Building Performance Data—sounds important doesn’t it? Well, it is. However, it is NOT easy to come by. There is a vast amount of information about the performance of buildings during their life cycle, but the data is scattered, tangled and incoherent at best. BLDG 2.0 is a research project initiated by CASE, a New York City based technology consulting firm, to gather building performance data, create useful data sets, and a database with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface which makes it possible for everyone to use the rich data. Finally, the goal of the project is to turn the information over to the community so that users can utilize the data to help in the design and planning process of new buildings.
To quote the project description:

“Inspired by the principles of mass collaboration and collective intelligence, BLDG 2.0 seeks to fill the void between design intent and verified building performance by providing an open-source analytical interface to building performance databases, a collaborative community of experts, and an online marketplace for ideas emphasizing building energy performance and open innovation.”

BLDG 2.0 will enable community members to share information about how their project’s performance. This will aid in the design of higher performance buildings. Did you ever wonder how much energy your building uses in comparison with your neighbors (or competitors)? What makes their project more efficient? Do the occupants of your project have ideas of how to use less energy? BLDG 2.0 aims to synthesize all of these into a database of easily understood information.

The title: BLDG 2.0 is reminiscent of Web 2.0 and the concept of “user participation, harvesting knowledge from many minds to make everyone a bit smarter and accelerate the pace of innovation.” In this manner the building industry parallels crowdsourcing trends of the manufacturing industry as described by Chris Andersen in his article for Wired Magazine: “Atoms are the new bits.”

Microsoft has also launched a similar project, currently in beta testing, called Hohm. On a residential scale this product compares energy use of homes. You can easily compare yourself to your neighbors, or your town to surrounding towns. The goal is to save home owners money with simple changes to their home based on their location.

Both products are focused on energy and cost savings, but more importantly (and powerfully), BLDG 2.0 is focused on data informing the design of new buildings which will lead to buildings with longer lives and higher performance.

This week we are kicking off a series of posts here on coolcalmconstructed that focus on extending the life cycle of your building. Here is the first one:

This year, the Empire State Building (ESB) celebrates its 79th birthday. Despite its first few years of rocky operation, this iconic building is among the most famous in the world. Recently, Jeremy Garczynski, a VDC Modeler at Tocci, attended a presentation about the  careful planning and new initiatives which are underway to keep the building strong, efficient and economically viable. Here are his notes:

The ownership of the ESB recently embarked on a “deep energy retrofit” of the building, which is part of a greater repositioning of the building. As part of this repositioning, the ownership decided to use it as an opportunity to do something really radical: reduce energy consumption by 38% using cost-effective methods. ESB ownership worked with a variety of partners including Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) as the preferred energy service company (ESCO), Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as the project manager, Rocky Mountain Institute as the peer reviewer and sustainability expert, and the Clinton Climate Initiative as the analyzer of all energy use and cost in building.

This project is groundbreaking due to the lack of data that exists for pre-war multitenant building retrofits trying to reduce operating costs and carbon emissions. The project team hopes that the information from the ESB retrofit will be used as a blueprint for other large offices buildings.

The team started by determining what initiatives to move forward with. They took a wish-list of dozens of green projects and compared them by initial cost, carbon savings and cost savings. They then narrowed the list down to eight initiatives which would provide the highest ROI both financially and sustainably. An eQuest model was created to compare energy consumption baseline and the cost benefit of each improvement. The results of the analysis were integrated with sustainability ratings, architectural programs, and operational practices, enabling the team to select initiatives. Here is the final list:

Radiative Barrier – this involves installing insulated barriers between radiators and decorative iron panels, where insulation had been lacking.

Tenant Demand Control Ventilation – dampers and CO2 sensors will be added

Tenant Daylighting, Lighting, and Plugs – by increasing daylighting and ambient/task lighting the electric load is decreased enough to reduce equipment costs (see chiller plant)

Balance of Direct Digital Controls (DDC) – updating and synchronization of the building controls

Chiller Plant Retrofit – 4 new electric chillers will be installed which were exchanged for smaller ones as a result of smaller lighting demands.

VAV Air Handling Units – Upgrading the AHU’s and how they’re laid out

Building Windows – approx. 6500 windows will be replaced with krypton/argon gas filled double-paned glass. Resulting in windows that have an increased insulating value from R-2 to R-6

Tenant Energy Management

The Tenant Energy Management strategy is an important aspect of this deep energy retrofit. The transparency of energy use information enables tenants to observe their energy use in comparison with similar tenants in the building, in hopes that a “keeping up with the Jones” mentality will spur further sustainable endeavors.  Each tenant has the ability to access the eQuest model to aid in evaluating their energy use.

While not every building is as large and prominent as the Empire State Building, the steps being taken in this energy retrofit are applicable to many buildings and are an important step toward extending the life cycle of any building. This process of energy analysis will only become easier and more accurate in the future as more projects are modeled from design through construction and operations.

Among the cool things circulating the office today is a piece of great architecture brought to us by the Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron. Here is a teaser from Architectural Record:

In the Pantheon of Building Types, the parking garage lurks somewhere in the vicinity of prisons and toll plazas. So a project in Miami’s South Beach consisting of a drive-through bank and office building renovation with a new parking garage as its crown jewel hardly seems a likely commission for Pritzker Prize–winning architects to take on. But…

…check out the whole article (and pictures) here.

Photo via Architectural Record by Iwan Baan

This month’s issue of TocciToday:

The typical contractor, owner, architect, engineer or subcontractor has spent decades mastering the skill of meeting contractual minimums. They contort to only execute the letter of the law. Yet, at a most unlikely time, a special class of AECO professional is emerging across the country; they (Tocci likes to think we are among them!) are elevating the traditional “standard of care.”

Following their example, should owners expect more? Can work be highly collaborative within traditional contract types? Is there such a thing as outcome-based project delivery that sets aside the excruciating detail of ‘Contract Documents’? We think so, but you don’t have to take our word for it; take a look at these firms: Moore Lindner, Dynalectric and DPR Construction.

Check out the full issue here!