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
| Feb 17, 2012
AGC advocates for federal procurement reform
Ensure that small business goals take into consideration actual small business capacity in relevant specialty markets.
| Feb 17, 2012
Codes not to blame for Anchorage roof collapses following heavy snows
Design or construction problems likely contributed to the collapses, according to city officials.
| Feb 17, 2012
Comment period opens March 1 for LEED 2012 update
USGBC says that LEED's strength comes from its continuous evolution.
| Feb 17, 2012
OSHA training videos on proper respirator use available online
17 short videos to help workers learn about the proper use of respirators on the job.
| Feb 17, 2012
Union/employer collaboration on the rise aimed at exceeding OSHA safety standards
Unions have learned to help employers win contracts with bids made competitive through good safety practices.
| Feb 16, 2012
Gain greater agility and profitability with ArchiCAD BIM software
White paper was written with the sole purpose of providing accurate, reliable information about critical issues related to BIM and what ArchiCAD with advanced technology such as the GRAPHISOFT BIM Server provide as an answer to address these issues.
| Feb 9, 2012
Initiative to sell off under-used federal property gaining momentum
The bill is similar to a White House planto cut $8 billion worth of building costs by the end of the 2012 fiscal year, and to establish a panel to identify other sites worth selling or donating to nonprofits or state and local governments.
| Feb 9, 2012
Computer tool helps engineers design roof cladding using Canada's building code
Easier to design roof cladding that can withstand winds in a given area.
| Feb 9, 2012
Webinar focuses on lessons learned from LEED-certified industrial project
This case study will focus on strategies used to save the client money, achieve certification, and effectively market success once the project was complete.
