The Chesapeake Bay Foundationās (CBF) Brock Environmental Center reached construction completion today in Virginia Beach, Va. Designed by SmithGroupJJR and constructed by Hourigan Construction, the Center is an international model for energy and water efficiency and climate change resiliency.
The 10,000-sf, one-story building will serve as the hub for CBFās Hampton Road office and support its Chesapeake Bay education, outreach, advocacy and restoration initiatives. In addition to offices for CBF and partner groups, the Center provides meeting rooms and exhibit display areas, and an 80-seat conference room designed to express CBFās mission to defend one of the nationās most valuable and threatened natural resourcesāthe Chesapeake Bay. Ā
Every aspect of the Centerālocation, materials, utilities, operation and useāmeets the strictest environmental standards. āWith the Brock Environmental Center, CBF is raising the bar for sustainability,ā said Greg Mella, FAIA, LEED AP, SmithGroupJJR project manager and design architect. Ā
āThe Brock Center is a model for environmental awareness in our industry,ā commented Mark Hourigan, president of Hourigan Construction.Ā
The Center is targeting LEED Platinum designation and also strives to meet the strict standards of the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a green building certification program promulgated by the International Living Future Institute that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today. LBC standards require the facility to have ānet zeroā impact on the environment. The Brock Environmental Center would become the first building in Virginia to earn LBC certification; to-date, only five projects in the world have achieved Full Certification through the Living Building Challenge.
Ā
Designed for Resiliency on a Preserved Site
Completion of the Center concludes a successful community effort to save Virginia Beachās 118-acre Pleasure House Point tract from development. As recently as 2008, developers intended to build more than 1,100 new high-rise condos and townhouses on the property. The collapse of the housing market in 2009, however, led to bank foreclosure of the property.
A community partnership with CBF, the City of Virginia Beach and the Trust for Public Land purchased the land from the bank in 2012, preserving it for open space and environmental education. The new Center, the only major structure on the entire 118 acres, takes up only one-half acre of CBFās 10-acre parcel. Preserving the local ecology was paramount upon development of the site, which includes a boat pier with floating dock and an open-air education pavilion. Ā Ā
Ā
Ā
The project is situated on a coastal site to facilitate the clientās outdoor education program. The design anticipated the onset of sea-level rise and hurricanes: the building is set back 200 feet from the shore and sits on pylons 14 feet above sea level. Even the buildingās structural steel system was designed to be capable of resisting 120-mph hurricane force winds.
āWe had the opportunity to push the envelope on innovative and creative methods,ā said Chris Brandt, executive vice president of Hourigan Construction. āThere were so many certification levels that needed to be met that it was a job in itself to keep track of them all.ā
Ā
Targeting Net-Zero Water, Energy and Waste
SmithGroupJJR designed the building to use very little energy by incorporating a series of aggressive, energy-saving features such as natural ventilation, natural daylighting and sunshading, highly efficient geo-thermal heating and cooling, and super insulation. Ā
The Center is on track to be the first commercial-scale building in the continental U.S. to earn net-zero water status. A rainwater collection system will store rainwater in tanks under the building and then filter it for hand-washing and drinking through a state-of-the-art water filtration system licensed by the State of Virginiaās Office of Drinking Water. The Center features waterless, composting toilets, and all grey water (wastewater generated from sinks and showers) will be channeled through a wetland constructed of native plants where natural processes will clean and return it to the underground aquifer.Ā
Net-zero energy status will be realized as the building generates its own electricity via solar and wind-powered renewable energy. The Centerās array of 38.8 kW rooftop photovoltaic panels will produce 60 percent of the buildingās energy needs by converting the sunās energy to electricity. Two small, 10-kilowatt wind turbines, 80ā tall, will contribute the remaining 40 percent of the buildingās energy needs. Using only as much energy as it generates over the course of a year will enable the Center to earn net-zero energy certification. Surplus energy will be returned to the power grid. Ā
Ā
Materials: Natural and Salvaged, āRed Listā Chemicals Avoided
For the Center, construction materials were selected for their natural and simple properties. Preference was given to materials that are bio-based instead of those heavily processed, complex, synthetic and chemical-based. In specifying building materials, the design and construction team took special care to not use any materials on the International Living Future Instituteās āRed List,ā which identifies chemicals and materials considered harmful to humans and the environment.Ā
As a LBC requirement, recycled, salvaged and reclaimed materials were used extensively throughout the project. Examples include cypress siding from reclaimed sinker logs, wood flooring made from old fence posts and barn siding, interior wood trim from salvaged high school bleachers, and mirrors and toilet accessories from a local hospital demolition. The Rainwater Cistern and reception desk millwork were constructed from salvaged pickle barrels, and cabinet hardware consists of used champagne corks.
