DisruptCRE is coming to Boston 10/16/14

By Grey Lee

USGBC MA Chapter is proud to support this great mini-conference on Thursday, October 16th from 1-7pm at District Hall in Boston's Seaport District.

Read more about DisruptCRE here!

We will be hosting an excellent panel at 3pm titled “The Science of Building Systems” with 
 

  • Suzanne Robinson of Vanderweil
  • Kurt Roth of Fraunhofer 
  • Barbra Batshalom of the Sustainable Performance Institute

The event is designed to connect disruptive ideas with capital and commercial real estate professionals.  Its these innovators and professionals who are disrupting the status quo by bringing the new ideas to market.  Firms with products and services to exhibit are encouraged to join the event's trade show.

The goal is to be a catalyst of change by merging the professionals of the built environment with the technological innovation community.  We expect hundreds of thought leaders from the Boston area to pack the new (LEED Certified) District Hall for an impressive gathering of minds.

The 4 disruptive panel topics to be addressed at the event include: 
 

  • Crowdfunding real estate projects 
  • The Cloud and how it has affected AEC
  • Space Utilization and what the new companies of tomorrow require
  • The USGBC MA-sponsored 'The Science of Buildings'

The 4 panels conclude with the unique segment “45 at 4:45”, where the disruptive exhibiting tech companies will have a rapid fire style 45 seconds to pitch their product.  The conclusion of the event is highlighted by a casual cocktail and hors d’oeuvre networking and demonstration session between tech companies, VC’s, and real estate industry leaders.

Don't miss out – register here.  USGBC MA invites all to use the discount code USGBCMA for a 25% savings.

Other brands represented include:
 

USGBC MA Chapter Celebrates LEED Platinum at 81 Brent Street, Dorchester, MA

By Neil Angus, LEED AP & USGBC MA Board of Directors

By Neil Angus, LEED AP, USGBC MA Board of Directors

On September 6th 2014, the owners of 81 Brent Street Cynthia Loesch and Ivan Liriano opened up their 3-unit LEED Platinum home to the public to showcase all of the sustainable features of their house.  From the modular construction that helped maintain quality control and minimize construction waste on the project to the insulated walls, windows, renewable and efficient energy systems, and sustainable landscaping, attendees saw first-hand how Cynthia and Ivan combined all these components to achieve the US Green Building Council’s highest level of certification – LEED Platinum.

 

 

Guided tours of the home and mini workshop presentations throughout the day kept attendees engaged and educated on the many green features of this home.  Presentations covered indoor air quality, weatherization, sustainable landscaping, as well as solar electric and solar hot water.  The day ended with an overview of the LEED green building rating system and a look at how 81 Brent Street achieved its Platinum rating.  Photos of the open house and the home are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/81brent/

 

One of the great take-aways from this event was the fact that “green” does not have to cost more; this 3-unit home was built for a total cost of $450,000.  This is a comparable price (maybe even a little less!) to a traditional 3-unit home constructed in the same area.  Cynthia and Ivan were able to keep costs down by obtaining a number of federal and state tax incentives such as energy efficient property tax credits, clean energy tax credits, and rebates on items such as Energy Star, solar PV and hot water and high efficiency boilers.  A full database of these and many more federal and state incentives that are available to most homeowners can be found at http://dsireusa.org

Representatives from the City of Boston also attended the open house.  ‘Greenovate Boston’ is a program that focuses on engaging community members to reduce Boston’s greenhouse gas emissions.  Since the amount of energy we consume has a direct impact on our greenhouse gas emissions, the Greenovate Boston program put together a great case study outlining some of the basic steps Cynthia and Ivan took to build such an energy efficient home.  The case study also includes basic steps anyone can take to build new or renovate existing homes in a more energy efficient manner.  Take a look at: http://www.81brent.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BrentFinal.pdf
 

Cynthia and Ivan are passionate about bringing sustainability to their neighborhood and their new home is a shining example of how to go about doing so.  For more details on their home and all the sustainability features, check out their website at: www.81brent.org.  The USGBC MA Chapter was proud to be a part of this open house and extends its sincerest thanks to Cynthia and Ivan for not only opening up their home to us and the public, but also for their passion and drive to promote green buildings in Dorchester and the greater Boston area. 
 

