The Greenway Self-Park in Chicago’s River North neighborhood shines like a beacon of enlightened green design on a block crowded with office and residential towers. The 285,000-sf parking structure’s green-tinted glass exterior doubles as a ventilation and daylighting system. Its signage gives parkers tips on how to live greener. River North developer Friedman Properties is planning a residential tower next door so that the parking garage’s green roof can serve as a garden for future condo owners.
What sets the 800-car parking structure apart, however, is its 12-paired array of wind turbines. The vertical axis turbines, manufactured by Helix Wind, Poway, Calif., are positioned on the southwest corner of the building near the relatively wide corridor of Clark Street, a busy thoroughfare. Todd Halamka, director of design at the Chicago office of HOK and lead designer on the project, calls the turbines “a kinetic and functional sculpture piece.”
Weather data from collection stations at O’Hare and Midway airports and weather buoys off of Chicago’s lakefront, coupled with wind tunnel tests taken from nearby buildings, were used to evaluate the amount of wind that could be harvested from the site. Estimates by the Building Team put the average wind at that corner at 10 mph at grade level over a year, which, according to the manufacturer, should be sufficient to generate electricity for the structure. The turbines, which extend from the second story to the very top of the structure on the southwest corner of the building, should generate enough power to light the building’s exterior and still send some energy back to the grid through the structure’s reversible electricity meter, Halamka said.
The first day I visited the site there was a strong breeze blowing in from the southwest and the long helical blades of the turbines, shaped from corrugated metal, appeared to be rotating quite actively. On another less windy day, however, they did not appear to be moving at all. Because the parking facility has only been open since September, not enough reliable data has been collected on how much power the turbines have generated.
The Building Team of designers HOK/Cubellis and general contractor Bovis Lend Lease took extra steps to green the parking structure. Greenway Self-Park’s signage gives garage users tips on living more sustainably. Each floor has a different nature theme, such as water, air, and earth conservation. The garage has electric-car charging stations and priority parking for hybrid gas/electric vehicles and for Zipcar and I-Go car-sharing vehicles. Its planned green roof has rainwater cisterns for water collection. Almost all of the building materials were locally sourced. Light sensors control the building’s interior lights and shut them off if enough daylight is coming through the translucent glass-walled exterior.
HOK says the building is registered with LEED and is currently in the commissioning process. “Rather than design a traditional closed garage which has an MEP system and has to run 24/7, working with the city of Chicago we were successful in creating a naturally ventilated garage,” Halamka said. Each floor maintains at least 20% open exterior wall area that provides natural ventilation. “We varied the openings (on the channel glassed walls) so that the glass panels have different spacing that creates a subtle visual tapestry, so that each façade takes advantage of the natural light and air,” he said.
As Chicago’s River North neighborhood continues to develop, Halamka says he believes a more sustainable urban strategy would be to build out the surrounding surface parking lots with ground-floor retail capped with office and residential space and then condense the parking into a more vertical arrangement that promotes local live-work opportunities. “Cars are an inevitable means of transportation,” said Halamka. “It is how we choose to live and use our vehicles in a more sustainable lifestyle that is important.”
For now, building-mounted wind harvesting like that at Greenway Self-Park is still in its infancy. HOK says both its Chicago office and building owner Friedman Properties are committed to monitoring exactly how much energy the wind turbines at the Greenway Self-Park are generating two years from now, when there will be enough data to gauge actual production. BD+C
Related Stories
Contractors | May 24, 2023
The average U.S. contractor has 8.9 months worth of construction work in the pipeline, as of April 2023
Contractor backlogs climbed slightly in April, from a seven-month low the previous month, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
Mass Timber | May 23, 2023
Luxury farm resort uses CLT framing and geothermal system to boost sustainability
Construction was recently completed on a 325-acre luxury farm resort in Franklin, Tenn., that is dedicated to agricultural innovation and sustainable, productive land use. With sustainability a key goal, The Inn and Spa at Southall was built with cross-laminated and heavy timber, and a geothermal variant refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling system.
Architects | May 23, 2023
DEI initiatives at KAI Enterprises, with Michael Kennedy, Jr. and Gyasi Haynes
Michael Kennedy, Jr. and Gyasi Haynes of KAI Enterprises, St. Louis, describe their firm's effort to create a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion—and how their own experiences as black men in the design and construction industry shaped that initiative.
Multifamily Housing | May 23, 2023
One out of three office buildings in largest U.S. cities are suitable for residential conversion
Roughly one in three office buildings in the largest U.S. cities are well suited to be converted to multifamily residential properties, according to a study by global real estate firm Avison Young. Some 6,206 buildings across 10 U.S. cities present viable opportunities for conversion to residential use.
Architects | May 23, 2023
Ware Malcomb hires Francisco Perez-Azua as Director, Interior Architecture & Design, in its Miami office
Ware Malcomb hires Francisco Perez-Azua as Director, Interior Architecture & Design, in its Miami office.
K-12 Schools | May 22, 2023
The revival of single-building K-12 schools
Schools that combine grades PK through 12 are suddenly not so uncommon. Education sector experts explain why.
Architects | May 19, 2023
Snøhetta architects make a bid to unionize the firm's New York studio
Employees at the New York office of architecture firm Snøhetta have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize the studio. Snøhetta employees’ action marks the third time architects at a private-sector architecture studio in the U.S. took that step.
Healthcare Facilities | May 19, 2023
A new behavioral health facility in California targets net zero energy
Shortly before Mental Health Awareness Month in May, development and construction firm Skanska announced the topping out of California’s first behavioral health facility—and the largest in the nation—to target net zero energy. Located in Redwood City, San Mateo County, Calif., the 77,610-sf Cordilleras Health System Replacement Project is slated for completion in late 2024.
Government Buildings | May 18, 2023
GSA launches first biennial construction award program
Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the new biennial GSA Construction Award program, which is seeking submissions this summer. The program was created to honor outstanding achievements in construction, with a focus on quality and craftsmanship, collaboration and team dynamics, sustainability, innovation, and technology. The first Construction Awards ceremony will take place in 2024.
K-12 Schools | May 17, 2023
Designing K-12 schools for students and safety
While bullying, mental health, and other acts of violence are all too common in schools today, designers have shown that smart and subtle preventive steps can make a big difference. Clark Nexsen’s Becky Brady shares how prevention and taking action at the design level can create safe and engaging learning environments.