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Green Buildings Tour for Energy Codes 2007
July 24, 2007
Participants in the Green Buildings Tour for Energy Codes 2007 will visit the following sites:
PNC Firstside Center (LEED-NC, Silver) - This five-story, 650,000 square foot (SF) building accommodates multiple functions, including training, human resources, bank operation, and a childcare program. An innovative, hybrid air distribution system improves energy efficiency, comfort, and maintenance. The daylit interiors afford 90 percent of the occupants an outdoor view. The building exceeds ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999 by 33 percent, using exterior passive sun shading, interior motorized window coverings, under-floor ventilation systems, and air handling units with full economizer capabilities. The urban infill site has helped revitalize a downtown area. Read the PNC Firstside Center case study at http://gbapgh.org/casestudies_Firstside.asp.
David L. Lawrence Convention Center (LEED-NC GOLD) - The design for the world's first certified green convention center resulted from an international competition. Encompassing nearly 1.5 million square feet and costing $385 million, green attributes are seamlessly integrated into the building design and are complemented by its world-class aesthetics and engineering. As an owner-occupied civic building, a payback period of less than ten years was used as a guideline for the Center. By using daylight and natural ventilation, the building saves an amount of energy equal to the electricity consumed by 1,900 households, which is worth over $500,000 annually. Energy savings are 35.6 percent, compared to ASHRAE 90.1-1999. Highly reflective material reduces heat islands, gray water is used, and exterior lighting is minimized. The reuse of a downtown site helps preserve the urban core and gives building users easy access to many amenities and modes of transportation. http://gbapgh.org/casestudies_ConventionCenter.asp
Blackbird Lofts & Artist Studios (LEED-NC Registered) - This mixed-use condominium building is located in Pittsburgh's historic Lawrenceville neighborhood east of downtown. The 50,600 SF project was built on a reclaimed brownfield site and features an innovative, highly efficient thermal envelop, reflective roof, and a dedication to green cleaning practices. There are 15 condominis and 10 artist studios in the building. http://www.1662designzone.com/blackbird.htm.
Eastside 2 Building B & C (LEED-CD Registered) This project, part of a larger development, illustrates how a responsible, community-oriented, aesthetically pleasing design can not only economically revitalize a community but also use sustainable site practices, including energy efficiency. Conceived as a multi-destination health- and lifestyle-oriented development, this project has a rainwater catchment cistern for all site irrigation and will include pedestrian and bicycle access between the prosperous Shadyside neighborhood and East Liberty, a neighborhood being redeveloped from a failed urban renewal program of the 1960's.
The Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace - Carnegie Mellon University's 6,500 SF laboratory demonstrates innovations in office technologies and provides training facilities in building performance assessment. This flexible facility was built on top of an existing building and has under-floor air distribution; desiccant humidity control; daylighting with dynamic shading and light reduction devices; continuous monitoring of energy, thermal comfort, and weather - including CO2 measurement and control; and a bio-diesel generator for generating electricity. Its highly flexible interior allows the space to be changed to meet current needs. It is contiguous to the 2005 Solar Decathlon House. http://gbapgh.org/casestudies_IW.asp.
Summerset at Frick Park - A sustainable residential development of 713 units is being built on a steel slag dump just four miles from downtown Pittsburgh in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, connecting directly to Frick Park, its trails, and the Monongahela River. This development of 336 detached houses, 256 apartments, and 121 town houses on 238 acres echoes the feel of traditional Pittsburgh neighborhoods, and every house is engineered with sustainable design materials, energy efficiency, and low monthly operating costs. Summerset has partnered with Integrated Building and Construction Solutions, a Building America consortium, to design home performance standards and green building options. Summerset recently won the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania's Project of the Year award in the Environmental Reclamation category. http://www.summersetatfrickpark.com/ and http://www.ura.org/showcaseProjects_summerset.html.
Participants in the tour will drive by the following sites.
Giant Eagle Store (LEED-NC Registered) - This urban grocery store in Shadyside was expanded from 25,000 to 79,000 square feet, with an adjoining five-story condominium tower. This store is packed with strategies aimed at saving energy, including a lighting system linked to skylights that dim fluorescent bulbs in relation to natural lighting. The 12,300 SF vegetated green roof is used as a case study for monitoring water, temperature, weather, and solar absorption. Structurally the building contains sustainable wood and a significant amount of recycled content, such as fly ash from coal plant waste in the concrete and drywall. Other features include concrete floors as well as CO2 and occupancy sensors. Bicycle racks and proximity to a bus way encourage alternative transportation. The building has 20 percent greater energy efficiency than the ASHRAE 90.1-1999 Standard. http://gbapgh.org/casestudies_GiantEagle40.asp.
Pittsburgh Glass Center (LEED-NC GOLD) - The Center, dedicated to teaching, creating, and promoting glass art, demonstrates an adaptive reuse of an existing structure with a newly constructed addition. Totaling 18,500 square feet, the working spaces make use of natural ventilation and light as well as heat recovered from the hot shop for space heating. Automatic monitoring is used to further optimize energy usage. The design process for energy efficiency included modeling and commissioning. Salvaged corrugated glass was used on the exterior of the addition, and other materials were selected with sustainable criteria. Pervious pavement reduces run-off water. http://gbapgh.org/casestudies_GlassCenter.asp.
Phipps Conservancy Welcome Center (LEED-NC Silver) - This center complements the design of the century-old Conservancy. Built both above and below ground for aesthetic and environmental reasons, the 11,454 SF Center features a green roof surrounded by lush gardens. The green roof and other features reduce the need for air conditioning by up to 10 percent. Wind power, produced on wind farms, provides electricity for the building. Insulated and low-e glass is used throughout the building, and fritted glass is used in the dome, thus further reducing heat transfer. Features such as low-flow fixtures, automatic controls, and waterless urinals reduce water use by a projected 40 percent. http://gbapgh.org/casestudies_PhippsWelcomeCenter.asp.
Developed in cooperation with the Pittsburgh
