Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2008 - (Page 10)

TECHNOLOGY Dynamic Duo Public broadcaster combines greenroof with a solar array. By Frank Hill H arvard University had to expand and WGBH had to find a new home. What could have been a crisis for the nationally known public broadcaster was turned into an opportunity to create a state-of-the-art sustainable complex from below ground to its rooftop. “We were a 57 year-old organization housed in a facility built in 1964 and expanded over the years to include twelve smaller buildings, none of which were very inspiring,” said Chris Pullman, WGBH Vice President of Branding and Visual Communication. “When we set about to determine our goals for the new site, we came up with half a dozen key objectives. Among them was to make this new facility as green and sustainable as we could afford to make it.” The result is the $85 million Brighton studio complex—funded through a capital campaign, and the sale of WGBH’s property to Harvard. Certified through the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED® ) program, the complex enjoys a host of sustainable features, including a greenroof and an innovatively financed, 100kw solar-energy array. “An investor helped pay for the capital costs of the solar system in return for taking a tax credit for the next seven years, at which time WGBH would pay for the solar array and ownership would revert to us,” Pullman said. “This is an interesting way for companies to leverage the opportunity to install a system that will give them the energy payoff right away and allow them to afford it.” Opened for operation in 2007, the pubic broadcaster’s green features have been widely recognized. It is one of, if not the first facility in New England to combine a solar-energy system with a greenroof and the greenroof is currently the largest in Boston. The building has been recognized by the city’s mayor and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as one of the “greenest” in Boston and it has become a very popular draw for visitors. “We’ve had more than 16,000 people through the building since we opened last September,” Pullman said. An Opportunity and a Vision As the new millennia began, Harvard University found itself with a growing need for space. The former WGBH studio complex was right next door and in the middle of the university’s eventual master plan. “Once faced with the need to move, we recognized the opportunities that this presented us,” Pullman said. As a non-profit public broadcaster, it was important to make the new facility as accessible as possible to the public, Installed in May, the greenroof that surrounds the solar array shows the signs of growth in the summer. 10 October 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today

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Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2008

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