effort begins to influence the shape, orientation and other design elements of the building.

BetterBricks: What have you learned from your experience applying Factor 10 2 concepts to buildings? Any advice for architects or engineers?

Rumsey: There are several steps. The first is to determine the building occupants' needs and requirements and how to reduce the load. We use simple Victorian engineering, as I like to call it, to come up with strategies that will lower energy use. It's a straightforward progression of steps of first lowering the load followed by making sure we are right-sizing and not over-sizing equipment.

Stop Waste Building

We then move on to maximizing the use of natural sources of heating and cooling, such as natural ventilation, passive solar, nighttime purge of buildings in the summer, etc. Next, we select energy efficient equipment that is much smaller and simpler. Last and not least, we apply controls carefully and judiciously, but not excessively.

Conceptually it is very straightforward. If you meticulously follow all of those steps and pay attention to the details, you will get stunning results.

Amory Lovins has talked about the concept of "tumbling through the cost barrier" for many years. Can we get even more savings at a lower cost than what we thought was possible? I like to apply this idea to existing building systems such as Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems that are typical in commercial office buildings. We can take the VAV system and improve it bit-by-bit and get it better or we could just change out the whole design and come up with a better heating and cooling system, which we've done in several buildings. If we start with a new system, we've found that we can indeed get this Factor-10 energy savings at a reasonable cost and often times comparable to the standard system.

Tahoe Center

In this approach, we are reinventing how we design buildings and are making tremendous changes in the way we view our buildings. In order to arrive at this reinvention, we have to pay very close attention to the details. What we are finding is that architects and engineers have to carefully collaborate from the start. For instance, the type of glazing an architect selects has a huge impact on my success in the project as an engineer. As a result, we're very interactive with architects, whereas in the past it's been much more of a relaxed thing. We could let the architects do what they please and we engineers could do what we want and sort of meet somewhere in the middle. It's not like that anymore, especially if we're trying to achieve this next generation of building.

BetterBricks: What do you see as future trends or new approaches with regards to energy in new construction projects? What about future business opportunities in the sustainable building market?

Rumsey: The trend in residential and commercial buildings is toward zero energy, which will be center stage over the next 10 years. Current legislation in California requires that the majority of new residential and commercial buildings are to be built in a zero energy fashion by 2030. As the price of energy continues to stay high and concerns of climate change continue to grow, we're going to be talking a lot about this issue. There is going to be a huge amount of time, effort and money spent on going back and retrofitting and renovating existing buildings. That is where the majority of energy needs to be saved because that is where the vast majority of energy is being consumed.

Department of Global Ecology

The biggest area for business opportunities are with companies that can renovate and improve existing residential and commercial buildings. These strategies are straightforward, make sense and don't necessarily require the invention of new equipment. Over the next 10 years, we'll see government and utility incentives making retrofits very attractive. What's more, renovating and retrofitting buildings is vastly cheaper than drilling new oil wells and building new power plants. It's one of the cheapest sources available in reducing carbon. We'll see a great deal of focus on retrofitting and renovating because it is so affordable and plays a vital role in restoring the environment.

(1) Known globally for his singular contribution to cleanroom and energy efficient building design, Lee Eng Lock is director and founder of Supersymmetry Services, a Singapore-based engineering with projects in Asia and North America.

(2) Factor 10 refers to the possibility of creating products and services that have a massively lower resource intensity than the conventional alternative.

SEMP Tools & Resources

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:58:54 +0000

Assessment Tools(see SEMP Step 1)

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager
Compares the current energy use of your facility to other similar hospitals. Use it to "score" your hospital's energy performance, and to estimate energy savings and carbon reductions.

Energy Practice Checklist
This tool involves gathering information for your SEMP on current energy management practices and how they could be improved. The information will be used to develop your SEMP.

Planning Tools (see SEMP Step 2,Step 3 and Step 4)

Think Like Your Hospital Executives
Tips and strategies from hospital facility directors on getting executives' attention and asking concisely and convincingly for what you want.

The Business Imperative for Sustainability: The Seven Critical Success Factors
Identifies seven critical success factors for maximizing sustainable resource management planning, development, implementation and success.

SEMP Template and Workplan
Use this tool to develop your organization's Strategic Energy Management Plan.

