We're listening: Here's the Survey

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


Can we get your feedback? Please take a couple of minutes to check in with us through this 9-question survey. We really appreciate knowing what you care about. So we can keep putting together good stuff for you!

 

Here is the link!
 

Learn More about the Living Building Challenge

By Ryan Duffy, Communications Fellow


The Living Building Challenge (LBC) is a revolutionary new green building certification program. It calls for the creation of building projects that operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently as nature's architecture.  On May 11-13, The Living Future Conference will convene in Seattle. At this meeting, professionals and experts will exchange technical expertise, bold strategies and provocative case studies. It will be a productive exchange about green buildings' newest and most intense standard.


At USGBC MA, we will convene 2 Tuesdays from now, May 17th, to familiarize our network of professionals and enthusiasts with the new standard and discuss the results of the conference. Participants will gain a basic understanding of the LBC- a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that addresses development at all scales. Attendees will also learn to describe the key components of the program and discuss the rationale for restorative design principles.

We have four goals for the event:

1. Understand the basic philosophy of the Living Building Challenge
2. Describe the key components of the program
3. Discuss the rationale for restorative design principles
4. Identify and locate the resources provided by the International Living Future Institute for deeper engagement

Don't miss out, Read more about the event and register now!!
 

LEED Exam Prep– Next Month!

By Ryan Duffy, Communications Fellow


Are you serious about your dedication to sustainable building? Come to our Green Associate course next week on Wednesday, June 15th, in our Boston office!

Anybody that's serious about sustainable building should definitely have their LEED Green Associate accreditation! And we'd be happy to help you prepare for your Green Associate Exam. In fact, we're hosting an exam preparation course which would be perfect for you next month! This is also the perfect opportunity because we will be transitioning to an updated version of LEED next year, and this will give you a better grasp of the updated
certification information for the new version. 

Already a LEED Green Associate or Accredited Professional? Invite a friend or colleague who still needs their accreditation!

Register here

The full day comprehensive course covers the following topics:

Chapter #1 – Introduction

This 1-hour chapter will explain the LEED Green Associate credentialing process and serve as an introduction to LEED, sustainability, the USGBC, the GBCI and the LEED rating system.

Chapter #2 – Location and Transportation / Sustainable Sites

This 1-hour chapter will focus on site issues such as connectivity, transportation, erosion, landscaping, and heat island effect.

Chapter #3 – Water Efficiency / Energy and Atmosphere

This 1-hour chapter will focus on water issues (plumbing efficiency, irrigation, process water, etc.) and energy and atmosphere issues (demand, efficiency, renewable energy, ozone depleting substances, etc.)

Chapter #4 – Materials and Resources

This 1-hour chapter will focus on procurement and waste diversion.

Chapter #5 – Indoor Environmental Quality

This 1-hour chapter will focus on indoor environmental quality issues such as indoor air quality, occupant comfort and green cleaning.

Chapter #6 – Innovation / Regional Priority / Certification Process

This 1-hour chapter will explain the LEED certification process and the Innovation and Regional Priority categories.

Chapter #7 – Exam Review

This 1-hour chapter will focus on exam format and registration and strategies to pass the exam.

Chapter #8 – Exam Review

This 1-hour chapter will focus on sample exam questions.

When: June 15th, 8:30 AM through 5:00 PM
Where: 50 Milk St, 18th floor, “Woolf” room, Boston, MA- 02109.

Register here!

U.S. Senate passes the Energy Policy Modernization Act

By Anthony Lucivero, Advocacy Fellow


The S.2012 Energy Policy Modernization Act (EPMA) was passed by a definitive 85-12 vote in the U.S. Senate on April 20th, 2016.  The act represents a major step forward in bipartisan action at the Federal level towards addressing energy and environmental issues.  

How did this happen?  The bill avoided any highly controversial topics which usually divide the Senate, such as climate change (!) and fossil fuel exploration, and instead focused on promoting renewable energy development, energy efficiency of buildings, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.  If the Senate and House work together on a compromise between their two versions of this bill, it will be the first time since the George W. Bush administration that an energy package has been sent to the President's office for signing. 