Congratulations Cynthia and Ivan and keep up the good work!

 

Nitsch Engineering Celebrates 25th Anniversary By Giving Back to Community

By Grey Lee

Congratulations to Nitsch Engineering and USGBC MA Chapter sponsor for celebrating 25 years in business by giving back to the Boston community!

 

 

 

Nitsch Engineering celebrated their 25th anniversary by honoring their commitment to “building better communities with you.”  Working closely with Boston Cares, a non-profit agency that produces team-oriented volunteer events, Nitsch Engineering planned a community service event and celebration on September 4th.  The event brought clients, friends, and employees together at Boston University’s Agganis Arena to assemble 60,000 meals to benefit Massachusetts food pantries.  The event ended with a party to celebrate the milestone anniversary and thank all the volunteers.

President and CEO of Nitsch Engineering Lisa A. Brothers, PE, LEED AP BD+C, said, “When we started discussing how to celebrate our anniversary, we felt that it was important to find a way to combine celebration with community service, since that’s such a big part of who we are as a company. By donating the money to cover the cost of ingredients for more than 60,000 meals, we were able to honor the spirit and commitment of our tagline, ‘building better communities with you.’” She went on to say, “It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since we opened our doors. Time really does fly when you’re having fun! We’re thrilled that our future looks bright, as we continue to grow and expand our services. We know the next 25 years will be just as great!”

Since the company’s founding in 1989, Nitsch Engineering has grown from a one-person civil engineering company into an 85-person firm that also provides land surveying, transportation engineering, structural engineering, green infrastructure, planning, and geographic information systems (GIS) services. Founding Principal and Chairman Judith Nitsch, PE, LEED AP BD+C, commented, “Thanks to our terrific clients, fabulous employees, and wonderful projects in 18 states and five countries, we’ve been able to grow into a successful, respected company that just keeps getting better!”

  
 
About Boston Cares
Boston Cares (www.bostoncares.org) is the largest volunteer agency in New England, an Innovation Hub within the national Hands On Network and a leader in the volunteer engagement sector.  Their year-round volunteer programs and seasonal signature service events engage adults of all ages, children, teens, and corporate partners.  Boston Cares annually mobilizes 21,000 volunteers who serve 65,000 hours in support of 155 schools and nonprofits.  Every $1 invested in Boston Cares returns at least $4 of value to the community through volunteer labor, supplies, equipment, and other services.
 
About Nitsch Engineering
Nitsch Engineering (www.nitscheng.com) specializes in providing civil engineering, land surveying, transportation engineering, structural engineering, green infrastructure, planning, and GIS services.  Since 1989, the company has worked with developers, corporate and institutional owners, public agencies, and design professionals on major private development and public infrastructure projects in 18 states and five countries.  Nitsch Engineering is the largest Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) civil engineering firm in Massachusetts and is also certified as a WBE by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
 
 
 
 

The Weekly Bulletin to 9/12/14

By Grey Lee

Are you going to volunteer with us? That's right – we have a great opportunity in two weeks (most of the projects are on Saturday, Sept. 27th) with our Green Apple Day of Service! You can participate in a project at a school or other learning facility near you. Sign up by looking up a project on the map at the Center for Green Schools, our USGBC-affiliated partner organization for projects throughout the WORLD!

Upcoming Events:
9/25 – Hostelling Int'l Green Building Tour with the EPMA in Boston
9/30 – LEED Project Showcase in Cambridge
10/2 – Bring the Outside In with Gunnar Hubbard and Dan Nall in Boston
LEED Study Groups are forming – stay tuned
10/30 – Halloween LEED Credit Costume Party with the EPMA in Boston

Also we have a Green Schools Committee Meeting on Thursday 9/18 at 6pm at our main office on Milk Street.

