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 2008 Savings By Design Energy Efficiency Integration Awards |
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2008 Savings By Design Energy Efficiency Integration Award Winners
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For their achievement in combining architectural elegance with sustainability and energy efficiency, seven California nonresidential projects received awards of recognition from the 2008 Savings By Design Energy Efficiency Integration Awards program. This year, one project stood out among the rest to take the top recognition level – Award of Honor. Two other outstanding projects received Awards of Merit and four noteworthy projects received special citations. The jurors commented that the best projects respond well to climate and have an excellent contextual response to their surrounding area, while maintaining maximum comfort. They added that a building’s expression is what sets it apart as award-winning sustainable design.
The Children’s Museum has always been a freewheeling learning and exploration place based on innovative fine art rather than designed educational exhibits. With that in mind, museum leaders and the design team wanted a building with the feel of an artist’s loft. The new 50,000-square-foot facility is a contemporary warehouse in an urban setting that responds well to the climate by retaining heat in the winter and staying cool longer during the summer.
Credit: Brighton Noying (click to enlarge) The museum’s saw-tooth-shaped roof features photovoltaic panels that generate 144,000 kWh of electricity per year, about half of the museum’s electricity needs. Glass walls and north-facing clerestory windows provide natural daylight, the principal design strategy. Sixty percent of the building utilizes a natural ventilation system. Fresh air enters the museum through lower-level windows and doors, and as it heats up, rises and exits the building through upper-level openings and a solar cooling chimney. A computer fine-tunes the comfort level by opening or closing windows and louvers as needed. Exposed concrete construction creates a thermal mass that protects against large indoor temperature swings, and passive solar gain provides all winter heating in the public spaces. Additionally, the facility uses waterless urinals and recycled content for wall tiles, countertops, restroom partitions and floor coverings.
click to enlarge The jurors commented that the project stands out because the museum maintains a sense of playfulness while incorporating natural ventilation, which is rare in a museum setting. They added that it is a true accomplishment to design a facility with natural ventilation that responds so well to natural forces.
Credit: Brighton Noying (click to enlarge) To top this project off as the leading facility this year, the museum’s sustainable design and energy efficiency features serve as built-in educational tools for visitors.
Water + Life Museums, the first LEED®-Platinum rated museum, celebrates the link between Southern California’s water infrastructure and the evolution of life with a 65,000-square-foot facility in the California desert. The educational museums are designed as living examples of environmental sustainability. The facility contains museum exhibit space, laboratories, classrooms, administrative offices, support facilities, gift shops, café, interior plaza and interpretive landscaping.
Credit: Benny Chan/Fotoworks; Tom Lamb;
Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA The architects had to consider extreme weather variations throughout the year combined with heavy foot traffic in the museum. The jurors were impressed with the building’s rooftop photovoltaic system, which is one of the largest of its kind with a 540-kilowatt solar-power system of 3,000 solar panels. This system generates 68 percent of the museum’s electricity. Ten monolithic pylons are the signature architectural element and serve as shading devices for the 8,000-square-feet of recessed glass that provides abundant natural light. Energy saving features also include the implementation of daylight sensors and lighting control systems, a high-efficiency HVAC system, evaporative cooling and radiant systems, a central plant with a radiant system and insulated exterior cladding. Synergistically, these combined systems resulted in energy performance 39.5 percent better than the minimum Title 24 compliance. In addition, the museum reduces water usage through low-flow plumbing fixtures and a drip-irrigation system.
Credit: Benny Chan/Fotoworks; Tom Lamb;
Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA The jurors said this is one of the most integrated projects of all the entries with its superior shading and radiant flooring heating, all of which complement the museum’s elegant architecture.
Merit Award:
Credit: Paul Hester and Hewitt/Garrison Photography (click to enlarge) The school promotes a healthy learning environment through balanced daylight, natural ventilation, engineered acoustics, efficient building systems and sustainable materials. The jurors praised the school’s connection to the outside, as the project provided well-defined circulation within an elegant site design. By combining synergistic programs in single spaces and pushing all circulation and locker storage outdoors, the design team was able to “right size” the campus, which contributed to a 40 percent reduction in energy usage as compared to a typical school. All teaching spaces have access to daylight, natural ventilation and high performance acoustics creating an all around pleasant learning environment. The building beats Title 24 by 33.7 percent.
Credit: Paul Hester and Hewitt/Garrison Photography (click to enlarge) Additionally, the jurors noted the school’s comprehensive irrigation plan that reduces water usage significantly. All storm water is managed onsite and irrigation is reduced by four million gallons annually from a recycled, synthetic turf field, a native/adapted plant program and a water-saving irrigation plan. Several acres of hillside habitat were restored on the campus during the development process.
Design Architect: Megan Riera AIA The Redwood Day Middle School was constructed with careful consideration of its location – optimizing space while protecting all existing redwood trees on the site. Flexibility was critical because the main spaces have multidisciplinary uses. The multi-purpose space encompasses 2,126 square feet and two large garage doors open up to modify the quality of spaces. The center garage door divides the space in half and opens up to provide space for larger gatherings. The other garage door on the outside opens up directly to the redwood grove, taking advantage of the climate and views.
