Green is the Greenest Color

Green wing by A Hermida

Ever wonder why so many buildings have green glass? I learned why today during a lunch presentation by Pilkington glass. It turns out that green offers the optimum solution for maximizing high light transmission with low solar heat gain. As you can see in the graph below, clear glass offers the highest light transmission (lets more light in), but it also is the highest in solar heat gain (room heats up). This would be desirable for buildings in the north where the climate is primarily cold. But for buildings in the south where the climate is primarily hot, less solar heat gain would be desirable.


Spectral Graph of Solar Energy

For some reason green is high in visible transmission, but the lowest in heat gain. The narrow band of wavelengths between 380 nm and 780 nm of the solar spectrum is visible to the eye. This represents the light transmission coming through the glass. Beyond this is Solar Infrared wavelengths. Infrared energy is what we experience in the form of heat every day. It lies between the visible and microwave sections of the electromagnetic spectrum. This represents the amount of solar heat gain through the glass.


BYU library by sudweeks


222 S Main in Salt Lake City by Tmac
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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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Building with Sunlight and Air

Mt. Angel Abbey aerial view

I finally made it to the Mount Angel Abbey at St. Benedict, Oregon this past month. Up on a hill in remote seclusion, this beautiful abbey south of Portland, Oregon has two world-class buildings that focus on integration with the natural world. The first, built in the 1970 by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto is the library. Aalto is world famous for his use of natural light in buildings and this small library is one of only two buildings he built in the United States. Then in 2006 the Abbey monks put together an expert team to design a new classroom building. The results are ingenious and beautiful.

LIBRARY

Interior view of library - image by green mormon architect

Aalto’s library is built on a radial plan on the sloping hillside. The entrance is a simple one story building, but as you move towards the center, the library steps down the hillside and opens up. The radial skylight in the center of the building brings natural light down into even the lowest level of the library and reaches all the bookstacks. The minimal use of glass, especially in the radial skylight is best illustrated by viewing the roof of the library. Remarkably this small well-designed skylight provides light for the entire library. (See here for more info) Even perimeter daylight penetrates into the center bookstacks when perimeter offices are used because of the transparent use of materials.


Aerial view of library - at the roof level, the radial skylight allowing light into the building is actually quite small compared to the size of the building - image from abbey website


Looking up into radial skylight of library - image by green mormon architect

Contrasting with the Classroom building we will see below, "performance glass and shading are not necessarily needed if the windows are carefully placed. As Joel Loveland of the Lighting Design Lab in Seattle says, 'Daylighting design is the use of good design sense, not the application of technology.' Alvar Aalto’s Mt. Angel Abbey Library, has only 20 percent exterior glass and still manages to give daylight an important presence in the building. In fact, the library had enough daylighting to be the only building at the seminary to remain open during a power outage in 1996. The critical factor is not how much exterior glass you have in a building, but where and how you use it." (source)


Transparency of perimeter offices allows light into book stacks - image by green mormon architect


CLASSROOM

Image source

In the words of SRG Partnership, the designers of the Classroom building, "the central idea of the building, dedicated primarily to the intellectual formation of future priests, was to graciously express, through the architecture, that this is a place where God’s Wisdom is sought. One should sense this in every space and in every detail of the building...The new building, aptly named Annunciation, embodies a beautiful convergence of spiritual and sustainable design. The abundance of natural light, the views outward, the rhythm of the arches, and the simplicity of the color and materials palette, all contribute to a building that is contemplative and disciplined but also very gracious in its openness." (source)

The new Classroom building uses natural light for 95% of the occupied hours. Additionally, natural ventilation is used reducing the demand for HVAC systems. Overall the building is 62% more energy efficient than the Oregon Energy Code. (source) In these ways, even in rainy Oregon, the building uses the climate as a resource, not a liability.


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Natural ventilation of the building is not to cool the people, but to cool the building mass. The ceiling fans are to move air around during the day and cool the people. The mass is cool in the morning. During the day the building mass absorbs the suns energy and slowly heats up since the building mass is highly insulated. Ceiling fans circulate the cool air inside. By the evening, the mass is warm, but the space is still cool. The building is then opened up to ventilate and cool the building using automatic dampers in the exterior walls and wind turbines on the roof. The air passing over the thermal mass cools it down throughout the night. You wouldn't want ventilation during the day since it would bring the hot air in. This process eliminates the need for mechanical, or air conditioning equipment.



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Each classroom has a centrally located skylight, sloped ceiling, and a reflector hanging below the skylight. The skylights have louvers between the glass plates that are controlled by the light sensors. The louvers automatically adjust to maintain a pre-set light level in the classroom. Louvers in skylights reflect the suns energy back up while allowing the light in. (source)


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The reflector hanging below the skylight inside the room is made from triangular-shaped extruded aluminum. The triangular shape allows for some of the light to pass through and some to be reflected up onto the ceiling that is then reflected into the room. These reflectors are densely spaced at the center (where the light is intense) and open up more at the edges to achieve a uniform light intensity throughout the classroom. Light shelves are also used on the south side to keep light from directly entering the classroom.


Image source

The light shelf, skylight louvers, and reflector are all there to keep direct sunlight from hitting people, while allowing sunlight to bathe the room with a natural glow.

These principles would apply not only to a classroom or library, as we see being explored here at Mount Angel Abbey, but also to Church meetinghouses and Temples where spiritual learning takes place in chapels, classrooms, and celestial rooms. Using natural daylight in buildings not only saves money, but makes building users happier, healthier, and more productive. Think of the Temple worker in the Temple all day without a glimpse of the outside world. Think of the three hour Sunday block with scarcely any natural light to illuminate the gospel teachings learned. Think of the increase in spiritual learning, enlightenment, and awakening when daylighting is incorporated into the design of our places of worship. And on top of that, think of the tithing money saved from thousands of meetinghouses and hundreds of temples using a fraction of their electricity and lighting bills.


Image source
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