Speaking of green schools and academic communities, I recently met up with three wonderful people who are working hard on improving educational outcomes for sustainability and organizational change. Pictured below are Leith Sharp, leading the Harvard/USGBC “Core Business Integration of Sustainability (CBIS)” executive education program, Christine Renauld, founder and CEO of E-180 “Brain Dates for Learning Humans” (a platform for peer-to-peer informal learning exchanges), and Margo Street, manager of community advancement at USGBC, with whom I'm in constant correspondence at the national office. It was a great conversation which I'm sure will go forward into programming at the Massachusetts Chapter.

 

 

And surely you are already thinking about it: Tuesday the 30th of September…The LEED Project Showcase!  Reach out to your colleagues now!  We want their certified projects to be in our show.  This is a major fundraiser for the Chapter and it's going to be an excellent time for all.  If you know someone who is “on the fence” and interested in sponsoring – put them in touch with Grey.  Thank you to the many existing sponsors so far:
 

Platinum:

  • National Grid 
  • NStar / Northeast Utilities 

Gold:

  • Suffolk Construction 

Silver:

  • Boston Properties 
  • Richard Moore 

Bronze:

  • ICF International
  • Urbanica
  • Chapman Construction 
  • Columbia Construction
  • And over two dozen other project sponsors.
 
Below is a set of notes taken during the recent Combined Committees Quarterly Gathering – a great and engaging evening of about 35 chapter volunteers.  After an overview and introductions, we broke into two groups to explore Membership & Engagement and also Leadership and Learning Communities.  It was a very dynamic gathering of truly committed and inspiring fellow green building advocates.  I look forward the continuing conversation!
 
 

Green Buildings Set the New Standard

By Jessica Roche, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council

by Jessica Roche, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council

Cambridge has joined Boston in enacting a building energy disclosure ordinance, under which owners of buildings more than 50,000 square feet will be required to report their energy use beginning in May 2015. 

Life sciences spaces have higher necessary energy use than typical residential or office buildings as they must accommodate complex air ventilation and water flow systems as well as meet stringent safety requirements. But lab developers and users have long worked
toward greater energy efficiency and impressive developments in lab design and operations have made new lab spaces in Massachusetts showcase projects for replication throughout the world. 
 

The Center for Life Science (above), an 18-floor research building in Boston, utilizes energy sub-metering that allows users to closely monitor use. It was no small effort; it required substantial investment in new systems, consensus protocols among users, and intensive data mapping. 

“With more transparency and accountability, tenants are dialing down on their equipment usage,” said Peter Damiano, Sr. Facility Manager of BioMed Realty Trust, the company that owns the Center for Life Science. The system has changed operating conventions,
reduced energy consumption, and become a roadmap for BioMed in improving efficiencies within its global building portfolio.

At MIT’s Koch Institute building in Cambridge that was completed in 2011, cutting-edge efficiency design was at the forefront. The building is oriented east to west to maximize heat and light from the sun. Light-shelves bounce sunlight to the ceiling, bringing ambient light deep into the building to reduce dependence on electric lighting. Its ventilation system uses a “cascading design” by which office cooling air is reused in lab hoods, air flow rates are at a reduced 80 feet per minute, and labs are aligned to reduce duct work. Electrical systems were “right-sized,” not overbuilt. 

The results are striking. Anticipated 14.6 watts per square foot usage are at 3.8 watts instead. Steam heat that was projected at 35,000 pounds per hour for the coldest days is at 20,000 pounds. The building reduces total energy use by more than 30 percent as
compared to a standard laboratory facility. Walt Henry, MIT’s Director of Engineering at the time, explained in an MIT News article, “To get a building that performs well requires only that you make intelligent choices.”
 

Intelligent choices like those made by Biogen Idec, which has already surpassed its goal of reducing its overall environmental footprint to 15 percent by 2015 even as it adds in facility square footage. Biogen Idec’s greenhouse gas intensity goal is to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80 percent by 2020. Its two new Cambridge buildings achieved LEED Gold and Platinum certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council. Biogen Idec’s
campus is powered by its cogeneration plant, which produces 75 percent of the campus’ electricity and 100 percent of its steam. Cogeneration has helped lower emissions by more than 150,000 metric tons of CO2e on the campus since 2006. 

