Largest Green Academic Building in the Southwest United States By: Patty Ardavin, SchoolFacilities.com Source: Patty Ardavin, SchoolFacilities.com The School of Nursing and Student Community Center in Houston's Texas Medical Center was completed in 2004 at a cost of $57 million. The 194,000-square-foot, eight-story facility is the largest green academic building in the Southwest United States. This structure can accommodate 200 people in the main auditorium. It also has a bookstore, cafe, student lounge, student government offices, a research laboratory, faculty office, and enough classroom space to seat 880 students at any one time. The materials for the building's construction were able to be obtained from sources within a 500-mile radius of the site. The facility was designed with photovoltaic array on the rooftop and with energy efficiency in mind. The building envelope, lighting, plenum under-floor air distribution, and a heat recovery systems as well as using natural daylight helped in the $76,838 annual energy savings. Water efficiency was also taken into account with seven rainwater storage tanks that capture more than 826,000 gallons of rainwater per year that is then used for toilet flushing and irrigation. According to UT, The facility has been honored by a chapter of the American Institute of Architects for its groundbreaking design.  Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell Architects ( BNIM ), the Kansas City-based company that designed the eight-story building with associate architectural firm Lake Flato Architects of San Antonio, has received the AIA Kansas City chapter's Honor Award for its imaginative design, which incorporated largely earth-friendly building materials and a dedication to sustainability. The project also received the 2004 AIA Kansas City Committee on the Environment Award, part of a newly-created program recognizing design excellence that integrates architecture, technology and natural systems. In addition, BNIM claimed the 2004 AIA Kansas Honor Award, given by the state's AIA chapter, for the building's design. Below are some fast facts on the project and the team that made it happen. You can also go to their website for additional information at http://www.uthouston.edu/sonscc/ “Fast Facts” about UT's School of Nursing and Student Community Center The nursing building houses 7 rainwater storage tanks. Two of these 1000-gallon tanks, called cisterns, are located on the roof. Collectively, the cisterns capture more than 826,000 gallons of rainwater or "grey" water per year. “Rainwater harvesting” will save money on water bills, reduce demand for fresh water, and lessen the environmental impact of this facility. "Grey" water, also known as non-potable water, cannot be used for human consumption — but will meet 100 percent of sewage conveyance needs. The nursing building uses its grey water system for the estimated 42,000 gallons it needs each month for toilet flushing and irrigation. The number of toilet flushes per day is estimated to be 3-7 flushes per person. The nursing building will; have a student occupancy of about 600, and an additional daily occupancy of 150 full-time faculty and staff. This amounts to about 2,250 – 5,250 flushes daily. To contribute to water conservation efforts, efficient plumbing fixtures such as waterless urinals, low-flow lavatories and low-flow showerheads are installed throughout the nursing building. Houston experiences around 105 days of rainfall each year. The rainwater storage tanks are designed to accommodate an average rainfall of 50" annually. In the event of excessive rainfall the cisterns contain an overflow mechanism — 8"-10” overflow pipes — that allow the rain to flow into the landscape. Multiple water reduction strategies amount to 63 percent reduction in total water use for the nursing building. Flood protection features of the nursing building include: no basement, backup power is located on the 2nd floor, the first floor has been raised above the 500-year flood line, the roof and landscape have been designed to detain rainwater and slow or delay the discharge rate off the site. The walls of the nursing building are treated with “Rainscreen,” which keeps the insulation dry, and has a 50-60 percent higher effective insulation value. It also prevents mold and mildew growing inside walls. The nursing building has 8 stories with the highest elevation point measuring 130 feet, 7 inches. The nursing building's roof features a perforated screen which minimizes heat and glare. The nursing building will benefit from several important features designed to reduce energy consumption to 46 percent less than current optimal energy codes (AHSRAE 90.1 1999 requirements using LEED™ and ASHRAE energy modeling protocol). Innovative use of natural daylight, high-performance window glazing and window shading devices, an under-floor air