Consulting-Specifying Engineer - June 2008 - (Page 14)

In The News AIA evaluates three major green building rating systems A IA released a study of three green building rating systems (Green Globes, SBTool 07, and LEED NC 2.2) and assessed their effectiveness in supporting the goals of the AIA sustainability position statement. In late 2007, the initial results were shared with the three groups whose systems were reviewed. After receiving feedback, the study was modified and further refined into the final report. The purpose of the exercise is to offer analysis to the industry and public as an opportunity to learn how three unique, creative, and evolving green building rating systems resonate in various dimensions with the goals of the AIA position statement on sustainability and the goal to achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030. Key findings of the study include: Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes. The study found that the system offers a broad-based evaluation of projects in both the design process and based on environmental criteria. When used to certify a project, the study authors said that more stringent and specific requirements in the areas of energy reduction and operational performance are needed. U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED NC 2.2 system. The study suggests that LEED is a good example of a rating system that provides a measurement of environmental achievement. Continued developments in lifecycle assessment, requirements for renewable energy, or carbon reduction targets for certified projects will continue to make this system an effective resource, according to the study. International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment’s SBTool 07. SBTool 07 is a toolkit for designing a rating system, according to the study. If used as a rating system providing certification, SBTool 07 would be stronger if there were an increase in the number of “required” items versus those that are simply encouraged and required project documentation. Specific requirements in the areas of energy reduction and operational performance would supply any rating system approach that comes out of SBTool 07 with performance-based requirements necessary for reaching carbon reduction goals. AIA bestows University of Wyoming with national BIM award he University of Wyoming’s College of Engineering and Applied Science architectural engineering program received a national award for its innovative design curriculum facilitated by building information modeling (BIM). AIA honored UW, Laramie, Wyo., for its work in the “Academic Program or Curriculum Development” category of the fourth annual BIM Awards. The award was presented to faculty members Keith Hedges and Anthony Denzer in a ceremony at the AIA national convention in Boston in May. More than 70,000 AIA members, including more than 135 accredited academic programs, were eligible to compete for the BIM awards. “Architectural engineering is rapidly becoming one of the college’s most popular programs. I am pleased that the excellent work of our faculty and students has achieved this esteemed recognition,” said Rob Ettema, dean of the UW College of Engineering and Applied Science. UW adopted BIM earlier and more comprehensively than many of its peer institutions, according to an AIA release. Hedges and Denzer are published widely on the topic of BIM in architectural education. Since 2006, they have presented UW student work at more than a dozen national and international venues, including presentations in Vancouver, Canada; Venice, Italy; Melbourne, Australia; and London. BIM allows architects, engineers, and builders to work together at an earlier stage using a single informational data- T base in the form of a 3-D model. Hedges said this method reduces conflicts and allows for more intelligent design decisions due to the collaborative environment. “Our program is experiencing a cultural shift in how design ideas are communicated,” he said. “We are transitioning away from the traditional 2-D abstraction techniques to the new paradigm of shared 3-D digital representations with BIM. This dramatically has altered the design process where the students readily explore more complex and challenging design opportunities.” “What it means for UW is that we’re now seen as a national leader in the use of this leading-edge methodology,” Denzer said. “We’re always trying to innovate and it’s really gratifying to have those efforts recognized by our peers. We began using BIM three years ago and immediately saw the benefits for our students. They’re better prepared to compete for the top jobs, because the building industry is changing so rapidly.” UW joins a select group of past winners, including some of the most prestigious names in architecture and engineering. For example, in 2005, Arup Consulting Engineers won for the Beijing National Swimming Centre (Water Cube) and Morphosis won for the San Francisco Federal Building. In 2006, M.A. Mortenson Company received a BIM award for the Fredric C. Hamilton Building (Denver Art Museum). 14 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • JUNE 2008

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - June 2008 Contents Viewpoint Letters News M/E Roundtable No Gambling Allowed on Smoke Control in Las Vegas Be Prepared: Hospital Protections for Catastrophic Events Ready for Retail Commissioning Documents: Necessary Evil Codes & Standards Codes & Standards Case Study Equipment Lifecycles New Products Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - June 2008

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