A Sustainable Leed Platinum Building
A sustainable development could be defined as a self-sufficient project that can meet actual and future demand without compromising future resources. A sustainable development can be defined as the Research Support Facility in Golden, Colorado. This ultra-high performance building incorporates several design innovations, renewable strategies and excellent performance, so high, that it will only use 50% of the energy it will use if designed under traditional methods.
This sustainable development owned by the US Department of Energy, has also been certified LEED Platinum for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council. More than 220,000 square feet of high performance and avant-garde technologies have been combined to produce this sustainable development aimed to be completed by 2011.
Sustainable Development: RSF Project Team
This sustainable development was built by a team of excellent contractors, and design professionals. Lead by Colorado's own Haselden Construction, teamed with Stantec and RNL Design, the team won a competition for a $64 million sustainable development. Under a design build approach, the team planned an innovative approach using integrated design and extensive planning, reducing risks and lowering construction-related costs. The final team was formed by:
Contractor: Haselden Construction
Architects: RNL Design
Interior design: RNL Design
Mechanical engineer: Stantec Consulting
Structural engineer: KL&A Engineering, Golden Office
Electrical engineer: Stantec Consulting
Civil engineer: Martin / Martin, Inc.
Owner: U.S. Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo.
Architect: RNL, Denver
MEP Engineer: Stantec, San Francisco
Civil Engineer: Martin / Martin, Lakewood, Colo.
Structural Engineer: KL & A, Denver
Design-Build Contractor: Haselden Construction, Centennial, Colo.
Among the Subcontractors: Trautman & Shreve (mechanical), Denver; Weifield Group (electrical), Denver; Rocky Mountain Prestress (precast concrete), Denver; JR Butler (glazing), Denver; OfficeScapes (modular furniture), Denver; Paxton & Vierling Steel (steel fabricator), Carter Lake, Iowa; Architectural Energy Corp. (LEED, daylighting and commissioning consultant), Boulder, Colo.; Technology Plus (IT and AV consultant), Aurora, Colo.
Sustainable Development Features
This 220,000 sustainable development was able to showcase these amazing features:
1. Building Orientation- This H shaped sustainable development maximizes the North to South exposure. It provides great daylight and natural ventilation almost everywhere on the building. The 25% window-to-wall ratio, after extensive modeling and cost-analysis, help regulate interior temperatures.
2. Thermal Mass and Thermal Labyrinth- A massive concrete basement will allow to either release heat during winter months to release cool air to reduce high summer temperatures. The massive S- shaped basement, will direct the air into labyrinths two stories up, and traveling down ventilation shafts. The North section of this sustainable development will be used for heating, while the South section will be use for both, heating and cooling.
As the United States economy struggles through a sluggish time with the stock market dropping and unemployment rising, being competitive in the job market has become extremely important among professionals. Engineers are no exception. For most engineering firms, being competitive and successful requires obtaining design projects offered by companies in other fields. These projects can range from designing heating and ventilation systems for office buildings to water systems for cities to computer networks for businesses—the list of possibilities and disciplines is extensive. To get these jobs, engineers must make a bid proposal for the project. Bidding involves estimating the entire cost of the project, including the designing and building processes, as well as the materials and labor. Usually, the company with the lowest bid and the best plan gets the job. The ethical issue in this process is determining the cheapest building materials and construction procedures possible without compromising public safety.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a certification program for green buildings with stringent requirements for building energy efficient and environmentally responsible structures. Some requirements of this program include specific building materials, smart grid capable, gray water reclamation systems, green space minimums, high levels of insulation and low thermal transfer glass (US Green Building Council). Green buildings are a must if we are to sustain our current level of growth. Despite the higher initial cost of these buildings, the long term energy savings make these buildings a smarter choice for
Our Vision is to become one of the preferred choices of players in the construction industry
