High Performing Buildings - Spring 2008 - (Page 18) During proceedings, daylight can enter the council chamber through large clerestories. LESSONS LEARNED Start with Sustainability If sustainability is considered early in the project it can be integrated naturally into all other elements of the design. Utility, aesthetics and sustainability can be mutually supportive. LEED Although LEED favors only a small portion of the possible sustainable technology, it serves as a good basic framework for incorporating important fundamental strategies. It also quantifies their value in a way that can be understood by owners and users. At Seattle City Hall, this was manifest in tangible architectural features that might otherwise have been seen as unessential. Users Adapt Priorities of users and owners differ. At Seattle City Hall, it was one of the owner’s priorities to reduce energy consumption. This was achieved with sustainable strategies that, in some cases, changed how occupants experienced the building and required new operations and maintenance procedures. The use of lower footcandle indirect lighting reduces overall lighting levels and adds supplemental task lighting only on work surfaces where needed. This strategy reduced glare. However, it created an interior ambiance different from the direct recessed lighting users were accustomed to in the old building. An underfloor airdistribution system requires different temperature setpoints and adjustment procedures than a traditional system. Initial changes were made by overriding the setpoints instead of adjusting diffusers, creating more user comfort problems than were solved. This led to initial negative feedback that should improve as users adapt and the correct procedures are implemented. Plan for Flexibility Not all sustainable elements incorporated into the building remain as effective as originally planned. One example is the lightshelves on the western face of the tower. Where perimeter offices were added to the program, the light bounced from the shelves is trapped in the offices themselves, and the scale of the shelves overpowers the smaller spaces. Although the lightshelves were designed so that they could be unbolted and removed, their size makes this difficult. sion system used to record council proceedings, allows the audience to participate and give testimony. These paired meeting rooms can accommodate groups from nine to 140, and more than 300 for the city’s variety of events. These features reinforce the purpose of the building and play a part in the sustainable future of the city and neighborhood by creating a focal point that is active and accessible. Conclusion Large operable panels at the back of the council chamber allow an overflow crowd to spill out into the ambulatory. addition to a council dais for smaller boardroom style meetings that often have a public audience. For special events, extra capacity is available. Large operable panels at the back of the room allow an overflow crowd to spill out into the ambulatory around the outside of the chamber. In addition, a two-way audiovisual link established to the large multipurpose room below, by means of the closed-circuit televi18 HIGH PERFORMING Despite technological advances in how buildings respond to our demands and minimize environmental impact using sophisticated internal control, there is a place in the sustainability equation for good design based on fundamental human values. Things that make us happy, calm, productive and comfortable remain the same from one generation to the next. Seattle City Hall exemplifies this idea through its cohesive and accessible approach, palette of natural materials, tectonic expression and sustainable building strategies. When Seattle City Hall’s sustainable attributes were measured against the LEED for New Construction (NC) rating system, Spring 2008 BUILDINGS
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.