Sustainable Preservation

Sustainable Preservation takes a nuanced look at the hundreds of choices that adaptive reuse requires architects to make—from ingenious ways to redeploy existing structural elements to time-honored techniques for natural ventilation to creation of wetlands that restore a site's natural biological functions. In addition, Sustainable Preservation presents 50 case studies of projects—schools, houses, offices, stores, museums, and government buildings—that set new standards for holistic approaches to adaptive reuse and sustainability. The author covers design issues, from building location to lighting systems, renewable power options, stormwater handling, and building envelope protection and integrity. The book also reviews operational issues, including materials choices for low lifetime maintenance, green housekeeping, and indoor air quality.

Foreword xi
Richard Moe

Acknowledgments xiii

Part 1: Overview 1

Chapter 1 Buildings and Environmental Stewardship—understanding the Issues 3

1.1 Climate Change and Buildings—the Imperative 3

1.2 Historically Green—What Makes Existing Buildings Green 7

1.3 Terminology of Evolving Green Design 12

1.4 Rethinking Assumptions—Holistic Design 17

1.5 There Is No Finish—Creating a Culture of Reuse, Repair, and Renewal 18

Case Studies

People’s Food Co-op, Portland, OR 21

Harris Center for Conservation Education, Hancock, NH 25

Trinity Church in the City of Boston, Boston, Ma 30

U. S. Naval Academy Historic Academic Group, Annapolis, MD 35

Forbes Park, Chelsea, MA 39

Chapter 2 Buildings and Sustainable Development—understanding The Goals 43

2.1 Sustainable Development versus Sustainable Design 43

2.2 The Triple Bottom Line—People, Planet, and Profit 44

2.3 The Triple Bottom Line and Historic Preservation 47

2.4 Regional/Community Connectivity 53

2.5 Interwoven History of Sustainability and Historic Preservation 55

Case Studies

CCI Center, Pittsburgh, PA 63

Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago, IL 66

Philadelphia Forensic Science Center, Philadelphia, PA 71

Brewers Hill (Natty Boh Building), Baltimore, md 74

Denver Dry Building, Denver, CO 77

Chapter 3 Tools, Guidelines, and Process—Balancing the Goals 83

3.1 Balancing Objective and Subjective Goals—Integrated Design 83

3.2 Green Tools and Metrics—Urban and Campus 88

3.3 Green Tools and Metrics—Building and Site 90

3.4 Historic Property Designation and Treatment Guidelines 95

3.5 Balancing Systems and Guidelines—Whole Building Design 98

Case Studies

Whitaker Street Building, Savannah, GA 103

Alliance Center for Sustainable Colorado, Denver, CO 107

Thoreau Center for Sustainability, San Francisco, CA 111

Gerding Theater (Portland Center Stage), Portland, OR 115

Howard M. Metzenbaum U. S. Courthouse, Cleveland, OH 120

Part II: Targeted Resource Conservation 125

Chapter 4 Water and Site 127

4.1 Water—The Most Precious Commodity 127

4.2 Watersheds, Stormwater, and Site Design 130

4.3 Water and Energy Systems 137

4,4 Water and Mechanical Systems 138

4.5 Water and Sewage Systems 140

4.6 Closing the Circle—Reuse, Management, Education, Delight 141

Case Studies

The Welcome and Admission Center at Roger H. Perry Hall, Champlain College, Burlington, VT 145

Chicago Center for Green Technology, Chicago, IL 149

Blackstone Station Office Renovation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 153

Immaculate Heart of Mary Motherhouse, Monroe, MI 157

Lazarus Building, Columbus, OH 160

Chapter 5 Energy—not the Only, Issue but . . . 167

5.1 Energy Overview 167

5.2 Less Is More—Avoided Impacts 171

5.3 Reducing and Shifting Electrical Loads 175

5.4 The Building Enclosure 182

5.5 Avoiding Silos 188

Case Studies

Cambridge City Hall Annex, Cambridge, Ma 190

S.T. Dana Building, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 195

Lion House, Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY 199

Scowcroft Building, Ogden, UT 205

John W. McCormack Federal Building, Boston, MA 210

Chapter 6 Indoor Health—light, Air, and Health 217

6.1 Indoor Air Pollution 217

6.2 Air Quality and Ventilation 220

6.3 Light and Connections to Nature 222

6.4 Healthy Spaces and Productivity 224

6.5 Renewal and Delight 229

Case Studies

AIA Honolulu, Honolulu, HI 231

Boulder Associates Office, Boulder, CO 233

NRDC Southern California Office (Robert Redford Building), CA 236

Alberici Corporate Headquarters, Overland, MO 240

Montgomery Park Business Center, Baltimore, MD 244

Chapter 7 Materials and Resources—reduce, Repair, Reuse, Recycle 251

7.1 Consumption and Waste—A Throwaway Culture 251

7.2 Diverting Waste—Reuse, Recycle, Downcycle 255

7.3 Identifying Better Products 257

7.4 Resource Optimization—Extending Service Life 260

7.5 Changing Priorities Ahead—Respecting both Past and Future 262

Case Studies

StopWaste, Oakland, CA 264

The Barn at Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA 268

Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA 272

North Dakota State University School of Visual Arts & Architecture, Fargo, ND 277

