EFTA00281480.pdf

110 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD OCTOBER 2010 Live r Build Sustain A new green building program aims to push the design and construction industry well beyond current best practices. By Nancy B. Solomon, AIA THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE Is not for the faint of ideal green-building practices in a study initiated the next , Continuing heart.Part polemic, part rating system, it looks squarely at year for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The latter *wig Education Use the following learning the environmental crisis - from rising global temperatures to shrinking natural habitats -and asks: What are wegoing to d0 about 14 not in a few decades ore few years. but today? analyzed the construction and operating costs of market-rate construction, comparing them to the costs associated with certification under the four tiers of the Leadership inEnergy objectives to focus your The program challenges like-minded people to avoid any and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which study while reading this further degradation when they build. In fact, it asks partici- had only recently been launched by the U.S. Green Building month's ARCHITECTURAL pants to try to heal their sites as they create structures that Council. The Packard study also examined the cost of achiev- RECORD/AIA Continuing exist in harmony with their surrounding ecosystems, inhabit- ing the then-largely-hypothetical living building, which was Education article. To ants, and cultures. And If myopic building codes or manufac- earn one AIA teeming envisioned to be even more sustainable than one meeting turing processes are limiting sustainable options, it requires LEED's highest level of certification, Platinum. unit, including one hour the project team to advocate change. McLennan continued to refine the living building concept of health, safety. and While applauding the progress that has been made by and,in August 2006, presented the first version of the welfare/sustainable design flISW/SED credit. the green-building movement in the past 20 years, the au- program to Cascadia Green Building Council (Cascadla), a turn to Flagella and thors of the Challenge say it has not been enough. In an April chapter of both the U.S. and Canada Green Building Councils follow the Instructions. 2010 description of the program, they argue that "Incremen- covering Oregon. Washington State, British Columbia, and tal change Is no longer a viable option?' Given the enormity Alaska. McLennan joined the organization as its C.E.O. soon of the task that still lies ahead, they maintain that we need thereafter, and Cascadia formally announced the launch of Learning Objectives "to completely reshape humanity's relationship with nature the Living Building Challenge in November 2006. To adminis- I Explain the goals of and realign our ecological footprint to be within the planet's ter the expanding program, Cascadia established a separate the Living Building carrying capacity." organization, the International Living Building Institute (ILBIL Challenge. The concept of a living building grew out of a mid- In May 2009, which released Version 2.0 of the system later 1990s project to design a highly sustainable building for that year. 2 Describe Its Montana State University. The design team, which included organizational framework and BNIM Architects of Kansas City, Missouri, sought to shift The framework requirements. from a mechanistic model of architecture, in which natural To fully meet the Challenge in its current version, a man-made resources are viewed as fodder for construction, to a more environment must address seven performance areas:site, a Discuss the hurdles organic one, in which a building Is designed to be fully part of, to achieving Living water, energy, health, materials. equity, and beauty. These and in balance with, its ecosystem. categories are Called "petals- to emphasize the overarching Building designation. Although the Montana project was never built, Bob goal: A building, like a flower, should be in ecologic balance with 4 Compare the Berkebilt a founding principal of BNIM, and Jason F. its environment, rooted to Its place, and an ongoing source of Challenge and the McLennan, then head of the firm's building-science team, inspiration. LEED rating system. continued to work on the concept. They coauthored an article Each performance area has one or more requirements. titled "Living Building," which appeared In the October 1999 or "imperatives?' There are 20 Imperatives in all, with names Issue of The World &I, and used the same term to signify like "limits to growth" and "inspiration + education." NG IMPERATIVES AND TYPOLOGY MATRIX To obtain Living Building status, projects must satisfy the following: • baked Ieldloas INNS priNit1 bownlary Inuts e ett 4' cke 41' t/ c,, t eelc es # 4 • 44# / .4 ,> xpta d% x MOACT TYPOLOGIES ak te v d c