Winners of ASHRAE’s 2019 LowDown Showdown modeling competition demonstrated both near energy net-zero attributes along with impressive resilience qualities.
The model building chosen was a 90,000 sf city hall (new construction) located in San Diego. This facility was designed to be a multi-functional building, housing many of the cities vital public services including an Emergency Operations Center during a disaster or crisis.
The facility could maintain operations for 14 days during a utility outage. It would support coordination of emergency responses while maintaining critical functions like prisoner life safety and security. The building can transition to a setback mode, minimizing energy consumption by relaxing thermal comfort targets. Building systems would draw energy from a 10,000 kWh battery system and a 427 KW PV array for power, and 10 kgal potable and 20 kgal non-potable water storage tanks.
The second-place team designed a new city hall with a three-story atrium to provide ample space for green walls, skylight, and natural breezes. The project included deployment of EnergyBox, an in-house web platform that speeds up design exploration by automating processes and encouraging collaboration by effective visualization.
Related Stories
Resiliency | Sep 25, 2023
National Institute of Building Sciences, Fannie Mae release roadmap for resilience
The National Institute of Building Sciences and Fannie Mae have released the Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0. The document is intended to guide mitigation investment to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
Codes and Standards | Sep 25, 2023
Lendlease launches new protocol for Scope 3 carbon reduction
Lendlease unveiled a new protocol to monitor, measure, and disclose Scope 3 carbon emissions and called on built environment industry leaders to tackle this challenge.
Codes and Standards | Sep 25, 2023
Modern codes, construction techniques saved structures in Maui wildfire
Modern building codes and construction techniques were effective in saving buildings from the devastating wildfire in Maui on August 9th, according to a recent report, IBHS Early Insights Lahaina Fire—2023, from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s research division.
Mass Timber | Sep 19, 2023
Five Things Construction Specialties Learned from Shaking a 10-Story Building
Construction Specialties (CS) is the only manufacturer in the market that can claim its modular stair system can withstand 100 earthquakes. Thanks to extensive practical testing conducted this spring at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on the tallest building ever to be seismically tested, CS has identified five significant insights that will impact all future research and development in stair solutions.
Data Centers | Sep 15, 2023
Power constraints are restricting data center market growth
There is record global demand for new data centers, but availability of power is hampering market growth. That’s one of the key findings from a new CBRE report: Global Data Center Trends 2023.
Engineers | Sep 15, 2023
NIST investigation of Champlain Towers South collapse indicates no sinkhole
Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have found no evidence of underground voids on the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse, according to a new NIST report. The team of investigators have studied the site’s subsurface conditions to determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have caused the collapse.
Codes and Standards | Sep 13, 2023
New rule mandates annual parapet inspections for New York City buildings
In November 2021, New York City enacted Local Law 126 of 2021, which is well-known in the building industry for establishing new requirements for periodic parking garage inspections. At the same time, the legislation added a section to the NYC Administrative Code mandating periodic observation of building parapets. To allow owners time to prepare, the City set the start date for the new parapet observations for January 1, 2024.
Resiliency | Sep 11, 2023
FEMA names first communities for targeted assistance on hazards resilience
FEMA recently unveiled the initial designation of 483 census tracts that will be eligible for increased federal support to boost resilience to natural hazards and extreme weather. The action was the result of bipartisan legislation, the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022. The law aims to help localities most at risk from the impacts of climate change to build resilience to natural hazards.
Metals | Sep 11, 2023
Best practices guide for air leakage testing for metal building systems released
The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) released a new guidebook, Metal Building Systems - Best Practices to Comply with Whole-Building Air Leakage Testing Requirements.
Contractors | Sep 11, 2023
Construction industry skills shortage is contributing to project delays
Relatively few candidates looking for work in the construction industry have the necessary skills to do the job well, according to a survey of construction industry managers by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Autodesk.
