Going for Gold with Green Construction

The City of Dayton is getting creative with plans for Tech Town’s Creative Technology Accelerator (CTA) as the entire CTA team strives for a LEED “Gold” certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Through CityWide Development Corporation, the City hired a team of designers for the CTA project led by The Architectural Group, Inc. This team includes Heapy Engineering; Shell + Meyer Associates; Scott Johnston, Director of the Center for Building Science Research at Miami University; Vivian Llambi & Associates; and Williams Creek Consulting.

Located at the corner of Monument Avenue and Taylor Road, the CTA will be a threestory multi-tenant office building housing smaller, established businesses striving to develop and commercialize new technology products. The CTA will be the first newly constructed building of the Tech Town campus. Its anchor tenant will be IDCAST―the Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. The system is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard that was established in 2000.

The different levels of LEED certification are as follows:

• Certified
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum

Each level requires a certain number of points. Throughout the design and construction process, applicants must submit documentation that demonstrates how they are complying with each LEED requirement.

Currently, there are only six other buildings in Ohio that have the LEED Gold certification. These are Doty & Miller Architects Offices in Bedford, the CWRU Middle Building Village at 115 an Cleveland, the Lazarus Building Renovation in Columbus, the Honda R&D Americas, Inc. Building 10 in Raymond, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of WC building in Wooster, and the Melink headquarters in Cincinnati.

“We are really trying to push the envelope for the green features of the Creative Technology Accelerator, but we’re also pursuing the features that are the most cost effective in terms of budget,” said Dianna Conboy, a LEED Accredited Professional and Principal with The Architectural Group. “This means, for the most part, we are incorporating features that are the most energy-efficient and that have the greatest impact on the lifecycle cost of the building.”

1. SUSTAINABLE SITES
   Brownfield Redevelopment: The intent of this credit is to rehabilitate damaged sites where development is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. The CTA is the ultimate example of brownfield redevelopment as it involves converting an abandoned industrial site surround by an asphalt parking lot into a building with green garden spaces. The site has been surveyed in accordance with the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment, and no significant levels of contaminants were discovered.
   
   Development Density: This involves minimizing suburban sprawl and maximizing urban “community connectivity.” The CTA meets this standard because it is within a half-mile radius of other major live/work/play components of the community. Stormwater Quantity Control: Rooftop gardens and other landscape features will help to absorb and filter rain water to minimize runoff into the city storm sewer system. This, in turn, helps to minimize the load on area water treatment facilities. Reduced Site Disturbance: The CTA construction process will create new green space to replace the old asphalt-covered site, and will not involve disturbing any existing green space.



2. WATER EFFICIENCY
   Water-efficient Landscaping: Plants selected for the CTA garden spaces are hardy local plants that do not require an irrigation system.
   
   Water Use Reduction: The CTA will feature high-efficiency plumbing fixtures designed to reduce water use by 20 to 30 percent.



3. ENERGY & ATMOSPHERE
   Optimize Energy Performance: An energy-efficient HVAC system will minimize energy consumption and will produce a lifecycle cost savings for the CTA.
   
   Control Heat Gain: Tinted window glass with a low-emissivity coating will minimize heat gain from sunshine in summer, this reducing the need for air conditioning.



4. MATERIALS & RESOURCES
   Construction Waste Management: Construction typically creates 2.5 pounds of solid waste per square foot. The construction of a building the size of the CTA would usually create over 52 tons of scrap material that would otherwise go to a landfill. The CTA team is striving to divert 50 – 75 percent of this waste by instituting a recycling and waste management plan. For example, the demolished asphalt will be sent to an asphalt plant for recycling and re-use.
   
   Local/Regional Materials: The Architectural Group has specified construction materials that can be found within 500 miles of the construction site, thus reducing the fuel consumption of transporting materials across the country. Recycled Content: Carpet tiles and other materials that have a high recycled content will be used. Using carpet tiles instead of broadloom carpet will also significantly reduce the amount of scrap carpet.



5. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
   Low Emitting Materials: The Architectural Group has specified low-VOC paint and Low-VOC adhesives to reduce the amount of indoor air contaminants.
   
   Increased Natural Light and Views of Outdoors: The CTA will feature lots of windows, a roof garden and a green courtyard area. Day-lit spaces & external views have been studied and found to increase occupant productivity and reduce absenteeism and illness.



6. INNOVATION & DESIGN
   LEED-Accredited Professionals: Nearly all of the organizations that make up the CTA design team have LEED APs on staff. Heapy Engineering has the most with 49.
   
   Design Charrettes: The design process for the CTA included “charrettes” led by The Architectural Group to gather ideas on how to incorporate sustainable design features. Ideas were presented by Miami University students and professors, City of Dayton and CityWide Development staff, and the CTA team designers and engineers.
   
   Sitework for the Creative Technology Accelerator began in March. Once the building funding is approved, Messer Construction will initiate the bid process for the building. Construction is anticipated to be completed in early 2009.