These examples of recent lab developments provide models in energy efficiency that set the standard and point the way for energy sustainability.

[This article originally appeared in the summer edition of MassBio News]

Bring the Outside In! 10/2 in Boston

By Grey Lee

Buildings are designed to shelter us from the harshness of nature, but the most comfortable and energy-efficient indoor environments are those that use the free resources of the outdoors for heating and cooling. For many architects, using the outdoors to create more comfortable indoor environments means using operable windows for natural ventilation. To the mechanical engineers, bringing the outside in means using an airside or waterside economizer. However, these simplified versions of climate responsive building designs ignore other possibilities for harvesting outdoor thermal resources to maintain indoor comfort.
 
 

 Although opening windows and using economizers have their benefits, they can also create new problems such as indoor pollution through the introduction of outdoor particulates. These deficiencies can be overcome by smart design strategies that make better use of the exterior thermal resource. Strategies that enable the design team to minimize building energy consumption without compromising occupant comfort include:
 

  • Dividing free cooling into two components – humidity control and sensible cooling. This way free sensible cooling can be provided, even when energy-consuming indoor dehumidification is required.
  • Achieving thermal comfort not only by convective heat exchange between the human body and the air, but also by radiant exchange with building surfaces.  Use free natural resources to cool interior surfaces to maintain comfort.
  • Recognize that the outdoor thermal resource also has three components: sensible, evaporative and radiant.  Create systems that can use each of these components as they are available and are not dependent on their simultaneous availability.
  • Recognize that outdoor thermal resources may not be available coincidentally with indoor thermal requirements.  Add controllable capacitance (thermal storage) to the system to harvest outdoor thermal resources when available for later delivery for indoor comfort maintenance.
Attend this great educational session on Thursday October 2nd – “Bring the Outside Inside: Using the Outdoors to Create Indoor Comfort” with Thornton Tomasetti’s Gunnar Hubbard Principal and Syska Henessy's Daniel Nall, vice president and regional director of high performance solutions, who will talk about how to make better use of available environmental resources to increase indoor comfort.

The Weekly Bulletin to 9/5/14

By Grey Lee

USGBC MA Chapter is moving full steam ahead! Lots going on. And you could be our 500th “Like” on facebook – like us right now!
 

Coming up:

This Monday the 8th: Residential Green Building Committee. They will be hosting a presentation about sustainable forestry and timber construction from Michael Sigmon and Jack Mackin of Chapter Sponsor Sterritt Lumber. 

Our Combined Committees Quarterly Gathering will be Thursday, September 11th and will be our official “Open House” at our new offices. All Chapter working group and committee leaders are invited to attend. This is a great opportunity to come and meet other green building activists and change agents. We will be discussing the topic “Leadership,” exploring how to succeed with our Q4 Membership Drive, and breaking out into working groups (committees etc.) to start the 2015 budgeting process. If you haven't yet come over to our new space at 50 Milk Street right in Downtown Crossing, this is a great opportunity to visit.

Don't delay in signing up for a Green Apple Day of Service opportunity.  There are a lot of projects just waiting for volunteers like you. Use this link to look up a project near you in Massachusetts – by zip code. It is going to be a lot of fun and there are projects on many dates throughout the coming weeks.

And now, for something completely different: 
 

 

And surely you are already thinking about it: Tuesday, September 30th…The LEED Project Showcase! Reach out to your colleagues now! We want their certified projects to be in our show. This is a major fundraiser for the Chapter and it's going to be an excellent time for all. If you know someone who is “on the fence” – put them in touch with Grey. Thank you to the many existing sponsors so far:
  • National Grid
  • NStar
  • Boston Properties
  • Richard Moore
  • Chapman Construction
  • Columbia Construction
  • and over a dozen project sponsors…
And more are signing up every day!

 
Hope you're enjoying the post-labor day “Still Summer!” weather!
 