Sample Executive SEMP Presentation (PowerPoint download)
Use this as a template to develop your own executive presentation to obtain SEMP approval

Financial Tools (see SEMP Step 5)

Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Versus Simple Payback: Why, When, How
This tool includes a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of LCCA versus SPB. Also provides guidelines on when to use SPB and LCCA.

LCCA Spreadsheet

For simpler Life-Cycle Cost Analysis, use this spreadsheet.

eVALUator
A web-based tool for a more complex life-cycle cost analysis.

Guide to Optimizing Your Hospital Facility Investments
A detailed guide to understanding and applying LCCA plus a range of financing options.

Purchasing Tools (see SEMP Step 5)

Setting Up an Energy Efficient Purchasing (EEP) Process
This tool will help you determine who needs to be involved, how to set priorities, communicating with staff, sample policy language.

Energy Efficient Equipment Purchasing Guidelines
Covers over 20 energy-related types of equipment. Includes "no brainers" for cost-effective purchases, tips and cautions for purchase and application, and recommended specification content.

Air Filter Comparison CalculatorandChiller Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
These tools help you and your vendors work together to choose the equipment that meets your needs at the lowest Total Cost of Ownership.

Operations & Maintenance Tools (see SEMP Step 5)

Top Five No Cost / Low Cost Energy Savings Opportunities
Cost reductions from tune-ups of energy related systems and improved operations and maintenance practices in hospitals typically garner 10-20% energy cost reductions. With a return on investment of 150-300%, these measures can quickly save energy and reduce costs.

What is Enhanced Operations and Maintenance?
This brief overview compares the features of conventional O&M and enhanced O&M.

Better Building Operations
The building operations portion of the BetterBricks web site has information for both building operators and service providers.

Design & Construction Tools (see SEMP Step 5)

Sample Request for Qualifications and Proposal for Hospital Facility Development
Download and adapt next time you need to hire architectural / engineering services for new hospital facility development.

Taking a Strategic Approach to Capital Upgrades
This tool gives key recommendations to help you optimize overall energy savings, financial returns, and other benefits.

Green Guide to Healthcare (GGHC)
The GGHC's structure is borrowed by agreement from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program but is self-certifying and tailored for healthcare.

Staff and Public Awareness Tools (see SEMP Step 5)

Communications Quick Sheet
Tested practices to engage staff in activities that save energy, conserve water, and reduce waste.

Additional Resources to help with Staff and Public Awareness

ENERGY STAR Challenge Toolkit
Natural Resource Canada's Guide to Implementing an Energy Efficiency Awareness Program
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment's Partners Toolbox

Tracking & Recognition Tools (see Step 6)

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager
See Assessment Tools. Use to establish a baseline score and then re-score annually to track progress.

Energy Practice Checklist
See assessment Tools. Track progress change with this tool.

Software Tools
For utility bill tracking, benchmarking, and trend logging at the building operations portion of the BetterBricks site.

The Carrot Principle
Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. Free Press (Simon + Schuster) 2007. Talks about the importance of recognition and rewards in motivating staff.

Case Studies

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:19:34 +0000

Providence Newberg
The new Providence Newberg Medical Center, stands out as an example of how to design, and just as importantly, finance a high performance hospital.

Mercy Medical
Improvements save Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg $71,300 annually in energy costs. Teamwork, cost-conscious, long-term planning and implementation make this hospital a model for a high performance hospital.

New Construction Projects

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:16:48 +0000

Oregon Health Sciences University Health and Healing Center (OHSU)
The LEED Platinum Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Health & Healing demonstrates energy-efficient building and environmental sustainability.

Green Revelation: Boulder's 'Environmentally Responsible' Hospital
One factor driving the green building boom is the realization among industry leaders that easy on the environment does not necessarily mean rough on the bank account.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's investment in efficiency delivers over a million dollars annual electricity savings, and another nearly half million dollars in annual water and natural gas savings. This means more money for cancer research.

Othello Community Hospital
Othello Community Hospital in Othello, Washington was faced with a life and death decision in 1998 - die economically or expand its services. The owners elected to expand and constructed a three-story, 54,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art medical facility addition to their current building.

