Only Beautiful is Sustainable

The best thing I learned at the recent AIA Convention in San Francisco:

'If it's not beautiful, it's not sustainable.'

If the community doesn't embrace a building, the building will not be saved or preserved when the time comes. Unaesthetic buildings will not last and are unsustainable even if they have a LEED rating...

Example:

Mark Miller Toyota, Salt Lake - LEED Gold Rating
I will be the first in line to tear this building down when the time comes. Very unattractive.




Salt Lake Public Library - No LEED Rating
I will be the first in line to preserve this building when the time comes. GORGEOUS - my favorite library of all the cities I've lived in.




So which is the more sustainable building?
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Earth Day 2009 = 1st LDS Green Building

(Rendering source)

I previously posted on the Church History Library registering with the USGBC. And now we have the results of what rating they are going for. And on Earth Day no less. The new Church History Library is aiming to receive a LEED Silver rating. The actual rating won't be given out until a year from now, when the performance results of the building are in. Currently there are only five buildings with a higher rating in all of Utah. This building will now become part of history by becoming the first green building completed by the LDS Church.

“The Church’s commitment to attaining LEED certification for the Church History Library is a reflection of their long-term vision, and it underscores the leadership role the Church plays on so many levels in the community,” said Jim Bradburn, director of Sustainable Services at The RMH Group, a sustainable engineering services firm in Denver. “The forward-looking design and focus on sustainability from the outset made achieving the high professional standards required for certification a fluid part of the process.” (LDS Newsroom)


(Rendering source)

“Improved lighting and indoor air quality allow customers to better use the records and be more comfortable while doing so,” said Brent Thompson, director of Records Preservation for the Church History Department. “More natural light in work areas improves the job satisfaction for employees and missionaries. The community benefits from a well-designed building that looks good in the urban setting while having less impact on the environment.” (LDS Newsroom)

The building’s occupants will experience healthier surroundings because many of the materials used in its construction are low in volatile organic compounds, or VOC, explained Dessa Fountaine of Jacobsen Construction, the company building the Church History Library. “The filters in the mechanical systems eliminate allergens,” Fountaine added. “The wood used comes from forests that are harvested wisely and are replanted. A center will be included in the building to collect paper, plastics and metal products to be recycled. The heating and cooling systems are efficient, thus eliminating waste. The landscaping designs and plumbing items will use less water, and the windows, blinds and insulation will preserve temperatures.” (LDS Newsroom)


(Rendering source)

I will post the LEED scorecard showing the individual credits earned when it is uploaded to the USGBC website. Note: this will not be for another year. Requirements of building commissioning and quantifying the performance of the building will take a year before results and credits are guaranteed. So hopefully on Earth Day 2010 we can celebrate when they place the LEED Silver logo on the building.
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Earth (Half) Hour

It was exciting to hear that the icon of the LDS Church, the Salt Lake Temple, would be apart of Earth Hour 2009. From the hills north of the city, the view is spectacular and provided a good location to see the lights go out. It was exciting to actually see the temple lights turned off in support of an important moral issue of our time. Unfortunately, from this vantage point, the temple appeared to be the only building in the city participating in making a statement about climate change. I kept waiting for the State Capitol lights to go out, but they never did. Surprising for a city signed up as a 'participating city'.



So the lights on the temple went out at 8:30pm. I was hoping that the other temple lights seen from the hill (Draper and Jordan River) would also go out, but they didn't. Heading down the hill to Temple Square to get some up-close shots, I was surprised when the lights came back on at 9:00pm. The video only partially shows this, since I had to quickly grab the camera and turn it on. So instead of Earth Hour, we'll call this one Earth (Half) Hour. But it's a great start. Maybe we'll get the full hour next year. And maybe we'll get other temples and all of Temple Square involved as well. Hopefully the Church will continue such an active and visible role in increasing awareness about global warming.
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New LEED Certified Chapels

The new US/Canada meetinghouse standard is being developed with several prototypes being designed and built. These new prototypes will be LEED certified, registering under LEED Version 2.2 before the new Version 3 launches next month. The first of these was registered yesterday with the US Green Building Council and will be located in Eagle Mountain, Utah.

USGBC Details of Eagle Mountain site

Site location

View Larger Map
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Salt Lake Temple Going Dark for Earth Hour

Earth Hour 2009 is shaping up to be the largest yet with widespread participation throughout the world, including Hollywood, the pyramids of Giza, Broadway theaters, the Acropolis of Athens, the Las Vegas Strip, and … … … the Salt Lake Temple.

That’s right, the lights on the Salt Lake Temple will be turned off from 8:30 - 9:30 pm tomorrow (Saturday) according to LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter.

