Damian Dockery, Argonne National Laboratory;  Karen Kosky, Argonne National Laboratory; Clare Swanson, HDR Architecture

The new Argonne Energy Sciences Building (ESB) provides 21^st-century scientific infrastructure needed to advance the lab's mission to provide clean, affordable, and diverse energy. USDOE staff will present the requirements federal facilities must achieve to gain LEED Gold and High Performance Sustainable Building (HPSB) status. The project's architect/lab planner will describe the need to safely and efficiently manage the building's hazards with the desire for modular, flexible laboratories. The building's owner, Argonne National Laboratory, will discuss the end-user experience of occupying, managing, and maintaining a building that incorporates chilled beams, a custom heat-recovery system, low-flow fixtures, native landscaping, and innovative fume hoods with supporting variable ventilation mechanics. 

 

Lalo Edery, Tropic Construction; W. Taylor Leach, eConserve; Tony Q. Smith, S.B. Friedman; Jeffrey Greenberger, Affordable Community Energy
This session will advise attendees how to go beyond capturing "low-hanging fruit" to a more comprehensive approach to sustainability that combines energy- and water-efficiency improvements, renewable energy, co-generation, and behavior change programs. The panel will discuss various ways to overcome skepticism about sustainability among multifamily housing owners. They will describe the benefits of a portfolio approach, including diversification of risk and access to capital sources. The primary case study to be referenced is a $6.25 million retrofit of 1,200 affordable housing units owned by the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, which will save 2.4-2.7 million kWh and 20-23 million gallons of water annually and generate nearly 800,000 kW of electricity.

 

Michael Siegel, Susan Heinking, VOA Associates
Our built world has a great need for beauty. By designing for the purpose of a place, to support its mission and celebrate its context, we get closer to achieving human delight. By aligning purpose, mission, and place in the design process, we create a meaningful experience that lasts over time and advocates for more beautiful built environments––beautiful in the sense of relevant, unique, and properly fitting, as well as aesthetically pleasing. This session will share new research on healing within the built environment that has implications for design and the design process. Two healthcare projects, a cancer treatment center and a retail pharmacy, will be used to show how design created beauty in two very different ways. 

 

John DuPlissis, University of Wisconsin Extension; Cory Lavigne, INFORMstudio; Josie Parker, Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library; John Yarema, John Yarema Floors; Edith Makra, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and Illinois EAB Wood Utilization Team  
Attendees will learn about new sources for locally salvaged and processed timber resources; how to find and purchase urban wood; how to name the unique properties of urban wood; the steps in the typical urban wood supply chain; how to locate producers of urban wood; how to use urban wood products in green buildings; the elements in each step of the process: site stewardship, removal, procurement, design, use, and interpretation; and how to specify urban wood for furniture, millwork, and architectural elements. Case study: a branch of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library, which used trees that were infested with the emerald ash borer in the new library’s flooring, wall paneling, ceilings, furniture, and structural members.

 

Jerry Yudelson, Green Building Initiative

 

 

Luke Leising, Tim King, Guidon Design
As part of the City of Indianapolis Long Term Control Plan, Citizens Energy Group is working to meet the EPA requirement of reducing the volume and frequency of raw sewage overflows by implementing various sanitary sewer separation projects. For the CSO 033 sewershed, Guidon Design was asked to complete a Green Infrastructure Feasibility Study comparing various configurations of conventional and sustainable solutions to sewer separation. This presentation will cover the process of selecting green infrastructure strategies, the calculations related to compliance with the Long Term Control Plan, and a detailed life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), including first costs and long-term maintenance costs. 

 

Meredith Hayes Gordon, Basak Alkan, Perkins+Will; Michael Richards, Gundersen Health System; Andrew Londre, Powell Poage Hamilton Neighborhood; Tim Kabat, City of La Crosse, Wis.
In 2012 Gundersen Health System forged a partnership with the city of La Crosse, Wis., to plan improvements in Powell Poage Hamilton, the neighborhood that surrounds Gundersen's main campus and which was experiencing a decline in safety and public perception. The resulting plan outlines a design framework that focuses on increasing walkability and physical recreation in the neighborhood. The panel will discuss how the built environment impacts neighborhood and community health; how healthcare organizations are rethinking their role vis à vis their neighboring communities; how to identify partnership opportunities to engage in community-scaled planning efforts; and how to implement measures and methodologies that may result from successful health district planning. 