OF> c, 4Pce • +4) rat •• lc e i st iose e -,$*44- ge 004 0 %•tee ' WI - cat.O r Ott . it OR _ 44 ez' NEIGHBOR/1000 • rip • • • • • • • BUILDING • • • • : •• •• •• - •• •• •• •• •• • • • • • IffRASTRUGTURE i • ' 4-- V- • Li • I • —I • • • • • • • • • • • RENOVATION • • • • • • — o—re••, • • • • SOURCE: LNTGANATIONAL LIVING !GILDING 'NSW= EFTA00281480  THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE imperatives within a performance area must be met to earn instance, does not have to address the blophilia imperative. The Energy Laboratory at that particular petal of the Challenge. And certain criteria within some Imperatives are the Hawaii Preparatory Projects are categorized as belonging to one of four ty- adjusted according to the project's transect. For example, Academy In Waimea, Hawaii, pologies, or construction types: landscape and infrastructure, according to the urban agriculture imperative, a project with was designed by Fla nsburqh renovation. building, and neighborhood. The projects are also a floor area ratio (FAR) of less than .05 located In a rural agri- Architects of Boston and grouped into one of six going transects according to the densi- cultural zone (L2) must use 80 percent of its project area for completed In January 2010. PHOTOGRAPHY: • MATTHEW MILLMAN ty of their context - a concept based onDuany Plater-Zyberk food production, while one located in the urban center zone To source materials for & Company's New Urban Transect. The transects range from (L5) with an FAR of 2.5 need only allot 5 percent for such use. projects in such remote natural habitat preserve (Lt) to urban core zone (L6). Furthermore, the matrix allows the Challenge to employ regions, the Challenge The conceptual nature of the imperatives allows them to a mechanism called "scale jumping." in which a project may Increases allowable be overlaid with these various typologies and transects to cre- be exempted from meeting certain imperatives (such as transportation distances. ate a holistic matrix that can be effectively applied to any kind net-zero water or net-zero energy) within its boundaries. of man-made environment, from park gazebo to office tower. However, the team must demonstrate that the overall goal of The matrix adds flexibility to an otherwise extremely de- the Imperative can be achieved by implementing solutions at manding program. Some typologies, for example, do not have the campus, neighborhood, or community scale. to meet all 20 Imperatives because the requirement does not Recognizing that the program is still evolving, the apply to that form or scale of construction. A renovation, for developers have also included temporary exceptions to TRANSPORTATION RESTRICTIONS RED LIST Source locations for materials and services must adhere to the following limits: Projects may not contain any of the following materials or chemicals: ZONE MINOR DISTANCE MATERIALS IN SLUICES • Asbestos • Lead landed) I ANIra Hay or high-density materials • Cadmium • Mercury • Chlorinated polyethylene and • Petrochemkal fertilizers 2 11% la Mem:hum-weight and medium-density materials chlorosullonated poarethlene arid pesticides 3 LINO a Light or loyedewity matwials • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) • Phthalates • 2,505 Consultant travel • Chloroprene (neoprene) • Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Assemblies that actively contribute to building performance • Formaldehyde (added) • Wood treatments 5 UNha and adaptable reuse • Halogenated flame retardants Containing creosote, . 5 WSW— Renewable technologies • Rydrochlerolluorocarbons aria*. ct Ideas 1 pentechlorophenol 7 MSS (HCFCsl _ — _ EFTA00281481 112 •ARCHITECTURAL RECORD OCTO8F.R 2010 many of the imperatives. Once the market successfully responds to an imperative's demands, these exceptions will be removed. Typically, a project team can take advantage of an exception by demonstrating that it has made every ef- fort to meet the requirement and has advocated some kind of industrywide change. Examples of such advocacy include writing manufacturers to request modifications in material sourcing, product formulation, or assembly, dr by I iling an appeal with the appropriate agencies to amend a code. The process To formally participate in the Challenge. at least one member of the project team must join ILBI's Living Building Community. Membership, which is available to any Interested individual or organization according to a tiered fee schedule (currently $125 for an indvidualA offers access to various onkne resources, from the actual user's guide to discussion forums. According to Eden BrukmanILBI vice president and research director for Cascadia, there are Currently more than 475 members. To officially participate in the Challenge - and obtain any needed clarifications from ILBI - a member must register the proposed project for an additional fee, ranging z 1. The Omega Center for from $100 to $500, based on