Green Speed
Last month, the University of New Mexico received LEED gold for Castetter Hall Phase I on the Albuquerque campus.
As the 110-year-old school’s first LEED-certified project, it was a satisfying moment for campus officials. Though other campuses have reached similar milestones, UNM has dramatically accelerated its green building program, with $220 million in active projects.
The school has 31 projects over $500,000 and 62 smaller projects, most in the construction phase, says William Turner, director of UNM’s office of capital projects.
The initial catalyst for greening the 600-acre campus was a pair of executive orders from Governor Bill Richardson stipulating that all new state buildings over 15,000 sq ft need to meet LEED silver at minimum and that all buildings must reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2020.
As if that wasn’t enough, UNM formed a carbon neutral task force in June 2008 and has signed on to various initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. According to the university’s physical plant department, in just the first 10 months of following its new energy conservation initiative, the campus reduced energy usage by 13.4% and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 13,603 metric tons.
“All of these initiatives fit in with our values of what constitutes good design,” Turner says. “In today’s world, good design has to have a component of sustainability to it. Otherwise you didn’t really do good design.”
The $4.3-million Castetter Hall South Addition, Phase I adds 15,867 sq ft of space plus a greenhouse for the school’s biology department. An additional 22,000-sq-ft phase is planned.
The building will consume 31.5% less energy overall than traditional buildings on campus. “Considerable care was given to the south-facing addition to maximize the amount and quality of natural light, thereby reducing the need for artificial light,” says Dave Cook, AIA, principal with Albuquerque-based SMPC Architects. “In order to control the increased solar gain, high performance glazing and solar shades were incorporated to reduce air conditioning loads.”
Research laboratories will allow students and faculty to work on health-related problems affecting the world and New Mexico. Because labs are such high energy consumers in order to keep interior air clear of contaminants, Castetter’s mechanical systems filter and re-circulate already conditioned air as much as possible.
“The labs are modular, stacked vertically for flexibility and economy and have fully-integrated structural, mechanical and electrical systems,” Cook says. Low-flow laboratory flume hoods that automatically cut back the amount of exhaust air during inactive times were used.
Britton Construction, the project’s Albuquerque-based general contractor, sorted and recycled construction waste and used locally-sourced materials with recycled content wherever possible.
Another complex project incorporating labs, the $23-million Science and Mathematics Learning Center, broke ground in June with Phoenix-based McCarthy Building Cos. as the general contractor. Construction is expected to be complete by fall 2010.
McCarthy’s project director Gong Lui says that effective planning and communication will help solve an early hurdle involving the relocation of the campus utility distribution system (including electrical, storm drain, fiber optics and water and sewer lines) that runs directly through the job site.
The building will house a 200-seat auditorium, visualization lab, classrooms, science labs, department and faculty offices and student study areas.
A three-story entry lobby and gathering space allows light to cascade into the building through skylights. “South-facing, glazed openings for large laboratory classrooms created a design challenge in admitting sufficient daylight to the labs and classrooms,” says project architect Raimund McClain, AIA with Albuquerque-based Van H. Gilbert Architect PC. “Sophisticated sunscreening and glazed areas are complimented by a series of light shelves which reflect diffuse light deep into the spaces.”
Components include specialized laboratory mechanical systems, structural steel framing, lab casework and acoustical lay-in ceilings. Lui says McCarthy will also be installing recycled drywall to help maximize LEED points. While targeting silver, the project will likely attain gold certification.
McClain says UNM’s early focus on sustainability allowed the team to maximize efficiency, adding “there were no surprises or the need to eliminate building features in order to pay for sustainability.”
The new $1.4-million Tamarind Hall reuses a 1960’s-vintage building formerly housing the Architecture Annex. The expansion will refurbish existing space and add an elevator and third floor to be used as an artist’s residence.
Tamarind Institute, a division of the College of Fine Arts, is a nonprofit center for fine art lithography that trains master printers and houses a professional collaborative studio for artists.
“The building has had many adaptive reuses, so we are taking it back to the bones of the structure and then building it back up again so we can get rid of any hazardous materials and make sure the envelope is much more energy efficient,” says architect Devendra Narayan Contractor of Albuquerque-based DNCA.
The 16,500-sq-ft project will use pre-cast concrete panels and structural steel for the new areas, while adding high-efficiency glass and metal finishes throughout. Crews will be exposing the original brickwork.
“We’ve put quite a bit of effort into tracking down regional and recycled materials and FST-certified wood,” says Peter Fritz, project manager with Albuquerque-based general contractor Jaynes Structures.
Since the lithography process uses a lot of chemicals, a sophisticated mechanical and exhaust system was needed. “We did some research and found a more efficient, compact and cheaper unit for them to use for the main heating/cooling units on theroof,” Fritz says. “It allows the school some additional controls, demand air sensors and additional options over what was initially specified.”
Contractor says they’ll install a subsurface water filtration system under the parking area that will allow water to percolate and recharge the aquifer.
As part of a $12.5-million classroom modification program, UNM is modernizing the 48,000-sq-ft Mitchell Hall. The year-long project led by Albuquerque general contractor Bradbury Stamm wraps up in January by transforming the 50-year-old building into an efficient, highly mediated classroom space.
“While it was not that horribly inefficient of a building to begin with, the energy use is projected to drop by half after the modernization,” says Hans Barsun, facilities engineer with the physical plant department. Because of favorable bids, the school was able to incorporate upgraded windows, significantly upgraded heating and cooling and envelope insulation, he adds.
A new 800-stall parking garage, designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini of Albuquerque, is nearing construction start in the southeast corner of the campus. The school bid the project out with two alternates for a solar array and the supporting structure to be placed atop the multi-story garage. “The bids are being weighed right now and it looks like they are good enough where we can afford both alternates,” Turner says.
At UNM’s Taos campus, a 3.5-acre, 500-KW solar array began operation this month and will provide 100% of the power needs for the satellite campus.
Britton Construction, the project’s Albuquerque-based general contractor, sorted and recycled construction waste and used locally-sourced materials with recycled content wherever possible.
As new buildings come online, the school will collect and analyze data to evaluate whether energy consumption is matching it’s design goals. “We think we’ll be making recommendations to the USGBC about modifying the LEED process for hot and dry climates like the Southwest,” Turner says. “We aren’t sure that LEED models our needs as closely as we need them to.”
Useful Sources
Read more about UNM’s sustainable initiatives at http://sustainability.unm.edu/
