CAP Collaboration Educational Series: Sustainable Design

Multifamily Energy Code Compliance with RDH Building Sciences

This presentation will provide an understanding of energy modeling for multifamily projects along with the available paths for compliance with a focus on high rise construction. The speaker will explain the key aspects that impact energy compliance that also impact project design. He will also present a prototype high rise project that is modeled under both the 2012 and 2015 Seattle Energy Code. The model will demonstrate how the code is affecting real world design and will present innovative solutions to help control cost, occupant comfort, facade design, and risk.

Learning Objectives

• Understanding energy modeling for multifamily projects
• Available paths for compliance
• Key aspects that impact energy compliance that also impact project design
• Presenting a prototype high rise project that is modeled under both the 2012 and 2015 Seattle Energy Code. The model will demonstrate how the code is affecting real world design and present innovative solutions to help control cost, occupant comforts, facade design, and risk

Regenerative Developments: A Methodology on Designing for Net Positive Water, Energy, & Carbon with PAE

Any element or organism in an ecosystem, when analyzed on its own, is inherently resource intensive. Ecosystem function is not based on the resource utilization of any a single element but on the connection of all elements in the system. PAE will share ideas on creating net positive relationships between energy, water, and carbon as well as concepts for quantifying the capital opportunities form these connections. This discussion will serve as a catalyst for group discussion.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will be able to describe the ecosystem connection between energy, water, and carbon cycles
• Attendees will understand the Permaculture Design Ethics and how the triple bottom line can be systemized
• Participants will be able to start to quantify the connections between energy, water and carbon cycles in ecosystems
• Attendees will understand methods for creating net positive water, energy and carbon built ecosystems

Passive House and Commercial Construction with Morrison Hershfield

The accelerating growth of Passive House across the US and Canada is leading a change in the building envelope industry across the Pacific Northwest. With Vancouver’s new mandate to meet the Passive House standard for all city-owned commercial buildings, and Seattle’s progressively stricter energy codes, it’s only natural that our industry will have new challenges to meet on the pathway of sustainability. There is a large knowledge base of how to build durable residential buildings that meet the Passive House standard. However there are few examples of commercial buildings meeting Passive House. This presentation will help bridge the knowledge gap between residential and commercial construction. Basic principles of Passive House are high levels of insulation, no thermal bridging, an airtight building, very high-performance windows and doors, heat and moisture recovery ventilation, and optimizing solar heat gains. All of this while ensuring occupant comfort and durability are paramount. Achieving these objective in Passive Commercial will require the same.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the challenges in translating Passive House to Passive Commercial
• Examine solutions for: A) minimizing thermal bridging in commercial construction; B) providing an air-tight interior vapor retarder
• Discuss thermally efficient at-grade and below-grade transitions
• Utilize 2-D and 3-D simulation tools to evaluate hygrothermal performance

In Theory and Practice: The Pursuit of Truly Sustainable Buildings with Notkin Wood Harbinger Alliance

Sustainability in the built environment isn’t an event, it’s a journey. Seattle and Washington State have made sustainable building a priority, with strict new energy code requirements and LEED certification requirements for public projects. But certifications and “sustainable design practices” don’t automatically guarantee that a building will be a beacon of sustainable operation, especially through the long-term. Achieving designs that meet code requirements, certification criteria, client expectations, and function properly while supporting a positive end-user experience is a balancing act involving the building owner, project team, operations and maintenance staff, and building occupants. In this presentation, participants will learn about the different factors that go into making a sustainable building actually sustainable, such as aligning expectations and requirements, providing innovative but practical design, and supporting end-user engagement and empowerment. We’ll explore how project teams can help make this vision a reality though most of us are not heavily involved in a building future after construction. Presenters will share project examples and lessons learned, and engage participants in discussion about successes and challenges in achieving effective sustainable design.

Learning Objectives

• Explore different options for effective team collaboration early in the project to support project requirements, goals, and expectations
• Identify methods of successfully navigating the critical project turnover phase, including operations and maintenance staff training, final commissioning, and plans for building measurement, verification, and ongoing management
• Examine different methods of engaging building occupants/end users in understanding high performance building design and how they can support high performance building operation
• Discuss the successes and challenges that architects, engineers, contractors, and commissioning providers have in helping clients achieve sustainable buildings

The Wood Revolution: Inspiring Architecture with Innovative Structural Systems with Woodworks

There is a quiet revolution going on in Europe and Canada—a revolution that is changing the way US architects view structural wood building systems. As a structural building component, wood offers many environmental benefits, including the ability to maximize carbon storage and minimize carbon dioxide emissions associated with the design, construction and operation of buildings. Architects in Europe are already using “massive timber” design principles and techniques to take advantage of wood’s carbon benefits, driving positive change through the power of wood design. However, these techniques are not yet widely used in the U.S. This presentation will connect structure with architecture by introducing a variety of innovative structural wood products and systems. Case study examples of modern innovative projects in Canada, Australia and Europe will demonstrate how to use and apply these products and systems. Make no mistake—these examples are not your grandfather’s traditional heavy-timber-style buildings. These are creative, imaginative structures designed to take advantage of wood’s environmental and structural benefits. By showing how architects in other parts of the world are pushing the boundaries, we hope to help designers in the U.S. become inspired to blend structure back into architecture using mass timber and other wood systems.

Learning Objectives

• Learn about new and innovative heavy timber and mass timber structural systems, and how they can be used as an expression of architecture
• Improve understanding of the carbon benefits of timber products and other sustainable motivations for the wood revolution
• Relate concepts of innovative wood building products and systems with their possible application and use in everyday structures
• Become familiar with structural wood building design trends in Europe, US, Canada and elsewhere in the world

Acoustics in Green Design with BRC Acoustics

The focus of this presentation is to address effective and cost-effective acoustical design for compliance with LEED BD+C acoustic credits and prerequisites, discuss “green” acoustical materials for construction, and offer design solutions to coordinate green architecture with effective acoustical design. The presentation also identifies materials that not only contribute to acoustical performance, but also support the requirements for LEED® credits such as recycled materials and rapidly renewable resources

Learning Objectives

• Be able to recognize effective and cost-effective acoustical design for compliance with LEED BD+C acoustic credits and prerequisites
• Be aware of the importance of effective acoustics in learning environments and how this can be achieved through LEED v4
• Be able to select “green” acoustical materials for construction
• Be able to coordinate green architecture with effective acoustical design

Advancements in Fiberglass Window and Façade Technology with Cascadia Windows

Learn about the latest advancements in fiberglass window and cladding support technology that enable passive house performance on residential and commercial-scale facades alike.

Learning Objectives

• Understand what effects poor performing buildings have on the environment
• Understand the effective R-values of average existing (modern) buildings. Understand the effective R-values of average existing (modern) buildings
• Understand what new fiberglass window technology advancements have recently occurred that enable greater contribution to improved building performance than ever before
• Understand what characteristics of fiberglass window technology have contributed to advancements in the energy performance of façade technology