Sustainable Design Blog

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TRENDS IN SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE DEFINITION:

Talking about trends in sustainable architecture is a slippery slope.   Many of the “trends” are a simply the re-discovering of good design that worked well before we had so much technology to overcome poor design. That IS a plug for proven passive design solutions, but it IS NOT a criticism of technology. That is the strength of integrative design - to be able to look at entire system holistically and use the best of passive and active design solutions to obtain the optimum results. The following ideas are not new, but they are some of the ideas that are “top of the mind” in sustainable design today.

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SUSTAINABLE DESIGN TRENDS AND EXAMPLES:

Below you will see what we believe to be some of the major sustainable design trends unfolding here in 2015. There are certainly other trends and evolutionary movement in the green building industry and we will write about those as well. So, please subscribe or bookmark this blog and you can stay informed and hopefully use some of our green building expertise and experience to help you with your next building project.

Trends In 2015:

1. Resiliency

Resilience: Def. Noun

1. The capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2. An ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

The Resilience Alliance defines resilience as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and feedbacks.

A sustainable building needs to adapt over its life to changing conditions, and its life must be a long one. It needs to adapt to changes in climate, temperature, rainfall, sea level, flood patterns, advancements in building technologies such as heating and cooling systems, functional changes by the users, etc. It needs to be tough and flexible at the same time.

2. Biophilia

Biophilia Def. Noun

1. A love of life and the living world; the affinity of human beings for other life forms.

The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book, Biophilia (1984). He defines biophilia as "the urge to affiliate with other forms of life".

Whether or not we have thought about this concept, we know it. We enjoy being in the natural environment. When we cannot be in it, we enjoy looking at it from our balcony or through our window. The sun light and shadows that move across a space change the space constantly in a predictable way that is dynamic, full of life, and still comforting. We love the sound of the rain. We love the smell of the forest. The integration of our built world into the natural world is so important.

3. Net Zero Energy

A net zero building, is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. See the Wikipedia definition of Net Zero Energy.

The living building Challenge has its own Net Zero Energy Building Certification. You can read more about this certification here: http://living-future.org/netzero

The Whole Building Design Guide also has a Net Zero Energy Building resources which you can read more about here: http://www.wbdg.org/resources/netzeroenergybuildings.php

We certainly must get to net zero energy building design by 2030. Many countries in Europe will get there much faster. This is a goal we can achieve step by step. Each building we design, or (as an owner or investor) commission to be built must be more energy efficient than the last one. And it must make significant leaps, not just tiny incremental improvements. Net Zero Energy Buildings are doable NOW. We can gain great efficiencies with thoughtful, integrated building design and technologies that can get us 60-80% more efficient than the codes require, and we can supplement the rest with renewable energy sources harvested right at our building site, using PV, solar thermal, geothermal, wind, or whatever is available at the project location.

4. Biomimicry

The Biomimicry Institute defines biomimicry as:

“Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.”

Janine M. Benyus’ book, Biomimicry Innovation Inspired by Nature published in 1997 got the whole idea started in the US.

The Whole Building Design Guide also has Biomimicry resources at: http://www.wbdg.org/resources/biomimicry.php

This is a wonderful concept that is being utilized in the design of many different things, from carpets, to aerodynamic shapes for the front of vehicle, to building design. It is using the lessons from nature- lessons that have been learned and proven over millennium- and applying those lessons to solve problems we face in design.

These trends are important. Every business and their industry has trends but without being too bias, The Sustainable Design Architectural Industry and these trends are paramount and need to obtain the attention of :

• Building Project Coordinators
• Architectural Firm Executives
• Multiple Project Decision Makers
• New Home Owners
• Residential & Commercial Architects
• Board Of Directors In The Education, Healthcare, Non-Profits, Interior Design Firms and More!

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I would also like to offer you some other green building/sustainable architecture information, including LEED certified building examples & other relevant articles:

• Sustainable Residential Design Ideas For Florida (& other states)
• What Can Be Learned From A LEED For Home Charrette
• Green Interior Design Project Examples
• Sustainable Design Projects & Examples
• Hospitality Industry Green Building Design Projects
• Healthcare Green Building Ideas & Examples

 

  PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Carlson Studio is a LEED accredited team of sustainable design and green building professionals in Sarasota Florida. We encourage you to connect with us and ask any question you may have when considering an architect for an upcoming project that falls into any of the categories mentioned above. You can get a no obligation estimate, ask any questions when implementing your research or reach out and ask an opinion on an ongoing project.

Just use the button below to connect with us.

Good luck and highest regards to all that are considering our environment and including sustainable design in their construction plans.

