| Back |
|
| Inspired and sustainable: designs for an energy-efficient future |
|
Posted 10.30.2009 1st place Douglas County Elementary School Prototype Architect: RB+B/Hutton Architects LLC Overview This 71,000-square-foot school was built on a 10-acre site in Douglas County for $12.25 million. As one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, the Douglas County School District needed to build 11elementary schools to meet its growing demand. This design for an affordable, sustainable elementary school reduces energy consumption, lowers utility costs, improves indoor air quality and enhances students’ learning. A central part of the design was the development of thematic landscape elements for each school that draw on local history and character or reflect the specific curriculum of each school. Sustainable features • The design maximizes the potential for daylight in the classrooms when the building is oriented on an east-west axis, with the classrooms facing north-south. • Shaping ceilings distribute the window daylight evenly. Second-floor spaces are supported by nearly 100 tubular daylight devices. The end result is glare-free space that rarely uses the photocell-controlled electric lighting. • The target for energy use is nearly 60 percent below the average for Douglas County schools. • Several schools share artificial turf fields with local park districts, reducing water use and optimizing public open space. • Low-flow toilet fixtures with infrared shutoffs minimize the impact of 650 students using the school over the course of the school day. Judges’ comments The idea of a prototype is often talked about but rarely implemented in sustainability initiatives. This project had some well-defined metrics around energy use (kBtu/SF, % reduction), and included passive solar design and architecturally intelligent shading that takes advantage of Colorado’s sunny environment to light classrooms without introducing glare or unwanted heat.” 2nd Place Aspen Middle School Architect: RB+B/Hutton Architects LLC Overview The $23-million project, which replaced an existing middle school but kept part of the original structure, is the first school in the K-12 category to earn a LEED Gold certification. Designing sustainable features was funded in part with a $250,000 grant from CORE (Community Office of Resource Efficiency). The 111,000-square-foot middle school shares a 29-acre campus with an elementary school. The architects aimed to meet the school district’s goals for high-performance design, improving educational spaces and capitalizing on the site’s natural setting Sustainable features • Daylighting strategies include the use of exterior sun shades, interior daylighting devices, lighting controls and high-performance glazing. • Operable windows and daylighting throughout could easily allow the building to function without power. • Low-flow plumbing fixtures were used throughout the building, including dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals and infrared-sensing faucets. • About half of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill and casework, and furniture from the old middle school was reused. • The direct-digital-controlled HVAC system releases no ozone-depleting chemicals, is zoned to small areas and has CO2 sensors to adjust the amount of fresh air. Judges’ comments This LEED Gold-certified building is notable for its reuse of the original structure and how the architects handled a challenging building orientation that includes east- and west-facing classrooms. The use of an evaporative cooling system represents a great example for many Colorado school projects, as does the retaining of the natural landscape and an integrated stormwater management system.” 3rd Place Palmer Ridge High School, Monument Architect: H+L Architecture Overview This school in Monument has the largest geothermal system in Colorado – it features 200 wells, each 400 feet deep, that heat and cool using the Earth’s stable underground temperature. The 219,370-square-foot school sits on 69 acres. The $45.4 million project was “designed for a community that has a love of nature, the great outdoors, and the values of honesty, integrity, and simplicity,” H+L wrote in its entry. “The design embraces natural materials and finds inspiration in the values of the community.” Sustainable features • Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by more than 500 tons per year (25 percent less carbon dioxide) compared to the average high school. • Green features, including geothermal heating and light sensors, will save the school district about $22,596 a year. • Sensors are present on all restroom fixtures, including water closets, bathroom sinks and urinals. • Hot water recirculation on all water loops also conserve water. • About 5 percent to 10 percent of the structure was built from recycled content, and 5 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfills. Judges’ comments Although large mechanical systems may be overcompensating for opportunities not captured in the shell design, the overall projected energy performance of the project is stellar. In addition, the Xeric landscaping is a great model for embracing native plants in an aesthetically compelling manner and dramatically reduces the need for irrigation water. Exposed steel beams and other visual materials will engage the students in the design of the building.” [csda] COMMERCIAL 1st place Science and Engineering Building, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus Architect: AR7 Architects Overview The Science and Engineering Building, located