CitiesGoGreen - December 2008 - (Page 17)

High Performance Buildings thinking. Fortunately, the integrated design process FARR Associates swears by, and that is crucial for meeting LEED standards, allows that kind of creativity. to visit the site and “talk to the guys applying the paint and drywall,” a discussion crucial to the project. “These are required conversations to keep everyone working toward and understanding the Pointing to the mileage gauge in a Prius as an goal,” he said. The goal of sustainable buildexample, Jonathan Boyer says the ability of ing is one the workers at first realize they supportclients or renters to see how their actions are didn’t evenbegan to understand ed. As they saving them money and resources (or not) is how this approach impacted their health and working envian important aspect of green building. ronment by reducing their exposure to toxins and particulates Jonathan Boyer, Principal Studio Ar- all day, their thought process shifted. chitect for FARR Associates, explains that Ernest Wong of Site-Design Group, the integrated design involves educating ev- landscape architect for the project, also eryone involved in the project about the said the integrated design process was goals, and getting everyone involved in crucial to meeting LEED standards, and meeting them early on. He names three that it was an exciting process as well. main benefits to the integrated design “I have to give a lot of credit to FARR Asapproach: sociates for developing the process early • It costs less for everyone. on,” Wong said, describing the round-ta• It is inspirational and fun. ble discussions for the project. • The results are more beautiful. For Wong, integrating stormwater Even though some parties had worked management early was the difference on sustainable projects before, the meet- between landscaping as an afterthought ings and workshops, sometimes taught and landscaping as an integral and imby LEED experts, were a learning experi- portant part of the building and process. ence for everyone. At the time CCGT was built, from 2001 Stormwater to 2003, LEED standards were far from common. Boyer said it was a struggle to Stormwater at CCGT goes through a fourkeep everyone working within the LEED part system, starting at the green roof guidelines. Sustainable projects do take covering about a third of the Center. A more time and attention to detail, and succulent (water-storing) plant, the lowthis was even truer when there was less growing and hardy sedum absorbs some of the water. Overflow goes through downexperience to draw on. For most projects, protocol is for archi- spouts into four, 12,000 gallon cisterns around the tects to work dibuilding. rectly with gen- Boyer says that while it is not yet a LEED From there, eral contractors requirement, post-occupancy evaluations it irrigates and to have very the native little interaction should be integrated into the design process plants surwith sub-conrounding tractors. For the and planned from the beginning. the Center. green building Any rainfall process, however Boyer said it was impornot handled by this system flows directly tant that architects were able to talk with both general and sub-contractors, strictly off the roof and waters the landscape inabout the very specific requirements, es- stead of going into the sewer system. From the curbless parking lot, paved pecially regarding building materials, it with a porous pine-resin product called takes to meet LEED Standards. Jonathan remembers workers running ‘Road Oyl,’ water flows into bioswales and out of paint and going over to Home De- rain gardens. Bioswales are ditches with pot to get more, just as they had always water-loving plants in the bottom, dedone. “It was so important that we were all signed to retain water and then allow it to involved, to let them know that using low infiltrate. The city estimates that in these ways VOC paints are a big part of getting LEED the building captures more than half the points,” he said. He also recalls being able December 2008 water falling on the site, about 90,000 of the 175,000 gallons a year. Landscaping Dogwood, echinacea and bulls bush surround the center, encouraging infiltration, absorbing and storing water by way of their 10 to 12-inch deep roots—one benefit of using native plants instead of traditional lawn material. Turf, which is often used to landscape such projects, has root systems only one or two inches deep. Heavy rainfall is not absorbed well, instead “sheeting off’ the surface. Initially, Wong said they went back and forth on whether to use traditional landscaping methods or local and native species that don’t require much water or maintenance. He said one of his early concerns was that in the winter most of the native landscaping would die—a visual impact he traditionally offset with nonnative evergreens. He said they made a shift in their thinking, concluding that sustainable landscaping was a critical part of the building’s goals, and researched native plants. They An award winning building • 2005 First Place National Technology Award, American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) • 2005 First Place Technology Award, ASHRAE Region VI • 2004 Excellence in Engineering Award, ASHRAE, Chicago Chapter • 2003 Top Ten Green Projects, American Institute of Architects Committee On The Environment (AIA/COTE) • 2003 Merit Award, Chicago Building Congress • 2003 Renovation Project of the Year, Construction Congress of Illinois • 2003 Richard H. Driehaus Public Innovator in Physical Design, The Richard H Driehaus Foundation and DePaul University • 2002 Phoenix Award Winner, US Environmental Protection, Agency Region VI • USGBC LEED Platinum Rating (2003) • 2003 AIA Top Ten Green Building Award • 2003 Chicago Building Congress Green Building Award 17 http://www.midwestind.com/roadoyl.htm http://citiesgogreen.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CitiesGoGreen - December 2008

Citites Go Green Contents In Motion We’re Taking Steps 10,000 Rain Gardens in Kansas City Chicago Center for Green Technology Connecticut’s ‘One Thing’ Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Philadelphia The Economics of What Matters New Context: New Possibility

CitiesGoGreen - December 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.