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INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IN FLORIDA:

Being in a sub-tropical climate, sustainable design in Florida faces some unique challenges. Here are some of our thoughts, especially related to designing a Passive House, and trying to get to Net Zero energy use, in the hot and humid climate of Florida.

Here is a good illustration of climate zones in the USA from the IECC. Note the white line that indicates the Warm and Humid area of the country. Most of Florida is in Climate Zone 2.

 

Need more, related inspiration? Check out these other perspectives that will help you make other green building considerations:

• Other Sustainable Design Thoughts And Ideas
• Sustainable Design Hard Earned Awards
• More Abound Carlson Studio Green Building Strategies

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PASSIVE DESIGN SYSTEMS THAT WORK:

Passive Design Systems and design criteria that work well in hot and humid climates:

• Tight and insulated homes vs. open and breezy homes: Open and breezy homes were the ideal design prior to the invention and wide use of air conditioning.   Air conditioning now allows tight and insulated homes to be more comfortable.
• Envelope concepts that work well:

1. Compact shape- reduce the exterior wall area
2. Continuous insulation- no interruptions in the building envelope

• Thermal bridge free- make sure there are no thermal bridges in the windows and doors, or in the wall or roof systems.
• Air tightness- seal the house tightly to avoid air infiltration coming in from outside or the leaking of the conditioned air to the exterior.   Air tightness should be <=0.6 ACH at 50 pascals pressure. (AHC is air changes per hour)
• The Passive house goal = 75% below energy star requirements with relative humidity (RH) = 40-50%
• Use good glass in the windows and doors- double glazed, low-e coatings.
• R>= 38.5 (R- value, insulation)
• SHGC 0.5-0.55 (solar heat gain coefficient)
• Use energy recovery system that brings fresh air in

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LESSONS LEARNED:

1. If you get the building orientation wrong, you fight it all the way and it make some of the other energy saving techniques you may be using less effective.
2. In the south, people add to the interior climate issue by creating heat and moisture inside the envelope. This is beyond the designer’s control.
3. Energy modeling is not very accurate in predicting net zero energy use. Modeling does not take into account plug loads.
4. The primary energy demand per person is difficult to estimate.   Mixed climate zones are challenging- heating and cooling criteria need peak loads to insure comfort, in addition to annual loads.

 Check out the recommendations for climate zones in Florida  

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Carlson Studio has over 30 years experience helping the following industry define and execute the best and most profitable solutions to successfully execute a green planning strategy:

• Healthcare
• Residential
• Non-profit
• Educational
• Hostipality
• International
• Mutli-family
• Religious
• Commercial

We encourage you to reach out to us and let us help you with your green building project. We are very confident we can assist you in a number of ways. Just hit the button below to make a connection.

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INTRODUCTION:

In the fall of 2014 the US Green Building Council released an article with facts about the green building industry. Here are some of those facts that stood out, and what they mean to us. These facts are based on national and international data. Since Carlson Studio Architecture has been deeply involved in LEED certification in Florida since 2000, we can add our Florida perspective to the national data.

Here are some real time examples of LEED Certified, green building projects:

• Commercial Green Building Achievements
• Educational Green Building Projects
• Residential Green Building Development

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THE FACTS ABOUT GREEN BUILDING:

  On the residential side:

 1. USGC reports- 62% of firms building new single-family homes report  that they are doing more than 15% of their projects green

 2. By 2018, that percentage increases to 84% (per McGraw Hill Construction Company. Green Multifamily and Single Family Homes: Growth in a Recovering Market. June 2014)

3. In 2013 there were 1160 LEED certified residential units in place in Florida.

4. The LEED for Homes rating system is much different than all the other LEED systems. It is cheaper, and easier to use.

5. The system has been expanded to not only include single family homes, but also multi-family homes of low rise and mid-rise configurations.

  The Non Residential Side:

 1. USGBC reports - 41% of all nonresidential building starts in 2012 were green, as compared to 2% of all nonresidential building starts in 2005.

(per McGraw Hill Construction (2012). Green Building Market Sizing, drawn from Dodge Project Starts and Construction Market Forecasting Services, as of March 2012)

2. We saw saw a similar trend in Florida during the same time period.

3. In 2009 there were only 9 LEED certified commercial projects in Florida.

4. By 2013 there were 716 certified commercial projects in Florida, plus 182 projects K-12 and Higher Ed. Projects.

This last statistic shows significant traction through a very bad time of recession.

You probably know by now how much energy buildings use. Energy use in the United States looks like this:

• Buildings use 41%
• Industrial uses 30%
• Transportation uses 29%

Buildings are one of the heaviest consumers of natural resources and account for a significant portion of the greenhouse gas emissions that affect climate change. In the U.S., buildings account for:

• 38% of all CO2 emissions (per Energy Information Administration (2008). Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook.)