The Top 10 Green Hospitals in the US: 2006
By taking up green practices, whether incrementally or from the ground up, many hospitals are managing to lower energy bills, reduce waste and achieve healthier indoor air.

How Hospital Design Saves Lives
Design changes can cut infection rates, lower physician errors, improve staff performance, and make all the difference in delivering care.

Design Firm Business Practices

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:00:05 +0000

As the number of clients that expect buildings to perform at high levels increases, architects and engineers seeking to provide services to them will need to set strategic goals for improving their firm's capabilities to design and deliver high performance buildings and to be convincing about their skills and approach. This section presents tools for managing practice change, will help you assemble qualified teams, and help market green buildings to your clients.

Establishing a Strategic Plan for Design Firms
The essence of strategic planning is in thinking clearly about where to go in the future, committing to a direction with specific goals to achieve it, and developing strategies that will help one succeed in achieving these goals and this direction. Here is an overview on strategic planning to help you get started.

We will be adding more tools and resources to this section soon. In the meantime, check out these two videos on high performance buildings.

High Performance Building: Perspectives and Practice Video
Rocky Mountain Institute and the USGBC have partnered to produce a compelling video that documents the business case for building green. This new documentary profiles more than a dozen LEED projects and features interviews with CEOs, school administrators, government officials, building managers and designers who recognize the real benefits of going green

Banner Bank DVD
In "Green is the Color of Money," Developer Gary Christensen and his team lead viewers through an exploration of the integrated design process for the LEED Platinum Banner Bank building in Boise, Idaho. Showing different stages in Banner's construction, Christensen takes the audience step-by-step through the LEED certification process, analyzing the challenges and then turning them into design opportunities.

Ashforth Leads the Way

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:19:24 +0000

A well-established, family-owned firm with roots going back to 1896, the Ashforth Company might be expected to do business traditionally. They break the mold, however, when it comes to environmental sustainability. In 1999, before "green buildings" were the hot topic in real estate, the company's West Coast arm, Ashforth Pacific, made a decision to be more sensitive to its properties' environmental impact. They have since earned a reputation as a leader in the field. As an example of their subsequent successes, 2006 energy consumption in their Lloyd District portfolio was nearly two million kWh lower than 1998 levels.

A full-service firm, the Ashforth Company owns and manages over 8.5 million square feet of real estate nationwide, with Ashforth Pacific holdings in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. The focus on sustainability arose in part from the company's awareness of commercial real estate's environmental footprint. They believe that businesses must help solve environmental problems, and high performance buildings are commercial real estate's greatest potential contribution. Of course, the opportunity for Ashforth Pacific to better control costs and enhance asset values for their properties is also a key motivation.

A Strategic Approach

Ashforth Pacific takes a cost-conscious approach to improving its properties' energy and environmental performance, focusing on low- and no-cost measures first. "There are always opportunities to enhance efficiency without spending any money. I call it 'enlightened management,'" says Wade Lange, Vice President of Property Management for Ashforth Pacific. This strategy recognizes that small improvements to day-to-day operations substantially impact efficiency.

Ashforth leaders also recognize that when approached strategically, high performance buildings are good for business. Each decision is evaluated from environmental and business perspectives. Says Lange, "At each step, we ask, 'is it a sustainable decision, and is it a good business decision?' If we can't say yes to both of those questions, we reevaluate."

Utility rebates and tax incentives improve the business case for many sound projects that reduce operating costs and enhance tenant comfort, but might not otherwise pass the financial test. Since 1999, the company estimates that it's received rebate checks to the tune of over half a million dollars from local utility programs such as the Energy Trust of Oregon.

However, other projects are put on hold until business conditions can support them. For example, the company has considered applying LEED standards to all tenant improvements. But the tenant makes the ultimate decision whether to comply with that directive or to just find a different office. At the moment, attracting and retaining tenants is the more important business priority, so the project is on hold until tenants are consistently willing to comply with sustainable principles.

That shift may be underway, as environmental impact is becoming more of a priority for tenants and other market players. "We'll know we've reached a tipping point when brokers come to us and say, 'We want Liberty Center, because you run a great building and it's sustainable and energy efficient.' That hasn't taken hold with the brokerage community, but it's getting there," says Hank Ashforth, Chief Executive Officer of Ashforth Pacific.