The bill is requiring electricity operators to modernize the power grid with energy storage systems for the ever-growing production of renewable energy.  The bill also includes several programs to improve building energy efficiency, such as increasing the maximum length of time from 10 to 25 years for federal utility savings contracts, allowing for a longer payback period to upgrade government buildings.  The 2.5% annual reduction in energy use for government buildings from 2016 to 2025 is formalized by this bill.  Cyberattacks on the power grid are also a priority and initiatives to strengthen the safeguards against such attacks are included.  National parks and wilderness areas have also gotten attention with the authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.  

On the downside, the bill does facilitate the exporting of American natural gas by accelerating the approval of permits for coastal gas terminals, and does not change the immense subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.  The bill has left some environmental groups disappointed.  Jason Kowalski, the policy director for 350.org has stated that the policy is outdated, “tolerable in the ’80s or ’90s, but not in tune with the scientific realities of 2016.”  

Hopefully this bill is seen as a landmark of bipartisanship cooperation, and we can expect stronger action in addressing climate change through our domestic energy policies. 

 

Residential Green Building Committee Meeting: 5/9/16​

By Molly Cox


The Residential Green Building Committee gathered for a meeting on May 9th, 2016. We had a presentation from Declan Keefe who is the Strategic Director at Placetailor, an architecture firm focusing on design and development of energy efficient buildings.

 

Placetailor is unique in the energy efficiency building space, as they incorporated the Passive House (Passivhaus) standards from Germany into the US market (there are separate standards for Passive House US), which mandate environmentally friendly heating and cooling systems in a building. Placetailor also strives to achieve a net zero source energy rating for their projects, meaning the building’s production will zero out when “embodied energy” is taken into account, as opposed to net zero site energy. This embodied energy is not directly tied to Passive House standards, but Placetailor has made great strides to achieve this through employment of local crews, purchasing of materials nearby, and more. Net zero site energy does not include the full life cycle analysis of the building’s creation, but homeowners can make further strides to achieve net zero source energy by installing solar PV for example.

Keefe shared some case studies of past projects with us, which gave us a chance to ask any and all questions about the details of their work. Their first project in 2008 was the Pratt House, and the previous owner of Placetailor actually lived there. Furthermore, the Rocksberry project has a roof that was installed at an asymmetric angle, to accommodate Solar PV if the homeowner chose to install.

 

Placetailor is a competitive player in the energy efficiency building market, especially when it comes to cost. Overall, they have found their projects are outperforming what they had modeled initially, and utility bills are lower than predicted for their clients. It was an amazing presentation, and we look forward to staying on top of future Passive House news!

 

To continue our Committee meeting, we discussed RGBC initiatives for this year. We found advocacy to be a common interest among us all, and we plan to focus on these efforts. We will also have some updates for the Integrated Energy Efficiency Program in Somerville and Boston soon!

We have a building tour coming up on June 4th, visiting two houses. Sign up HERE. Stay tuned for some more events with USGBC!

Sponsor Highlight: Structure Tone with Blue Cross/BlueShield Project

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) built its new 308,000sf space to provide 1,000 associates with a state-of-the-art environment to support collaboration, productivity, and wellness—mind, body and soul—in an efficient and sustainable environment. Chapter Sponsoring Partner Structure Tone served as the construction contractor for this complex project.

With an eight-month preplanning phase and an actively involved owner, the team developed the massive fit-out design and intricate logistics plan for moving materials and equipment in and out, scheduling trades, and converting 14 floors into cutting-edge office space.

BCBSMA’s focus on wellness is paramount. The insurer dedicated 13,000sf to a cafeteria and full-cooking kitchen offering predominantly healthy food choices. Abundant natural light and a living green wall spanning two stories create a connection with the outside world.

Structure Tone built a wellness center with a yoga room with floating floors and moveable partitions to accommodate exercise and meditation breaks. To integrate exercise with work, employees can reserve walk stations (desktop surfaces with treadmills beneath and plug-in capability), and sit-to-stand desktops and ergonomic chairs are standard, along with hydration centers on every floor.

To enable collaboration, a variety of formal and informal meeting spaces were built, along with interconnecting stairs—floating steel staircases that link multiple floors. State-of-the-art technology provides associates with connectivity from any location via soft phone systems, Lync Innovation Rooms that facilitate virtual meetings and remote content sharing, and click share technology.

