Case Study: The Bullitt Center

The tactics that buildings should emulate, according the Living Building Challenge are in place relative its pedals, which are:

Site

The Bullitt Center is build on what use to house a one story restaurant with a surface parking lot. Many existing structures are simply demolished in order to minimize impact on the overall project schedule and associated costs. Builders also took into consideration to save the salvaged material from destroyed structure and incorporate it into the new design. 

Water

The Bullitt Center uses portable water, waste water, and grey water. The building is regulated by Washington State Department of Health’s Group for safe drinking water so that rainwater collected on the roof and stored so it can meet all of the building’s needs. The building sends its waste water to King County’s Carnation facility, where it will be filtered using natural processes and used to restore a native wetland. The grey water comes from sink and shower drains. They will be filtered, stored, and then treated in a constructed wetland, which is visible on the building’s second story roof. 

Passenger Train Station Sustainability Diagram

This is a Sustainability Diagram that I created from my most recent studio project of the proposed bullet train station between Houston and Dallas. 

Case Study: The Bullitt Center

The Bullitt Center is a six-story office building located in Seattle, Washington. It was completed in 2012 and designed to be the greenest commercial office building in the world. A non-profit group called the Bullitt Foundation built the building to focus on the upcoming urban ecology and tenant ready-spaces. The building cost $30 million to complete. Is one of the few buildings in the world to achieve the Living Building Challenge. It is obligated to create as much energy as it uses in a year, and capture and treat rainwater for all its needs for at least 12 continuous months and to meet rigorous standards for “Red List” compliant materials and for the quality of its indoor environment. In all, the building has acquired all the pedals of the Living Building Challenge and is one of the few to do so. 

This building is a clear example of how the future buildings across the world should model. It is one one of the few buildings of the world to meet all the requirements of the the Living Building Challenge, making it a marvel in itself. The world has been using basic energy standards for numerous decades and its now time for a change. These strategies should become more obsolete at a faster pace than it is now, in order to ensure more sufficient environment and to guarantee less harmful impacts that we are already emitting into the earth. 

The tactics that buildings should emulate, according the Living Building Challenge are in place relative its pedals, which are:

Basic Energy Principles

When designing, we must take basic energy principles, such as heating into account.

Heat is a form of energy that is particularly relevant to building designers. Heating, cooling, and lighting involves the addition or subtraction of heat. That is why the basic measurement of how heat is transferred and stored is required. Without a temperature difference, there can not be a transfer of energy. 

The three primary devices of heat are conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction requires a direct physical contact. Convection requires a movement of a fluid such as air or water. Radiation occurs between surface. 

Standard Energy Issues

The world has evolved and created new technologies as the climate environments has changed. Present-day building occupants expect a high level of comfort, even under extreme weather conditions. The power of thermal and visual comfort use to be in the hands of the architect until new technologies such as, the air conditioner, heaters, and light fixtures changed the way a building could be designed. These technologies made quite a big evolution in architectural design from the nine-tenth century up to now. 

However, a lot of those innovations have relied on non-renewable resources which could harm our environment even more. Just new technologies were set in place during the nine-tenth century , new technologies are needed to be set in place to compensate for our environment and the dramatic change in climate. Energy Standards that are set in place should be changed in order to reduce the amount of harm we are doing to our environment.     

Sustainable Neighborhoods and Communities

A sustainable community is simply as a neighborhood, town, or city that finds their own ways to use their resources as efficient as possible. Not only do sustainable cities help reduce environmental stress, but cities with strong government support for green practices will see money pumped into smaller communities, improving the educational system and walkability aspect in one fell swoop. Individual contributions to sustainability are great for home value, but communities that engage on a more comprehensive level will see sustainable efforts improve individual and neighborhood circumstances. We also have to take a stand on where we have communities where families, schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces minimize biologically and socially toxic events, richly reinforce social behavior, and  foster psychological acceptance. Such interventions also have the potential to make neighborhoods more sustainable. If you’re looking to embrace modern housing trends, fostering a sustainable neighborhood should be one of your priorities.

Rainfall Collection

Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater for small irrigation and a way to increase ground water levels. The benefits of implementing the rainwater harvesting system is that it reduces water supply, and reduces run-off, erosion, and contamination of surface water.The best thing about rainwater is that it is free from pollutants as well as salts, minerals, and other natural and man-made contaminants. In areas where there is excess rainfall, the surplus rainwater can be used recharge ground water through artificial recharge techniques. The water can essentially be used for fire defense, landscaping, wildlife and livestock, used in residential homes. According to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension service, rain water is calculated by:

-Catchment area (ft2)

-Collection efficiency (%)

-Initial tank volume (gal)

-Tank size (gal)

-Plant water use coeff.

-Irrigated area (ft2)

-Monthly indoor demand (gal)

-Average monthly rainfall (in.)

-Average PET (in.)

-AC condensate (gal)

To calculate rain water collection, here is a link to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension service calculator: http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/files/2011/08/AgriLife-Ext-RWH-Calculator.xlsx

Sustainable Building Diagram

Here is an example of a sustainable section diagram on an Energy Efficient Home that I did my sophomore year in design III.  

