Mill 19, a nearly quarter-mile-long structure built at Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Green, a former brownfield site, is now home to the largest single sloped solar array in the United States.
The $5 million project includes 4,784 silicon solar panels that cover 133,000 sf across the steel frame of the original 1943 building at a slope of 20 degrees. The panels were installed using an access platform netting material, called the Spider WorkWeb, and attached to the steel skeleton of the original mill building, which envelops the two new construction buildings below. Each of the LG solar panels were preassembled and tested on the ground before being lifted into place.
The array will generate over 2 megawatts of power and produce enough energy to power 264 homes annually. Mill 19 has been designed with the goal of achieving LEED v4 Gold certification. It includes a high-performance envelope providing maximum thermal efficiency and up to 96% daylight autonomy. Storm water will be conveyed through a rainwater garden to centrally located infiltration basins. Captured rooftop rainwater will be reused in the cooling tower and for flushing in the restrooms.
Mill 19 tenants include Carnegie Mellon University’s Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing and Manufacturing Futures Initiative, and Catalyst Connection in Building A. Building B includes Aptiv, a company that recently partnered with Hyundai to create autonomous vehicles.
Scalo Solar Solutions completed the solar array installation project.
Related Stories
| Jul 10, 2014
BioSkin 'vertical sprinkler' named top technical innovation in high-rise design
BioSkin, a system of water-filled ceramic pipes that cools the exterior surface of buildings and their surrounding micro-climates, has won the 2014 Tall Building Innovation Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 10, 2014
New tool aggregates LEED project info for over 150 countries
The U.S. Green Building Council announced the launch of an expanded online data visualization resource that will allow any user to access aggregated LEED green building project information in the more than 150 countries with LEED projects.
| Jun 30, 2014
4 design concepts that remake the urban farmer's market
The American Institute of Architects held a competition to solve the farmer's markets' biggest design dilemma: lightweight, bland canopies that although convenient, does not protect much from the elements.
| Jun 20, 2014
U.S. Energy Information Administration releases preliminary Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey results
Federal survey project shows that commercial-building floorspace has grown 22% since 2003; energy-use data will be released in Spring 2015.
| Jun 16, 2014
6 U.S. cities at the forefront of innovation districts
A new Brookings Institution study records the emergence of “competitive places that are also cool spaces.”
| Jun 12, 2014
SmithGroup finishes 100th LEED-certified project
With the construction of the LEED-NC Platinum Oakland University Human Health Building, constructed in Rochester, Michigan, SmithGroupJJR recently achieved its 100th LEED certified project.
| Jun 6, 2014
Shipping container ship terminal completed in Spain
In Seville, Spain, architectural firms Hombre de Piedra and Buró4 have designed and completed a cruise ship terminal out of used shipping containers.
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 27, 2014
America's oldest federal public housing development gets a facelift
First opened in 1940, South Boston's Old Colony housing project had become a symbol of poor housing conditions. Now the revamped neighborhood serves as a national model for sustainable, affordable multifamily design.
| May 22, 2014
Facebook, Telus push the limits of energy efficiency with new data centers
Building Teams are employing a range of creative solutions—from evaporative cooling to novel hot/cold-aisle configurations to heat recovery schemes—in an effort to slash energy and water demand.
