Environmental Design + Construction - January 2009 - (Page 19)

In addition to the permitting and office spaces, the building houses a large community room, which features an elaborate audio-visual system, for public assembly and committee meetings. Teaford points out that, “We are happily settling into our new, light-filled work space, and the 197-person capacity community room is in almost constant use.” The granite-encased entrance to the room was designed to evoke the oversized doorway of the nearby Burbank City Hall building, tying the new structure more closely to its surroundings. An exterior courtyard and fountain greet visitors at the North Third Street entrance (one of two primary entrances), while an assortment of sculptures and other public art further enhance the building’s active connection to and engagement with the citizenry. Systems and Strategies “The most rewarding aspect of working on this project was engaging the various green systems and strategies into the building in a way that they also served to create its unique architectural aesthetic,” says Katsellis. LEO A DALY designers used a number of strategies to help make the building’s impact on the environment as minimal as possible, and were focused on energy efficiency, water conservation and indoor air quality. Designers were also mindful to specify sustainable and recycled goods and finishes, including terrazzo flooring, carpet tiles and window coverings, throughout the interior of the building. Additionally, roughly 90 percent of the structural steel came from recycled sources. Through the design of the building envelope, the lighting systems, and the heating/ ventilation systems, the building achieved an annual energy usage efficiency of 20 percent greater than the standard for California codes. The building envelope was designed with Low-E glazing, while insulation with an R-value of 13 was selected for solid walls, and an R-value of 21 for walls with an outward finish of spandrel glazing. The interior lighting scheme was designed to have a power density of 1.09 watts per square foot for both open and private offices utilizing indirect/direct lighting with T5 lamps. Katsellis notes that around the perimeter spaces of the building, daylight sensors were deployed to reduce overhead electric lighting when daylight is sufficient. The HVAC systems were designed around an air-cooled chilled water system and gasfired boiler heating hot water system. Both chilled and hot water systems operate variable primary water flow, allowing pump energy reduction when load conditions are less than the maximum designed. The air handling system is provided with an economizer control sequence based on outside air enthalpy (internal energy content) and not purely on temperature. According to Katsellis, the building offers a number of water conservation features, too. “We installed a smart partialdrip irrigation system that has a low water flow and minimizes evaporation loss. The system also uses an automated master valve and flow sensor, eliminating accidental water losses. Further, the landscape design incorporates low-water plants.” The building uses highly waterefficient plumbing fixtures, reducing water consumption by more than 30 percent as compared to standard technologies. Such fixtures include waterless urinals, ultra-low flow lavatory faucets with electronic sensors, low-flow showerheads and lowflow water closets. Designers also focused their efforts on maximizing indoor environmental quality by including a ventilation system with high air-change effectiveness, providing direct access to airflow, temperature and lighting controls to the occupants, and incorporating a large percentage of exterior glazing on all sides of the building to allow for a daylight factor of at least two percent in more than 75 percent of the spaces allocated for critical visual tasks. Setting an Example Created as the first phase of a proposed Civic Center Master Plan, which could potentially include a new civic plaza, central library, parking structure and pedestrian improvements, the building has set an important precedent for the city and its citizens. While the project’s LEED certification is pending, it has already been recognized with California Construction Magazine’s Best of ’08 Award in the Civic Category and a 2008 Project of the Year award from Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association. Katsellis notes that, “Everyone who worked, visited, or is currently working in the building loves it. I’m as objective as I can be in saying that this is a success story. Combing sustainable design concepts with aesthetic and architectural elements that reflect the city’s values has resulted in a truly democratic building.” FLAVIA LEITE IS A COMMUNICATIONS WRITER WITH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING, ENGINEERING, INTERIOR DESIGN AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FIRM LEO A DALY (WWW.LEOADALY. COM). SHE WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE FIRM’S SUSTAINABILITY EXPERTS ACROSS ITS 25 OFFICES WORLDWIDE. INVOLVED IN MORE THAN 40 PROJECTS THAT USE THE LEED CERTIFICATION SYSTEM OR THE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS’ SPIRIT RATING SYSTEM, AND WITH MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF THE FIRM’S TECHNICAL STAFF BEING LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONALS, LEO A DALY IS COMMITTED TO ENHANCING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND WORLD COMMUNITY. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.LEOADALY.COM. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY WAS MAXIMIZED BY INCLUDING A VENTILATION SYSTEM WITH HIGH AIRCHANGE EFFECTIVENESS. SHOWN IS THE COMMUNITY ROOM. PHOTO BY DAVID LENA PHOTOGRAPHY. www.EDCmag.com 19 http://WWW.LEOADALY.COM http://www.EDCmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Environmental Design + Construction - January 2009

Environmental Design + Construction - January 2009 Contents Web TOC Editor's Note Newsline New + Notable Civic Responsibility Readers’ Choice Awards Success Story 2009 Manufacturer Spotlights Feeling Right at Home Marketplace + Classifieds Advertiser's Index Parting Shot

Environmental Design + Construction - January 2009

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