High Performing Buildings - Winter 2011 - (Page 34)

The fruit orchard, kitchen garden (upper right) and 101 kW parking lot solar pavilion all harvest Ohio sunlight, producing food and energy. implicit lessons about human relationships with the environment. Daylighting in office and classroom spaces is an example of design choices that connect building occupants with the natural environment. A solar-powered water sculpture added to the lobby after the building’s opening also serves as an environmental connection. Building performance is often considered in isolation from the surrounding landscape. Key goals of the Lewis Center involve connecting lEssons lEarnED Extensive monitoring and public display of building data provides multiple benefits. Continuous monitoring enables verification and assessment of the ongoing performance of building systems. When problems are encountered, an archive of minute-resolution data provides an exceptional resource for troubleshooting. for example, a comprehensive analysis of the data on lewis Center’s first-year performance led to modifications to the control technology that improved the efficiency of the HVAC systems. The translation of real-time building performance data into a form that is accessible and engaging to a nontechnical audience allows a building to serve not just as a place in which learning occurs, but as a teaching tool itself. The public display of building data in the lobby and on the Web allows multiple observers to track changes in performance. for example, regular Web visitors who have never physically visited the lewis Center have noticed and alerted the building team to anomalies in system performance. Planning the data monitoring system from the outset and integrating it with the building automation systems would have reduced costs and expanded opportunities. Practice ongoing commissioning. shortterm management decisions typically focus on ameliorating acute concerns rather than optimizing long-term environmental performance. A more concerted focus on ongoing commissioning to maximize energy and water use efficiency may allow the environmental studies Program to continue to grow in size without increasing its ecological footprint or requiring additional PV capacity. Design for change. Buildings need to adapt to changing institutional, social and ecological demands. A simple example is a raised floor plenum with easily removable panels that has allowed for changes in wiring and plumbing with relative ease. Be certain that the small decisions remain consistent with the larger goals. A conference room that was “value engineered” out of the original project was added over the northern entrance of the lewis Center in 2009 to accommodate program growth. The cost of adding this component was several times the savings of cutting it. An investment in higher quality room heat pumps and transformers used in the photovoltaic system would have reaped financial as well as environmental savings. Carefully consider how choices made in individual buildings relate to institutional choices and opportunities. ground source heat pumps are an efficient way to heat and cool buildings with electricity. However, if oberlin College is successful in its current efforts to capture waste heat from a local landfill gas electricity production facility, the greenest source of heat for new construction on the campus will not be a ground source heat pump system. occupants and visitors with the ecological and social history and resources of this location. The permaculture landscape includes a fruit orchard, organic kitchen garden and composting bins. The restored wetland and forest ecosystems reflect the preagricultural history of the site and, combined with a 3,000 gallon storm water cistern, demonstrate responsible storm water management. Plantings help modulate energy flows within the building and landscape. On the south side, slow growing native tree species such as burr oaks were planted to provide longterm shading. Fast growing willows were planted closer to the building to provide more rapid light screening and are being selectively pruned out as the landscape matures. Temperature and moisture sensors installed on the north and south sides of the facility in 2001 measure the changing ecology of the site and its influence on the building. As the trees in the landscape have matured and as soil organic matter has stored carbon within the landscape, the temperature of the soil relative to the air has declined, resulting in cooler soil that contributes to more stable conditions for plants and reduced cooling needs for the building (Figure 3, Page 33). John e. Petersen Conclusion The modern green building movement is young, and it is not surprising that much of what we know about the environmental performance of this latest generation of buildings still comes from assessments made during or immediately following commissioning. However, the most meaningful measures of performance 34 HigH Performing Buildings Winter 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of High Performing Buildings - Winter 2011

High Performing Buildings - Winter 2011
Commentary
Contents
Portland State's Shattuck Hall
Oberlin College's Adam Joseph Lewis Center
Dell Children's Medical Center
CMTA Office Building
EPA Region 8 Headquarters
Honda's East Liberty, Marysville Auto Plants
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High Performing Buildings - Winter 2011