JL Architects

Sustainability

Design Begins with Existing Conditions

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Most projects don’t begin with a blank canvas and a flat area of land to design and build upon. With so many existing buildings, either broken up into leasable tenant space or re-purposed for different uses as time passes, many projects begin with the existing building shell and are tailored to fit the next occupant’s use. This is where documenting existing conditions plays an important role in the conception of the project.

For each site survey, the level of investigation depends on the scope of the project. If a client wishes to generate drawings for leasing purposes, wall locations, window/door sizes, and utility locations are documented and dimensioned to show the leasable area of a space.  If the client’s goal is to renovate the building or build an addition, the survey will be more involved, and can include surrounding site context, structure, electrical service, mechanical system sizes and approximate age, condition of the roof, adequate parking, and current accessibility standards.

Once the information arrives in our office, the software is also selected based on the client’s end goals. If the scope of work is to simply provide lease outline drawings, drawings can be completed quickly using AutoCAD. If the scope is to include facade renovations or coordinating an interior fit-out with updated mechanical systems, modeling the project in Revit may be the best option.

Now that summer has arrived, so has our returning intern, and we are able to pass along some of our knowledge and methods of documenting buildings.  We develop a method of drawing, writing dimensions without cluttering our drawing, photographing elements of importance, and looking beyond the surface to understand structure orientation and wall construction.  These are things that can only be learned by first-hand experience, and we are happy to share that experience.

Performing site surveys to document existing conditions is just one of the many services we offer at JL Architects, and distance is no issue. In the last few months, we’ve completed surveys everywhere from our own town of West Chester, to Philadelphia, northern Virginia, Georgia, and as far west as Arizona. With every completed survey, comes a greater understanding of how the existing building comes together, and how we can better help our clients achieve their design goals.

Brandon Runnels, Architectural Designer

The Benefits of Continuing Education in Architecture

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Twenty-nine years of working across the USA has resulted in a unique skill set and perspective.  Special skills are required to work with people we don’t see, design in a space we will only see once, and to build teams with people we may not work with again. Then, there are the peripheral Responsibilities.

“Responsibilities” often is an obligation that drags down performance. In this case, working across the USA obligates JLA to maintain at least one license in each state and to complete Continuing Education requirements.

Continuing Education is a long-standing requirement for many professionals, such as doctors and lawyers.  In the architecture and engineering field it started in the 1990’s.

Continuing Education requirements vary from state to state relative to topics, number of hours and presentation medium.  With 37 state licenses, certifications in LEED and Green Globes, and membership in the AIA, it can be a full-time job keeping up.  The first CE class I took in the 90’s was a 2-day seminar on French furniture. It was interesting and I still recall some of the interesting facts, but I don’t know how it has made me a better architect or what it had to do with “Health, Safety and Welfare”.

Like most things, it got better as the idea matured.  In addition to the office lunch -n – learns given by manufacturers and various vendors serving the design & construction industry, topics covered through my personal study include:

  • Handicapped Accessibility with special courses for Texas, Florida and California
  • Biomechanics
  • Biofilters
  • Building Pathology – how to figure out what went wrong
  • Alternate Building Materials, such as Gabions and Rammed Earth
  • Daylighting and the benefits on productivity
  • The Building of the Pentagon
  • Senior Living: Housing for Aging
  • The Design-Build processes – benefits and liabilities
  • Sustainability including Rain Gardens, Geothermal systems, and green building materials
  • Construction Cost Management

While Continuing Education is time consuming, it effectively accomplishes the promotion of learning.  Vendor presentations are made to our entire JLA team.  This keeps us up to date on the latest technology and products. The personal study courses are always shared with our team as well.  In a world where everything new can soon be obsolete, it is important to keep up with trends and resources for solutions to both new and old challenges.  This continued learning enables JLA to be creative problem solvers, continuing our growth and success in the multiple areas of our architecture practice.

 

John Lister, AIA, LEED AP, GGA

Principal, JL Architects

 

Benefits of a Green Globes Certification!

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Benefit from Sustainable Features with a Green Globes Certification!

Green Globes was created to be a practical and flexible tool applicable to any building regardless of size, type, or budget. There are many benefits to achieving even just one Green Globe.

Once your Green Globes Professional has completed the initial survey, the Green Globes Assessor process begins. This involves an Assessor assigned to the project by the Green Building Initiative (GBI), who reviews and conducts an onsite walk through of the building and grounds. The project Assessor is accompanied by the property manager, design team representative, and in many cases the construction manager. A follow up meeting is often conducted to discuss the Green Globes process, and the key points of the assessment, which will create the final report and Green Globes certification.

While some buildings get by with only 35 or 36% of applicable points out of the initial 1000 (35% is the minimum), only the truly advanced buildings earn Three or Four Green Globes. This higher rating is what a leader in sustainability strives for, and those that get there typically work very hard to achieve Three or Four Green Globes. In fact, a net zero building outside of Chicago achieved both Three Green Globes and LEED Platinum.

