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AIA Housing Awards 2009 | |
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People and Places | |
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AIA Convention 2009 | |
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Endangered Historic U.S. Places 2009 | |
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AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects for 2009 | |
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AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects for 2009 Located on 252 acres (102 hectares), the nature center includes a variety of spaces for learning, from an exhibit hall and a laboratory to three outdoor classrooms located deep in the swamp. The project worked to minimized negative impacts on the ecosystems, and also included some natural area restoration. The structures in sensitive areas use helical pier foundations designed to minimize the disruption of water flow. The buildings are largely clustered, with conditioned indoor space minimized by developing an outdoor circulation system with walkways sheltered by flat roofs of steel and wood. Sustainable Town Center The LEED Platinum-targeted Portola Valley Town Center in Portola Valley, California, contains a library, community center, and town hall. Co-architects Siegel & Strain Architects and Goring & Straja Architects Architects developed the design for the facility, which replaces a seismically unsafe complex, through a collaborative process with high community involvement. The architects reduced the built footprint by 20 percent compared to the previous town center, and clustered the operational, administrative, and public spaces together in one corner of the site, allowing them to preserving existing redwood groves and oak savanna while restoring continuity between open spaces. The old complex was deconstructed, and many materials were reused as beams, paneling, countertops, and structural fill. Exterior cladding and louvers on the new building are made from salvaged wood, and the wood flooring is local eucalyptus. Careful building orientation, in addition to daylighting, natural ventilation, sunshades, and thermal mass, reduced overall energy use and allowed for smaller mechanical systems. A 76-kilowatt photovoltaic system supplies 40 percent of the building's electricity. A piped section of creek has been "daylighted," and the old culvert is now used as a cistern for storing up to 40,000 gallons (150,000 liters) of rainwater. Platinum Office Conversion Weber Thompson designed the renovation and expansion of a Seattle industrial structure into a speculative office building with ground-floor retail. The Terry Thomas has received a LEED Platinum rating for its interiors and a Gold rating for core and shell. The building is located near a new streetcar line in the city's burgeoning South Lake Union district, also home to the Discovery Center at South Lake Union, from the 2008 Top Ten list. The four-story Terry Thomas building is organized around a central courtyard, something less common in the Pacific Northwest than in warmer regions of the United States. The configuration facilitates daylighting and natural ventilation; in fact, the building has no air conditioning. The castellated steel beam structure, chosen for strength, lower cost, and reduced material, was left exposed and painted white, allowing air to circulate and light to penetrate the shallow floor plates. "From June of 2008 through March of 2009, our kBTU output has been half of what you would normally see in a Class A office building," says Scott Thompson, a principal of Weber Thompson, which moved its offices into the building. Much of the energy efficiency is achieved through a well-sealed building envelope. Other contributing components include efficient appliances, efficient lighting fixtures with photoelectric and occupancy sensors, and low-emissivity coated glass to reduce unwanted heat gain. Green Affordable Housing The Gish Family Apartments in San Jose, California, are designated for residents making 35 to 50 percent of the median income, with about a third of the units set aside for residents with developmental disabilities. OJK Architecture and Planning designed the 35-unit affordable housing complex for First Community Housing. The transit-oriented development received LEED Gold certification under both LEED for Homes and LEED-NC. It's also a visually compelling work of architecture, particularly with its distinctive stepped facade and the right-angled sunshade rising from its top. The project is located on an urban brownfield site adjacent to light rail, which reduced the need for parking. That allowed the building to achieve a density of 81 units per acre (203 units per hectare) — relatively high for the area. Other sustainable features include rooftop photovoltaic solar panels that provide 30 percent of the building's overall electricity, high-performance insulation, double-glazed windows, and high-efficiency water-heating systems. A design-build process with a negotiated contract brought in the general contractor and most subcontractors at the beginning of the process, as well as sustainable design and financial consultants, to help identify opportunities to increase efficiency and stay below budget. Improving Environmental Welfare The World Headquarters for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts, provides 54,000 square feet (5,000 square meters) of space for research, administration, and a worldwide data center. Designed by designLAB architects, the complex has a distinctive look, inspired by the sailboats of Cape Cod, with interwoven panels of glass and wood. >>> Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum...
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