A Living Laboratory
A Design-Build Firm Makes Its Own Building An Example of Sustainability
By Elizabeth Churchill
When Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN employees, clients and industry partners enter the corporate headquarters at One Erdman Place in Madison, Wis., the experience is emotional and impactful. The company history is visually shared through exhibits that honor employee service, current projects and advanced technology. The company vision is reflected in the sustainable features of the LEED-NC Gold-certified facility, demonstrating a commitment to developing innovative solutions for clients while pursuing emerging technologies and trends. (For details about the building's LEED achievements, click here.) With its elegant glass and stone façade of Indian granite and Turkish travertine, the building is the centerpiece of its suburban office park.
Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN’s integrated-delivery model relies on engaged team work. Consequently, the design team was charged with creating an environment that encourages collaboration, creativity and communication. The firm was fortunate to find a location and office-park owner that was motivated to share this goal.
Site Sensitive
Created in 1986 by The Gialamas Co. Inc., Old Sauk Trails Park is a distinctive business and research park offering an enriched working environment in a beautiful, natural setting. Located on 446 acres (181 hectares) of Wisconsin countryside, its peaceful, campus-like design preserves much of the natural terrain. A generous amount of dedicated green space with jogging and walking trails offers employees a chance to exercise, relax, enjoy the changing seasons and generally refresh their minds during breaks.
The city’s public bus service offers easy access directly to the front door. Other amenities include a day-care center, weekly farmers market and social-networking opportunities complete with live outdoor music.
One Erdman Place
Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN is an integrated health-care facilities company. The firm’s clients rely on it as a trusted partner in defining their health-care delivery strategies and developing innovative facilities’ solutions to support them. The company is widely recognized for creating sustainable, efficient healing environments for clients and their patients. Building a headquarters that met LEED certification goals allowed the firm to apply this passion to its own corporate home.
Close collaboration between the owner and designers allowed Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN to meet its environmental goals, one of which was rooted in energy conservation. Implementing cost-effective means to lowering the operating cost of the building was an important goal. The desire was to exceed ASHRAE 90.1-2004 using reliable, proven technologies with equipment that is easy to control and maintain. The company also sought to attain an Energy Star rating.
Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN limited its system selection to those that had potential applications in clients’ health-care facilities. Natural daylight, enhanced indoor environmental quality, energy optimization, views and access to nature were key elements in the design. The energy design solution did not entertain an underfloor-air distribution system, for example, because it is not a common or likely candidate for health-care facilities.
Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN limited its system selection to those that had potential applications in clients’ health-care facilities. Natural daylight, enhanced indoor environmental quality, energy optimization, views and access to nature were key elements in the design. The energy design solution did not entertain an underfloor-air distribution system, for example, because it is not a common or likely candidate for health-care facilities.
Energy Efficiency
The project had specific capital expenditures earmarked for the entire sustainability program and therefore energy efficiency could only consume a portion of the total. The in-house team tried to optimize the overall building energy efficiency while considering reliability and maintenance. Computer modeling was used to evaluate various options and combinations of energy-efficient strategies, including building insulation systems, indoor and outdoor artificial lighting, lighting controls, high-efficient HVAC systems, a variety of different types of glazing and automated blinds. Many of the strategies are interdependent, but the modeling was capable of determining the overall energy-savings impact.
It is important that the efficiency savings are realized and maintained during the life of the building. The higher-performing systems have estimated energy savings that are based on computer-modeling comparisons. To help ensure the savings are realized, a thorough commissioning process was implemented.
The automated window blinds provided Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN with challenges and lessons learned. Essentially, lessons learned identified a need to add more manual controls because the automated version is unreliable and the up/down schedules must be continually reprogrammed. If IT security is important to an organization, then allowing devices that are set up to interchange information with Web sites is problematic. The team implemented a beta product test site and learned a lot through this opportunity.
The automated window blinds provided Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN with challenges. Lessons learned identified a need to add more manual controls because the automated version is unreliable and the up/down schedules must be continually reprogrammed.
By incorporating right-sized heating and cooling systems to minimize the use of fossil fuel, Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN’s headquarters achieved the Energy Star certification in 2009 with a score of 89. The company has saved $74,000 (compared to the national average of a comparable building) in annual energy bills and prevented greenhouse-gas emissions equal to the electricity use from 47 households for one year. (See the 12-month Energy-use Graph.)