type. Brukman estimates Sustainable Living In that 70 projects in North America and a handful in Europe /4 Rhinebeck, New York, was and Australia are registered under some version of the completed in May 2009. Challenge, although she has heard anecdotally about many i The building, designed by more unregistered projects informally trying to meet the i BNIM Architects, houses program's criteria. S a classroom and an The actual certification requires a third fee. A payment Eco-Machine, which treats starting at $1,000 for projects less than 500 square meters a wastewater with algae, ll and aiming for full certification Is due prior to an audit, which fungi, bacteria. plants, takes place after the project has been in operation one full 3 snails. and fish. year. According to Brukman, ILBI will select people with a 0 2. EcoCenter at Heron's knowledge of green building and train thenyto undertake Head Sark opened in April these audits. They will function as consultants to ILBI rather 2010 on a landfill site in than employees and will visit the site and review the various 0 San Francisco. Designed metrics and documentation submitted by the team. by Toby Long, the center The imperatives for all petals must be met for full cerrifi- Includes an Intensive cation, or "Living Building" status. If at least three petals are b. green roof and a rainwater- met, including at least one being the energy, water, or materi- harvesting system. als petal, the project will earn partial certification, or "petal 3. Ann and Gord Baird recognition?' The team can later apply for full certification, if a designed and built and when it fulfills the remaining petals. a o At press time, only five of the registered projects had 0 Eco-Sense, a house in Highlands, British completed construction: Eco-Sense in Highlands, British Columbia, for their own Columbia: Tyson Living Learning Center in Eureka, Missourt family. Completed In late Omega Center for Sustainable Living inRhinebeck, New York: 0 2008, Its walls are made of Hawaii Preparatory Academy Energy Laboratory in Waimea. cob - a mixture of sand, Hawait and EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park in San Francisco. 0 straw, and clay. Eco-Sense, Tyson, and Omega have finished their 12-month operational phase and are currently under audit. ILBI could 4. On the condition that make an announcement about their status later this month. water quality be tested monthly, authorities in Verification Eureka, Missouri, allowed The method of verification will depend on the particular im- Helimuthelakknese perative. Some have very clear-cut, albeit demanding, criteria. Architects to specify a Net-zero energy, for example, requires that "onehundred potable rainwater system percent of the project's energy needs must be supplied by for the Tyson Living on-site renewable energy on a net annual basis." Verifying Learning Center. It opened these kinds of Imperatives is relatively straightforward: a site In May 2009. 0 visit plus either 12 months of utility bills demonstrating net-zero EFTA00281482  THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE energyover the year or a letter frorn the local utility company confirming that the project is not connected to the grid. Other imperatives are much less objective. "Beauty + spirit," for example. states that "the project must contain design features intended solely for human delight and the celebration of culture, spirit. and place appropriate to its func- tion." To demonst rate that this objective has been met, the architect and owner must write essays describing the value of the place in physical and cultural terms, the purpose of the project, the aesthetic Intent of the design. how the aesthetic Intent relates to thaarticular region, and how this intent was carried out in practice. During their site visits, auditors will judge if the team successfully translated their written goals Into physical form. In addition, occupants and visitors will be surveyed to gauge their reaction to the finished product. Although the metric for beauty is far less clear cut than the ones for energy or water, ILBI believes a genuine effort on the part of the entire team to discusi the meaning of beauty within a particular context and how they hope to achieve this is a significant accomplishment in itself. "We are trying to bring the Question of beauty back into the forefront," says Brukman. And she adds that it is the more in- determinate concepts of beauty and equity that tend to draw people to the Challenge: "That Is what they really appreciate Architects, who is working on the Center for Sustainable 5. TM Caseate Center for about the program - Oenif they are hard to measure." Landscapes at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Design + Construction by Craig Curtis, FAIA, a partner at Seattle-based Miller Hull Gardens in Pittsburgh, another registered project. miner Hull Partnership is Partnership, concurs, noting