Hourigan Construction used cutting-edge building techniques in constructing the Center in order to minimize environmental impacts. In addition to using toxin-free building materials, sustainable measures used during construction included solar-powered tools and paperless construction documents. Normal construction equipment noise was reduced by the use of filters and baffles on the exhaust systems of all operating equipment, and slings or, in effect, construction equipment diapers were used so no equipment discharge would be deposited on the building site. Ā
Even Houriganās on-site construction offices used less energy and water than normal systems. Instead of piping in treated water from the public grid, a deep fresh water well was installed to utilize existing water for construction use.
Ā
CBF: Continuing to Push the Boundaries of Sustainability
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation will occupy the building by the end of 2014. Prior, building occupants will be trained in the day-to-day operations and measurements of the renewable technologies. A 12-month measurement period is planned to commence in early 2015 and continue until early 2016. LBC certification is targeted for mid-2016.Ā
The ultra-green Brock Environmental Center is the latest CBF initiative to push the boundaries of sustainability. The Foundation started with the 2000 completion of its Annapolis, Maryland headquarters building, the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, also designed by SmithGroupJJR. In 2001, the Merrill Center became the worldās first LEED Platinum building and was soon-after recognized as an international model of sustainability. Ā
āWhat LEED Platinum was when we were designing the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the Living Building Challenge is now,ā said SmithGroupJJRās Mella, who is based at the firmās Washington, DC office. āBack then, we were designing to do less harm to the environment. Ā Now, weāve designed a building that could actually improve the environment,ā he added.
Ā
Ā
The Brock Environmental Center is named in honor of Virginia Beach philanthropists Joan and Macon Brock in recognition of their $3.5 million donation toward the $21 million capital campaign to build, operate and endow a new Hampton Roads environmental center.Ā
Joining SmithGroupJJR (architect and MEP engineer) and Hourigan Construction (general contractor) were WPL Site Design, Virginia Beach, civil engineer and landscape architect; and A+F Engineers, Washington, DC, for structural engineering. Skanska, New York, NY, served as the ownerās representative.Ā
SmithGroupJJR (www.smithgroupjjr.com) is a recognized, integrated design firm with 800 employees in 10 offices. With more than 100 LEED certified projects and 343 LEED professionals, SmithGroupJJR is a national leader in sustainable design.
Hourigan Construction (www.houriganconstruction.com) is a full-service construction management company with operations throughout the Southeast U.S. The firm has constructed multiple projects in the Hampton Roads region and across Virginia.
Related Stories
| Aug 29, 2013
First look: K-State's Bill Snyder Family Stadium expansion
The West Side Stadium Expansion Project at Kansas State's Bill Snyder Family Stadium is the largest project in K-State Athletics history.Ā
| Aug 27, 2013
Industrial Sector Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.Ā
| Aug 26, 2013
Chicago Bears kick off season at renovated Halas Hall
An upgraded locker room, expanded weight room, and updated dining room with an outdoor patio greeted the Chicago Bears when they arrived at Halas Hall for practice this month. The improvements are part of a major expansion and renovation of the Bearsā headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., completed by Mortenson Construction in less than seven months.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 22, 2013
Warehouse remake: Conversion project turns derelict freight terminal into modern office space [slideshow]
The goal of the Freight development is to attract businesses to an abandoned industrial zone north of downtown Denver.
| Aug 21, 2013
AIA: Architecture billings on the rise in July
The Architecture Billings Index for July was 52.7, up from a mark of 51.6 in June. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
| Aug 20, 2013
40 Under 40 retrospective: āU40sā take on continuing ed, snakeās blood
Every month weāll be touching base with past 40 Under 40 honorees to see whatās been happening in their professional and personal lives since winning the award. This month: An accomplished author of test-prep books and an architect who headed to China when the American economy turned sour.
| Aug 20, 2013
Top Data Center Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Corgan, Gensler, HDR head Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest data center architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Aug 20, 2013
First look: $550 million Billie Jean King National Tennis Center renovation
TheĀ United States Tennis AssociationĀ has announced its plans for a sweeping transformation of theĀ USTABillie Jean King National Tennis CenterĀ that will include the construction of two new stadiums, as well as a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium.Ā The transformation will be implemented in three phases to begin at the conclusion of theĀ 2013 US Open, with the goal of overall completion by the 2018 US Open.