Part III: Of Special Note 283

Chapter 8 Best Practices—operations, Maintenance, and Change 285

8.1 Opportunities—Essential and Immediate 285

8.2 Implementation Tools 288

8.3 Housekeeping—Continual Improvement 291

8.4 O & M—the User Impact 295

8.5 Best Practice—Facilitating Change 297

Case Studies

St. Stephen’s Episcopal K-8 School, Harrisburg, PA 301

Candler Library Renovation, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 305

Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, Portland, Or 309

Eastern Village Cohousing Condominiums, Silver Spring, MD 314

Felician Sisters Convent and School, Coraopolis, PA 318

Chapter 9 Houses 323

9.1 Houses—The Impact of Our Choices 323

9.2 Energy Conservation, Envelope, and Alternative Energy 325

9.3 Holistic Water Conservation 328

9.4 Materials—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, and Renew 333

9.5 Changing Behavior and Options—Living Sustainably 335

Case Studies

Hanvey House, North Vancouver, BC 336

Solar Umbrella House, Venice, CA 339

Capitol Hill House, Seattle, WA 345

Adeline Street Urban Salvage Project, Berkeley, Ca 348

Chicago Bungalows, Chicago, IL 352

Chapter 10 The Recent Past 357

10.1 The Recent Past—Modern Architecture, Boomer Buildings 357

10.2 Preservation Challenges 360

10.3 Environmental Dilemmas 361

10.4 Strategies for Renewal 362

10.5 Lessons Learned 367

Case Studies

Karges-Faulconbridge Office Building, Roseville, MN 368

Crown Hall, Chicago, IL 371

North Boulder Recreation Center, Boulder, CO 375

California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA 378

Vancouver Island Technology Park, Victoria, BC 381

Index 387

"The book's author has an amazing eye for detail and a passion for historic architecture." (Quality World, January 2012) JEAN CARROON, FAIA, LEED AP, leads Goody Clancy's highly regarded preservation practice, based in Boston. She has earned national recognition for her expertise in applying sustainable-design technology to historic buildings, including more than a dozen National Historic Landmarks. She has directed the adaptive reuse and preservation of signature buildings in a broad range of sectors, including educational, civic, and cultural projects for clients such as Harvard University and the National Park Service. Carroon has been overseeing renovation of more than fifty historic structures on the St. Elizabeth's West Campus in Washington, D.C., which will become the home of the Department of Homeland Security. A member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Sustainability Coalition and the Advisory Group of the AIA Historic Resources Committee, she helped draft the Pocantico Proclamation on Sustainability and Historic Preservation. A guide to green strategies for preservation and adaptive reuse—and the power of preservation/reuse as a green strategy.

Buildings account for nearly forty percent of both total energy use and carbon emissions in the United States. With one of the country's leading preservation architects as your guide, Sustainable Preservation explores the power of adaptive reuse to reduce those numbers and move us toward sustainability. It shows how an icon such as H.H. Richardson's Trinity Church in Boston can go green—and why a 1970s strip-mall supermarket not only deserves similar attention but can also emerge as a building that delights users.

Sustainable Preservation takes a nuanced look at the hundreds of choices that adaptive reuse requires architects to make—from ingenious ways to redeploy existing structural elements to time-honored techniques for natural ventilation to creation of wetlands that restore a site's natural biological functions. In addition, Sustainable Preservation:

• Presents fifty case studies of projects—schools, houses, offices, stores, museums, and government buildings—that set new standards for holistic approaches to adaptive reuse and sustainability

• Covers design issues, from building location to lighting systems, renewable power options, stormwater handling, and building envelope protection and integrity.

• Reviews operational issues, including materials choices for low lifetime maintenance, green housekeeping, and indoor air quality

• Explains calculators and programs that supplement the LEED® green building certification program requirements to yield even greater environmental benefits

Sustainable Preservation makes a compelling argument that preservation and sustainability don't just protect the environment, but deliver a full range of societal benefits, from job creation to stronger social connection.

On the Cover: Trinity Church in Boston: Under the leadership of Jean Carroon, Goody Clancy recently completed restoration and expansion of H.H. Richardson's 1877 masterpiece, Trinity Church. Significant environmental aspects include a new below-grade assembly space that incorporates the structure's massive stone piers; installation of ground-source heat pumps that dramatically reduce heating and cooling requirements; complete on-site management of all stormwater; and full use of local, recycled, and low-VOC materials.