 

Brent Dunham, Jon Guenin, Purdue University; Jenell Fairman, CORE Planning Strategies
This course will describe the components of a Comprehensive Energy Master Plan, provide strategies for implementation of the energy-efficiency measures (EEM), and discuss the benefits to the building occupants, property owners, and the environment. Attendees will learn how to evaluate EEMs for return on investment, evaluate their buildings or campuses for opportunities that require minimal capital investment, and choose a team of professionals to manage and implement energy-efficiency measures. Critical strategies for program success will be presented, including monitoring-based continuous commissioning, ongoing training of programming and maintenance staff, and promoting an ownership mentality toward energy consumption. 

 

Heather Langford, USGBC; Lisa Laney, Ohio Facilities Construction Commission; Theresa Lehman, Miron Construction; Nadja Turek, Woolpert
The USGBC’s Center for Green Schools will moderate a panel of leading owners, designers, and builders of green schools in the Midwest. Panelists will share project data and lessons learned from a study of >125 certified schools in Ohio. A case study of a LEED Platinum school in Wisconsin, based on LEED v4, will be presented, along with a case study of a Department of Defense Education Activity “21^st Century School” in Kentucky. Attendees will learn to understand differences in designing, constructing, and certifying a school under LEED v4 and how to incorporate 21st Century school design concepts into sustainable design for the next generation of green schools.

 

 

Jim Sherwood, Valspar

The perception of color is informed by a culture and its symbolism, from food and fashion to landscape, structures, raw materials and light. Color forecasting identifies the newest trends in color that are drawn from these underlyig influences and provides an ongoing resource of inspiration for designers and architects. This course will demonstrate the importance of color in the built environment and how color is used in specific industries and buiding types of inform an occupant of their surroundings. 

 

 

Kevin Dick, Eve Pytel, Delta Institute; Roald Gundersen, Whole Trees Architecture and Structures; Rocky Levy, Icon Modern  
Urban wood and reclaimed building materials represent an aesthetic that combines a celebration of natural resources with the desire to transform undervalued building materials. While urban wood and reclaimed building materials are highly sustainable, integrating them into sustainably designed projects requires skill and knowledge. This session will lay out strategies for using urban wood and reclaimed wood so as to maximize sustainability and gain LEED points. Attendees will be able to identify opportunities for using wood over other building materials in residential and nonresidential projects and will learn to identify what types of reclaimed building materials may not be safe for reuse.

 

Karen Erger, Lockton Companies; Eric Singer, Ice Miller
This panel of legal experts will provide design and construction professionals the tools they need to manage the liability risk associated with green residential projects. Participants will learn the 14 key risk factors that drive residential claims. They will be made aware of project and practice management tools and techniques to manage these risks, including model contract language, a risk checklist, and an assessment tool. Attendees will analyze claims case studies and discuss strategies that could have been deployed to avoid or mitigate liability claims. They will learn how to identify risky contract language and offer reasonable compromise language to appropriately allocate risk in green residential projects. 

 

John Quillen, Mohamed El-Sayed, KLH Engineers
This session will present the case of a major commercial real estate firm that used retro-commissioning (RCx) to improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs in its client's property portfolio. The resulting RCx project, in Springfield, Ill., produced 10.4% energy savings in the HVAC system––in a building that was already certified LEED Gold and had an 89 Energy Star score. The program will review ways RCx can reduce energy costs through energy audits and re-lamp projects, explain one of the operational issues uncovered during the testing process, and provide specific examples of the Functional Performance Testing conducted on the HVAC system. 

