Masonry Magazine November 2007 Page. 22
GREEN BUILDING
The themes that inspired the design for the facility are openness, innovation and respect for nature. To incorporate these themes, Legat chose to use steel frame construction with face brick veneer, as well as steel beams and roof joists, along with tilt-up precast concrete for the gymnasium. The building is composed of three triangular wings that feature glass walls for the classrooms ("daylight harvesting") and high-touch materials (face brick and precast concrete) for the interior walls. Additionally, a 3.3-acre pond-based geothermal system reduces energy costs for the school by about 20 percent ($70,000 per year, the district estimates) compared with conventional HVAC systems.
"The layout responds to site features, solar patterns and internal circulation requirements," says Jay Johnson, project manager with Legat.
Materials played a key role in reaching the programmatic and sustainable objectives for the school, says Greg Spitzer, senior designer at Legat. "The brick complements the adjacent city hall to create a campus setting," he says. "The brick supports the energy efficiency achieved by daylight harvesting and geothermal systems, creating a truly sustainable campus."
LEED CREDITS
The goals of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED certification process are to improve the environmental performance and economic returns of buildings, while also improving and protecting the health of occupants. Buildings are LEED-certified if they can be shown to attain at least 26 points (out of a possible 69). The certification awards system is further refined into three categories: Silver (33-38 points), Gold (39-51 points) and Platinum (52 points or more).
The LEED rating system for new construction and major renovations (LEED-NC) is divided into five categories, each with numerous credits to acknowledge sustainable building practices, plus a sixth category to recognize pioneering designs that exceed the LEED credit requirements or that address sustainable issues not covered by the rating system. The categories are as follows:
Sustainable Sites (14 available points)
Water Efficiency (five available points)
Energy and Atmosphere (17 available points)
Materials and Resources (13 available points)
Indoor Environmental Quality (15 available points)
Innovation and Design Process (five available points)
To learn more about the LEED system and the certification process, visit the USGBC's Web site at www.usgbc.org. The council offers several local and regional workshops on the rating system throughout the year.
Green public spaces
FEDERAL-AND STATE-FUNDED projects are among the most common construction jobs to go green. In fact, at least some sustainable design often is required for these projects. Not surprisingly, the biggest U.S. cities - where a larger percentage of building construction starts and renovations are found - tend the lead the way in terms of the number of green buildings.
In New York, for example, the city's first green LEED-certified (Gold) landmark is nearing completion. The $31 million renovation of the brick-walled Lion House at the Bronx Zoo (already a New York City Historic Landmark) combines preservation, exhibit design and viable habitat creation for foreign species (soon to play host to a recreation of Madagascar's habitat).
Originally built in 1903, the Lion House is the largest of the historic Beaux-Arts buildings in the zoo's Astor Court area. No