BuildingGreen.com LIVE - Case Studies

The Greening of a Children's Museum

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:42:00 GMT

The Boston Children's Museum expansion and renovation was designed to enhance the building's connections to its urban waterfront site, guided by a desire to build environmental education opportunities into the design. From the adaptive reuse of the onsite 19th-century wool warehouse and industrial site to the new graywater storage system and green roof, the museum has become an environmental teaching tool for its young audience, in addition to becoming the first LEED-certified museum in Boston. The museum is a private, nonprofit, educational institution founded in 1913 by a group of teachers. Its mission is to help children understand and enjoy the world through hands-on engagement and learning by experience. The museum features exhibits on science, culture, environmental awareness, health and fitness, and the arts. For more, read the full 12-page case study.

Green Synagogue

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:25:00 GMT

We've received some comments about the recent decision to highlight the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation case study in our email bulletin. As the BuildingGreen case study manager, I chose to highlight this case study for one reason: many people have recently spent time in a synagogue for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The issue at hand here is that this building uses 50 kBtu/sf while the CBECS 2003 average for religious worship buildings is 43 kBtu/sf. There are definitely higher-performing synagogues and other places of worship around the world - many of which were built hundreds or thousands of years ago - but in order to achieve our goals such the 2030 Challenge we need to look at the highest and lowest performing buildings, and everything between.

While readers may not agree with all of the choices made for this building, I hope that the simple act of featuring the case study will invoke reflection. What is this building used for? What is the occupancy schedule? What are the most important sustainability issues in my area, and how can we get the word out? Implementing green strategies at your church, synagogue, mosque, etc. could be the most effective way to get out the word in your community. If you have something to say, please say it.

In his post Tough Choices on the AIA Top Ten Jury our President Nadav Malin addressed questions about energy performance of the AIA Top Ten Awards from this year, including this building. The way I see it, the conversation that resulted from this year's Top Ten Awards was more useful than it would have been if the ten highest performing buildings in the US and the world had been chosen.

Home On The Range in Montana

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:49:00 GMT

Home on the Range is an office building shared by two nonprofit organizations: Northern Plains Resource Council and Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC). Formerly an uninsulated concrete block grocery store with few windows, the building was renovated to house energy-efficient, daylit offices. Northern Plains organizes Montana citizens to protect the region's water quality, family farms and ranches, and unique quality of life. Northern Plains is a member of WORC, which is a regional network of seven grassroots community organizations. Read the full 12-page case study.

13-Story Apartment Building Tips Over. Sideways.

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:34:00 GMT

"Apparently an error in construction," the story says. Indeed.

Improper construction methods are believed to be the reason [for the] building collapse in Shanghai, according to a report from the investigation team. The investigation team's report said that workers dug an underground garage on one side of the building while on the other side earth was heaped up to 10 meters high, which was apparently an error in construction, according to a report on eastday.com, Shanghai's official news website. "Any construction company with common sense would not make such a mistake," said an expert from the investigation team.

Here's a terrific photo series with additional details. Seriously, hit that link and take a look.
This building actively failed what may be the primary passive survivability test — staying upright.

Rebuilding Green After Catastrophe

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:15:00 GMT

BuildingGreen's Michael Wentz has been coordinating for some time with DOE on case studies of the green rebuilding of Greensburg, Kansas, which had 90% of its buildings destroyed by a tornado in 2007. He described the work in a blog post here last year. Then, in a congressional address last February, President Obama cited Greensburg as "a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community," to which Michael added, "they are also a leader in green building including initiatives to work green building strategies into their building codes." A compelling hour-long documentary about what happened in Greensburg and the community's subsequent decision-making process in the wake of the two-mile-wide, F5 tornado is available to watch over the web. Previous coverage in Environmental Building News:
Kansas Town Rebuilding as the Greenest in America
First U.S. City Resolves to Build LEED Platinum

The EcoDorm: Housing for 36 Lucky Students

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:06:00 GMT

The EcoDorm at Warren Wilson College houses 36 students who are interested in environmental responsibility and want to live with like-minded students. The co-ed dormitory is one of a series of four dorms surrounding a common lawn. Warren Wilson College is an independent, accredited, four-year liberal arts college in rural North Carolina. The school's mission statement includes a dedication to environmental responsibility, and environmental literacy plays a significant role in the curriculum. Read the full 12-page case study.

