ASHRAE Journal - April 2015 - 20

TECHNICAL FEATURE

throughout the process since the team knows that the
model had to represent the as-built condition. This creates an effective commissioning and checking process by
using one simple, measurable step.

Future of Performance-Based Design
Innovation arises when adversity, challenge, and great
potential co-exist. These factors present the greatest
motivation to change. When will the design and construction industry innovate to go beyond 'what we did
the last time' and move toward grounded, tangible and
accelerated goals? The case studies here reflect many
success stories and lessons learned. The U.S. Army Corp
of Engineers in Seattle also saw great success using a
similar approach in their recent project.3 What innovation can your team bring to your next project?

Case Study: University of Chicago Campus North Residence
Hall and Dining Commons
The University of Chicago is located eight miles
south of downtown Chicago in Hyde Park. The campus
includes around 160 buildings representing 15 million
square feet. One of the newest buildings will be the
Campus North Residence Hall and Dining Commons
(CNRHDC), an 800 bed, 390,000 ft2 (36 232 m2) dormitory and dining hall that will open in Fall 2016. The
building is notable as being the first on campus to have
a contractual performance goal specified as a site EUI
(kBtu/ft2·year) energy target.
There were many reasons that led to the decision to
establish an energy target for the UChicago project.
A study on the long-term planning for the campus'
historic quadrangle led to important concepts such as
a focus on maintainability, comfort, and energy performance. The university's climate and energy plan is
focused on reducing campus greenhouse gases. One
consideration for the plan is new construction, which
is estimated to substantially increase the overall campus size during the next 30 years. Establishing energy
targets for new construction helps mitigate the risk
on energy use and greenhouse gas generation for the
campus. Furthermore, UChicago students will call
this building home and they are interested in more
energy-efficient buildings on campus. These disparate items culminated in the university asking the
question: "Why not set an energy target for the new
residence hall?"
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The energy target selection was a multiphase process
that involved referencing the EPA Target Finder, existing UChicago campus buildings, peer universities'
building data, and developing a preliminary energy
model for the project. Analyzing similar buildings
on campus helped to establish our current baseline.
Analyzing CBECS data through EPA Target Finder
informed the university of current "best in class"
dorms. For example, a site EUI of roughly 85 kBtu/
ft2·year (965 MJ/m2·year) is needed to receive Energy
Star certification. The university also partnered with
the Energy Center of Wisconsin and local electric utility
energy efficiency program (ComEd New Construction
Service) to develop a preliminary energy model for the
building to demonstrate what energy performance was
realistically achievable.
After the energy target scoping study was performed,
the energy target for the residence hall was set at a
site EUI of 65 kBtu/ft2·year (738 MJ/m2·year). An additional wrinkle was added by allowing two parameters
to alter the energy target. First, the target can increase
or decrease linearly based on the number of occupants
and also the size of the facility. This was done to allow
the design team an increased allocation of energy use if
they were more efficient with space planning. Second,
if the design team chose to use on-site boilers instead of
campus steam, or if the design included a geothermal
system, the energy target would drop by 10 kBtu/ft2·year
(114 MJ/m2·year).
With the energy target established, the university
issued a request for qualifications to 22 architects and 10
contractors with instructions to assemble design-build
teams. Four teams were selected to complete a schematic
design and compete for final selection for the building
design. One concern was that a hard energy target would
stifle the architectural design, and result in four similar
looking buildings. Fortunately, the competition resulted
in four unique designs, all with modeled energy performance less than 55 kBtu/ft2·year (625 MJ/m2·year). From
this process, the university selected one design-build
team and is now in the final phase of design.

Reflections
This process has been an engaging endeavor for the
University. The ability to cite one specific number
required for energy performance proved powerful.
For example, at one meeting, the electrical engineer

ASHRAE Journal - April 2015

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