Do you know this pond? Hint: Western New Hampshire
 

Zero Net Energy: the latest trend in high-performance buildings

By Suzanne Abbott, Business Development Manager at Gilbane Building Company

by Suzanne Abbott, Gilbane Building Company
 
For the past century (okay decade!), LEED certified buildings have been the premier standard in high performance sustainable buildings. Other standards like the Living Building Challenge, Passivhaus (more recently Passive House), and Zero Net Energy (ZNE) verified buildings were signals of over achieving designers and owners looking to make a statement. These high benchmarks were viewed as complex and expensive goals that design teams were lucky to participate in rarely. Recently, ZNE seems to be trending throughout Massachusetts and across North America. ZNE buildings currently contribute to a small fraction of all green buildings; but if you have sat through a presentation or read an industry article lately, you know the market is changing.
 

North Shore Community College – Net Zero!

 

The New Buildings Institute (NBI) defines Zero Net Energy buildings as buildings with greatly reduced energy loads such that, averaged over a year, 100% of the buildings' energy use can be met with onsite renewable energy technologies. Project teams achieve highly energy-efficient designs through thoughtful material choice, passive energy strategies and intelligent system design and sizing. Thus, applying renewable power generation to reach ZNE status. In the past, owners were reluctant to invest in what was a costly and time-consuming project path to ZNE. Through increased incentives, more aggressive energy codes and policy, less expensive renewable energy systems, and more experienced design teams, ZNE now comes at a much smaller additional cost and is gaining market share. An experienced team will incorporate early energy analysis and an integrated design approach to manage these costs. According to a report released in early 2014 by NBI, the number of buildings achieving or pursuing ZNE across North America has more than doubled since 2012.  If it was a product on the popular show Shark Tank, I would invest in it.
 
ZNE is achievable in a wide variety of regions and climate zones, working for many building types and sizes. These buildings use only a quarter of the energy of average commercial buildings, repaying incremental costs applied during design and construction as significant operational savings. Much like other sustainable building objectives, ZNE is achieved by careful design, selecting the right technology for the project's specific needs, controls, monitoring and constant feedback and commissioning. In other words, it's a lot of work!  But the benefits, in terms of energy savings and building resiliency, are worth it.  NBI states that 24% of all ZNE verified projects are now renovated existing buildings, once considered a near impossible feat. This bodes well for America's aging building stock, especially in larger cities in the northeast like New York and Boston that have building energy policies like Boston's Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO).
 
ZNE districts are also a growing trend. Communities and campuses are committing groups of buildings to achieve ZNE, taking advantage of economies of scale. Today there are currently 18 ZNE districts in the US. Community district efforts are organizing everywhere. In December 2013, the city of Cambridge, MA created the Zero Net Energy Task Force that has been charged with advancing the goal of putting Cambridge on the trajectory towards becoming a “net zero community”.
 
In the last few years, ZNE buildings have gone from impossible to improbable to finally achievable. ZNE buildings are becoming the new standard for achieving significant energy savings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment, a market transformation tool much like LEED. Do you remember when LEED certification was a statement?
 
Suzanne Abbott is business development manger at Gilbane Building Company, Boston, Mass.
 


The Yawkey Station – slated to go net-zero by 2017

The Weekly Bulletin to 8/29/14

By Grey Lee

I hope you're all looking forward to a great Labor Day Weekend – it's that time of the year to squeeze out the last drops of summer!

Have you seen these green buildings?
 

 

As for the USGBC in Massachusetts, we have a few things coming up:

Next Monday the 8th: Residential Green Building Committee. They will be hosting a presentation about sustainable forestry and timber construction from Michael Sigmon and Jack Mackin of Chapter Sponsor Sterritt Lumber. 

Our Combined Committees Quarterly Gathering will be Thursday, Sept. 11th, and will be our official “Open House” at our new offices. All Chapter working group and committee leaders are invited to attend.
 

Coming up in September: The LEED Project Showcase! Reach out to your colleagues now! We want their certified projects to be in our show. This is a major fundraiser for the Chapter and it's going to be an excellent time for all. If you know someone who is “on the fence” – put them in touch with Grey.
 
 
This is the LEED Gold East Boston Neighborhood Health Center – 

 

eligible for the Showcase!
 