Some buildings earn certification with only 35 or 36% of applicable points out of the initial 1000 but benefit from a customized report that details opportunities to improve the building – Alexander Pointe Apartments, Mebane, NC – One Green Globe –

Alexander Pointe apartments - 1 GG

Projects that achieve One Green Globe demonstrate a commitment to environmental efficiency practices. The process of achieving One Green Globes often provides incentive to building owners and designers to improve practices to take projects to the next level of demonstrating excellent progress in the reduction of environmental impacts and use of environmental efficiency practices.

Environmental Assessment Areas:

Regardless of the number of Green Globes that a project achieves the process remains the same and the following areas are questioned and documented:

Project Management: Collaborative meetings with stakeholders and influencers such as key design and construction personnel should be held as early as possible in the design process, and continue through building occupancy.  This benefits in your planning and creating a raised awareness of aspects that improve building performance and outcome.

Site: Review the effected development area.  Is it urban infill or suburban sprawl?  Are there greenfields, brownfields or floodplains effected?  Site criteria also deals with connections to other sites, walkability, storm water management, landscaping, water use and exterior light pollution.

Energy:  The single highest environmental assessment area of the Green Globes certification metric is energy use and conservation achieved through equipment selection and building performance.  They are critical aspects in determining the sustainability of a facility.  To ensure that the building continues to operate at the optimum level, continual monitoring and tracking of energy performance is essential.  The use of an energy model is encouraged as a tool to not only identify the systems that provide the highest payback, but also as a tool to evaluate value engineering and how suggested substitutions flow through to the long-term bottom line.

Water: Green Globes addresses water consumption including whole building performance and prescriptively water conserving features, water treatment, alternative sources of water, metering and sub-metering, and irrigation design.

Materials & Resources:  A significant aspect of sustainability that could be expanded and evaluated to a greater degree is the use of life cycle assessment (LCA). The opportunity to earn points for education and knowledge on the inputs and outputs required for various structural and interior materials from extraction through to delivery is too often overlooked by building teams. An LCA is considered the most reliable way to calculate and compare the cradle-to-grave environmental effects of common building materials. The use of LCA tools is encouraged by Green Globes. Also, Green Globes certification encourages a evaluation of how long building components will last and what alternatives there are to provide greater durability, higher returns and less waste.

Emissions: There are two paths for assessing heating; district heating or low emission boilers and furnaces. The cooling section includes review of refrigerants, specifically the ozone depleting potential (ODP), the global warming potential (GWP) and Green Chill best practices regarding leak detection. The Emissions environmental assessment area also addresses storage for hazardous materials.

Indoor Environment: Green Globes reviews the ventilation; air quality, air exchange intakes and exhausts, source control and the measurement of indoor pollutants including VOCs, fungus, mold, CO2, tobacco, and radon. Also, covered in this section is the use of an integrated pest management strategy, lighting design, and thermal and acoustic comfort.

Vicki Worden, President & CEO of GBI says, “It’s true, that every building can incorporate sustainable features and benefit from the Green Globes customized report for planning the next round of capital improvements. That does make Green Globes unique because it’s about inclusivity – every building has room for improvement. But there is a definite difference in achievement for the leaders of the pack.”

 

Barbara A.W. Clarke, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Green Globes Professional, Green Globes Assessor

Director of Sustainability

JL Architects

www.jlarchs.com

Roofing: Black or White?

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Recently, JLA had a lunch and learn on roofing products with Tim Kenna from Exterior Building Solutions.   We learned about the different benefits of white v. black roofs, how they function and how surrounding areas are effected.

White roofs have been part of a movement called cool roofing.  The idea is to use the white roof to reflect sun off the building thus keeping the cooling loads down.  While this works great in geographic areas with low heating loads and high cooling loads, it does not work well in places that have high heating loads and low cooling loads.  The best location for a white roof is below Zone 4 on the ASHRAE rating; buildings in this area are dominated by cooling loads.  The white roof will decrease air conditioning costs of those buildings, and help keep the surrounding area cooler as well.  LEED currently gives points for having a white roof, even though a black roof performs better in colder climates.

Some of the biggest downsides to a white roof is moisture build up, hotter to be on, increase to interior heating in the colder months, and they are harder to maintain.  The roof temperature is decreased right at roof level due to the sun reflecting, but the temperature goes up the further you are away from the surface.  This causes the temperature to be much hotter at 5 feet above then at the surface meaning it feels hotter to be on the roof.  A white roof will slowly lose it reflectivity due to the amount of dirt that has accumulated on the roof; this causes the roof to shift from white and move towards being a darker gray color.  This cuts down on the reflectivity of the roof which decreases any benefit one would receive.  The white roofs have seen an issue with moisture and condensation due to the change in temperature within the assembly.  This buildup of moisture mostly occurs in colder climates due to the water vapor not being able to escape from the assembly and sitting under the white roof, which prevents it from evaporation due to not heating up the same was a black roof would.

