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Skanska Building Set for LEED Gold
Bend, Ore.
This month Skanska will complete the new Bend Park and Recreation District office. Located in the 20-acre Riverbend Park, this sustainable facility is designed to be a hub of the Old Mill District by connecting the park with the Deschutes River Trail, Farewell Bend Park and the Shops at the Old Mill.
The 22,000 sq ft facility will meet LEED Gold certification.
Major sustainable elements of the building include a “green roof,” in-slab radiant heat, high-efficiency windows, structural insulated panel roof system, low-water-use toilets and faucets, onsite storm water management system and rapidly renewable products such as bamboo. In addition, the new facility was built with a solar panel hot water system, which translates to long-term energy savings. Two-thirds of the building will contain staff work spaces while the remaining third will be dedicated space for the community.
The project took only one year from the point of breaking ground to final delivery. Bend Park and Recreation plans to open the facility to the public on July 13, 2009.
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WOU Dorm Slated For Platinum Rating
Monmounth, Ore.
In its most aggressive move toward achieving a higher degree of architectural sustainability, Western Oregon University plans to build a “live/learn” residence hall targeted for a LEED Platinum certification.
If approved, the rating would be the first such designation for a student residence hall on the West Coast.
Site work on the fast track 300-bed residential facility will begin this month with construction scheduled for completion in August 2010. Construction cost is budgeted at $14 million.
“In addition to the LEED Platinum certification, our goal is to meet the objectives of Architecture 2030 by reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent as a way to focus on resource conservation and energy efficiency,” said Kurt Haapala, project manager for Mahlum Architects.
To achieve this goal, Haapala said the design team will incorporate photovoltaic panels for heating water, use rain water for flushing toilets, reduce potable water usage by 50%, reduce energy use by 58%, as well as provide environmental education for residents on how to use the building. The building will have a well-sealed thermal envelope and possibly triple glazing. The 80,000 sq ft facility will provide a new type of campus living and learning experience that includes not only “thematic” housing for interest groups and degree programs but space for multi-purpose classrooms, offices and study and social areas and 200 rooms. Besides Mahlum, project team members include Lease Crutcher Lewis, general contractor; James G. Pierson, Inc., structural engineer; Interface Engineering, mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineer; Atlas Landscape Architecture, landscape; WRG Design, civil, and Brightworks, LEED consultant.
Co-Housing Complex Looking For New Residents
Portland
Daybreak, a new co-housing development located in the Overlook neighborhood of North Portland, is set to open this summer.
In most co-housing developments a large ‘Common House’ is designed for daily use and provides a central location for planned and spontaneous activities, shared meals and many amenities, as a supplement to private living areas. Residents have their own self-sufficient homes. By taking advantage of the Common House amenities (e.g., large dining rooms for shared meals, guest rooms, workshops, etc.) homes typically can be smaller than average single-family homes. When construction is finished in the fall 2009, Daybreak will have 30 self-contained flats and townhouses, one to three bedrooms in size. Units will be sold as condominiums and there will also be some rentals. Daybreak includes extensive common use areas and amenities that enhance a green lifestyle.
U.S. cohousing communities, which number more than 110, are often designed for reducing the carbon footprint of housing in at least three key ways: green building methods and materials; shared community facilities that allow individual homes to be smaller; and sharing of resources, from recreation equipment to garden tools and space. Grace Kim, a principal architect with Schemata Workshop of Seattle, is the primary Daybreak architect. B&G Builders of Portland is the contractor and was recognized in March by the Build Local Alliance for its use of Forest Stewardship Council certified lumber at Daybreak.
Kiewit Complex Nears Completion
Vancouver, Wash.
RSV Construction Services, a Vancouver-based construction company that specializes in new construction, remodeling, renovations and tenant improvements, recently was awarded and began work on the second phase of construction at Kiewit Pacific Company’s Northwest District Office in Vancouver, Wash.
RSV completed the first phase of construction in April 2009, with the addition of a new 25,261 sq ft building. In the second phase, RSV will be remodeling the existing 20,000 sq ft building and re-skinning the existing 4,000 sq ft storage/maintenance facility with new roofing and siding.
Overall, Kiewit will be doubling its Vancouver office space in order to accommodate needed staff for its heavy civil and highway construction projects throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii and western Canada.
The newly constructed and renovated facilities will provide a Class A professional environment for Kiewit managers and operations staff. The facilities use high-efficiency lighting and HVAC systems, high-performance glazing systems, and long-life metal roofing, metal trim and brickwork.
The entire project is scheduled for completion in September 2009. The architects for the project are Ankrom Moisan.
YGH Signs Up For 2030 Initiative
Portland
Yost Grube Hall Architecture (YGH) has signed on to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 Commitment. The voluntary program calls for AIA member firms to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by designing more energy-efficient buildings and by operating sustainably.
Firms signing on to the 2030 Commitment pledge to implement multi-year action plans to achieve AIA’s goal of carbon neutral buildings by the year 2030. According to the AIA, “Architects are confronting the fact that buildings are the largest single contributor to the production of greenhouse gases, responsible for almost half of the total annual production of greenhouse gases in the U.S.”
YGH will take the following steps under the AIA 2030 Commitment:
Establish a team to guide the development and implementation of the firm’s plan.
Develop a sustainability action plan for building design to meet the AIA’s 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025 benchmarks on the way to carbon neutral buildings by 2030.
Implement action items from a list developed by the AIA to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to firm operations such as travel.
Make the sustainability action plan and annual progress reports publicly available.
Additionally, YGH has adopted an office-wide Sustainability Policy establishing principles and goals for office and project practices. The policy incorporates ongoing efforts with The Oregon Natural Step to limit the impact of office operations, and also establishes processes to improve social and environmental sustainability of the firm’s work.
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