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.
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
...h as the Bullitt Center being able to accomplish a limited impact on the environment is astonishing. It just shows how important the design process is from beginning to end and how responsible designers are what is needed to lead the way towards a sustainable future. The fact that you can design a building that actually promotes healthy living and gives back to the community and the environment is inspiring. While the cost of building responsibly can be higher initially the reward is definitely worth it. As a designer new to the building industry seeing responsible design motivates me to make a difference not only on professional level but on personal level. The unfortunate truth is that one well designed building is not going to change society’s ignorance; you need many well designed buildings to make a difference, but the Bullitt Center proves that it can be done.
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
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].
To support this development, it will achieve a BREEM rating of ‘Very Good’ with the use of sustainable construction materials, methods, high level of insulation, water efficiency, waste management and efficient services. This is related to UDP policy MWR5 and MWR6.
There is an urging need for buildings to become more eco friendly and aware about the worlds environment. The case studies show that with a little extra effort, it can be achieve and can have huge impacts on the environment.
The methodology of Sustainable design is to trim down harmful impacts on the environment, further more it would be developed the health and ease of building occupants, thus improving building performance. The core objectives of sustainability are to decrease expenditure of non-renewable resources, cut down the amount of waste, and create a good physical shape, prolific atmosphere.
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (Last updated on 2013, January 29). Benefits of Sustainable Building Design. Retrieved from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/buscase_section4.pdf
In the year 2011 our president Obama gave tax incentives to builders who use green building materials. It helps commercial or big business save $40 Billion per year and $1.2 Trillion in the energy efficiency. By using green building materials there is 20% cut in commercial building.These Businesses are able to use the saving money for other Green Building (“Long”).
Sustainable architecture is a form of design that pursues to regulate the negative impact of buildings on the environment. The objective is achieved when moderation and efficiency are applied when using energy, materials and development space. Today, the buildings have been established as the biggest end user of energy and contractor of greenhouse gases. It has now become a worldwide issue since green gases have a negative impact on the environment.
Yan, J. & Plainiotis, S. (2006): Design for Sustainability. Beijing, China: Architecture and Building Press.
Application of ventilation systems in the building in order to eliminate energy conservation, especially in the summer season programs the ventilation systems in order to achieve energy conservation.
Creative and highly sophisticated state-of-the-art architectural projects call for the engagement of the most specialized talent and highest form of technological achievement
All in all, green building is gaining significant momentum as the new major trend in the construction industry. The payoff in employee health, community benefits, energy efficiency, construction process efficiency, and efficient use of waste is worth the significant up-front cost. This trend will proliferate, and green building will likely become an industry norm. According to the US Green Building Council, “Within the next two years, more than half of all commercial and institutional construction will have a decided tint of green.”