It is considered as the “greenest” community in Manhattan and is the largest green neighborhood in the world7. The Verdesian design has been improved by engineers in comparison to The Solaire, which is the world’s first green residential building. Among the many improvements The Verdesian stands out as more of a modern building. It has floor to ceiling windows, which allows the building to have 33% more natural light.8 These windows are also energy efficient and thermally insulated. The glass for the windows are Low-E coated glass and along with the thermal insulated walls, which also uses a layer that is impervious to water vapor called vapor retarders allow the building to remain cool during the summer and warm in the winter. The Verdesian uses only energy star appliances, as well as custom solar shades and digital programmable thermostats.8 This Low-E coating works in respect to the climate. Thus, in hot climates only the visible lights are transmitted into the building and during the cold climates the near infrared are also transmitted allowing the atmosphere to be naturally warm (Class notes). This use of Low-E coated glass is very beneficial in reducing the amount of energy need for heating and cooling the building. Therefore, it is an environmental friendly strategy in using less energy. This allows the burning of less fossil fuels and decreases the amount of greenhouse gasses in the
In conclusion, the designers and builders of the tower have an undesirable job: creating a building that is functional, modern, sustainable and unique. At the same time it is honoring the memory of the people that died in and around the buildings that stood there before. While the green sustainable features have been criticized for being too expensive, they will do more than save just water, electricity and emissions. They and the grace of the building will inspire a generation of green and safe skyscrapers for the twenty-first century. This building has become one of the safest, environmentally friendly and expensive ever built, but as critics slate the building for various reasons, one cannot take away the determination through political, social and economic status that designers and workers have created such a beautiful building with great meaning.
Despite the fact that novel technologies are continuously under development to complement existing practices in coming up with greener buildings, the universal intent is that such structures are designed to diminish the general effect on the built environment on health of the humans in addition to the natural environment via: Diminishing environmental degradation, pollution and waste, improving productivity of the employee and guarding occupant health, efficient usage of water, energy, in addition to other resources.
Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk, (2014). [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Design process | Rostron Brow | Building for Life. [online] Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110107165544/http://www.buildingforlife.org/case-studies/rostron-brow/design-process [Accessed 1 May. 2014].
The Bullitt Center is located in Seattle, Washington and is the greenest commercial building in the world. It was built to meet the goals of the Living Building Challenge. The living Building Challenge is challenge, created by the International Living Building Institute, which requires a building to be self-sufficient for energy use and water use for a minimum period of 12 months, employ green materials, and create quality indoor environments. There are also seven performance areas that include site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty with 20 specific imperative qualifications within the seven performance areas.
ST Diamond Building is the art of green architecture, combined with the science of energy conservation is showcased in the 4,928 square metres Diamond Building, an iconic 8 storey office building. The Diamond Building is the Energy Commission’s social Commitment to the present and future generations of Malaysia. Taking the lead in developing and implementing solutions for environmental sustainability, the Energy Commission embarked on a bold vision to develop its headquarters in line with highest global standards in green initiatives, to showcase the best practices in environmental solutions. The vision of the Diamond Building was first sowed in 2002 with an aim to build a facility with green and energy efficient technologies, which will aptly symbolises Energy Commission as a regulator for the
"Green Building: Advantages & Disadvantages." Green Building: Advantages & Disadvantages. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
Land use and building orientation also plays a critical role in green architecture. A green building is located to take advantage of its climate and surroundings. These conditions not only affect the efficiency of a building, but of the community and society as a whole.
Well-recognized cities worldwide have built over the years great buildings with a variety of designs and concepts however consequently too much building has been making grievous decrease on energy efficiency. Now, “Green Architecture” has been popularized and as a result a modicum of energy efficiency has increased and also it has substantiated a new perspective, a new versatile way on architecture.
The present world with its sustainable resources, environment and way of life became developed. The population growth, consuming almost all the available resources, to meet people’s needs, should be a major concern. The consumption of material and energy around the world which is about to eliminate the available supply, has increased over the last two decades, especially in the built environment. In order to access other reserves of fuel, the more energy will be needed to use.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
Unites States Green Building Council. (2014). Leadership in energy and environmental design. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/leed#why