INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS: 300-level

SESSION 31

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00am – Metro 2B

ABSTRACT:

The fundamentals of phytoremediation and bioremediation technologies in the built environment as well as three distinct integration strategies: as interior deployment, as integrated into the building enclosure, and as exterior deployment.

SPEAKERS:

Jason Vollen, Principal Investigator, Center for Architecture Science and Ecology, Associate Professor of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rob Rothblatt, Associate Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Paul Mankiewicz, Executive Director, Gaia Institute
Chris Garvin, Partner, Terrapin Bright Green

DESCRIPTION:

Plants in buildings have aesthetic, physiological and psychological benefits that have been qualified and increasingly quantified in various ways. An emerging benefit of the integration of next generation living systems is as strategies for environmental remediation and energy reduction. In addition to discussing the fundamentals of phytoremediation and bioremediation technologies in the built environment, this session will discuss three distinct integration strategies: as interior deployment, as integrated into the building enclosure, and as exterior deployment.

• The Active Modular Phytoremediation (AMP) System, developed by CASE and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is an interior deployment purposed to improve indoor air quality and reduce the energy costs associated with HVAC systems. The first deployment for the AMP System will be in the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP designed Public Safety Answering Center (PSAC) II Facility located in the Bronx and will be discussed in detail regarding the critical mission of PSAC II and the value of integrating living systems as well as the challenged of integrating first time deployments.

• Case studies developed by Terrapin Bright Green will be used to discuss the integration of livings systems into the building enclosure, taking the traditional doublewalled building envelope and transforming it with biophilic elements while challenging the self-imposed limits of what a building envelop can achieve to increase a building’s sustainability and human comfort.

• Gaia Institutes’ El Jardín del Paraíso Stormwater Capture Park is an exterior deployment that reclaims green space for the city while sequestering lead contamination. It is exemplary of several projects currently undertaken by the Gaia Institute that showcase bioremediation with an increase in biodiversity.

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INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS: 300-level

SESSION 34

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00 am – Metro 4B

ABSTRACT:

This session will showcase how the available tools and current requirements of new High- Performance Buildings affect the design of building envelopes and where limitations in current tools and standards are evolving to allow accurate quantification of new high-performance forms in architecture.

MODERATOR:

Steven Baumgartner, Associate, Buro Happold

SPEAKERS:

Teresa Rainey, Associate, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Philip Haves, Leader, Simulation Research Group and Commercial Building Systems Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

DESCRIPTION:

Long before the publication of ASHRAE Standard 189.1 on High-Performance Green Buildings, design teams around the world have been pushing proposals for high-performance architectural design and incorporation of innovative low-carbon systems. Based on first principles, and without the extensive library of performance modeling tools available to design teams today, many successful projects were realized.

In today’s design environment, the energy model is king and ASHRAE, LEED, the New York City Energy Code and NYSERDA set the standards by which designers must assess and report the simulated performance of their designs. The standardization of energy model inputs has opened a fair and consistent dialogue on projected energy performance, but do the available tools and methodologies set by the rule makers actually limit creativity and innovation? The panel will discuss how high-performance designs are realized, how they must be accounted for under current and emerging Sustainability Standards, and how the tools currently available are developing to allow the best ideas to be fully accredited and validated.

ASHRAE’s ongoing efforts in developing Engineering Standards form the backbone of the Sustainability Requirements for new design projects in the New York City area. ASHRAE Standard 189.1 along with 90.1, 55 on Thermal Comfort, and 62 on Ventilation interrelate are all carefully considered throughout the building energy modeling process. Panelists will discuss how these standards may contradict the objectives of realizing a high-performance building.

Panelists will explain SOM’s design process in realizing a high-performance design by outlining the modeling programs that are used and how these tools relate to the Sustainability Requirements of a typical project. The panel will include examples to illustrate how aspects of a high performance design, when assessed through existing standards and tools, provide contradictory results. SOM teams are integrating bespoke advanced tools in their design processes. Current standards and modeling tools are evolving to allow more innovative design opportunities to receive due credit.

Then Philip Haves (LBNL)  will delve deeper into the actual mechanics of how energy modeling programs must evolve and innovate in order to harness and assign credit to all architectural and engineering innovations, while still providing a robust energy modeling environment.  Philip will also outline the current work that LBNL is doing with EnergyPlus in developing a new Graphical User Interface (GUI), with input from leading A&E firms, including SOM.  Philip will discuss how this new GUI, coupled with additional modeling functionality is allowing more and more advanced approaches to building design to be validated and credited in line with the requirements of ASHRAE Standards and LEED.

