By Anita Neal Harrison
During the lifetime of a building, the initial investment of construction represents 20 percent of overall cost. A company will incur the heft of the building’s expense — 80 percent — through its operating cost, says Cary Gampher, of AIA and principal architect with The Architects Alliance. To minimize the weight of that 80 percent, utilizing sustainable design for a commercial remodel or construction is about more than making a few environmentally friendly choices.
Jim Crabtree, a vice president for Central Bank and a former Department of Natural Resources employee, says true sustainable design requires a holistic approach.
“It’s not like shopping in a grocery store and choosing this and that off the shelf,” he says. “There’s a logic and a consistency that you run through as you’re putting together a building, and that logic and consistency are what makes a sustainable design successful. Everything has to work together.”
Everything and everyone, agrees Elizabeth Riesberg, a LEED accredited professional interior designer with Septagon Construction. Riesberg says all members of the design and construction team have to work together toward the sustainable design goal.
“It is a team approach, especially in new construction, making sure that all parts of the project work together,” she says.
Two Jefferson City examples of this thorough commitment to sustainable design are Central Bank’s Financial Center at 111 E. Miller St., opened in 2003, and the Department of Natural Resources’ Lewis and Clark State Office Building at 1101 Riverside Drive, opened in 2004.
Committing to sustainable design for its financial center offered Central Bank a chance to practice its “going green” emphasis, Crabtree says.
“We try to educate our customers to maximize the use of their capital over the long run,” he says. “[Sustainable design] was the right thing to do long term.”
He adds that the higher upfront costs for the building’s green elements were a good investment because Central Bank expected to use the building far longer than five to seven years, the amount of time it would take to recapture the extra costs through operational savings.
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designed Central Bank’s Financial Center, and McCarthy Brothers partnered with Sircal Construction on the construction. One of the building’s most striking aesthetic features — its glass exterior — is also one of its most significant sustainable design elements. The glass skin enables passive solar gain during the winter, while the cantilevered shade structure prevents direct sunlight from warming the glass during the summer. The glass walls also allow natural light to flood the building’s interior, which lowers the need for electrical lighting and creates an attractive, sunshiny working environment.
“People love to work in that building,” Crabtree says. “It’s a really pleasant space.”
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources also found it important to put its principles into practice when building the Lewis and Clark State Office Building. Designed by BNIM Architects in Kansas City, this 120,000-square-foot office building was the nation’s first state office building to receive LEED’s platinum rating, the highest offered. Early estimates showed the building’s energy costs to be almost half those of the average state office building ($0.81 per square foot for the Lewis and Clark State Office Building versus $1.50 per square foot for the average). And though the Department of Natural Resources prioritized environmental stewardship, it also prioritized dollar savings.
“When deciding what features would be included in the building, the Department of Natural Resources and the Office of Administration established a seven-year payback standard,” says DNR spokesperson Renee Bungart. “Any feature above standard building costs would have to pay for itself in savings within seven years.”
One of the most significant features of the Lewis and Clark State Office Building is its position on a long east-to-west axis, which is crucial to controlling solar heat gain. This positioning is an example of how the sustainable design approach requires start-to-finish planning. Had no one prioritized sustainable design until after site selection and groundbreaking, much of the building’s efficiency would’ve been lost.
Still, that’s not to say there’s no benefit to making a few changes when starting from scratch isn’t an option. Here, Riesberg offers three top projects for incorporating sustainable design in a remodel:
1) For a simple facelift, a coat of paint and new flooring can do wonders. Go with a low-VOC paint rather than a regular latex paint for better indoor quality, and consider flooring with a recycled content or that is made from a rapidly renewable material. Also use low-maintenance flooring to limit use of chemical cleaners, and be aware of installation methods; adhesives get their stickiness from their chemical makeup, and the VOCs can be significant. Finally, be sure to take old material to a recycler and not a landfill.
2) Update heating and cooling equipment. Go for the most efficient equipment your budget allows, and you will quickly see both an economical and environmental benefit. Also, look for air leaks in the building, which make mechanical systems work harder.
3) Install occupancy sensors to control thermostats and lighting, especially in seldom-used spaces such as storage and restrooms.
Not only do these projects, particularly the last two, have the potential to create significant savings in operational costs, but they are also responsible business practices, Riesberg says. And, she adds, anything good for employees’ health is good for business.
“Productivity will rise when health and well-being are considered,” she says. n