He is quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune today as saying, "Prudent stewardship and wise use of resources are principles that Church leaders have emphasized throughout the history of the Church. The Church encourages its members to join with their fellow citizens in supporting worthy programs that will make their communities better places to live and raise their families."

Happy Earth Hour! (and don't forget to turn out those lights)
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New blog: salt lake architecture

As if I need yet another project to work on, I would like to invite you to a new blog I am starting entitled:

salt lake architecture

My plan is to highlight exceptional building design, sustainability, and planning in and around the greater Salt Lake area. From what I have found so far, there's more than some may initially think. The project will include unbuilt work, demolished work, current and historical work, as well as varying scales and types of buildings. My philosophy is that good design is independent of both scale and style. Beautiful design can be found in all styles and programs. When possible I will include as many images as I can find, including plans, sections, and photos, as well as background information. Each project will be added to a Google map providing exact locations, placing it in context of its environmental setting. And mostly for my own use, I have added a public calendar showing all the architecture/design/sustainable/planning events that will be taking place in the greater salt lake area.

The first project is based on a synagogue in Park City I previously did on this blog, followed by a beautiful silo home built off the Provo river. There are some very exciting projects I have already found that I will be posting additionally each week. Oh, and with this new blog, I'm going public with my real name. So for anyone curious about who I REALLY am, feel free to click on over and explore.

In the remote possibility that anyone is worried about THIS site, I still plan to keep up this blog as well. My main current project with this site is to continue work on the conceptual temple design project.

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Travel Habits

The following is new today on the LDS Church Intranet:



Choose Travel Habits to Improve Air Quality

The choices we make as individuals collectively make the biggest difference in our air quality. In cooperation with state and local leaders, we encourage you to change your travel habits to improve air quality.

Drive Less
Use mass transit - call 1-888-RIDE-UTA (7433-822)
Rideshare, vanpool, or carpool
Walk or bike
Telework or compress workweeks
Use alternate transportation especially on "red" and "yellow" air quality days
Take the school bus to school

Drive Smarter
Arrange errands into one trip
Maintain vehicles
Avoid peak drive times
Drive the speed limit

Be Idle Free
Only warm up your engine for 30 seconds before driving
Turn vehicles off while waiting

FACT: If Wasatch Front drivers parked their vehicles for one day per week, emissions would decrease by 6,500 tons each year. (Source: DAQ Mobile Source)

For more information, visit cleanair.utah.gov, travelwise.utah.gov, and slcgov.com/slsolutions.
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Billboards

I guess you really can find beauty from one of the worst blights on our cities: billboards.

These stunning photographs are by Branislav Kropilak. He also has some beautiful images of parking garages on his website.

http://www.kropilak.com

If only we could see the billboards from this vantage point on a regular basis. Looking up from below really highlights the amount of light pollution many of these billboards put off as well. (And they don’t get turned off – they are typically on all night.)




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Temple Design: Concept Model

Here is a first pass at the 'Temple as a tent in the wilderness' - one of two ideas I am exploring for a temple. Please see this post for background on the project. Basically, viewing our existence as a journey in the wilderness, the tent provides us a vertical axis to God and a means of progress to find God.


First sketch


Plan sketch

The journey begins as you approach the building and are drawn in towards the openings at either side. You then proceed beginning at the base, moving upwards through the ordinance rooms culminating at the sealing rooms at the top. The movement occurs along a vertical axis - the elevators and stairs, (colored in red) represented as the tent pole in the metaphor.



The large slotted screening element wrapping around the building would be south-facing to capture sunlight; providing a place of refuge from the sun. The separation between the main volume and this screen provides the entrance to the building. During the heat of the day, this screen will be bathed in light, providing shade to the ordinance rooms. At night, the opposite would hold true, with the light emanating from only the open slots.
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Follow up on Temple Lighting

This is a follow-up response to the article showing the Bountiful Temple as a source of light pollution.

National Geographic
March 2009
Letters

"As an organist for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in the Bountiful, Utah Temple for almost 12 years, I was surprised to see in your article a picture of that Temple using a long photo exposure to exaggerate its brilliance. I enjoy camping in the mountains to escape the city lights and see the brilliant night sky. If the intent in showing the Temple was to capture the beauty ofthat magnificent structure, then you have an outstanding photograph. But if you were vilifying the lighting, you failed to mention that the lights go out at 10 p.m. every night. Perhaps other sources of light pollution could adopt the same policy."

Karen Allgood Nashua, New Hampshire

With a bedroom view of the Temple, I was easily able to check last night and the lights actually go off at 11 p.m. each night, but that is still significant and a responsible step worthy of pointing out. Does anyone know what time the lights are turned off with their Temple?

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