 

Candace Small, Susan Heinking, VOA Associates
The Red List is a catalog of the 14 "worst-in-class" materials and chemicals used in buildings, as determined by the Living Building Challenge––but it doesn't say how to avoid them or why these substances are hazardous to human health. This panel will present research findings on Red List ingredients, their toxic effects, and safe alternatives to consider. Attendees will benefit from a technical understanding of where these substances still live in new buildings, the EPA stance on each one, and anecdotal evidence to illustrate their health hazards and toxicity. Attendees will gain a deeper perspective on the Red List and discover ways to converse with vendors and clients about the importance of avoiding red list materials.

 

Tim Finley, SageGlass

 

 

Edward Peck, Rachel Michelin, Thornton Tomasetti
Building enclosure commissioning (BECx) has gained stature recently due to the additional credit points available in LEED v4 for Enhanced Commissioning. Through real-life project examples, attendees will learn the basics of the BECx process, gain knowledge of its benefits, and comprehend the key activities required during each phase of construction. Participants will become familiar with the various requirements of current standards and guidelines for BECx by reviewing the key commissioning activities required by LEED v4 during each phase of construction. Attendees will become familiar with the most common building enclosure testing methods, such as air and water infiltration testing, by reviewing the requirements of current ASTM standards. 

 

Matthew Johnson, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
This session will present case studies of direct-to-fabrication digital design and how it is advancing innovative modeling and direct-to-fabrication structural design to support architectural design, trim costs, and reduce construction schedules. Attendees will learn how to identify tools available for direct-to-fabrication digital modeling in contemporary architecture and engineering practice; how direct-to-fabrication design can be utilized in such areas as millwork, curtain wall, and building structural framing; and how to identify the limitations of direct-to-fabrication digital modeling.

 

Patricia Lloyd, Leopardo Companies; Sharlene Young, Lawrence Kearns, Wheeler Kearns Architects; Alicia Murasaki, The University of Chicago
"How do you design a daycare center for the children of future Nobel laureates?” For the University of Chicago Stony Island Child Development Center, the Building Team developed a LEED Gold facility where children could discover natural phenomena while being immersed in the natural world. The panel will discuss the collaborative process that negotiated the university’s standards for privacy and security, a narrow infill site, and the desire to employ minimally processed natural materials. They will describe programming blogs, collaborative Smartsheets, Facetime site visits, and smartphone punch lists used to develop the center. Attendees will learn about the benefits of integrating 90,000-pound glacial boulders, gabion fences, and natural bark siding into a natural playscape.

 

Paul Torcellini, National Renewal Energy Laboratory (USDOE); Adam McMillen, Energy Center of Wisconsin; Boyd Black, Captial Project Delivery
This presentation outlines a simple variation on the traditional design-build procurement and delivery method that has proven effective in achieving building energy-performance goals. The panel will examine best practices in implementing contracts for new construction that specify a maximum energy use target and measurable performance benchmarks in design, construction, and operations. Real-world examples at the National Renewable Energy Lab and the University of Chicago will demonstrate how this approach can leverage the Building Team’s expertise to reduce owner risk and establish measurable success criteria. Attendees will be able to explain performance-based design and its benefits, summarize the elements to be included in goal-based contracts that specify an energy use target, provide examples of performance-based new construction contracts, and discuss how to achieve maximum "thinking" from designers and contractors. 

 

Daniel A. Dorfman, Harris | Winick; Jeremy S.  Baker, SchiffHardin; Rafael Carreira, O’Donnell Investment Co.

A panel of legal experts will explore the design-bid-build and construction management (CM) delivery models, with a view to helping attendees understand the roles, responsibilities, risks, and opportunities unique to sustainable design and construction projects. The panel will show how to reduce, or better allocate, contractual risks using the AIA's Sustainable Projects Contract Documents and the revised AIA Sustainability Guide. They will identify the key contractual modifications that help alleviate the risks and challenges of sustainable design and construction. They will conclude by exploring new sustainable concepts related to the construction management delivery model and how these concepts contrast with the typical design-bid-build delivery model. 

 

John Broniek, Icynene Inc.