Water
Water in the new building is conserved through rainwater harvesting and siphonic roof draining. Rainwater harvesting is used for site irrigation, eliminating potable water for that application. A buried 20,000-gallon (76000-L) tank collects roof-water run-off that is then pumped to the irrigation system. The tank and associated irrigation system were operable for the 2008 growing season. The tank was supplemented with make-up fresh water to establish the new plantings as allowed per the LEED credit. The temptation was great last year to keep the grass green with as little water as possible by making adjustments to the system to minimize water usage. In hindsight, this was the wrong approach. During the first year of operation, abundant water should be used during plant establishment to ensure deep root watering, promoting root generation and greater resistance to dry conditions. For the 2009 season and beyond, this property will be solely supported by Mother Nature.
Rain-tank data collection is occurring, but the data collected in 2009 will be much more relevant with respect to determining effectiveness of the system and checking the original design parameters. Some irrigation-usage data from neighboring buildings has been collected with help from Gialamas; comparisons will be made to establish the volumes of water saved and help predict actual usage needs for existing systems.
The siphonic roof drain system doesn’t really conserve any water, but the inherent smaller-diameter pipe at zero slope helps to economically deliver the water to the collection tank. For example, in a traditional storm-drainage system, oversized pipe where air is always present allows smooth flow generated by pipe slopes. A siphonic system is based on a completely filled pipe system, also called full-bore flow, just like siphoning gas out of a gas tank. In a siphonic system, the air is blocked from entering the pipe and a siphon action is formed, sucking the water through the pipe, using the potential energy (height) in the building and/or water. The higher velocity of a siphonic system means a smaller diameter pipe is needed. Because there is no air in the pipe, the siphon action allows for extended runs with zero slope, increasing the flexibility for discharge locations. During light rainfalls, the siphonic system acts like a traditional (oversized) system.
The team also incorporated an electronic micro-precipitation unit, which eliminates regenerative salt and water use. Madison has very hard water--about 20 grains per gallon (340 parts per million) measured as calcium carbonate, which is the principal ingredient in waterstone. Domestic water is almost universally softened in Madison. Traditional sodium-ion-exchange water softeners use large amounts of salt (sodium chloride) and potable water as the flushing mechanism to recharge the softener. The electronic micro-precipitation unit provides many of the benefits of softened water but eliminates the addition of salt and water into the sanitary drainage system. This eliminates salt handling and storage, as well as reduces the utility infrastructure demands.
Construction Materials
A variety of green practices were implemented during construction. Eighty-five percent of waste was diverted, and many of the construction items, such as steel, masonry, landscape materials and site retaining walls, as wall as some of the interior finishes, were sourced within a 500-mile (805-km) radius of installation. The team incorporated rapidly renewable and sustainable resources, such as glass, cork flooring, cotton wallpaper, steel kiosks and nameplates, and aluminum letters. In addition, the team specified bamboo, which is not a regionally sourced material but is rapidly renewable. The bamboo was chosen as a floor material to study its wear patterns to determine best practices in health-care-design solutions.
Additionally, the team used low- to no-volatile organic compounds in paints, sealants, glues and epoxies to reduce the impact on indoor environmental quality. Sixty-three percent of all wood-based materials used were Forest Stewardship Council-certified. FSC certification was pursued instead of Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification because of the requirements of LEED.
Transportation and Wellness
The project team helped Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN promote the importance of fuel conservation and clean air with dedicated parking spaces for low-emission and fuel-efficient vehicles, which in the case of the employee base, are consistently about 90 percent full. In addition, easy access to alternative transportation is available because the facility is located within one block of stops for two bus lines and has 24 bicycle stalls that encourage alternative transportation options.
One Erdman Place has a fitness area, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, sponsored work-out classes, showers and lockers. This is complemented by the wellness program that was implemented upon occupying the building and serves staff in behavioral adjustments to health, fitness and work/life balance. As the company’s wellness program continues to provide resources to inform and encourage employees toward a healthy lifestyle, more employees are pursuing alternative modes of transportation, such as bicycling, walking, busing, ride sharing and scooters.
Changing Corporate Culture
Building a company culture of sustainable environmental practices requires leadership. In preparation for the move to One Erdman Place, Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN embarked on a recycling program to help employees get a jump start on operating in a sustainable facility. The company created a five-month Rethink, Recycle and Reuse Initiative, which successfully diverted 57 years of collected materials and resources. Approximately 99 percent, or 165,000 pounds (75000 kg), of material identified for disposal were reused or recycled. Old project files were reviewed to maintain information about historic and milestone projects and sent to off-site storage. Product samples, such as insulated-glass units, porcelain tile and fabric, and furniture that were considered usable were donated to the “community store,” where employees or United Way agencies could take them at low- or no-cost.
In addition, Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN saved approximately $17,000 in office supplies through reclamation and reuse. Employees were asked to recycle unused items they had been storing in their workstations and common areas. Items in good or great condition, such as file folders, pens and pencils, notebooks, and binder and paper clips, were recycled and stored to be repurposed in the new building. Unwanted items, such as coffee mugs, partially used notepads, pens, etc., were donated to the community store.
