Current Issue

Urban Connections

How do you foster vitality and development in an emerging urban neighborhood? The developers of Twelve | West, located in the West End area of Portland, Ore., sought to accomplish these goals with a sustainably focused mixed-use high-rise that offers shopping, dining, office space and apartments in one location. Major contributors to the project’s sustainability include extensive daylighting, efficient underfloor air ventilation with perimeter baseboard heating and passive chilled beams, natural ventilation via operable windows and rainwater reuse. The double LEED Platinum building, which opened in 2009, recorded an annual energy use intensity of 44.9 kBtu/ft² during its first year of operation.

Read entire case study: Twelve | West

Earthly Education

The design team for the Earth Rangers Centre outside of Toronto approached the project with some lofty goals: to make the facility one of the most efficient buildings of its size in North America and to create a building that furthers the nonprofit organization’s efforts to educate children about biodiversity and adopting sustainable behaviors. The 63,000 ft² building includes an animal habitat area and was toured by approximately 8,600 students and others in 2012. Thermal mass, a geothermal system coupled to radiant heating and cooling, building automation system and a reduced-size data center contribute to the building’s annual energy use intensity of 31.8 kBtu/ft² • yr and 95 ENERGY STAR rating.

Read entire case study: Earth Rangers Centre

Tastefully Sustainable

When McCormick & Company wanted to reduce its environmental impact and energy bills, the facility team sought to improve the energy efficiency of its distribution center in Belcamp, Md. The warehouse, which covers more than six football fields, reduced its energy consumption by more than half from 2006 to 2011. In 2011, the spice and flavoring company entered into a power purchase agreement, which involved the installation of an 1,800 kW rooftop solar array and resulted in net zero electricity operation during the following year. Facility managers hope to continue reducing energy use so that the excess electricity generated offsets the annual natural gas use of 17.9 kBtu/ft², achieving true net zero energy status.

Read entire case study: McCormick Distribution Center

Where’s the Carbon Footprint?

High Performing Buildings magazine case studies will soon include metrics to document a facility’s carbon dioxide emissions and measures to reduce or counter its emissions. This article explains the methodology that will be used to determine a carbon footprint and covers how building design, on-site renewable energy, renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets are used to address emissions. The authors, members of HPB magazine’s editorial advisory board, note that a benefit of RECs is that they are not location specific, but question whether they are equivalent to on-site renewables.

Read entire article: Where’s the Carbon Footprint?

Building Integrated PV Systems

Fast setting are the days when the photovoltaic system is the elephant on the roof. Many systems today are being incorporated into the building façade. In fact, the façade and glazing are changing, too, and there is more to come as sustainable technologies become both a functional and aesthetic part of the building design. This article describes some of the technologies and research presented at the 7th Energy Forum on Solar Building Skins in Brixen/Bressanone, Italy.