73% of electricity consumption (per Department of Energy 2011. Buildings Energy Data Book. Buildings Share of Electricity Consumption/Sales. Accessed October 26, 2011)

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WHAT DO THESE GREEN BUILDING FACTS TELL US:

Green buildings consume less energy. Compared to the average commercial building, the LEED Gold buildings in the General Services Administration’s portfolio generally (per U.S. Department of Energy (2011). Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 Buildings)

• Consume 25% less energy and 11% less water
• Have 19% lower maintenance costs
• 27% higher occupant satisfaction
• 34% lower greenhouse gas emissions

And where in the Country is green building doing well? USGBC says….

Top 10 States in the U.S.A. for LEED: Registered & Certified, per capita (as of February 2015)

1. Illinois
2. Colorado
3. Maryland
4. Virginia
5. Massachusetts
6. Hawaii
7. California
8. Georgia
9. Minnesota
10. (tie)New York
11. (tie)Arizona

 Where is Florida on this top 10 list?

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 If you are researching a new green building project or renovation challenges, Carlson Studio invites you to reach out and ask questions, schedule a consultation or even get an estimate. Just use the button below to connect.

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PROJECT BACKGROUND:

Carlson Studio Architecture is currently designing a LEED for homes project in Michigan. As part of the design process we held a LEED design charrette with the contractors, material suppliers, designers and subcontractors of the project. This highly interactive, brainstorming session brought the entire team together to strategize the project. Getting a bunch of smart people together to think about the project holistically was important -some of the things that we learned are as follows:

Other Projects That May Interest You:

• City Of Sarasota Master Plan
• Private Horse Barn Custom Design
• LEED NC Gold Certified Floating Marina

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SHARING WHAT WE LEARNED DURING THIS CHARRETTE PROCESS:

There Are 4 Areas Of Focus The Came From This LEED Charrette:

1. Landscape:

We learned there were many credits available in the landscape categories. This includes water conservation in the irrigation system and native plantings and native low impact design solutions. Since we are working on an existing site we may choose to remove some of the existing impervious surfaces and replace them with landscaping and/or pervious surfaces. The landscaping and irrigation credits will be important to us if we are to achieve our certification goals.  Mike Bruggink, Fen View Design, is the Landscape Architect.

2. SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels)

We learned that LEED encourages and rewards the use of sip panel construction in the LEED for homes standards. SIPs should help us obtain a very good HERS rating, create a well-insulated and tightly constructed building envelope, speed up construction and reduce waste. Rich Bloem of True North Homes has an extensive background in SIP construction.

3. Lumber

Our current LEED home is planned to be constructed of wood. In addition to the SIP panels which have wood faces, we plan to use wood floor joists and wood trusses to complete the building envelope. We plan to source all of these materials locally and regionally it's close to the site is possible. We did determine that FSC certified wood was going to be very difficult and expensive to get for this particular project and have decided to not pursue FSC certified would based credits. We did look at the advantages and disadvantages of open web wood floor trusses versus TJI style pre-engineered floor trusses.   There were representatives of each style of truss at the charrette which was incredibly valuable to the team. Because of the somewhat complex geometry of the floor framing systems we decided to go with the TJI style floor trusses on this particular project. Jed Nelson and Mark Paradowski, from Barry County Lumber Company where in attendance.

3. Plumbing

We are looking at using Kohler brand fixtures for this particular project. We learned that there are many options to choose from but this and other major manufacturers all do high-quality low flow fixtures that meet the highest standards in the LEED credits. We plan to use the best performing, low flow fixtures for this project. We also plan to supplement the gas fired water heater with solar thermal system(s) mounted on the roof to preheat the water and save us energy. Ross Genzink, Genzink Plumbing was in attendance.

We offer a simple but important checklist you can use when isolating certain elements that will make your home more "Green" and actually save you energy and money. Just use the button below:

 

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WHAT'S NEXT?:

These are just a few of the things we learned in the integrated design process for this project. We look forward to completing the permit documents, bidding the project, and getting construction underway in the spring.

Designing, planning and constructing a LEED for homes project may be a challenge but it is one with invaluable foresight. As this process becomes more and more popular, both consumers and commercial entities will learn and experience all of the benefits and even more important, will play a role in turning around so many environmental issues including something as massive as the world's climate change challenges.

If you or your business is in the research phase of a creating or remodeling a structure, we strongly encourage you to do your homework and research. We are here to help you answer many of the critical questions that arise from such an undertaking and would like to offer you additional information or a no cost consultation. If you would like to bounce your ideas off of a LEED accredited architect, just use the button below.