The Print Room manager estimated the amount of usable material that was collected saved the company from purchasing $17,000 worth of similar new materials. Most significantly, the program launched long-term changes in corporate culture related to the conservation of resources.
The Print Room manager estimated the amount of usable material that was collected saved the company from purchasing $17,000 worth of similar new materials.
Since moving in, employees have taken on individual initiatives. For example, there has been an 80 percent reduction in annual telephone-book deliveries. This was achieved by surveying all employees’ needs and then contacting the phone company. A Dumpster dive investigated the efficiency of the recycling program; findings were shared along with opportunities for improvement. What was discovered is that most people were following the recycling guidelines, though some didn’t know that plastic items with the numbers 4 and 5 could be recycled. Updated recycling guidelines have since been provided.
The company also invited employees to propose green initiatives, which resulted in a coffee-grounds composting program, battery and eye-glass recycling program, corn-based drinking cups and default double-sided copiers. All of these initiatives were in direct collaboration with Gialamas’ property-management team.
Influencing Others
While owning and managing the facility, Gialamas continues to pursue better environmental practices in its service offerings for its entire portfolio. A green-housekeeping program was designed and implemented by the owner and continues to be adjusted to meet current best practices.
Waterless urinals require a different cleaning and maintenance program than high-volume fixtures. Some models of waterless urinals are less expensive and easier to maintain than others, and some environments are better for their installation than others.
In addition, Gialamas is proactive in maintaining all the water-conservation fixtures, including low-flow and no-water urinals. Two domestic water-use meters have been installed and are tracking building results. Waterless urinals require a different cleaning and maintenance program than high-volume fixtures. Some models of waterless urinals are less expensive and easier to maintain than others, and some environments are better for their installation than others. In the real world, the dollar cost of extra maintenance is larger than the cost of the water saved. Perhaps a cultural shift is required to accept that.
The building has been the catalyst to inspire Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN to continue to advance sustainable practices throughout its business, outreaching into the community and at home. The company has sponsored a myriad of building tours for high-school students, not-for-profits, industry associations and executive business leaders. In addition to regional tours, the company’s health-care clients have an opportunity to see best practices around sustainable strategies that have not only been implemented but continue to be monitored, measured and adjusted as continuous improvement loops are informed by engaged tenant participation.
Elizabeth Churchill is senior consultant advance planning and sustainability for Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN, Madison, Wis.
Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN, Madison, Wis.
The northwest elevation and staff entry features high-performing thermal and solar glazing.
The main-entry lobby is naturally daylit.
An interior view of the naturally daylit lobby.
The main-entry lobby has a bamboo registration desk and moire sculpture.
The informal meeting space features art from regional artists.
The grand staircase between the third and fourth floors features bamboo wall coverings, cork flooring, recycled-steel stair rails and a Paul Henningsen artichoke 1958 light pendant.
The community was made aware of construction-site recycling.
Low-VOC materials and finishes were used in construction.
Installation of the underground rainwater-harvesting tank.
Creating a High-performance Building
Owner
The Gialamas Co. Inc., www.gialamas.com
Tenant and Project Team
Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN, www.cogdellspencer.com
Project executive--Chuck Geurink
Project designer--Rich Dunham, AIA
Project architect--Steve Loehndorf, AIA
Site designer--Ed Elskamp, ASLA, CLARB
Landscape architect--Sam Roffe, LEED AP, ASLA, CLARB
Interior designer--Aaron White, NCIDQ
Architectural job captain--Michael Piper, RA
Project construction manager/regional construction manager--Kevin Morgan
Resource librarian--Amy Doyle (contributed to this article)
Project lead engineer, plumbing--Tom Breu, LEED AP, P.E. (contributed to this article)
Civil engineer--Tom Aschenbrenner, LEED AP, P.E
Civil engineer--Todd Werndli, LEED AP(contributed to this article)
Structural engineer--Amy Misener, LEED AP, P.E.
Mechanical engineer--Michael Meteyer, LEED AP, P.E. (contributed to this article)
Electrical engineer--Randy Wilde, P.E.
Energy Star manager and mechancial engineer--Chuck Meoska, LEED AP (contributed to this article)
Materials resources--Gary Ehnert, LEED AP (contributed to this article)
Consultants
Environmental branding—ZD Studios, zebradogs.com
Programming—Gensler, www.gensler.com
Workstation environment--Herman Miller, www.hermanmiller.com
LEED commissioning agent--Sustainable Engineering Group LLC, www.sustaineng.com
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