Contract - September 2012 - (Page 51)

By Sam Lubell Photography by Gregg Mastorakos SmithGroupJJR helps a construction company achieve net zero despite the Arizona heat Perhaps few tasks seemed as insurmountable as the one SmithGroupJJR faced when deciding to turn a concrete block adult bookstore in Phoenix into the environmentally responsible, net-zero face of construction company DPR. Just tackling net zero in this sun-saturated city was challenge enough, but working with a building that had long been a community eyesore seemed almost impossible. “Can we really do this?” Mark Roddy, design principal for SmithGroupJJR recalls asking. The resounding answer was yes. Out of the building’s not-so-classy, banal bones, DPR’s new regional office not only works, but is a model for the company’s branches around the country. It’s even become a venue for teaching local businesses and residents about sustainability. Combating the Phoenix sun Of course, in a city where 110-degree summer days are commonplace, the building did require some air conditioning. Working with sustainability consultant DNV KEMA, SmithGroupJJR learned they could bank their energy savings from the rest of the year to maintain net zero by utilizing a series of devices that, while seemingly hi-tech, harken to an age before air conditioning was even invented. “If you say ‘I want to do a net-zero building’ that’s great,” says Roddy. “But you have to have some pretty innovative strategies in place to make that happen.” The building’s south and east sides were kept windowless; the north and west edges are glazed, but screened a few feet away by angled, vine-covered steel trellises with translucent panel roofing. These lattice elements provide shade for outdoor collaboration spaces that serve as buffer between the building and parking lot, and transform the building from a windowless, characterless box into a uniquely light and textured composition. To coax cool air inside, the building contains a series of evaporative shower towers. The culver-like structures, made of HDPE piping and sheet metal programmed to react to wind speed and temperature, are fitted with misters and showerheads that direct water-cooled air inside when necessary. Above the office sits a solar chimney, an 87-foot-long zinc-clad structure that absorbs solar heat, creating an air current to draw warm air up and out. contract

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - September 2012

Contract - September 2012
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Focus: Come Sail Away
Eneco Headquarters
Park Hyatt Hadahaa
Perkins+Will Atlanta
DPR Construction
Iowa Utilities Board | Office of Consumer Advocate
25hours Hotel Hamburg
Practice: What Is Next in Sustainable Design?
Competition: Design Is…
Exhibition: George Nelson at Cranbrook Art Museum
Designers Select: Eco Products
Sources
Ad Index
Exhibition: Gio Ponti at the Venice Biennale

Contract - September 2012