To learn more about the projects conducted by Structure Tone, visit their website or our blog!

Getting to Zero– Improve Your Portfolio-Wide Performance

By Ryan Duffy, Communications Fellow


By now you probably know that our planet's future is precariously linked to our impact.  Thus, it is now important more than ever to create collaboratively and achieve levels of synergy that transform our impact. 

The project delivery process is the life-blood of your business yet most firms try to achieve these ever-higher performance targets using the same old delivery process that doesn't achieve performance. Our event will provide participants with practical frameworks and proven methodologies to transform their practice from “random acts of sustainability” to consistent capability based on cultural change, clearly articulated methodologies, truly integrative design and effective use of metrics to achieve continuous improvement.

Come with specific questions and scenarios and we will address them!

This event will be on May 24th, from 8:30 AM to 11 AM at 50 Milk St, 18th Floor – 'Hemingway' Room, Boston 02109.

Read more about the event and register here

 

Don't Miss May's Building Tour at EMD Serono Research R&D Institute!

By Ryan Duffy, Communications Fellow


Come join your green building colleagues May 26th for a tour of the EMD Serono Research & Development Institute in Billerica in the Unity and Sagamore buildings. The former achieved LEED Gold certification in 2011, while the latter attained LEED Platinum certification in 2015. 

The Unity building is a state-of -the-art biology and chemistry research facility which houses 200 scientists and research labs. The Sagamore building is a former pilot scale Protein Production Laboratory which has been transformed into an open concept office space.

EMD Serono prides itself on environmental responsibility and cutting edge technology which are driving factors for the facility design. The presenters from EMD Serono include Tony Meenaghan, Senior Director Facilities EHS & Engineering, Jeff Hyman, Senior Manager, Environmental Health & Safety US, and Jack Conway, Project Manager Facilities.

JLL Construction will be sponsoring this event. JLL offers comprehensive services as a construction manager, general contractor and design/builder, completing over 300 diverse assignments annually from New England all the way to Philadelphia.

The tour will take place from 6:00-7:00pm. EMD will host us for a social event afterwards with drinks and appetizers from 7:00-8:00pm. For carpooling purposes, please include the town from which you will be coming to the tour. EMPA will help facilitate ride sharing for those who are interested.

Special thanks to JLL Construction Services for sponsoring this event!

This event will be May 26th from 6 PM to 7 PM at 45 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA. 

Read more and register here!
 

Living Building: Kern Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


A ribbon-cutting ceremony a week ago marked the opening of the first new building on the Hampshire College campus in nearly three decades. The College has always been committed to community and environmental principles but building best practice has changed over the decades. When the campus was first designed, it was designed as a hub and spoke, with the hub being a large parking lot and the buildings and congreation areas encircling. Today, the campus is transformed to be a walking campus with green open space connecting the built environment.

The College's most recent achievement is the R. W. Kern Center, a Living Building Project. As a Living Building Project, it was designed and built to achieve the most advanced environmentally sound building standard in the world by our professional colleagues (and Chapter sponsoring partners) at Bruner/Cott and built to exacting specificaitons by the Wright Builders team (also a Chapter sponsoring partner!). 

The new 17,000-square-foot campus center, the R.W. Kern Center, was constructed using non-toxic materials that were locally sourced whenever possible to reduce the carbon footprint.  The building is designed to supply its own power and water and process waste on-site.

College president Jonathan Lash said it is a symbol of the school’s beliefs.

“We want this building to not just be a structure that houses some activities, but a part of who we are and how we teach,” Lash said in an interview.

The new building will house admissions and financial aid. There will be classrooms and a coffee bar. 

Hampshire College worked with architects Bruner/Cott of Cambridge, Mass. to design the building with the goal of being certified a “living building” by the International Living Future Institute. There are currently nine such buildings in the world with more awaiting certification or under construction.


The two-story timber beam-and-post building has solar panels on the roof to supply power. There are two 5,500-gallon cisterns that hold rainwater, which is purified for drinking. All the organic waste ends up in large composters.

Kern Center builder Jonathan Wright of Wright Builders in Northampton said the project was “difficult and exacting.”