A Conscientious Culture

When the company's environmental program kicked off in 1999, full-time sustainability coordinators helped get them on the right path, training employees to manage a sustainable business. Now, these principles are well integrated into regular decision-making. To Ashforth Pacific employees, it's just the way that business is done.

During their day-to-day responsibilities, employees from all functional areas determine what each of their disciplines can contribute to efficiency and sustainability. They follow the guidance laid out in the early stages of the program, but also continually revise and improve their tactics.

For example, an early team established a "green" procurement policy for office supplies, such as energy-efficient office equipment. After they laid the foundations for environmentally-responsible purchasing, the team was no longer necessary, but employees still periodically revisit these policies to determine whether updates are required. In fact, more recently, Ashforth Pacific became members of the Responsible Purchasing Network, which evaluates products' sustainability. By taking a company-wide approach to procurement and other business practices, Ashforth Pacific can ensure that decisions and activities are consistent with overall goals.

Integrating "green" into decision-making in this way has enabled Ashforth Pacific to take advantage of opportunities to create value. A recent acquisition in San Francisco was all the more appealing because it was developed nearly to LEED standards, but developers never pursued the certification. Ashforth saw this as an opportunity to increase the potential value of the asset, and plans to pursue LEED certification for the property in the future.

Continual knowledge-sharing ensures that employees retain their commitment and constantly learn from each other. The engineering staff meets regularly to discuss building systems and procedures, share best practices, and help each other improve.

Engineers and property managers make daily decisions that affect energy consumption and other metrics, so building their capacities is a key component of the sustainability program. They regularly attend BOMA Energy Efficiency Program educational sessions. Along with all other incoming Ashforth employees, they also participate in the Natural Step sustainability training program.

Award-Winning Energy Performance

Ashforth Pacific recognizes that energy efficiency is the largest opportunity for green buildings, in terms of potential cost savings and environmental impact. Two Ashforth Pacific properties, One Pacific Square and Liberty Center, recently won top awards in the 2007 BOMA Portland Office Energy Showdown for their superior energy efficiency. The contest required entrants to benchmark their buildings using EPA ENERGY STAR's national energy performance rating system.

The three Ashforth Pacific properties that are now rated in the ENERGY STAR system all earned energy performance ratings in the top 25% of office buildings nationwide. Ashforth Pacific is undertaking an initiative to benchmark the rest of its properties, and engineers closely track energy use on a daily basis.

In One Pacific Square and Liberty Center, Ashforth Pacific focused on two major areas of energy consumption - lighting and cooling. To improve lighting efficiency, they capitalized on low-cost operational changes. It was simple, says Lange: "We'd try to find ways to make systems work more efficiently, so we weren't lighting a space that didn't need to be lit." For cooling systems, building operators closely monitored conditions and identified simple ways to improve, such as taking more outside air into the building in the morning to use less energy during start-up.

Efficient operations in these buildings didn't end with the announcement of the BOMA Showdown results. Rather, it's become standard fare. Engineers now carry cell phones that receive automated text messages when system conditions deviate from set parameters, so that they can be on top of changes before energy performance begins to fall.

Though they're proud of these successes and reputation, Ashforth leaders recognize that high performance buildings are an ongoing effort. "You can never rest on your laurels and turn your attention elsewhere," says Lange. "This is a constantly changing, progressing initiative. We're always striving to improve management and efficiency and take the next steps." Hank Ashforth agrees: "We don't see LEED certification or the ENERGY STAR label as a goal or an end point. Rather, they're mile markers along the way."

A significant next step is to expand Ashforth Pacific's environmental initiatives to the rest of the Ashforth Company. "Based on our success with this program since 1999," says Hank Ashforth, "we're now looking at sustainability on a national basis."

Challenging the Market to Move Forward

Ashforth Pacific sees its role as an industry leader entailing much more than owning and operating efficient buildings. The company is also challenging its contractors, tenants, and other stakeholders to commit to sustainability, and is helping drive a broader shift in the market. In its Portland properties, Ashforth Pacific had its janitorial contractor conduct a one-month trial of "team cleaning," in which one floor of a building is cleaned at a time so that all lights can be turned off as the team moves to the next floor. So far, the energy savings look promising.