Black or dark roofs function differently as they absorb the sunlight which in turn keeps the roof surface at a hotter temperature.  This allows for the roof to help with heating loads in the building.  Tim Kenna suggested that in the colder temperature areas (above zone 4 on the ASHRAE rating) that designers use darker roofs as the benefit is significantly better.  Unlike white roofs, there are not as many issues with moisture and condensation.

-Alex Schleicher

When to Use Modular Construction: Three Things You Need to Know

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The construction industry comes under tremendous pressure to provide better value through improved quality and performance. The modular commercial construction segment has made significant advances in the implementation of the latest processes, materials and technology to build and deliver complex buildings.

Among the impressive benefits of modular commercial construction is the reduced construction schedule, which makes it possible to complete projects 30 percent to 50 percent faster than standard methods. Modular construction is not only faster but it is also greener and smarter, which puts this segment of the construction industry on an “incredible growth” trajectory in the coming years.

So, should you use modular or conventional construction for your next commercial project? Here are three things to consider in your decision-making process:

  1. Use modular when you need flexibility

In an economic climate of continuous change, organizations need to ensure that all aspects of their business operations are flexible so that they can adapt at a moment’s notice to take advantage of opportunities and remain competitive.  Relocatable real estate assets make your organization even more agile. Modular commercial construction gives your organization the ability to disassemble, relocate or refurbish the modules to meet unique requirements. You can contract and expand space quickly by adding or removing one or more modules. Modular construction also minimizes disruptions to your operations, surrounding buildings and the environment.

  1. Use modular when you need to maximize your allocated capital construction budget

Modular commercial construction offers significant productivity and cost gains on your project. For example, modular construction bids typically include all the mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and structural sealed plans as part of the package, which provides savings to clients on their design costs. In addition, modular construction manufacturers have established relationships with vendors and suppliers and the ability to purchase materials in larger quantities and at competitive prices. Many manufacturers gladly pass these savings on to their clients. Off-site construction reduces labor and supervision costs because skilled workers build modular buildings at a fixed price. You also avoid conflicts with scheduling trades and other delay issues.

  1.  Use modular when you value better construction quality

Modules constructed off site must meet the same building codes and regulatory requirements, such as IRC or IBC, as other types of construction. However, modular commercial construction techniques make the modules much stronger than conventional construction. Each module undergoes a strict engineering process to ensure that the section can withstand transportation to the site and craning onto the foundations. Storage of the materials in a climate-controlled environment also keeps them safe from deterioration or damage from moisture, extreme temperatures and other elements, which assures that the craftsmen use high quality materials at all times.

Skilled workers build the modules on tables, which guarantee consistency and precision in the workmanship. Builders assemble the modules on site with strict adherence to local, state and national building code requirements.

Why choose modular construction?

Modular construction appeals to a variety of different industries and applications, including retail, hospitality, educational facilities, publicly funded facilities, hospitals, medical clinics, office buildings, daycare centers, schools, banks, and multi-family. Some benefits of modular construction are difficult to match using conventional construction, including durability, quality, cost, safety, construction schedule and environmental impact. With modular construction, you minimize your risks and you get a building of equal or superior quality, which meets your needs and in much less time than a comparable site-built structure.

-Kipp Happ

Creating Opportunities Through Energy Modeling

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Energy Modeling is a tool used to analyze building systems for the purpose of improving building energy performance. It can be applied to both existing buildings and new construction.  It allows design professionals to consider not only the building design and materials, but external factors such as prevailing weather, paving color and vegetation. When used to explore different building envelope and equipment scenarios, the energy modeling process enables early decisions in the design process, balancing aesthetics with building life cycle costs.

For an existing building, Energy Modeling can provide insight into where money is best spent for the highest improvement of energy efficiency.  There are programs that offer incentives to increase efficiencies such as Freddie Mac’s Multifamily Green Advantage.  An energy model can identify the building systems that are using the most energy. This provides an opportunity for engineers, architects and owners to collaboratively make design decisions that will benefit the efficiency of the building systems.

Often, in new construction building energy analyses is conducted late in the design.  To realize the greatest benefit and insight, an Energy Model should be prepared and reviewed in each step of the design process along with the traditional aspects of building design.  Decisions such as orientation, glass properties, and shading depend on climate zone and exposure.  The same model can be used during the bidding and construction phase to evaluate “value engineering” proposals and how such changes to design might raise or degrade the performance of the building.  Such insights lead to timely decision making that will improve the bottom line construction costs, and ultimately the bottom line operating costs.

When designing buildings that are pursuing a Sustainable building certification, project teams that use Building Information Modeling (BIM) for energy analysis during the design development design phase find best results for choosing appropriate systems.  For instance, Revit model can be used to extract U values of every component of the building envelope and the building systems. This information will then be linked to an energy modeling software. Designers use these tools as an integrated whole building energy analysis, giving us a reasonable energy cost projection to guide the design decisions and financial analyses.   The design team can now look at over 50 variations of different parameter alternatives in a building design and provide straight forward guidance on which variations will have the most efficient use of energy.

Want to learn more?

https://gbs.autodesk.com/GBS/

-Barbara Clarke