High Performing Buildings - Summer 2009 - (Page 18)

LESSONS LEARNED Opportunities The project team, even after design completion, should look for opportunities to incorporate sustainable strategies. The western portion of the synagogue site was lined with four mature crimson maple trees that would have provided great shading for the new building. Unfortunately, once site work commenced, the project team realized that the root systems would not survive the foundation and utility work. We researched the possibility of milling the maple locally to finish the ceremonial entrance door. This led to an awareness of the urban forestry industry as a source of environmentally friendly hardwoods and incorporating storm-felled black walnut trees into the project as the bimah flooring. Lead Times High performance buildings often use new, innovative technologies and materials that are still developing a market. In addition, they often have few competitors. Submittals and shop drawings for these items should be reviewed within the first 60 days of construction regardless of their installation in the construction schedule. We encountered avoidable delays due to late submission of specialty items with one viable source. Examples on this project included stainless steel piping associated with a 94% efficient boiler, the 50 ft x 15 ft bifold aluminum overhead door, and the solar-powered compact fluorescent parking lot lights. Eventually, after an exhaustive effort, a new path for the piping was found that did not affect the 9.5 ft ceiling heights in the perimeter spaces. However, the piping could have been installed as shown on the drawings while other less bulky systems, such as sprinkler piping and electrical conduit, could have easily been rerouted. Innovation Combining two different innovative ideas can have unanticipated consequences. Our firm researches new technologies and materials before using them in a project. The synagogue design included polished concrete floors with a high percentage of fly ash. The concrete polishing subcontracCoordination Reducing the building’s tor encountered difficulties grinding the volume to save on materials and energy concrete, and indicated that the floor was Planning The synagogue did not obtain the consumption required more coordination much harder to polish than normal. During LEED daylighting credit even though the between the architects and engineers. But subsequent discussions, it was discovered design team planned 90% of the occupied that was only half the battle. Coordination that the subcontractor had never worked spaces with exterior glazing. When perform- of the subcontractors’ work during construc- with concrete containing fly ash. ing the final documentation, the building fell tion was equally important to ensure the In addition, after occupancy, the congreabout 4% short of the metric. building systems fit into the tight interstitial gation discovered that liquid staining was To avoid this on our next project, we devel- space above the ceilings. more difficult to remove than anticipated. oped a spreadsheet to calculate the miniOne important lesson is to install the Though not proven, it was hypothesized that mum amount of glazing required for each largest systems first (i.e., ductwork, VAV the fly ash content increased the concrete’s space to meet the daylight criteria. This tool boxes, etc.) For example, the boiler intake hardness and porosity, leading to these was successfully applied to the Commodore and exhaust piping was one of the last issues. Barry Elementary School in Philadelphia components to be installed, but could not (LEED Gold certified) when developing the be placed as designed due to interference elevations during schematic design. from other building components. March 2008 to February 2009, the actual energy consumption was 51,979 Btu/ft2, a 57% improvement over the budget building. The large difference between the design case and actual numbers could be due to a number of factors. First, the energy model follows strict guidelines established under Standard 90.1-2004, Appendix G, to benchmark a building’s performance. However, the energy model algorithm may not accurately represent the highly variable occupant load and the corresponding modular chillers’ part-load performance. For example, the chiller master controller may determine that it is more energy efficient to run all six modular chillers at 50% part load than running three chillers at 100% full load. Another factor is the inability to account for all of the energy saving strategies incorporated into the building, such as occupancy sensors, solar tubes, displacement ventilation and natural ventilation. In addition, the combination of the reduced building volume, the effectiveness of the thermal envelope, the high-efficiency flexible HVAC equipment, energy-efficient lighting, the Summer 2009 air distribution system, and HVAC and lighting controls that respond to occupancy and outdoor conditions may create a synergistic effect. • ABOUT THE AUTHORS Michael Ross, AIA, LEED AP is a prin, cipal at Ross Barney Architects with responsibility for the sustainable building practices. Yury Lui, P LEED AP is a senior .E., , mechanical engineer at EYP Mission Critical Facilities. Kimberley Patten, AIA, LEED AP is an , architect at Ross Barney Architects. 18 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of High Performing Buildings - Summer 2009

High Performing Buildings - Summer 2009
Contents
Commentary
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
Designing Efficient Lighting
CSOB Headquarters, Prague
U.S. Homeland Security, Omaha
Stellar Commercial Building
Advertisers Index

High Performing Buildings - Summer 2009