October news roundup

Time again for our monthly news and events roundup, links from around the web.

Conferences and Seminars
ASCE International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure, Nov 6-8
http://content.asce.org/conferences/icsi2014/index.html
Note the new focus of this conference: "This conference is not about how to be sustainable. If it were, we would tell you not to waste your time. Instead, and more appropriately, this conference is about how to deal with the consequences of non-sustainability, that is, how to plan, design and construct infrastructure for a new and increasingly harsh operating environment."

WoodWorks National Symposium: Toward Taller Wood Buildings in Chicago Nov 6-7.

http://www.woodworks.org/education-event/toward-taller-wood-buildings/

WEBINAR – Bullitt Center: Meeting the Living Building Challenge by Brian Court of Miller Hull. November 19, 12-1pm

http://www.woodworks.org/education-event/webinar-bullitt-center-nov-2014/

Environmental Declarations
Lefarge Canada goes one step beyond an Environmental Product Declaration and creates a Environmental Building Declaration for their new research facility.
http://www.athenasmi.org/news-item/lafarge-canada-publishes-building-declaration-for-new-research-facility/

Concrete EPDs: The NRMCA recently released two important reports on industry averages:
http://www.nrmca.org/sustainability/EPDProgram/Downloads/NRMCA%20EPD%2010.08.2014.pdf
http://www.nrmca.org/sustainability/EPDProgram/Downloads/NRMCA_Benchmark_Report_-_October_14_2014_web.pdf

Architecture 2030's release on the NRMCA study above, including an overview of embodied carbon, LCAs,
http://www.architecture2030.org/enews/news_101614.html  

Bullitt Center infrastructure savings report

One more story to add to yesterday's link roundup: the Bullitt Center has published a report noting that the building may save over $18 million in infrastructure savings over the life of the building. Much of the savings, over $10 million, is based on energy efficiency.

Download the full report from http://www.bullittcenter.org/2014/09/15/report-finds-18-5-million-in-hidden-value-at-bullitt-center/

September news roundup

Time for a news roundup -- recent links from around the web. Have something you want shared with SEAW? Send it our way.

Wood

Lessons learned on recent mass timber buildings around the world

http://www.rethinkwood.com/tall-wood-survey

Hans-Erik wrote an article on tall wood buildings in Arcade magazine (note: article is embargoed for non-subscribers until November 11)

http://arcadenw.org/issues/empathy-fire-and-spades

FPInnovations is selling a handbook on Tall Wood buildings for Canada

https://fpinnovations.ca/ResearchProgram/advanced-building-systems/Pages/promo-tall-wood-buildings.aspx#.VBmdPBYZ7CU

The website for the ambitious USA Tall Wood Building competition is now active. The goal is to realize at least an 8 or 10 story commercially viable timber high rise in the USA. http://tallwoodbuildingcompetition.org/

Reuse and Preservation

Architectural Record discusses buildings that are not flexible or functional enough to last long.

http://archrecord.construction.com/features/critique/2014/1409-Obdurate-By-Design.asp                                     

Preservation Green Lab (a project of The National Trust for Historic Preservation) finds that a mix of older and smaller buildings hold more economic and social vitality than new construction.

http://www.preservationnation.org/information-center/sustainable-communities/green-lab/oldersmallerbetter/

Preservation Green Lab begins a research series on building demolition and reuse with an article that uses Los Angeles as a case study for issues surrounding building reuse.

http://www.preservationnation.org/information-center/sustainable-communities/green-lab/partnership-building-reuse/

Energy

AIA is giving a series of classes on net zero building design

http://www.aiaseattle.org/GettingToZero

Building codes could harmonize seamlessly with LEED certification as USGBC, ASHRAE, and ICC join forces
http://www.usgbc.org/articles/standard-1891-igcc-leed-phillips-head-hammer

http://www2.buildinggreen.com/article/one-standard-rule-them-all-leed-igcc-1891-be-parts-single-system

Resilience

A resilient city conference was held in San Francisco this September and discussed the Rebuild by Design competition sponsored by the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force

http://resilientcity.uli.org/           http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/

Oakland hires its first “Chief Resilience Officer”

http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/oakland-hires-its-first-chief-resilience-officer

The Cost of Retrofitting Multifamily for Resilience (to floods)

http://urbanland.uli.org/sustainability/resilience-efforts-hurt-affordability-multifamily/

Kiewit General Manson issues their design-build team’s first annual report on the strategies they used to incorporate sustainability into the SR 520 design.

SR 520 Floating Bridge and Landings Project Annual Sustainability Data Report

 

Autosport Building Tour

The SEAW sustainability committee will tour the building formerly known as Autosport in South Lake Union on September 10 at 3pm, for about a one-hour tour. Thanks to Adam and Lund Ophsal for the opportunity to visit the building. We have room for up to 10 people on the tour, so RSVP for your spot soon. We’ll start a waiting list if things fill up.

Autosport building tour

September 10, 3-4pm

2121 Westlake Ave, Seattle

Description:

The Autosport building was originally built in the 1920’s and is a two story building with a basement. The basement and first floor consist of reinforced concrete construction, the first and second floor walls are comprised of unreinforced masonry (URM), and the second floor and roof are wood construction. The project will remove and replace the roof, retrofit the existing structure below, and add two additional floors. The building will be approximately 26,000 square feet. The new use will be the Maximus/Minimus restaurant, Sugar Mountain Bakery, and offices.
The new lateral system consists of four special steel concentric braced frames, one at each exterior wall. The new floors are heavy timber framed with T&G and plywood sheathing. Existing floors will be re-sheathed with plywood and tied into the new braced frames. The existing URM walls will remain but additional framing and support will be installed to brace the URM walls for out of plane loading.
Sustainable features are the retrofit and reuse of existing materials and the extensive use of wood in new construction, both of which have lower embodied energy and carbon footprint than new steel or concrete. The project is not pursuing LEED certification, but will meet current Seattle Energy Code.