 
 
 

 

Also in October, DisruptCRE is a mini-conference we're participating in to bring together innovators and startups who are going to reshape the way real estate is done – from crowdfunding to co-working, and also how buildings are created and operated. The Chapter is sponsoring a panel on “The Science of Buildings” to go into the technologies that are transforming our practice and often saving energy and improving tenant experience at the end of the day. We won't mention how LEED was a major disruptor of the entire industry when it came out 15 years ago and is still making waves…
 
Big news from USGBC: we are partnering with the American Chemistry Council to explore how to improve sustainability in materials and product supply chains. And to help the ACC stop trying to ban LEED. Very interesting development.
 
We hope to see you at an upcoming Chapter event, or, just bump into you in a green building!

 

Where is the green building? (hint: recent event was there)
 
 
And here is a REALLY green “building!”

Member Spotlight and Marathoner Samantha DeMagistris

By Grey Lee

Today we get to know Samantha. I just met her via phone during our last Membership Committee meetings. She brings a breath of fresh air and diversity to the Committee. Let's get started!

USGBCMA: What is your current job and how does it differ from past jobs in regards to Sustainability?

Samantha: I have worked in the Real Estate Services Industry for over 5 years. Since 2013, I have focused on commercial janitorial services for the United Services of America located at One Beacon Street where I have been working as Director of Account Services focusing on business development and account management. My specialties include implementing Green Cleaning programs and helping companies achieve their LEED certification. Before I joined my current employer, I worked at Capital Paper Recycling/Mass Hauling managing recycling programs in over 25 million SF of office space! I was able to save 75 accounts a total of $3.5 million through various recycling programs and marketing efforts by diverting over 40,000 tons from the waste stream between 2009-12. In addition, I worked on 2 dozen LEED certification projects in Boston assisting clients with their MR, EA and EQ credits, as well as conducting LEED compliant waste audits for everyone (WOW Sam really puts her money where her waste is! – editor)

USGBCMA: When did you first become interested in Sustainability?

Samantha: While working at Capital Paper Recycling/Mass Hauling, I became an expert in commercial recycling and waste disposal services in the downtown Boston market.  Helping buildings increase their recycling rates and promoting building sustainability efforts. Organic/food waste recycling has become another passion of mine, in which I worked with both retail and office tenants to develop and implement programs which resulted in decrease disposal costs; Green Restaurant Certifications is complying with the state and local regulations on the upcoming food waste ban ( eg. City of Boston's enacting a mandatory composting program for facilities producing a certain amount of food waste – editor )

USGBCMA: Why are you a member of the Chapter and how did you get there?
Samantha: In 2012, I achieved my LEED O+M accreditation by maintaining my credentials through LEED projects and seminars. At the Chapter, I've had the opportunity to meet interesting people and attend informative events on green building regulations.

USGBCMA: How are you an environmental steward?

Samantha: Professionally, I help businesses reduce their environmental impact by replacing conventional cleaning product with those that can be naturally derived, safe and non-toxic. Along with improving indoor air quality, green cleaning products can also increase work productivity. On a personal note, I try to recycle as much as possible both in my office and at home. When I go grocery shopping, I concentrate on buying in bulk and look for products with as little packaging as possible. Community Service is important to me. In the past, I've volunteered through Building Impact to help clean Pope John Paul II Park Reservation on National Service Day. I've also volunteered with one of my former clients, Fidelity, at the Mario Umana Middle School Academy for their site “transformation day” where I leveraged painting and planting skills to create site improvements.

USGBCMA: How do you help raise environmental awareness?

Samantha: While I am not one for shaming my friends for buying numerous packs of bottle water or for not recycling them afterwards (let's face it, no one is perfect and there are times that plastic water bottles are convenient and no recycling bins are around), I do like to educate them on the benefits of being green. Being green isn't just about recycling. I think it's less about 'stuff', more about supporting local businesses and farms, reusing 'stuff' when possible and being a green advocate.

USGBCMA: If I needed to find you on a Saturday afternoon, where would it be?

Samantha: Training for my upcoming marathon in Savannah, GA.