Design & Construction process

Advances in building envelopes and HVAC equipment enable widespread use of air source heat pumps by many in the "Net Zero Energy" and "Passive House" movements. Steve Bluestone will report on two related items: a three year performance study of an air source heat pump system using hourly measurements (done with Henry Gifford and built above his garage) and the design and construction of his new 101 unit high performance rental building in NYC utilizing the same technology.

With the drop in envelope loads and the rise in efficient heat pumps (even in cold climates), quite a few homes are moving away from fossil fuels towards electric HVAC. One recurring question is: what to do about water heating? This session covers various options - simple electric tanks, tankless electric heaters, solar thermal, heat pump water heaters, etc. - and presents real cost and energy data from several research & evaluation projects.

A number of multifamily affordable housing developments in the New York City area were hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Affordable housing organizations have learned from that experience and are working to improve the resilience--and sustainability--of their facilities, in ways both large and small. Alex Wilson and Jim Newman have been facilitating some of this work. This session reports on these efforts and presents practical strategies for making multifamily affordable housing--and all multifamily buildings--more resilient.

The presentation illustrates the financial prudence of net zero buildings today. From the outset of design through construction and operation, Maclay Architects and Energy Balance utilize comparative energy modeling and cost estimating to determine financial benefits of net zero buildings compared to code compliant or intermediate building solutions.

The RW Kern Center is designed to embody Hampshire College’s mission of fostering positive change in the world—and to meet the Living Building Challenge. This new ‘gateway’ building creates an opportunity for a powerful transformation of Hampshire’s 1960's vehicle-dominated, Brutalist campus core into a pedestrian friendly naturalistic landscape. The Kern Center will “operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently as nature's architecture”, and contribute to Hampshire Community values of active inquiry, creativity, social justice, entrepreneurship, and the sustainable future.

For many teams, it is an almost impossible challenge to simultaneously deliver high performance and cost efficient buildings while maintaining high customer satisfaction and profitability. Integrated design/build delivery providing single responsibility, from schematic design to construction through commissioning and monitoring has proved to be a viable model for successful delivery of cost efficient high performance buildings. This session will examine aspects of planning, marketing, estimating, system development, project management, human resources, accounting, and legal concerns.

Owners, Developers, Architects and Engineers, the latest additions of the Energy Codes for Commercial Buildings have arrived! Rhode Island and Massachusetts recently passed IECC 2012. New York State is finalizing the change to IECC – 2012 and others will follow. The new energy codes are becoming the minimum design standards across the nation. What does this mean to our projects, practice and design teams? The new Codes require us to revisit our approach to building design in order to further improve energy performance and building operations.

This session will delve into two wide-ranging case studies representing the few Northeast LBC projects (only 50 active LBD nationwide). The Smith College Bechtel Environmental Classroom field station building is on track to receive full certification by early 2014. The Kellogg House at Williams College, a repurposed and expanded historic building, currently in construction (Fall 2013).

Effective management of airflow in multifamily buildings is often attempted but rarely achieved. This session will focus on effective methods to air seal between units, as well as exterior walls. Compartmentalizing multifamily units in this way has proven benefits in comfort, health, efficiency, and operating costs. Certification programs such as Energy Star and LEED are catching up. Come to this session to learn how smart practitioners are doing it right.