This month marked the 200th Anniversary of Henry David Thoreau's birthday, and in sync with this anniversary, the new, netzero Walden Pond Visitor Center in Concord, MA has earned LEED Gold Certification. The new facility will house interactive exhibits on writer, Henry David Thoreau, and a film about Walden Pond.
The LEED Gold Walden Pond Visitor Center, Concord, MA.
The visitor center – a project that's been 40 years in the making – includes a high-performance exterior envelope; energy-efficient heating and cooling systems; landscaping that mimics the natural habitat, as well as wood grown and processed in Massachusetts. The A/E team anticipates the design will provide a 48% reduction in energy costs and 37% reduction in water consumption compared to baseline building.
The new state-of-the-art Walden Pond Visitor Center welcomes guests from around the world to the state reservation. Walden Pond State Reservation, which is a National Historic Landmark, was made internationally known because of the literary works of naturalist Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau, who wrote ‘Walden; or, Life in the Woods’, which reflects on his time spent over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, inspired the land conservation movement in the United States. To this day, Walden Pond State Reservation remains a heavily used state park with a popular public swimming beach, as well as other outdoor recreational opportunities such as hiking, boating, and fishing.
The new Walden Pond State Reservation Visitor Center features:
5,680 net square feet, approximately two-thirds of which will be dedicated to publicly available interpretive displays related to the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau;
A south-facing orientation providing a wood and glass façade to maximize solar efficiency;
Superinsulation with increased roof, wall, and window values to conserve energy;
A 9 kilowatt (kW) solar hot water system;
A Variable Refrigerant Flow heat pump system;
A low flow plumbing system to reduce water consumption; and,
A 100 kW solar canopy array in an adjacent parking lot that will generate more than enough clean renewable power over the course of a year for the visitor center.
Congratulations, The Green Engineer (USGBC MA Chapter Sponsor), on the achievements of this wonderful project!
Boston Public Library’s $78 million Central Library Renovation has recently been awarded seven national and local awards, celebrating the project’s design excellence, preservation, and outstanding collaboration. Among the honors are the prestigious 2017 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards from the joint American Institute of Architects (AIA) and American Library Association (ALA) program as well as the Boston Preservation Alliance Preservation Achievement Award. The East Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library, which opened in 2013, was also recognized with a 2017 AIA/ALA Library Building Award. Sunday, July 9 marked the one year anniversary of the Central Library Renovation grand reopening.
The Green Engineer, Inc. is a sustainable design consulting firm specializing in solutions to design, build, and operate buildings with improved energy efficiency and reduced impact on the environment. Founded in 2005 by Chris Schaffner, PE, LEED Fellow, the firm has a technical staff of fifteen LEED-Accredited Professionals. The expert team brings to the table experience and perspective from a variety of backgrounds including engineering, architecture, construction, planning, development, and public policy. We practice Integrative Design and see sustainability as a core goal shared by design team members and stakeholders. Our practice uses tools such as energy and daylight modeling and life-cycle assessment of materials to analyze performance and inform our decision-making. We also consult for non-LEED clients, including affordable housing and other non-profit developers. To date, we have managed or been involved in more than 122 LEED certified projects in New England and around the country.
At left, Principals Sarah Michelman, Chris Schaffner, and Erik Ruoff
The Green Engineer Principal, Chris Schaffner, and Project Manager, Ryan Montoni, are now officially licensed as BREEAM USA In-Use Assessors, and The Green Engineer is now a BREEAM USA In-Use Assessor Organization.
BREEAM USA In-Use is a comprehensive and holistic environmental assessment method for assessing and rating the sustainability of existing, commercial assets located within the United States. BREEAM In-Use is applicable to any existing commercial building – regardless of its size or condition. There are no prerequisites or other barriers to using the BREEAM In-Use standard.
We're an organization built by our members, who range from students and emerging professionals to senior level executives at massive architectural firms. Today, we want to shine the spotlight on Chris Schaffner, LEED Fellow, Founder & President of The Green Engineer, Inc., a sustainable design firm. Chris has been a huge part of our community for a while now, frequently attending meetings, presenting at our morning educational sessions, and supporting us in everything we do.
A long time promoter of sustainable design, Chris was a charter member of the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Faculty(TM), training more than 9,600 building industry professionals in the use of the LEED Rating System since 2001. He is a currently an elected member of the USGBC Advisory Council, as well as a volunteer with the LEED Advisory Committee. He previously served on the USGBC Board of Directors, as Chair of the Energy and Atmosphere Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and as a member of the Indoor Environmental Quality TAG, among other volunteer roles with the USGBC.
The Green Engineer, Inc. is a sustainable design consulting firm specializing in solutions to design, build, and operate buildings with improved energy efficiency and reduced impact on the environment.
By Alexander Landa, Outreach and Communications Manager
If you didn't get the chance to join us on Tuesday, September 27th, then you missed a great presentation on Energy Codes. In this course lead by Chris Schaffner, LEED Fellow and founder and President of The Green Engineer Inc., the morning was engaging and informative, enlightening those who attended to become more aware about MA's new energy code.
The state's new energy codes maintain the state's leadership position on building energy codes, and also re-aligns the Stretch Energy Code with the Base Code, simplifying the situation in Stretch Code Communities. This is important for professionals in the green building industry, so you can become update with the changes for commercial buildings, and the pros/cons of compliance options.
Of course, USGBC MA's devotion to education won't stop here. In the future, we will be holding more events similar to this!