Achieving Construction Sustainability Goals

As times are changing in the architectural community, architects are now discovering the best ways to construct a sustainable building. The cities and states want to help out the community, which forces designers to design sustainable, adding stricter energy and water usage standards. We are now starting to understand that the most effective placement of the building on the site demands knowledge provided by all groups. An integrated team is needed to provide the knowledge required in areas such as: 

1. Building orientation and massing for energy efficiency
2. Required staging area for construction
3. Best area to preserve for natural landscaping
4. Access to transit and area amenities
5. Cost effective connection to existing utilities
6. Best site usage for storm water management  

Therefore, if we bring together subcontractors and contractors, it can reduce the waste of time and even material during the construction process. This will better suit the needs  of sustainability by using less quantity of the materials, maximizing the efficiency of the building and also the team.

You can read more about how intergraded design is being implemented through the AIA, by visiting:

http://www.aia.org/practicing/groups/kc/AIAB081827

Plywood and it's Life Cycle

Plywood is used heavily in construction as building material, as well as for structural support for many everyday items. There is a large demand for an item this versatile. It is usually created with a blend of tropical woods, Birch, Pine, Cedar, Douglas, and SpruceFir. The woods are cut into blocks and are steamed in a 194 degree water. Once they are put through a lathe, they are trimmed to 3 millimeters. The pieces are then covered with resin and are put together. To put them together, they are heated and hot pressed at 212 degrees. However this is where the faults began, they are transported final sanding and trimming where a immersive amount of CO2 is put into the air. Since it is mostly shipped from China and transported to North America, a lot of fuel is used and  loosed into the atmosphere having a negative impact on the environment. This is why plywood should be recycled, instead of being burned and releasing more toxins into the air. This is being improved as Life-Cycle Assessment and Life-Cycle Inventory work together to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases as products, such as plywood, is produced. 

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from cradle to grave (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling).

http://www.gdrc.org/uem/lca/lca-define.html

A  Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI): study provides the measurement of the material flows, energy flows, and environmental releases for the production of a defined amount of a product. LCI is also known as a cradle-to-gate or gate-to-gate study, and is the building block for performing an LCA.

http://www.galvanizeit.org/sustainable-development-and-hot-dip-galvanizing/what-is-sustainable-development/life-cycle-inventory-and-life-cycle-assessment

The Living Building Water Challenge Petal Vs. LEED Water Use Reduction Credit

    

The Living Building Water Challenge and the LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, are both a rating system that provide a scale for measuring a building’s incorporation of green building strategies as compared to using methods that used by conventional buildings that we commonly see. To bring sustainable water features into their rating systems, LEED created their Water Consumption and Conservation Credit and the Living Building Challenge takes it a step further by establishing their water petal. 

LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and it’s system is more obtainable for builders to achieve. It is a point-based system, meaning the more efficient your are with handling your water, the more points you receive. Depending on rather the building is commercial or not, calculations are are taken place on occupants estimated usage to determine the amount of points awarded. For more information how a building accumulates points, visit: http://www.usgbc.org/credits/retail-nc/v2009/wec3

The Living Building Challenge is comprised is bit harder for builders to achieve because of two main rules. According to the International Living Future Institute, “One hundred percent of the project’s water needs must be supplied by captured precipitation or other natural closed loop water systems,12 and/or by re-cycling used project water, and must be purified as needed without the use of chemicals.” The last rule states that in order to be be verified after construction, the building must function for 12 consecutive months before becoming a candidate. 

The International Living Future Institute: https://living-future.org/sites/default/files/reports/FINAL%20LBC%203_0_WebOptimized_low.pdf

These are both important systems that will lead us into the future and steer us into to the right direction. In some countries, a decrease in portable water is becoming a huge issue, and its resources are very valuable. We must move forward in taking action to redefine water as waste and use it as efficient as possible. As an architectural community, The Living Building water Challenge Petal and the LEED Water Use Reduction Credit is a good addition that we should make into our designs in order to make water efficiency more common.  

About Me!

Ledell Thomas is a full time student at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. He is currently working on his Bachelors degree in Architecture and wishes to further continue his academic career by obtaining his Masters. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana yet, due to Hurricane Katrina, his family relocated to the Houston,Texas area in 2005. As a young boy, Ledell was a well rounded child. He was in gifted and talented though grade school and participated in many art competitions such as the Houston Rodeo and the Visual Art Scholastic Event. Form there, he grew a strong passion  for architecture. Though High school, Ledell was apart of many activities. He participated in Art Club, National Honor Society of Scholars, JROTC, Student Council and AVID. While taking advance placement classes, he was vice president for his high school choir and acted as class Parliamentarian for his graduating class of 2015 at Channelview High School in Channelview, Texas. He participated in community festivals, football games, tournaments, and ceremonies for first responders. He was a constant participant and graduated with recognition for his contribution in his high school. Outside of school he held two jobs to help support himself and others. He showed his leadership skills by becoming a trainee manager at McDonalds and a sponsor in his department at Walmart. He continues to be active by getting involved in organizations such as AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students), CIS (Construction Specifications Institute), PrairieView’s A&M Chapel outreach ministry and other architectural opportunities to further grow in his college life. With his academic, organization, and work skills; his ultimate goal is to work as chief architect in a successful firm and one day launching his own architectural firm that will work with community developers.