Cornell building projects have for many years been designed to minimize life cycle costs rather than minimize first cost. Examples of this include design for flexible use, use of long life construction materials and methods, use of heat recovery techniques and electronic variable speed motor controls in mechanical systems, and use of low energy lighting systems. Central campus buildings are designed to provide a "100 year useful lifetime". Consequently Cornell incorporated "green building" concepts long before the phrase came into popular use. The North Campus Residential Initiative buildings went a step further and included the broad based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria in the scope of design for both residence halls and the Appel Commons building. A significant goal for the WCRI is to improve on the work done on north campus and design the west campus buildings to make them eligible for LEED certification. Conell plans to seek LEED certification for WCRI Project #1 and have that project become Cornell's first LEED certified building.
Prior to selection of the design team for the WCRI, Cornell identified several prerequisites to cause the projects to quality for LEED certification. The architects and engineers selected for design of the WCRI must have a desire to use sustainable design techniques. They must also have experience using the LEED system of evaluating sustainable building design initiatives. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for design services must include the goal of qualifying for LEED certification, including documentation of each area where a LEED rating point is achieved. These concepts were used to select and establish the scope of work for the design of the WCRI buildings.
Sustainable design goals for the WCRI, as stated in the RFP for design services, include the following items:
- The sustainable design initiative shall use the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. A project goal is to qualify for a LEED certification. All work toward development of sustainable design concepts shall be based on a balance, minimizing project life cycle costs and environmental impact.
- The design work shall include building energy modeling to optimize building envelope and cause the mechanical system design to minimize life cycle costs. The engineer shall prepare a report at the conclusion of Design Development stating the results of the energy modeling and summarizing the forecast annual energy use, peak energy use and energy system capacities vs. peak loads.
- The building design shall optimize use of natural light.
- The mechanical design shall use methods to control indoor air quality including mechanical/passive ventilation, protection and commissioning of mechanical systems during construction and selection of materials and construction methods that minimize release of air contaminants.
- The design shall emphasize use of sustainable and/or recycled materials, and other low environmental impact materials.
- The site design shall emphasize responsible storm water management and low impact plantings.
- Construction documents shall emphasize recycling of construction wastes.
- The work shall include a report of options considered and used in the project, including documentation of initiatives used to qualify for the LEED certification.
Sustainable Sites
| SS 1 | The building site is on the Cornell campus and meets the requirements for an appropriate site. |
| SS 4.1 | Cornell, the City of Ithaca, and Tompkins County sponsor a progressive public transportation system and the site is proximate to several bus lines. |
| SS 4.2 | The project will provide indoor bicycle storage and indoor showering facilities. |
| SS 4.3 | Cornell is using electric vehicles in its maintenance fleet and there will be a charging station at Project #1. |
| SS 5.1 | The site is previously developed and will restore 50% of the remaining open area with native or adapted vegetation. |
| SS 6.1 | The design limits storm water runoff below the conditions prior to development. |
| SS 8 | The site lighting design minimizes light trespass. |
Water Efficiency
| WE 1.1 | The project will use adapted, water efficient plantings. |
| WE 1.2 | The project will not employ permanent irrigation. |
Energy and Atmosphere
| EA 1.2 | The project will use between 20% and 30% less energy than the base energy model allowance. Energy savings are realized using added insulation, heat recovery, and variable flow mechanical systems, to name a few. |
| EA 3 | WCRI Project #1 is part of an evolving program at Cornell to improve design, specification, installation, startup and operation of building mechanical systems. |
| EA 4 | Cornell's innovative Lake Source Cooling system provides a renewable cooling source for the Campus using water to remove waste heat. Kitchen equipment requiring use of working fluids other than water will use non-ozone-damaging liquids. |
Materials and Resources
| MR 2.1 | Project #1 will recycle 50% of construction, demolition and land clearing wastes. |
| MR 4.1 | Post-consumer recycled materials are contained in building steel, carpeting, and ceiling tiles, to name a few. |
| MR 5.1 | A broad range of local/regional building products are available in central New York State. |
| MR 7 | The project will use wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. |
Indoor Environmental Quality
| EQ 1 | Mechanical ventilation controls will include CO2 sensors to adjust ventilation rates to meet occupant needs for fresh air. |
| EQ 3.1 | The construction contract includes requirements for control of IAQ during building construction. |
| EQ 3.2 | The new construction will provide new filtration media and undergo a flush out prior to occupancy. |
| EQ 4.1 | The project will use low VOC adhesives and sealants. |
| EQ 4.2 | The project will use low VOC Paints and Coatings. |
| EQ 4.3 | The project will use low VOC carpets and rugs. |
| EQ 4.4 | Composite materials will use no added urea-formaldehydes. |
| EQ 8.1 | At least 75% of interior occupied spaces will have functional day lighting. |
| EQ 8.2 | At least 90% of interior occupied spaces will have views to the outside. |
Innovation Credits
| IC 1.1 | The Alice Cook House (Project #1) will have an educational program for its residents to help maintain the value of the LEED initiatives provided with the building. |
| IC 1.2 | Cornell's Department of Campus Life operates a housekeeping program that incorporates low environmental impact maintenance products and procedures. |
| IC 2 | Kieran Timberlake Associates has an accredited LEED professional working on the project. |
Cornell's project team encountered a very different environment in its pursuit of LEED initiatives for West Campus in comparison to North Campus. Designers and contractors are more fluent in the business of providing environmentally responsible buildings. Building product and system manufactures provide a much broader range of certified materials. The body of knowledge around environmentally sound building construction and operation appears to be growing at an ever-increasing rate.
The project team notes that the LEED certification for Project #1 of the WCRI is not free. Cornell will invest 0.5% - 1.0% of the total construction cost of the Project #1 in green building initiatives beyond those mentioned in the first paragraph of this text. Some of the initiatives may include a payback, such as lower lifecycle energy use resulting from a rigorous commissioning program, which could help repay the investment. Other initiatives may carry added future costs, for example as may occur if low VOC materials are less robust than their predecessors.
As mentioned above, Project #1 will be commissioned in Summer 2004 and occupied that Fall semester. This summary of the WCRI Project #1 LEED initiative will be updated after building occupancy to report on the results of the commissioning process and on the application to the US Green Building Council for LEED certification.