Page 85 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

62 THE PRACTICE OF INTEGRATED DESIGN

Shambach talks about the importance of the owner’s decision-making role in
achieving LEED Platinum results and the compromises that had to be made in this
project to achieve that goal.

Because the goal of achieving LEED Platinum came so strongly from the university,
they were very committed to reaching this goal. When things threatened that goal,
they were willing to prioritize and give up things to keep the Platinum rating intact.
They gave up building area to achieve a Platinum rating. The building was originally
programmed to be 100,000 square feet and the final building was 60,000 square feet.
They gave up area in order to achieve a Platinum level of quality.

The key for managing costs is that everything had more than one use. The gallery
is a good example. It does so many things for the building but you only pay for it
once. It provides natural ventilation, daylighting, effective thermal mass and gathers
the solar energy (in winter). The concrete was not painted but rather it was tinted
with a light color. So it was not only the thermal mass, but also the finish material.
We didn’t have to pay for an additional ceiling below that. The color of it also
helped maximize the light use in the building, providing a reflective surface.
Minimizing finishes and having the building be the finish material was a way to
control costs.
In this case, the overriding goal of having a LEED Platinum building led to some
major design compromises, such as reducing the building area. Shambach says that
the keys to sustainable design are “thinking about it from the moment you hit the site,
keeping the goals in mind throughout, making sure everyone is aware of the choices
that have to be made and integrating the whole team from the beginning.”

PLATINUM PROJECT PROFILE

Applied Research & Development Facility, Northern Arizona
University, Flagstaff, Arizona
Located at an elevation of 7000 feet, the Applied Research & Development
Facility is a $22 million, 60,000-square-feet laboratory and office building that
took 4 years to design and build. The building’s passive ventilation, radiant
heating and cooling, heat-recovery ventilation, high-performance glazing and
solar shading were able to reduce energy use by 83 percent compared to a sim-
ilar conventional building. A photovoltaic system produces about 20 percent of
the building’s electricity, and a solar thermal system supplies hot water. Water-
free urinals and low-flush toilets using reclaimed water contribute to a 60 percent
reduction in water use. Seventy-six percent (by cost) of the wood used in the
building was certified to Forest Stewardship Council standards.*

*Environmental Building News, www.buildinggreen.com, March 2008, page 7.