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AIA/COTE Selects Top Ten"Green" Projects
In Recognition Of Earth Day, Architects Select Exemplary Environmentally Responsible Designs
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For Immediate Release |
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Washington, D.C., April 22,
2002 — In recognition of Earth Day, The American Institute of
Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) selected its
annual Top Ten "Green" Projects, 10 examples of architectural
design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. This
year's winners included projects designed for the federal
government, large and small businesses, nonprofit organizations,
and individuals-proving the environmental, social, and economic
benefits of sustainable design for clients of any size.
The jury that selected the winning projects includes Randy Croxton,
FAIA, Croxton Collaborative; Sim van der Ryn, Van der Ryn
Architects; Horst Berger, City University of New York; and Guy
Battle, Battle McCarthy. On Monday, April 29 at 6:00 p.m., COTE
chairwoman Joyce Lee, AIA, will host a panel at the National
Building Museum in Washington, D.C., to discuss the key
environmental and design strategies of the winning projects.
The program, begun in 1998, recognizes projects that address
significant environmental challenges with designs that integrate
architecture, technology, and natural systems. Projects are
evaluated for their contributions to their site's and existing
ecosystems, connections to the surrounding community, use of
high-performance technologies, energy use, and sensitive use of
materials and resources.
Sustainable design is increasingly acknowledged-by architects,
their consultants, their clients, and the public-as an important
characteristic of quality architecture. In the four years since the
Top Ten Green Projects awards program was started, numerous
projects have been realized as American firms ascended a learning
curve. Winning projects in this year's groups come from firms that
are well known for their leadership in sustainable design, as well
as several that are just beginning to utilize sustainable
principles in their approach to projects.
This award and the range of submissions it fields are
representative of the growing market transformation under way in
this country and around the world. Corporations and other
organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of
sustainable design-to people, the environment, and to the bottom
line. Financial benefits are realized through energy and
cost-of-operations savings as well as reduced absenteeism and
greater productivity in some settings.
The AIA Committee on the Environment represents more than 5,000 AIA
architects committed to making sustainable design integral to the
practice of architecture. The Top Ten "Green" Projects initiative
was developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.
Selected projects include new construction and renovation of
office, residential, academic, civic, and institutional
facilities.
The winning entries selected for the 2002 AIA Top Ten Green
Projects are (alphabetical order):
Bank of Astoria
Manzanita, Oregon
Tom Bender, Architect
Contact: Tom Bender, tom@tombender.org, 503.368.6294
This 7,500-square-foot bank building blends energy performance,
local ecological fitness, community benefit, and economic success.
The design process focused on community, cultural, spiritual, and
energetic dimensions of sustainability as well as the more
conventional energy and material aspects. The facility benefits
from significant daylighting, on-site storm-water retention, and
natural ventilation and cooling. Zoned high-efficiency fluorescent
lighting is used during just a quarter of the building's occupied
time. Local materials were used where possible and landscaping is
local native coastal plants. The energy-efficient bank opened just
before last summer's West Coast energy shortages, which led to a
strong sense of local pride in the facility.
***********
Building 850, Energy & Sustainability Showcase Project
Port Hueneme, California
CTG Energetics
Contact: Malcolm Lewis, PE, mlewis@ctg-net.com, 949.790.0010
The project is home to the Naval Base Ventura County Public Works
Department and consists of 10,000 square feet of renovated space
and 7,000 square feet of new construction. Concepts and systems
that have been incorporated into the design include: daylighting,
shading, and innovative glazing elements; maximum use of natural
ventilation; photovoltaic power generation; solar space and
domestic water heating systems; lighting with continuously dimming
electronic ballasts and occupancy and photo sensor controls;
real-time energy monitoring; HVAC systems demonstrating several new
technologies including prototype natural-gas heat-pump air
conditioning, variable air volume under-floor air distribution, and
high-efficiency pulse boilers; gray water system for capture and
reuse of rain water and lavatory discharge; self-sustaining
landscaping and water conserving irrigation system; indoor air
quality monitoring; and extensive use of recycled building
materials. Project designers used physical and computerized
modeling to optimize the interaction of daylighting with building
envelope, interiors, and systems.
***********
Camp Arroyo
Livermore, California
Siegel & Strain Architects
Contact: Henry Siegel, hsiegel@siegelstrain.com, 510.457.8092
This environmental education camp, which serves middle-school as
well as critically ill children and other guests, was designed to
demonstrate a series of ecological design principles as part of the
curriculum. Bathhouses are made of stabilized earth, the cabins are
efficient wood structures, and the dining hall is a straw-bale
building. Low-tech solutions to heating, cooling, and water
treatment were favored over more complex mechanical technologies
for energy efficiency, lower cost, and simplicity. The bathhouses
are open-air, seasonal structures with natural ventilation and no
mechanical system. The cabins and dining hall depend on shading
strategies and operable clerestory windows to keep them cool. The
cabins have south-facing sunrooms for winter heat gain and solar
panels for water heating and backup radiant heat. The biological
wastewater treatment system will treat water with minimal energy
input, demonstrating that there is no waste in nature.
***********
Edificio Malecon
Buenos Aires, Argentina
HOK
Contact: Ripley Rasmus, AIA, ripley.rasmus@hok.com,
314.421.2000
This 125,000-square-foot office building was built on a reclaimed
brownfield site (its garage was built within the foundations of a
19th century warehouse) at Puerto Madero, a redevelopment area in
Buenos Aires. The building was developed as a long narrow slab to
minimize solar gain on the structure, the east and west ends of
which are "pinched." The broad northern face, the primary solar
exposure, is shaped to track the sun and is fully screened with
deep sunshades that virtually eliminate direct solar radiation
during peak cooling months. The south face, which reflects the
geometry of the northern façade, is equipped with the same
high-performance curtainwall system as the other facades,
minimizing solar gain. A "Green Roof" helps insulate the
40,000-square-foot podium from solar radiation and manages
stormwater runoff. Open floor plates and raised floors provide
flexibility for multi-tenant office or alternative future
uses.