The Lacks Cancer Center Case Study

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:58:00 GMT

The Lacks Cancer Center, the only dedicated comprehensive cancer center in western Michigan, supports all components of cancer care, including inpatient and outpatient care and traditional and complementary therapies. The building houses 42 private patient rooms, expansion space for 42 additional rooms, family hospitality spaces, treatment spaces, surgical suites, outpatient services, healing gardens, sheltered promenades, a chapel, and a resource library. Read the full 12-page case study.

LEED-Certified Law School in Denver

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:00:00 GMT

The University of Denver's College of Law houses one of the nation's top environmental and natural resource law programs. The first LEED-certified law school in the nation, the facility offered the College an opportunity to design a building consistent with its mission: a green facility that reduces environmental impact and prioritizes occupant safety. The new 210,000 ft2, four-floor facility, constructed on a former parking lot, includes a library, large lecture halls, training courtrooms, a dining hall, and faculty offices. Read the full 12-page case study.

New to Green Building? Try GBA.

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:30:00 GMT

Recently, I broke one of my long-standing rules and blogged about something BuildingGreen-related at my own blog. My Costanzian fears were indeed warranted, and I've been egged on to cross-post it to the Live blog. Here she is, warts and all: my unvarnished opinion on the very best parts of the BuildingGreen product GreenBuildingAdvisor.com./BF

I don't often blog about worky stuff here, but decided this week that my "Worlds Will Collide!" fears are probably completely unwarranted. Besides, I'm working on some cool stuff these days. And finally, when my wife asks me, "What have you been doing?," when I come to bed at an obscene hour, I have an acceptable answer: "Changing the world, baby. Changing the world."

BuildingGreen launched a new property several months ago, GreenBuildingAdvisor.com (GBA). Now, this was in process as I came into the company in September 2008 and involved a whole lot of organization and reorganization to get the team in place for even content production, but I can't get into much of that here. What I *CAN* get into are what I think are the absolute coolest content areas on this Drupal-based site.

Green Basics

It's really important to come at a new field with a common vocabulary. Think of this as a vocab-building primer of terms and concepts bandied about in Green but seldom explained or contextualized. Click anywhere on that page and you get access to detail diagrams and explanations of key concepts and terms. I subscribe to a couple of building magazines and use their sites a lot. NOTHING is as good as this, period.

Green Homes

Now, case studies are not something new for BuildingGreen given the popularity of the High Performance Buildings Database, but there's one aspect in the corresponding Green Homes feature area that stands out: these pictures are gorgeous and inspiring. Sure, I can look up a product if I hear about and learn enough to put it in myself... but watching it get installed? Or seeing it in a context that gives me another product idea?? Reading about the compromises that lead to selection of that product in tandem with another? That's pretty awesome.

Product Guide

The Product Guide is some content syndication from GreenSpec, another key BuildingGreen property that provides a ready-to-use index of green products, manufacturers, and product categories. They sum it up on the GBA page with this: "Product manufacturers can not buy their way on to this list." These are a true best-of and where I first turned for ideas when we did our kitchen remodel this year.

Summary

Now, I know I've probably alienated some portion of the site that's behind the payed membership wall (oh yeah, some of this content is part of a paid GBA Pro membership that gets you even more like CAD Details & whatnot), but these are the stand-outs from my perspective and key to what makes this site a truly amazing asset. At the time of this writing, you can get a 10-day trial to the premium GBA Pro content - the energy savings I've realized alone have outvalued the cost of this annual or monthly membership - or be a lurker for a while before you take the plunge. Personally, I'm probably not renewing some of those magazines whose sites I use in favor of this totally righteous tool.