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DYNAMIC INFRASTRUCTURE

SESSION 30

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00am – Metro 2A

ABSTRACT:

A discussion of the transformative potential for low-voltage, or DC powered, lighting and control systems, and the challenges to implementation.

MODERATOR:

TBD

SPEAKERS:

Patricia Dimaggio, Specifications Engineer, Osram Sylvania
Ryan Carlson, Senior Director, Product Management, Redwood Systems
Ken Czech , Vice President, Strategic Product Development & Innovation Philips Lightolier

DESCRIPTION:

DC-based components and power sources represent an exciting new direction in building design and operation. By marrying low-voltage LED lights with DC-based sensors, networking, and intelligent building controls, the potential exists for buildings systems to operate completely in concert. This panel will explore the intersection of efforts to reduce energy consumption through groundbreaking lamp technology, superior networking & controls, and progressive lighting design.

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INNOVATIVE FINANCE: 300-level

SESSION 28

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00am – Altman B

ABSTRACT:

A panel of experts discusses a new Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Living Cities study, examining the relationship between pre-retrofit savings projections and actual results, and aiming to develop principles for recognizing energy efficiency in multifamily underwriting guidelines.

MODERATOR:

Candace Damon, Vice-Chairman, HR&A Advisors

SPEAKERS:

Joshua S. Eisenberg, General Counsel, Urban America
Sadie McKeown, Senior Vice President, Director of CPC’s Hudson Valley Camp
Sam Marks, Vice President, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Marc Zuluaga, Energy Analyst, Steven Winters Associates

DESCRIPTION:

Despite significant investment in energy efficiency over the past 35 years, many cite the paucity of good data demonstrating the reliability of savings as a critical factor limiting investment.  To address these challenges, The Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Living Cities enlisted Steven Winters Associates and HR&A Advisors to examine the relationship between pre-retrofit savings projections and actual results, to develop principles for recognizing energy efficiency in multifamily underwriting guidelines.  This panel will provide a preview of that study, and bring together lenders, owners, and energy and policy experts to diagnose the challenges of incorporating efficiency projections in underwriting guidelines and discuss principles for addressing those hurdles.

As a nation, we have been experimenting with various policy responses to the desire for greater energy efficiency in buildings for some 35 years.  Multifamily buildings, particularly affordable multifamily housing, have been a major focus of those efforts for that entire time period.  The vigor of these efforts has waxed and waned with changes in fuel prices, administrations, and, more recently, with growing awareness of the perils of climate change.  Yet over that time period, very little data regarding the relative efficacy of different installations and changes in operating procedure have been collected, analyzed or disseminated.  Lack of data impedes owners and managers’ willingness to advance sustainability programs, lenders’ interest in financing such programs, and governments’ ability to effectively support those programs.  Indeed, many cite the paucity of good data demonstrating the reality and reliability of savings as a critical factor in limiting investment.

To address these challenges, Steven Winters Associates and HR&A Advisors undertook a study that examines the relationship between pre-retrofit savings projections and actual results, in order to develop principles for recognizing energy efficiency in multifamily underwriting guidelines.  The study combines the engagement of a wide variety of interdisciplinary perspectives with the analysis of more than 300 building retrofit projects, and is expected be completed in fall 2011.

The discussion will be divided into three parts, followed by 15 minutes of audience question-and-answer:

1. A detailed diagnosis of the challenge of incorporating energy efficiency in underwriting guidelines, from the diverse perspectives of the panel members with specific focus on the prevalence of and reasons for divergence between predicted and actual results of investment in energy efficiency in multifamily buildings.
2. A discussion of principles for overcoming hurdles, recognizing best practices being undertaken across the globe.
3. A preview of the Deutsche Bank/ Living Cities study currently underway, and how the work will address the issues discussed above.

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HIGH PERFORMANCE CASE STUDIES: 300-level

SESSION 32

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00am – Metro 2C

ABSTRACT:

Limited scope and an older infrastructure present significant challenges to a successful sustainable build-out. Learn how these challenges were met, while also satisfying corporate sustainability requirements, through recent LEED CI projects, including the Democracy Now! Studios, Morgan Stanley’s New York offices and RCN Corporation properties.

MODERATOR:

Patricia Lee, Senior Project Manager, CodeGreen Solutions

SPEAKERS:

Dennis Darcy, Principal, Brooklyn Interiors
Karen Lalli, Director of Corporate Real Estate, RCN Corporation
Karen Ranucci, Project Manager, Democracy Now!
Gay Schaye, Vice President, Morgan Stanley

DESCRIPTION:

Speakers will present the perspectives and experiences of individuals that had to coordinate an integrated team of service providers, the needs of occupants, and tight timelines to deliver a healthy, pleasant, and sustainable working environment.