distribution system, and individualized temperature controls are all integrated into the design. Weather permitting, Houstonians could have their windows open approximately one-third of the year, or about 134 days. Operable windows have been installed throughout the nursing building for the comfort of the occupants and to bring in the natural cooling breezes, which are maximized by the orientation of the building's axis. The windows are super-efficient, and are capable of “harvesting daylight” through the use of frosted glass louvers, serra-glaze, and translucent sail-cloth. The energy performance optimization makes for an annual savings in energy costs of $76,838.00 — based on current energy prices. Results indicate that this building will use 80 percent less energy on a square foot basis than the adjacent UT School of Public Health, which was built just 25 years ago. Seventy-seven percent of the materials used in the nursing building were recycled or reused. Out of a total of 6,162 tons— 4,753 tons of material were salvaged from the destruction of the old Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences building, which was previously on the site. These materials included concrete, wood, site debris, masonry, scrap metal, furniture, fixtures and equipment, metal casework, and a canopy and skylight. One thousand square yards of carpet were returned to DuPont, 14.3 tons of ceiling tile were returned to Armstrong, and 50,000 bricks were stockpiled for later use. The majority of the materials used on the nursing building originate from local sources within a 500-mile radius of the building site. Local materials include: the salvaged brick from the previous building on the site, the sinker cypress hauled from the bottom of the Mississippi River, gypsum board, the structural steel, concrete, red bricks reclaimed from a 19th century warehouse in San Antonio, the garden terraces, and all earthwork and landscaping. The nursing building replaced 51 percent of the Portland cement used in the concrete with Fly Ash, the waste by-product from the combustion of coal for electricity generation. For every pound of cement (one of the primary ingredients in concrete) that is produced — about one pound of carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere. This is a great environmental concern. A 51 percent reduction in the use of Portland cement results in a fantastic reduction in CO2 emissions. PROJECT TEAM: Updated 11/22/2005 Architect Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell Architects (BNIM) Houston, TX Contact: Steve McDowell, FAIA www.bnim.com Construction Manager Jacobs/Vaughn, Inc. Contact: Maurice Robison, Jacobs Facilities, Inc. www.jacobs.com Contact: Joe Vaughn, Vaughn Construction www.vaughnconstruction.com MEP Engineer Carter & Burgess, Inc. Contact: Tim Koehn www.c-b.com Energy Efficiency Consultant Supersymmetry Contact: Ron Perkins Civil Engineer Epsilon Engineering Contact: Gary Myers Landscape Architect Coleman & Associates Contact: Aan Garrett-Coleman Code Consultant Rolf Jensen & Associates Contact: Andrew Oldweiler www.rjagroup.com Interior Design BNIM Architects Contact: David Immenschuh www.bnim.com AV & Acoustics Pelton, Marsh, Kinsella (PMK) Contact: Howard Pelton www.pmkconsultants.com AV Education Technology The University of Texas at Austin Contact: Kurt L Bartelmehs, PhD kurt@mail.aces.utexas.edu www.aces.utexas.edu/ Vertical Transportation Lerch Bates & Associates Contact: Terry Story www.lerchbates.com The University of Texas System Office of Facility Planning and Construction Contacts (Houston): Jim Hicks JHicks@utsystem.edu Paul Zider, Project Manager pzider@utsystem.edu   Associate Architect Lake Flato Architects San Antonio , TX Contact: David Lake , FAIA www.lakeflato.com Structural Engineer Jaster-Quintanilla & Associates Contact: Scott Francis www.jaster-quintanilla.com Electrical & Security Engineer Ferguson Consulting Contact: Lacette Ferguson Lighting Designer Clanton Associates Contact: Nancy Clanton www.clantonassociates.com Roadway & South Parking Walter P. Moore Contact: Edwin Friedrichs www.walterpmoore.com Cost Consultant Apex Busby Contact: Claude Eudaric, Apex Cost Consultants www.apexcost.com Contact: Kenneth Busby, Busby & Associates www.busbyqs.com Lab Consultant P&W Architects, LLP Contact: Victor Gelsomino, Jr., AIA www.pwarch.com Envelope Studies Arup Contact: Maurya McClintock www.arup.com Food Service Worrell Design Group Contact: Rod Worrell Sustainable Strategies Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems Contact: Pliny Fisk www.cmpbs.org Rocky Mountain Institute Contact: Bill Browning www.rmi.org Elements, a division of BNIM Architects Contact: Jason McLennan elements.bnim.com The UT Health Science Center at Houston Contacts: Richard L McDermott Vice President for Facilities, Planning and Engineering Richard.L.McDermott@uth.tmc.edu