The Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities (CGBC) has completed the retrofitting of its 4,600-sf headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., built in 1924, into a living laboratory called HouseZero, whose design is driven by ambitious performance targets that include nearly zero energy use for heating and cooling, zero electrical lighting during the day, operating with 100% natural ventilation, and producing zero carbon emissions.
Snohetta was this project’s chief architect, and Skanska Teknikk Norway its lead energy engineer.
A prototype, HouseZero has been set up to address a chronic problem within the built environment: inefficient existing structures. The building inventory in the U.S. is estimated to account for 40% of the country’s energy consumption, with 25% of that usage attributed to housing alone. The annual costs of residential energy consumption are enormous: $230 billion for heating, cooling and powering the nation’s 113.6 million households.
CGBC, at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, has embedded hundreds of sensors connected by several miles of wiring within each component of HouseZero, from which it will draw data points that inform its researchers about the building’s behaviors. These data will be the basis of computational simulations for fuel research that could help the Center develop new systems and algorithms that promote energy efficiency, health, and sustainability.
The goal of HouseZero is to create a blueprint for reducing energy demands and increasing cost savings for property owners. “HouseZero challenged us to rethink the conventions of building design and operation to enhance lifelong efficiency and quality of life for occupants,” says Ali Malkawi, founding director of CGBC, and creator and leader of the HouseZero project.
An example of this rethinking is natural ventilation that is controlled by a window actuation system that employs sophisticated software and sensors arrays to automatically open and close windows to maintain a quality internal environment throughout the year. The building itself will strive for best possible comfort. However, Malkawi notes, a window can always be opened manually to ensure individual comfort.
HouseZero’s third floor features a flexible, highly-controlled and monitored experimental space—dubbed the LiveLab—that’s hardwired to the building’s energy exchange system. The space will allow for the testing, swapping, and optimization of new technologies. An immediate goal is to beta test new technologies that can eventually replace the building’s ground source heat pump for peak conditions.
HouseZero is naturally ventilated, and designed to use only natural lighting during the daytime hours. Image: Michael Grimm
The building will also be used to research how structures connect with and respond to its natural environment. Its envelope and materials were designed to interact with the seasons and the exterior environment. The building, according to CGBC, will adjust itself to reach thermal comfort for its occupants.
HouseZero will achieve zero net energy with the help of a rooftop PV array that provides renewable electrical energy for the heat pump as well as for energy required by user equipment. A battery system is employed for night time use and low-sun conditions.
To meet proposed emission cuts of the Paris agreement, HouseZero will offset the hidden emissions generated throughout the building’s anticipated 60-year life cycle, from the fabrication and transport of building materials and construction processes, to maintenance and decommissioning.
The rest of the renovation team on this project included Columbia Construction (CM), Silman Associates (SE), BR+A (MEP/FP/lighting), Bristol Engineering (CE), WindowMaster (BAS/Controls/Natural Ventilation systems), Brekke & Strand Akustikk (acoustrics), Jensen Hughes (code and accessibility consultant), Haley & Aldrich (geotechnical engineer), Syska Hennessy (vertical transportation), Kalin Associates (specifications), Siemens Building Technologies (security systems), Solect Energy (photovoltaic systems), Reed Hilderbrand (landscape architect), Harvard Planning and Project Management; CSL Consulting (project management), and Harvard Graduate School of Design (operations support).
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
LEED 2012: 10 changes you should know about
The USGBC is beginning its review and planning for the next version of LEED—LEED 2012. The draft version of LEED 2012 is currently in the first of at least two public comment periods, and it’s important to take a look at proposed changes to see the direction USGBC is taking, the plans they have for LEED, and—most importantly—how they affect you.
| Jan 4, 2011
California buildings: now even more efficient
New buildings in California must now be more sustainable under the state’s Green Building Standards Code, which took effect with the new year. CALGreen, the first statewide green building code in the country, requires new buildings to be more energy efficient, use less water, and emit fewer pollutants, among many other requirements. And they have the potential to affect LEED ratings.
| Jan 4, 2011
Furniture Sustainability Standard - Approved by ANSI and Released for Distribution
BIFMA International recently announced formal American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and release of the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology to evaluate the "sustainable" attributes of furniture products and constitutes the technical criteria of the level product certification program.
| Dec 20, 2010
Architect Adrian D. Smith on zero-energy cities, new technologies, and high density.
Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA, is co-founder (with Gordon Gill) of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago. Previously, he was a design partner in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1980-2003) and a consulting design partner from 2004 to 2006. His landmark structures include the Jin Mao Tower (Shanghai), Rowes Wharf (Boston), and Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E.), the world’s tallest structure. He recently collaborated with Gordon Gill to design the world’s first net-zero-energy skyscraper, Pearl River Tower, now nearing completion in Guangzhou, China. This account is based on his recent remarks at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
| Dec 17, 2010
Gemstone-inspired design earns India’s first LEED Gold for a hotel
The Park Hotel Hyderabad in Hyderabad, India, was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to combine inspirations from the region’s jewelry-making traditions with sustainable elements.
| Dec 17, 2010
Alaskan village school gets a new home
Ayagina’ar Elitnaurvik, a new K-12 school serving the Lower Kuskikwim School District, is now open in Kongiganak, a remote Alaskan village of less than 400 residents. The 34,000-sf, 12-classroom facility replaces one that was threatened by river erosion.
| Dec 17, 2010
New engineering building goes for net-zero energy
A new $90 million, 250,000-sf classroom and laboratory facility with a 450-seat auditorium for the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign is aiming for LEED Platinum.
| Dec 17, 2010
Vietnam business center will combine office and residential space
The 300,000-sm VietinBank Business Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, designed by Foster + Partners, will have two commercial towers: the first, a 68-story, 362-meter office tower for the international headquarters of VietinBank; the second, a five-star hotel, spa, and serviced apartments. A seven-story podium with conference facilities, retail space, restaurants, and rooftop garden will connect the two towers. Eco-friendly features include using recycled heat from the center’s power plant to provide hot water, and installing water features and plants to improve indoor air quality. Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor.
| Dec 13, 2010
Energy efficiency No. 1 priority for commercial office tenants
Green building initiatives are a key influencer when tenants decide to sign a commercial real estate lease, according to a survey by GE Capital Real Estate. The survey, which was conducted over the past year and included more than 2,220 office tenants in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Spain, and Japan, shows that energy efficiency remains the No. 1 priority in most countries. Also ranking near the top: waste reduction programs and indoor air.
| Dec 7, 2010
USGBC: Wood-certification benchmarks fail to pass
The proposed Forest Certification Benchmark to determine when wood-certification groups would have their certification qualify for points in the LEED rating systemdid not pass the USGBC member ballot. As a result, the Certified Wood credit in LEED will remain as it is currently written. To date, only wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council qualifies for a point in the LEED, while other organizations, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Canadian Standards Association, and the American Tree Farm System, are excluded.