For a lighting retrofit project in its Lloyd District properties, Ashforth Pacific received an Oregon tax credit that it passed on to the Lloyd District Transportation Management Association (TMA). The credit gave Lloyd TMA a pool of funds to improve environmentally-friendly transportation options - which, in turn, benefits Ashforth Pacific's properties in the area. Ashforth leaders hope that such mutually-beneficial partnerships will help other organizations buy into the sustainable mindset they've created among their own employees.

Promoting sustainability to tenants is another challenge altogether. In multi-tenant office buildings, tenants' behaviors and choices greatly affect energy and environmental performance. Though Ashforth Pacific can't mandate certain behaviors, they can influence and educate tenants on making smart choices.

Ashforth Pacific involves tenants in environmental efforts by providing easy opportunities to make the right choices, such as providing recycling bins. Further, by simply showing tenants the measures Ashforth is taking in their buildings, they hope to encourage tenants to manage their own businesses in a more sustainable manner. For example, tenants see janitors shutting blinds each evening to prevent the morning sun from increasing start-up cooling costs; eventually, these conscientious behaviors may become automatic for tenants.

Ashforth leaders have already begun to see increased tenant interest in the cost-effectiveness and employee health and productivity benefits of high performance buildings. Says Lange, "We can't point to a tenant and say, 'they're here because we offer a sustainable building,' but that's where the market is going." With a growing industry focus on high performance buildings - and the increasing presence of "green" leaders like Ashforth Pacific - that point may not be very far in the future.

Gerding Edlen Development Company

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:28:54 +0000

by Rich Riegel

Dennis Wilde is a real estate developer with a passion for sustainability. Wilde, a senior project manager at the Portland-based Gerding/Edlen Development Company, was one of six professionals recognized as leaders in sustainable, high performance building with a BetterBricks Awards last year.

BetterBricks is an initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and offers free services that connect building professionals with the information, tools, training and consultation needed to design and construct sustainable, high performance buildings.

Wilde has been active in construction and real estate development since 1967. Prior to joining Gerding/Edlen Development, he was vice president of Baugh Construction, a large regional construction company now owned by Skanska USA. In addition, he has more than 20 years of experience in urban planning and design and Master's degrees in both city planning and architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

During a 45-minute interview from his office located amid one of the company's major projects-Northwest Portland's Brewery Blocks-Wilde spoke candidly about the environmental and financial benefits of building sustainably.

Environmental Demands, Good Business

"The first and most obvious is this is a move that all of us in this industry have to take. Our environment demands it. Either we figure out how to do it creatively and with our own initiative or it's going to get imposed upon us. I'd rather try to find creative solutions to reduce or minimize the footprint of what we do on the planet," Wilde said.

"The second is that we have discovered that it's simply good business. It doesn't necessarily reduce costs, but we've found that it doesn't cost a significant premium. And that the benefits in terms of operating costs, sales and lease appeal of our product are significantly greater. We've been much more successful since we've embraced this approach. So, given that, why wouldn't you do it," he asked.

Weighing the Costs

According to Wilde, taking the plunge into sustainable building was a leap of faith. "We basically said to ourselves, 'Let's do this,' but we didn't want to incur significant hard construction cost premiums. We were willing to incur some design cost premiums, some soft cost premiums for going through the accreditation process for LEED certification. But we didn't want to incur hard cost premiums. That was our benchmark," he explained. Wilde defines soft costs as design and engineering, the work done prior to hard cost expenditures of "actual sticks and bricks in the ground."

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a certification of the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED was created to define these buildings by establishing a common standard of measurement. Certification levels include: certified, followed by silver, gold and platinum.

"We have found that through our efforts we've been able to accrue enough in the way of investment tax credits, grants and aid to offset our initial capital investment," Wilde said. He added that it's relatively easy to obtain tax credits in Oregon because of the Business Energy Tax Credit program (BETC) offered by the state. Wilde explained that the BETC program propels the construction team through a LEED-based route. "So if you're going to go for LEED certification for your project, then it's automatic," he said. The developer receives dollars per square foot of building area in tax credits, and a 35 percent investment tax credit.

"It adds up to significant dollars. On our projects . . . our business energy tax credits range from $180,000 to $1 million per project, depending on how well we perform. So you're talking real money," Wilde said.

