News
August 8, 2005 - To Platinum - and Beyond!
The Northern Arizona University Applied Research and Development Building is up to the challenge of achieving LEED platinum
A greener horizon is on the way for a unique university nestled amongst the pine forests of Flagstaff, Ariz.… literally. An Applied Research and Development (ARD) building at the main gateway to the Northern Arizona University (NAU) campus will incorporate a vegetative roof. But that is just the tip of the green iceberg. The ARD project team is striving to accomplish what has been done only three times in the U.S. under LEED-NC v2: Build a Platinum-certified building. And with other LEED projects in the works, along with several academic and research efforts with a sustainability focus, NAU is undertaking a broader, ambitious effort to become the country's premier campus for sustainability studies and practices.
To achieve ARD Platinum goals, the 60,000-square-foot building project will need 52 credits amongst the five core LEED categories (sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, and indoor environmental quality), as well as credits for innovation in design. The international project team is up to the challenge. The university’s broad-based participation in the team includes numerous faculty and researchers with expertise in sustainability issues, capital assets and services personnel, students, and future building tenants. Now in the Construction Document Phase, the team has maintained an evolving scorecard of LEED credits and strategies since the beginning of design.
The project's story starts on an unlikely building site; a major storm-water collection basin in a 100-year flood plain. As an open pit currently populated with weeds, grass, and the occasional discarded fast food bag, the basin manages a large volume of storm runoff from nearby Flagstaff retail properties and portions of campus. Project design not only retains the storm-water control functionality of the site, but folds it into research opportunities, unique water features and a water supply for native landscaping that will be re-introduced on the site. The site accesses NAU bus lines, helping reduce the need for impervious parking surfaces. Shuttles will be employed to run students and staff to-and-from centralized campus parking facilities. The final design also includes bicycle racks and showers to promote alternative healthy commuting.
The team is employing numerous strategies to dramatically increase water efficiency. In addition to substituting storm-water for potable water to meet some landscaping needs, potable water consumption will be decreased further through the use of waterless urinals and dual-flush water closets. Reclaimed water from the city will also be used to irrigate the xeriscape and to convey sewage. If the team reaches the goal set by NAU's Rich Bowen, Director of Capital Assets and Services, the building will reduce water consumption by more than 60 percent.
The design team also plans to reduce energy consumption by 60 percent over conventional standards. Project Architect Robin Shambach of Burns and Wald-Hopkins Architects points to a large glazed gallery that is designed for non-mechanical ventilation and greatly reduced heating and cooling costs, the rest being handled by an under-floor ventilation system. The building will also utilize optimal solar orientation, passive solar features (overhangs, thermal mass, internal light shelves), low-e triple-pane windows, BMS controlled roller shades, daylighting and occupancy-sensors to reduce energy consumption.
One energy hurdle arises out of the Keim genetics research wet labs located within the building, which are being built using design guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy's Labs for the 21st Century program. The labs present challenges in energy consumption due to extremely tight climate control and ventilation needs. "Laboratories can easily consume 10 times more energy per square-foot than office buildings," according to Mark Wilhelm of Green Ideas Environmental Consultants. "Health and safety requirements demand more ventilation and lighting. This makes it a challenge to design to energy standards. We do have an extraordinary design team that is ready for this challenge."
Twenty percent of the resulting building energy needs are to be met through a partnership with electric utility Arizona Public Service (APS) under which APS will install a single-axis tracking solar photovoltaic collector dedicated to the building. This large collector is also intended to be the subject of engineering student projects and research. Evacuated tube solar thermal heaters will be installed at the top of the building's penthouse to harvest heat and meet a portion of the building's hot water needs.
Construction waste? No problem. Kitchell's Project Manager, Fritz Westphal, working with other General Contractors on campus, intends to reclaim or recycle at least 75 percent of construction waste materials, earning both of the points available under the LEED Materials and Resources Construction Waste Management credit. Also, the design team is determined to achieve the two available credits for utilizing building materials that include substantial recycled content. With the inherent widespread geography of the western U.S., finding building materials that meet the goals of recycled, reclaimed or rapidly renewable can sometimes compete with the goal of using locally-sourced materials. For instance, steel generally contains a high percentage of recycled material, but the tight steel market can occasionally require bringing a specific, timely order in from a distant location. The exterior finish of the ARD building includes brick, metal panels, curtainwall glazing, and stucco.
Within the category of Indoor Environmental Quality, the team expects to achieve 12-14 of the possible 15 LEED credits. Toward that aim, they are incorporating CO2 monitoring, an IAQ Management Plan, low or zero-VOC paints, carpets & composite woods, and entryway dust grills. Occupants will also have individual controls over thermal comfort and the interior design incorporates maximum daylighting, views and collaboration areas. Faculty, students and staff will be able to study sustainability knowing they are in a healthy environment that maximizes occupant productivity.
So who will those occupants be? The tenants include a diverse portfolio of campus sustainability programs, as well as an incubator for technology and sustainability businesses in northern Arizona. In keeping with the low-impact design philosophy, the interior spaces will be configured in a modular format so that tenant improvement costs for evolving program needs are minimized. And as an architecturally unique landmark at the gateway to campus, the building will serve as a guided educational "classroom" for students as well as visitors from around the world that are curious about sustainable design and construction. In fact, the university expects a substantial flow of tourists to visit ARD on their way to the nearby Grand Canyon. Although still a minor accomplishment next to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the NAU ARD building is on track to set a high bar for green building professionals in Arizona and across the country.
Mick Dalrymple, LEED AP, is President of Desert Moon Productions, an education, entertainment, and marketing company dedicated to furthering the sustainable economy through programs such as PBS' Build It Green!. Dalrymple can be reached at 602-340-9914 or md@desertmooninc.com.
Similar Green Ideas News
- It pays to be green
- LEED: A Scorecard for Green Buildings
- Going green pays off
- Going 'Green' to Require LEED Certifications
- Houses to go certifiably green
Similar Partner News
- Council gives green light to Downtown TIF (News-Press Now)
- Layoffs coming to ABC 15 in Phoenix and Scripps stations nationwide (Heat City)
- More Studies Extol Virtues of Green Jobs (greeninc blogs)
Publication: Environmental Design + Construction