Wright, a Hampshire College alum, said the most difficult challenge in the project was avoiding the use of any construction materials or chemicals found on a so-called “red list” of about a dozen toxins.

“A building like this, if it was conventional, might have  150 submittals;products you have to bring forward and say this is want we plan.  This building has over 800 submittals; everything from the electrical tape to chalks and glues,” explained Wright.  ” It is very process intensive.”

With the exception of the heat pumps for the building, which came from Japan, and frames for the window glass that came from Germany, everything else, including the stone veneer and the eastern white cedar shingles were fabricated within 500 kilometers of the construction site, according to Wright.

“That is part of the Living Building Challenge is to source it locally,” said Wright.


All wood that was used was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or came from salvage. Wright and the college’s Facilities and Grounds office worked to reduce or eliminate construction waste through recycling.

Students were involved in the project from the start.  Wesley Evans, a senior majoring in applied design, joined the planning committee for the Kern Center when he was freshman.

“We did not know at the time the level of sustainability the Kern Center would have or the depth and rigger that would go into the planing process,” said Evans. ” What came out of it really is a testament to how involved the community was , how deeply the Hampshire community cares about sustainability and leaving the planet better than we found it.”

Carl Weber, associate director of Facilities and Grounds, said it will be at least a year before the college finds out if the Kern Center achieves the Living Building Challenge standard.

“After a certain amount of time we have to be able to prove we did what we said we would.” said Weber

The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, a nonprofit education center, is constructing a new building on the Hampshire campus that is also designed to meet the Living Building Challenge standard.

If you are interested in learning more about the Living Building standard, visit us next week (May 17th) for our course in Boston.

If you are interested in learning more about a Living Building for your firm, please reach out to our colleagues at Wright Builders or Bruner Cott

 

Special thanks to Hampshire College and WAMC for their contributions to this submission. 

Cinco de Mayo: Where in Mexico is LEED being used?

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

 

Today, Mexico's architects, construction firms, energy companies, city planners, enterprises and politicians are working together to create the sustainable cities of tomorrow.

Mexico is the home to 139 LEED-certified and 460 LEED-registered projects, totaling 13,168,705 gross square meters of space. From hospitality to retail, whether single projects or those using LEED volume certification, the projects in Mexico represent the diversity and breadth inherent in LEED. 

Check out a few of Mexico's most impressive projects below.

HSBC Tower, Mexico City, Mexico, LEED Gold

HSBC Tower, designed by Bioconstruccion y Energia Alternativa (BEA), obtained the first LEED Gold certification for New Construction and became the second certified project in the country. With 34 levels, a heliport, 12 parking garages, and 2 basements, HSBC Tower is a massive steel structure located in the heart of Mexico City. HSBC Tower unleashed the LEED certified buildings trend in the city's Economic District. Its innovative measures resulted in a reduction of water use by 76% and energy consumption by 25%. With 3,000 people using the building full-time, the tower provides occupants with 144 bike stations, 18 showers and dressing rooms, and a green roof space to relax. 

Bioconstruccion 347, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, LEED Platinum

As the headquarters for the LEED-pioneer consulting firm, Bioconstruccion y Energia Alternativa (BEA), Bioconstruccion347 promotes the company's green building services and commitment to abetter-built environment by being the first LEED for New Construction Platinum certified office space in Latin America. BEA reused 75% of the building'swalls, floors and roof, and 50% of interior nonstructural elements. Thebuilding also operates on energy powered by solar panels and a wind turbine. These innovative green technologies draw people in on a regular basis for guided open tours of the facility. BEA has more than 15 years of experience designing greener buildings. 

Universidad Del Arte, Puebla, Mexico, LEED Platinum

UNARTE was designed by AKF Group with its campus' commitments to education and art in mind. Located in a pre-existing campus parking lot, the building took on a stack architectural approach in order to restore the area's original topography. By including native vegetation and a rainwater infiltration system, UNARTE harvests, reuses and treats 100% of its rainwater. Its natural aesthetic is due to its 'origami' layout where the structure folds and unfolds into different rooms and edifices. Inside, UNARTE's design promotes natural lighting and ventilation in order to create an atmosphere necessary for a productive workspace.

Read LEED in Motion: Mexico to discover more projects