Iowa Municipal Utility Building - w/Sub-metered Data!

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:21:00 GMT

The newly published Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) Office and Training Headquarters is a great example of a municipal building that was built using green principles and is continually monitored for energy use and IEQ. They were able to provide full years of metered energy information, which is (sadly) unusual. While this is not a sexy building, it is a recommended read. Read the full 12-page case study.

New Look for the Case Studies Homepage

Mon, 18 May 2009 16:28:00 GMT

On Friday we rolled out a new look for the BuildingGreen Case Study page. As you can see in the image above, we added a map component that uses Google Maps to show the locations of the case studies. In addition, you can download an auto-updating version of the case study set into Google Earth a number of the buildings can be viewed as 3D models. Below is the Rocky Mountain Institute office in Snowmass. Don't miss these other features:

"Advanced Search" options in the left column, and below the map in the main column
"Recently Added Buildings" in the right column
"Share Your Project" in the right column
Comprehensive text-based search using "Case Study Search" in the right column

http://www.buildinggreen.com/hpb/

New Buildings Institute Releases Case Study Site

Mon, 18 May 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The New Buildings Institute (NBI) just released the case study portion of the Getting to 50 initiative. We have been working with NBI for a number of months preparing to welcome them as a partner of the High Performance Buildings Database (HPB), a shared resource for the green building community. NBI pushed for a number of exciting new features and enhancements to HPB, including the ability to search by energy data type (is there actual or simulation energy information?), a recently added buildings quicklist, and the addition of a climate zone field. Visit the Getting to 50 Buildings Database at http://buildings.newbuildings.org/

Senior Housing Renovation in Richmond, Virginia

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:50:00 GMT

Randolph Place is a 50-unit senior housing community in the heart of Randolph, a historic Richmond neighborhood. The building, constructed in 1896 and added onto in 1946, was originally a neighborhood public school. Several current residents attended school in the building where they now live. After several years of vacancy the building was converted from a school into senior housing in 1986. The existing unit floor plans remained the same and current residents were able to stay in the building, as the renovations were done a few at a time. The building envelope was repaired and upgraded. A new, light-colored roof was installed and the attic floor was insulated to R-30. Existing windows were repaired and new exterior storm windows were installed. The units were updated with new kitchens, Energy Star appliances, new mechanical systems, and Energy Star light fixtures and bath fans. Low-flow plumbing fixtures were installed to reduce water use in the building. With residents earning below 50% of area median income, it was imperative to lower monthly utility costs to ensure long-term affordability for the residents. Read the full 12-page case study.

Beautiful Green Home on the Oregon Coast

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:54:00 GMT

The Cannon Beach Residence is located along the northern Oregon coast, with excellent orientation to the south for daylighting and views of the ocean. The home was designed to generate as much energy as it consumes annually. Strategies that contribute to the project's efficiency include natural ventilation and daylighting, a high-performance envelope, and a solar-assisted heating system tied to a ground-source heat pump. A grid-tied five-kilowatt photovoltaic system produces electricity on site. Read the full 12-page case study.
Also read the building's profile at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com.

Obama: Greensburg KS a Green Energy Leader

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:22:00 GMT

Last night in President Obama's address to congress he mentioned Greensburg, Kansas as an example of leadership in green energy:

I think about Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed by a tornado, but is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community - how it can bring jobs and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once lay. "The tragedy was terrible," said one of the men who helped them rebuild. "But the folks here know that it also provided an incredible opportunity."

Turns out the quote came from Daniel Wallach of Greensburg GreenTown. We have been working with Daniel and his team in Greensburg, as well as a team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, for the better part of the last year to create case studies of Greensburg's green projects. Greensburg is not only a leader in green energy, they are also a leader in green building including initiatives to work green building strategies into their building codes. There's a wealth of information about these initiatives on their website. Image: White House photo 2/24/09 by Pete Souza