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How To Manage A LEED Charrette - A Real Time Example:

We have completed our LEED charrette for our single-family home that we are designing in Michigan. Thanks to Rich Bloem and Alex Goosen from True North Homes (general contractor) for their assistance in putting the charrette together and facilitating the day.

Wikipedia definition of a Charrette: "While the structure of a charrette varies, depending on the design problem and the individuals in the group, charrettes often take place in multiple sessions in which the group divides into sub-groups. Each sub-group then presents its work to the full group as material for further dialogue. Such charrettes serve as a way of quickly generating a design solution while integrating the aptitudes and interests of a diverse group of people. Compare this term with workshop."

Need some other examples of successful charrette results? Check out these LEED projects:

• Sun & Fun Lifestyle Center In South West Florida
• Cancer Support Community On The Florida Sun Coast
• Single Family, Birch Haven Residence

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THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL LEED CHARRETTE:

The first thing one needs to do for a successful charrette is manage the logistics. We met at a great venue called the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville, Michigan and we were treated with a great conference room full of all the necessary AV equipment that we needed, as well as coffee, breakfast, lunch and breaks throughout the day to make the whole thing very enjoyable. Don't overlook the details and making the participants comfortable during the charrette process.

There are various considerations when executing a productive LEED charrette. Here are a few that we addressed and played a significant roll in the overall outcome.

Number 1: The Players

There were about 20 people who participated in the charrette. Most were there all day. Some came and went. The general contractor, the architect, the landscape architect and many of the subcontractors and material suppliers contributed to the successful day. We discussed all the features of the home and all the systems necessary to construct it in an open forum where everyone contributed. Some had experience in doing green homes and for others this is their first exposure to the process. Several of the participants have been working on preliminary LEED for Homes checklists for the project prior to coming to the charrette. 

Number 2: Credits & The LEED Rating System

For this particular home, because of its size, we need to achieve 100 credits in the rating system to obtain our goal of platinum certification. Are preliminary checklists were reflecting scores between 88 and 94 credits. The variation was coming mostly from the HERS score which was anticipated to be anywhere between HERS index of 30 and a HERS index of 44. Learn more about the HERS Index process. Alex Goosen is managing the HERS preliminary rating process, and Jamison Lenz is our LEED Provider from the Green Home Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Number 3: Teams & Strategies

As a team we went through the entire LEED checklist and looked for synergies between various systems and other design and construction strategies to improve the home's design to a point where he could receive platinum certification. The design itself had already taken into account many passive design elements to make the process easier. The home is already set up with south facing roof to accept PV and/or solar thermal systems to improve the homes energy performance.

Step 4: Trouble Shooting

One of the most interesting discussions of the day was about the homes heating and cooling systems. It was determined that there are more heating load than cooling load, but that it was important that both heating and cooling be provided. The initial basis for the design was a forced air system for both heating and cooling using highly efficient equipment. And there was a need to make the home more energy-efficient to get it from the gold to the platinum level of certification. The air-conditioning and heating sub-contractor provided great input, and practical analysis, as well as a specialist in renewable energy systems (such as PV, solar thermal and geothermal systems) provided his perspective as well.  After a great deal of discussion and various systems options, we decided to proceed in evaluating a radiant hydronic floor heating system for the first floor, supplemented with a forced air heating system for the second floor that would also serve as the forced air cooling system for the entire house. We will supplement both systems with solar thermal roof mounted water heating to preheat the water needed for the hydronic floor system and PV solar electric panels supplement the entire system including the forced air system cooling and heating. The PV solar system could be in the range of 5 KW to 10 KW. Solar thermal is yet to be sized but it will provide support to a natural gas fired boiler that will help maintain the water temperature under any conditions. Successfully integrating the systems together should improve our HERS score down to the low 30s or maybe better. Also we will integrate the domestic hot water heating with the radiant floor heating by having those two system share their heat energy which will be an important link to save energy.

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WHAT WE LEARNED:

A LEED charrette is a living and breathing process and each one may be different. After we completed this charrette we walked away having learned a few things:

• Michigan has true net metering (you may know that Florida does not, shame on the sunshine state)
• There are many options and heating and cooling systems in Northern climates
• Forced air heating and cooling is most likely the least expensive first cost solution
• Hydronic radiant floor systems provide an incredibly comfortable way to heat a home

The return on investment calculations that the subcontractor will provide will help us make a decision between first cost and lifecycle cost for the system that we end up selecting.

Carlson Studio has been committed to design excellence since 1997. We would like to extend a helping hand whether you are in the research stage, consultation stage, team building stage or other decision making stage. Just hit the button below to request a no cost consultation or any other question you might have.

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