***********
Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
Ankeny, Iowa
RDG Bussard Dikis
Contact: Kevin R. Nordmeyer, AIA, knormeyer@rdgusa.com,
515.288.3141
This 13,000-square-foot facility, the Iowa Association of Municipal
Utilities (IAMU) Office and Training Headquarters, was conceived as
a teaching tool. Designed and built within a modest budget, its
energy consumption is 48 percent less than a conventional design
and it is 98 percent daylit. The building uses a geothermal heat
pump system for heating and cooling. Building occupants enjoy
multiple views of the landscape and sky from any point inside the
building. This project has also restored a suburban farm field,
destined for commercial development, into a native Iowa tall-grass
prairie. Soil erosion had been plaguing the site, harming nearby
Carney Marsh, a 40-acre protected wetland. The reconstructed
prairie, wetlands, and siltration ponds have recreated habitat for
flora and fauna.
***********
National Wildlife Federation Headquarters
Reston, Virginia
HOK
Contact: William Hellmuth, AIA, bill.hellmuth@hok.com,
202.339.8700
The new 85,000-square-foot headquarters serves 300 employees and
guests. The National Wildlife Federation made a commitment to build
a headquarters facility that would demonstrate sensible stewardship
of its financial resources. They accomplished this through a
rigorous payback analysis to select "state-of-the-shelf"
construction technologies and materials. Native plantings support
local wildlife and reduce the need for irrigation and frequent
mowing. The building's orientation capitalizes on solar energy
sources to reduce energy expenditure and increase natural light.
The facility's north side, which overlooks the park, is a
curtainwall of glass that offers beautiful vistas and floods the
interior spaces with light to create a welcoming atmosphere. The
southern facade has a vertical trellis planted with deciduous vines
that leaf out in summer to provide shade and fall off in winter to
allow sunlight to help heat the facility. The plantings also
provide a vertical habitat for indigenous wildlife.
***********
Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, Oberlin
College
Oberlin, Ohio
William McDonough + Partners
Contact: Kevin Burke, AIA, kburke@mcdonough.com; 434.979.1111
Designed to be restorative, the center celebrates the interaction
of human and natural environments. With a goal to be a net-energy
exporter, the teaching and public space integrates natural energy
flows while blurring the distinction between indoors and out. The
light-drenched two-story atrium serves as the primary organizing
feature and the southern campus' "town hall." Daylighting and
natural ventilation enhance the atrium's feeling of an "outdoor
room." The center project demonstrates how state-of-the-art
thinking applies to readily available state-of-the-shelf materials
and building systems. Throughout, the design team remained mindful
of how even the most advanced systems still must serve the needs of
the building's occupants.
***********
Pier 1
San Francisco, California
SMWM
Contact: Dan Cheetham, AIA, kkowalski@smwm.com, 415.546.0400
This adaptive reuse project transformed a dilapidated warehouse on
San Francisco's waterfront to 140,000 square feet of class A office
space and an acre of new public open space. The design reflects the
history and nature of the site, uses green materials garnered from
green sources, and provides clean air and natural light for
occupants. Pier 1 is surrounded by water, which flows through
radiant tubes in floor slabs for heating and cooling. This system
moderates the interior climate according to each zone's location
and orientation. Generated heat is rejected into a submerged
condenser water loop under the building, dissipating energy into
the bay within a tightly prescribed temperature range.
***********
Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Mithun
Contact: Bert Gregory, AIA, bertg@mithun.com, 206.623.7005
The 70,000-square-foot facility includes an interpretive center, a
great hall, offices, learning studios, dining hall, art studio,
maintenance building, and visitor accommodations. Wastewater is
treated on site and reused. Rainwater is collected for irrigation
and other uses. Photovoltaic installation provides more than half
of the power for the learning-studio building. Rooftop solar hot
water panels reduce hot water demand at lodges and dining hall by
50 percent. Ventilation replaces air conditioning, with operable
skylights providing maximum through-ventilation. High-efficiency
fluorescent lighting with photocells reduces energy use.
High-quality metal roofs and metal clad windows will provide long
life in the heavily wooded Northwest environment.
***********
Tofte Cabin
Tofte, Minnesota
Sarah Nettleton Architects
Contact: Sarah Nettleton, AIA, sn@sarah-architects.com,
612.334.9667
The renovation of a 1947 cabin resulted in a 950-square-foot
soul-satisfying retreat that is a model of sustainable design. The
cabin's original site and adjacent trees were retained to shelter
the cabin from winter winds and open it to sun and wind from the
east and south. The locally quarried granite's color echoes the
color of the spruce and the lake as it references the granite
bedrock beneath the house. Natural stack ventilation through low
and high windows cools the cabin. An air-to-air heat exchanger
provides ventilation. A super-insulated thermal envelope minimized
the load on the geothermal heat pump in-floor heating system. The
heat pump provides domestic hot water as well. Built with
long-lasting materials and careful details, the cabin is a
beautiful retreat that will serve for generations.
###
NOTE TO EDITORS: Images of winning projects are available directly
from the architect or you can contact Phil Simon at (202) 626-7463,
email psimon@aia.org.
AIA Committee on the Environment: COTE works to improve and sustain
the environment by advancing and disseminating environmental
knowledge and values and advocating the best design practices-those
that integrate built and natural systems-to the profession,
industry, and public.
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