Credit: Megan Riera (click to enlarge) The jurors agreed that the garage doors are a key feature that allows the school to have a strong connection with the outside and makes the best use of natural daylight and ventilation. Due to the mild climate, no air conditioning is used. Radiant floor heating throughout the school utilizes the thermal mass of the concrete foundation to reduce the heating loads in the spaces. The roof slopes up to the north allowing for a large north facing window wall that allows an abundance of natural daylighting. High efficiency direct/indirect lighting was also incorporated. Automatic control systems turn off the electric lighting in response to the available daylight.
Credit: Megan Riera (click to enlarge) The jurors also noted an impressive effort to incorporate prefabricated steel framing to reduce waste. An estimated 75 percent less waste was generated during construction compared to similar projects.
Design Architect: Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners The Santa Monica Public Library is a 109,000-square-foot facility with one key concept: to be a model of a twenty-first century library that serves as a “living room” for the city. The library’s principal elevation incorporates a long, narrow, two-story reading room with floor to ceiling windows. The library includes an enclosed garden court that serves as a social gathering place with controlled access and Internet connectivity.
Credit: John Edward Linden and David Rahr (click to enlarge) The Santa Monica Public Library is the first building in the City of Santa Monica to earn LEED® Gold certification. More than 50 percent of the building’s materials contain significant recycled content. An extensive curtain wall system provides a line of sight to windows from 90 percent of the public spaces. Almost every seat in the library has an outside view. The jurors agreed that this is one of the best urban projects of the year. They commented that the library integrates sustainability and efficiency strategies while maintaining an architecturally significant look with a “living room” friendly social gathering atmosphere.
Credit: John Edward Linden and David Rahr (click to enlarge) The library achieves energy savings with photovoltaic panels on the roof, under-floor plenum air supply and light-sensitive chandeliers with photosensor controls to automatically adjust to changing daylight conditions. Underground parking, which eliminates surface paving, along with a light-colored reflective roof, contribute to the reduction of a “heat-island effect.” Overall energy performance is 10.3 percent better than the minimum Title 24 compliance requirements. In addition, the library achieved water savings through a 200,000-gallon cistern that was constructed as part of a storm water management plan. The library uses the storm water to irrigate the landscape garden areas. The library also uses low-flow faucets and toilets and incorporates waterless urinals to achieve greater water savings.
Design Architect: Barton Choy, AIA, ChoyAssociates The North Central Animal Services Center underwent an $8.1 million expansion including 74,200 square feet for 170 outdoor dog kennels, various small animal holding facilities, a detached behavioral assessment room and new training yards. The facility that was originally an animal warehouse is now a sustainable and energy-efficient community center focused on facilitating successful animal adoptions. click to enlarge During the construction of the expanded facility, 95 percent of the construction waste generated was diverted from the landfill and recycled or reused. A new curved wall organizes and integrates the existing building with the new exterior kennels, the new parking lots, the behavioral assessment room and the landscape. The wall is clad in locally salvaged redwood siding, and serves as a visible symbol of the facility’s commitment to sustainability. Canopies with building integrated photovoltaic panels (BIPV) alternate with translucent panels to shade the new kennel aisles. These canopies generate enough electricity to power the entire facility.
Credit: Lawrence Anderson (click to enlarge) The jurors commented that this is the best example of a demonstration project which achieves significant energy savings. They were most impressed by the idea of taking a shelter that typically is bare minimum, and creating a well-integrated, sustainable and efficient facility that now serves as a community and social gathering center. The project received LEED® Silver Certification from the US Green Building Council.
Citation – Adaptive Re-Use: Design Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux To help prepare families living in isolation and poverty to succeed in school and in life, the 10,000 square foot Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center was completely renovated to allow more flexibility for a variety of activities and programs. This is the first preschool nationwide to register for LEED® Gold certification. The center is accessible from five public bus lines and the parking lot has preferred parking for low emitting, fuel efficient vehicles and carpools.
Credit: RMA Photography, Inc. (click to enlarge) The center was designed to be energy efficient, performing 25 percent better than California’s Title 24 energy requirements. The center’s 18 KW photovoltaic system is mounted on the south facing wall and roof, which provides more than 20 percent of the center’s energy needs. The design team also reduced the heat generated from the parking lot by using light-colored pervious concrete to reflect sunlight and incorporating shading over 50 percent of the area. Additionally, every regularly occupied space is designed with permanent monitoring systems that provide feedback on ventilation system performance, allowing for a 30 percent increase in outdoor airflow. Skylights, clerestory windows and view windows throughout the center provide ample daylight into the classrooms, activity rooms and offices.
Credit: RMA Photography, Inc. (click to enlarge) The jurors were most impressed by the center’s modest approach to sustainability and efficiency with little disruption. Seventy-five percent of the previous building’s structure was reused in the new site. Twenty percent of the materials used for construction have recycled content. |
