Green Energy Spotlight: Top Green Buildings of 2013
One of the major trends of the 21st century is green construction and green energy. Retrofit an old building with a new ventilation system to increase energy efficiency. With more than half a century of experience in the green energy industry, Moffitt Corporation is an expert in green ventilation systems. As a result, we are always interested in advancements in green building techniques.
More buildings than ever are being outfitted with green energy technology for increased energy efficiency. Even something as simple as swapping out old lightbulbs for new LED’s can have a massive impact on the energy efficiency of a building. Below is a list of some of the most interesting green buildings of the year. These buildings are all institutional and residential projects, but they all make beneficial use of green technology and natural ventilation.
Green Energy Buildings
Here are five of the top green buildings of the year, according to the American Institute of Architects, and exactly what they’ve done with the technology. If you want to find out how your commercial or industrial building can be built or retrofitted with our energy efficient, non-powered natural ventilation systems, Moffitt Corporation can help. Contact us today to find out more.
Winner: The Charles David Keeling Apartments
Location: La Jolla, California
Architects: Kieran/Timberlake
The Charles David Keeling Apartments is a building that is trying to make the most out of the environment. The building envelope uses thermal mass to regulate temperature settings and ventilates naturally. A sophisticated system manages the building’s water. It conserves and reuses it, recycling the water right on site. The additional roof of vegetation absorbs rainwater and collects it in basins.
Winner: Clock Shadow Building
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Architects: Continuum
This building started on a site that had previously been difficult to develop. There were major temperature swings and a humidity problem that required southern facing windows and sunscreens to maximize their exposure to sunlight during the colder months, as well as windows that were able to open and close to allow cool air into the building in the summer. This is how the architects were able to get the most from the HVAC system. The building uses a built-in geothermal system. It is directly below the building. It stabilizes the water, and it is used for heating and cooling.
Winner: Marin Country Day School
Location: Corte Madera, California
Architects: EHDD
Schools across the world are looking for solutions will help boost energy-saving efforts in their school. This not only saves the schools money but also allows them to use much less energy. Marin Country Day School is one of these schools and is on this list for several reasons. The foremost is the ability to make use of natural sunlight and natural ventilation in 95 percent of the building. The cooling tower and the water tank provide for thermal energy storage and that allows the building to be cooled during the daytime. The builders used fire-treated wood studs that were 2 x 8 and 2 x 10, rather than steel beams, to provide more insulation. As a result, this building uses a mere half of the energy allowed by California’s energy code.
Winner: Merritt Crossing Apartments
Location: Oakland, California
Architects: Leddy, Maytum, Stacy
The Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments has both solar water and photovoltaic panels on the cool roof. The ground floor windows provide maximum sunlight. Being transparent it provides a wonderful view of the outside. Sunshades mounted on the exterior of the building and an overhang on the second floor provide ample shade around the windows. Additionally, the windows themselves are ygh-performance glass. The building does not use conventional AC, but, instead, has a low-volume ventilation system that makes use of ceiling fans.
Winner: New Norris House
Location: Norris, Tennessee
Architects: College of Architecture & Design, UT Knoxville
The budding architects at the College of A&D at UT Knoxville have built a more than one thousand square-foot production house that is less than half as big as the median house. They used rightsizing and ended up with a structure that had less material costs, less operational costs, and fewer construction materials altogether, which meant that they could focus mostly on design. The skylight and dormer diffuse and direct sunlight through Low-E glass. Translucent blinds give them further heating control and the ability to affect glare, creating a privacy blind when desired. The lighting consists of low-energy LEDs.