on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus, consists of new classroom, laboratory, research and office spaces. Initially, the university’s goal was to obtain a LEED-certified building; the design team delivered a building that achieved LEED Gold, in part by a design that reduced energy costs by 31 percent (when compared with baseline standards). Sustainable features • Water-conserving flush and flow fixtures – including waterless urinals, dual-flush water closets, low-flow lavatories, showers and sinks – are predicted to reduce potable water consumption by 42 percent compared to a standard code-compliant building. • Outside, the use of high-efficiency irrigation technologies along with water conserving plant species reduce potable water demand for irrigation by 59 percent compared to a conventional landscape design typical of the area. • The mechanical cooling plant consists of variable speed chillers with environmentally friendly refrigerant, premium efficiency variable speed pumps, and ice storage tanks. At night when the air is cool and electric utility rates are low, the chillers build ice in the tanks • On the roof, a 2,300-square-foot thin film photovoltaic panel system produces about 26,000 kilowatt hours per year for the building. • Recycling and storage areas are placed throughout the building, accessible to all building occupants. In addition, the construction team salvaged or diverted from the landfill 97 percent of all construction waste. Judges’ comments Here’s a project that includes a bit of everything – strong building design with thoughtful architecture, passive shading that allows daylight to penetrate, and nighttime ice storage that makes good use of peak electricity use. It’s a built-to-last structure that features quality building materials but nothing fancy. It also demonstrates a strong link to the education system – an engineering building that is smartly engineered in every way.” 2nd Place Renaissance Riverfront Lofts, Denver Architect: Colorado Coalition for the Homeless / Carvell Page Southerland Page Architects Overview This public-private-nonprofit collaboration incorporates two important city initiatives – Denver’s Road Home and the Greener Denver program of the Office of Economic Development – in support of important social, economic and environmental goals. The 100-unit mixed-income development located in River North in Denver, near the Prospect and Denargo Market Neighborhoods, is within walking distance to downtown. Its primary orientation fronts Park Avenue West, a major east / west RTD bus line, and the bike and jogging trails along the South Platte River. Sustainable features • Fifty percent of the construction waste was recycled and site runoff was controlled to avoid water contamination. • The building’s double “C” footprint and orientation maximizes natural light through south and west exposures and protects against buffeting northwest winds. • Rooftop photovoltaic panels will generate 39,650 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, equivalent to offsetting carbon dioxide emissions by 79,000 pounds a year. • The building’s Ecospace elevators use one-third of the energy required for hydraulic lifts and don’t need oil. • Energy Star appliances and light fixtures in all units further conserve energy while low-flow toilets, faucets and showers save water. Judges’ comments This project from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless blends strong architecture with environmental features and a strong emphasis on social sustainability, including its proximity to a river and public transportation. The economic impact of getting people off the street can’t be overstated. This project speaks well of us as a society.” 3rd Place Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland Architect: JE Dunn Construction Co. Overview Medical Center of the Rockies’ healing environment embraces all 92 acres and 570,000 square feet of the finished building. Beginning with the surrounding landscape, there are multiple public and private courtyards where patients, family members and hospital staff are surrounded by native plants, roaring rivers and calming water features. The campus also incorporates nearly 2 miles of walking and biking trails. The two five-story patient towers are filled with natural light and are connected by a full height open atrium that features stacked stone fireplaces and a grand stairway. Sustainable features • The hospital is surrounded by open space landscaped to fit the native environment and includes drought tolerant plants and wetlands. • Through the use of efficient heating and cooling systems the hospital uses 35 percent less energy than the average hospital. • The team’s efforts included using building materials that contained at least 20 percent recycled content and locally and regionally harvested materials. More than 75 percent of the trash generated by the project was diverted from area landfills. • With strategic window placement and the incorporation of electrically operated window shades in the clinical laboratories, 50 percent of the lighting required for the clinical laboratories is provided through exterior windows. Judges’ comments Features worth noting include a 30 percent energy savings compared to standard hospital construction. Natural light, access to fresh air and lots of good healing spaces provide ample health benefits. The one concern was the development on a greenfield site, but the site design includes very good preservation of native ecology for habitat creation and natural storm-water management |