Continuing to Raise the Bar

When asked if lessons learned from one project are applied to the next, Wilde responded that his company tries to do even more on each project. "You're not making much progress if you're not raising the bar," he said. "This whole area of (constructing) and operating buildings in an environmentally responsible fashion is relatively new to most of us. And so we certainly don't know everything there is to know. We're learning on every project, so unless you're applying those lessons as you go down the road, what have you accomplished?"

Wilde explained that raising the bar applies to everything that improves sustainability and performance from the energy systems that go into the building to the operation of the HVAC and lighting systems. "Now we're seeing ways of getting rid of the air conditioning altogether," he said referring to designs that naturally ventilate and cool buildings using outside air. "Now that would be a real breakthrough."

"On the one project we have under construction now, we challenged our mechanical and electrical engineers up front to give us a building that was 60 percent more efficient than code," Wilde testified. "You're talking major reductions of energy consumption of a building. And we're going to achieve that."

This latest challenge in decreasing energy needs involves what Wilde called, " … a very complex medical office building (for Oregon Health & Science University) with wet and dry labs, ambulatory surgery, wellness fitness center and all kinds of big energy hogs."

Efficiency Can Offer Substantial Savings

"And so to achieve 60 percent energy savings, you're talking several hundred thousand dollars a year just in the gas and electricity that the building owner now is not going to have to pay. That's on top of all the other savings we've been able to find, in terms of energy tax credits and the like, so all of a sudden you're talking about paybacks becoming very attractive to an owner. It's like, 'Ok, yes, I definitely want to do this, because it's in my long term best interest,' " he said.

Wilde was asked if he has been able to convey the added increased asset value in a sustainably-constructed building to tenants in office or residential buildings. "Some get it and some don't," he candidly explained. "What we've done in our office buildings in the Brewery Blocks is created a tenant manual that described all of our environmentally responsible efforts that we have incorporated into the building shell and core for our commercial office tenants. Some of the office tenants embraced the ideas, in terms of the low VOC (volatile organic compound) finishes," Wilde said.

But are residential tenants warming up to the spirit of sustainability? Apparently so. When Gerding/Edlen first started marketing The Henry, one of its condominium projects in the Brewery Blocks, the company talked to its brokerage firm about marketing the environmentally responsible efforts. The firm conducted an informal exit survey with buyers, and 25 percent of the buyers said sustainable design and construction was part of their decision making process, with 6 percent saying it was a primary reason for purchasing. The Henry sold out nine months before it was completed, at record sale prices, according to Wilde.

"So all of a sudden we're saying, 'Holy mackerel, this has a huge marketing potential for us.' So on the Meriwether, our next condo project in the South Waterfront District, we're making that an upfront and central part of our marketing and we're getting very favorable responses," Wilde said.

The Meriwether will be two high-rise condominium towers with 245 units along with retail space, slated to be complete by summer 2006. The developers are Gerding/Edlen Development and Williams & Dame Development. "Again, we're finding a lot of acceptance in the marketplace (for sustainable design and construction), a lot of the buyers are much more educated and much more interested than we as developers and brokers assumed," he said.

Higher Value Sustainable Buildings

Wilde believes that there's an increased asset value in any property that is built sustainably. "If you are building buildings that have a longer life, have better performing systems, have lower operating costs, then pretty soon appraisers and investors are going to figure that out. So they're going to start assigning higher appraisals to buildings that have better performance characteristics," he explained. "The appraisal and financial institutions have been slow in coming around to that, but a number of them are now starting to see that as a significant factor and one that they need to pay attention to."

When asked about being ahead of the curve when Gerding/Edlen used sustainable building techniques on the Sequent Computer Systems headquarters in Beaverton in 1998, Wilde was forthcoming. "This has been a passion for us, a passion for me in particular and fortunately my partners have been willing to indulge in my efforts to make our buildings as environmentally responsible as possible," he said. "They have been truly supportive, because they believe in it also. Both Bob Gerding and Mark Edlen feel very strongly that as a company, part of our responsibility, in addition to generating a profit for us and keeping the doors open, is to give back to the community, to make sure our projects leave a positive legacy for the community, that they are part of building the fabric of the community. That philosophy has been core to Gerding/Edlen from its very inception," Wilde concluded.

October 2004