that a living building "has to A quick run-through of the clients of the first five part of Seattle's Living be beautiful" if proponents are going to convince others to constructed projects bears this out: Eco-Sense is the Building Pilot Program. The build this way. Miller Hull is currently working toward Living 2,lSO-sguare-foot home for a multigenerational fam- team has received approval Building status for the Cascadia Center for Sustainable ily committed to living off the grid; the Tyson Center is a to extend a photovoltaic Design + Construction, a commercial structure that is being 2,900-square-foot environmental research and educa- canopy Into a right-of-way built In Seattle by the Bullitt Foundation to house like-minded tion facility for the International Center for Advanced so that the building can organizations, including the Cascadia Green Building Council. Renewable Energy and Sustalnability at Washington generate sufficient energy University in St. Louis: the Omega Center is a 6,200-square- IRCDALC GROUP ARCHITECTURE 16) on-site. Early adopters foot education center and natural wastewater treatment 6. Designed by Iredale Group Although it certainly wishes otherwise. ILBI does not expect facility for the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, which everyone to sign on at once. Says Brukman, "The Living Architecture, the Robert lists biologist John Todd, leader in the field of ecologi- Bateman Art and Building Challenge targets the top end - the earlyadopters cal water purification, as one of its teachers; the Energy who have been pushing the envelope." Generally speaking, this EnvironmeMal Education Lab Is a 6.100-square-foot educational facility for Hawaii Centre makes use of old means a client with an established, institutional concern for the Preparatory Academy, a private school that has instituted a environment. To be wilting to tackle the seemingly impossible growth Douglas Hr salvaged "go green' initiative; and EcoCenter is a 1,500-square-foot from a nearby abandoned demands of the Challenge, "the owner has to be the driver," environmental education facility run by the organization aircraft hangar In its roof points out Chris Mennedy, AIA, principal of The Design Alliance Literacy for Environmental Justice. structure. ROMER/NOS: COURTESY MILLER NULL PARTNERSHIP CS); EFTA00281483 lel ARCHITECTURAL RECORD OCTOBER 2010 THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE The Centre for Interactive Like these first five, most of the other registered Products and finishes. even though many are still common in Research on Sustainability projects are also fairly small. However, a few intrepid teams construction materials. The appropriate sourcing Imperative (CMS), under construction are attempting to apply the challenge's strictures to larger limits the distance products and consultants can travel to in downtown Vancouver, will buildings. But jumping up in scale is not easy, reports Laura reach the project site. serve as a "living labora- Lesniewsid, MA, the BRIM partner in charge of the Omega Design teams must research every product they are con- tory" for the study of project: "It gets pretty tricky with water, energy, and materi- sidering to determine if any contain forbidden substances. building products, technolo- als when you enter that world." Typically this means calling the product supplier, who in turn gies, and systems In In addition to the 50,000-square-foot CascadLs must often call the manufacturer to obtain the information. context. The idea for CIRS, Center and the 24,000-square-foot Center for Sustainable But some manufacturers won't release the data, points out designed by Busby Landscapes, larger registered protects currently In design Minnerty, because they consider it proprietary. And many Rerkins+Will, was conceived or construction Include two In British Columbia: the 27,000- others haven't conducted chemical testing and "don't even about eight years ego by square-foot Robert Bateman Art and Environmental Education know what's in their products," says Richard H. Iredale, a John Robinson, former Centre on the campus of Royal Roads University In Victoria partner at Iredale Group Architecture. The firm has offices director of the University of and the 61,000-square-foot Centre for Interactive Research In Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and is designing British Columbia's on Sustainability (CIRS) at the University of British Columbia the Bateman Centre. Sustainable Development in Vancouver. As all their names imply, the clients for these Specifiers also must keep tabs on shipping distances. Research Initiative. He was projects, like the first five, have strong environmental missions. The mileage restrictions can severely limit product options. frustrated that sustainable And, needless to say. the effort required to research and processes were not being The thorniest petal track this information adds significantly