Additionally, insight will be provided on how inhabitants have received these spaces and what differences or improvements have been observed post-occupancy.

Topics to be discussed include:

• How to coordinate an integrated design and consultant team
• Challenges of addressing older infrastructure
• Maximizing energy efficiency of a build-out
• Corporate sustainability goals and how they are addressed in the sustainable build-out of a space,
• Addressing sustainable practices and behavior of occupants
• Successes and experiences post-occupancy

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HIGH PERFORMANCE CASE STUDIES: 300-level

SESSION 33

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00am – Metro 4A

ABSTRACT:

This mixed-income case study of the Tapestry Building in New York City illustrates how high-performance building envelope design and energy efficiency contribute to improved quality of life in the built environment.

MODERATOR:

William Jose Higgins, Director of Green and Sustainable BuildingsTeam, EME Group

SPEAKERS:

Paul Freitag, Managing Director, Development, Jonathan Rose Companies
David Newman, Sustainability Specialist, EME Group
Herbert Mandel, Managing Partner, MHG Architects
Daniel Abatemarco, Acoustics Specialist, AKF Consulting Engineers

DESCRIPTION:

The Tapestry Building is a new 12-story, 185-unit mixed-income green residential development near the foot of the Triborough Bridge. The 50/30/20 residential development is made up of market rate, middle income and low-income apartments. The project, designed to Enterprise Green Communities criteria, is on target to earn a LEED-NC v2.2 Gold Rating and is participating in the NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program.

Reducing energy usage alone does not fuel the pursuit of a high-performance building envelope. An additional impetus is sound control of the busy inner city noises as desired by the project developers and New York City Zoning Regulations, which require a Sound Control Coefficient (STC) rating of the building façade. Energy efficiency and sound control are both increased by moving from an air-cooled, hydronic PTAC system to water source heat pumps, a mix of double- and triple-glazed high-performance windows, and higher-insulated and tighter exterior walls.

The water source heat pumps reduce the number of exterior wall penetrations in comparison to a typical PTAC system that would penetrate the wall at each air-cooled unit; this assists in saving energy through a more continuous exterior wall and a more efficient HVAC system, and also reduces sound transference.

Double- and triple-glazed high-performance windows reduce the heat and sound transference while allowing for natural light, mitigating the conflict between the desire for abundant natural light and the need for sound control and energy efficiency

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HIGH PERFORMANCE CASE STUDIES: 300-level

SESSION 29

DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00am – Altman Gallery

ABSTRACT:

A presentation of the award-winning renovation of the Unilever Headquarters in London, a historically significant 1930s building transformed into a spatially exciting, BREEAM “excellent” building.

SPEAKERS:

John Bushell, Partner, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Michelle Pattison, Global Agile Working Programme Director, Unilever
Ashok Raiji, Partner, Arup

DESCRIPTION:

The Unilever Headquarters in London has won over 30 international awards, and is used by Unilever worldwide as a model for the future.

Unilever London Headquarters occupies a prominent site in the City of London, overlooking Blackfriars Bridge and the River Thames. Completed in 1931 and listed as historically significant in 1977, the project included the redevelopment of the 1930s structure and a portion of a 1970s extension to the north.

Unilever wanted to remain in the building and within the City of London but had operational requirements for a more modern, flexible workplace than that provided by the building, which also had significant functional deficiencies. This presentation explores the design process, which eventually achieved a balance between retaining the important parts of the building’s historic fabric while providing a transformed environmentally responsible workplace and spatial experience for the many visitors to the building.

The entire process is revealed, from early collaboration with the client, setting targets and goals,occupant feedback and post-occupancy performance data. The panel will also discuss energy efficiency with relation to operational costs and carbon emissions including civic and client targets. The panel will also explore strategies for reducing carbon emissions through energy use and material choices.

Design strategies are an important factor in the success of the building. The floor plates were reconfigured within a spatially interesting atrium, creating a stronger sense of interconnection. Staff and meeting facilities are located at the top of the building, which includes a roof garden. On the ground floor, a café, exhibition space, restaurant and conference area restore the public nature of the building.

The fit-out achieves the spirit of openness seen in the 1930s building archive.

The presentation offers key insight into the design and execution of a redevelopment project. The transformed Unilever House offers Unilever a new lease of life within its historic home, safeguards the active future of a listed building and brings the building up to British Council for Offices (BCO) specification throughout, while emphasizing the owner and architect’s commitment to sustainability and biodiversity.

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