to a team's workload. implemented quickly enough The difficulties of the Challenge vary markedly by project, Several project teams also found it hard to meet another and envisioned a building depending in large part on local natural resources and codes of the materials imperatives - responsible industry, which re- that could operate within Its and building program and size. But if one petal of the Challenge quires that all timber be "certified by the Forest Stewardship own footprint. . stands out as the most difficult.R would have to be the one Council (FSC), from salvaged sources, or from the intentional pertaining to materials. harvest of timber on-site for the purpose of clearing the area Two imperatives in particular - the "red list" and ap- for construction." At least one client felt that FSC-certified propriate sourcing - can be difficult to satisfy. The red list wood was cost-prohibitive, and one architect reported that it specifies potentially toxic substances that must be avoided in was difficult to obtain FSC-certifled structural lumber within • Dbilull sir a U Heat ',cowry &WAIN tube way " rm."' cdied*. EFTA00281484 16 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD OCTOBER 2010 THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE incremental change, working to increasingly improve building performance above code to achieve broad market transfomia- don, the Living Building Challenge is coming from the other side, inspiring people by identifying the ideal and seeing how dose they can cometo In practice, the most noticeable difference between LEED and the Living Building Challenge is that the for •SSOCIATCS/TN( OCSIGN ALLIANCE mer is primarily prescriptive while the latter is primarily performance-based. LEED spells out how a practitioner can accomplish its goals, while the Living Building Challenge encourages team discussion and brainstorming to develop the best strategies, no matter how unique, for the site. "The Challenge's endgame Is rigid - all or nothing - but they don't care how you get there," says Mlnnerly. And while practitioners generally seem to agree that LEED has established itself firmly in the market, many The Center for Sustainable the allowable distances. Many teams instead spent consider- believe that it will gradually adopt the best ideas of the Living Landscapes will house the able time and energy looking for salvaged wood within the Building Challenge as the goals of this newer, cutting•edge administrative staff of the acceptable mileage range. rating system become more attainable. After all, notes Phipps Conservaiory and Martin Nielsen of Vancouver-based Busby Rerkins+Will, the Botanical Gardens, In LEED vs. the Challenge design principal for CIRS. "the avant-garde is continually Pittsburgh. The anoint One cannot discuss a new green building rating system without consumed by the mainstream." ■ IMAGE: COURTESY team, which Inclodes Design asking how it compares to LEED, which has become the most Alliance Architects, is aiming accepted system in the country, If not the world. "We fully rec- Nancy B. Solomon, NA, writes regularly about architecture, to achieve Living Building ognize that the industry wouldn't be ready for the Challengeif it planning, and sustainabledesign. status with existing and hadn't been for LEED." says Bnikman."We are tackling the same affordable technologies. issue from different angles," she says. "While LEED is targeting CEU questionnaire continued onpage US. The key to our Garden Roof is our Monolithic Membrane 6125•, a seamless rubberized asphalt membrane with a 45+ year truck recordfor critical waterproofing and roofing applications world-wide. 4:".11, • American Hydrotech's Garden RoofC' Assembly has set the standard by which all other green roofs are measured. Our Total Assembly Warranty provides owners with single source responsibility from the deck up. This is peace of mind that only American Hydrotech can offer. To learn more about the American Hydrotech Garden Roof Assembly, please call 800.877.6125 or visit us online at HYDROTECH American Hydrotech, Inc. I 303 East Ohio I Chicago, IL 60611 1 800.877.6125 I C 2010 Gcrebn n s,strand WaSmort of Amoral Hydrolach lec CIRCLE OS EFTA00281485 18 IiRCHITECTURAL RECORD OCTOBER 2010 THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE AIA/Architectural Record Continuing Education To receive one AIA learning unit read the article "Live I Build I Sustain" using the learning objectives provided. To apply for credit, complete the test below and follow Instructions for submission at right. 1 The seven Living Building Challenge performance 6 Which of the following substances is not included on • or "petals," Include all except which? the red list? A water A halogenated flame retardants • energy Preston em. • thermoplastic polyolefIns (7P0) C innovation I Build I Suit/hint c polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ARCHITECTURAL RECORD. o beauty