Sustainability Center | dead

[RoseCtyRoks]

From the DJC:

Sustainability center may have unique top in bid to be net-zero
POSTED: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 06:48 PM PT
BY: Nathalie Weinstein
Tags: GBD Architects, Gerding Edlen Development, Living Building Challenge, Oregon Sustainability Center
Leave it to the Oregon Sustainability Center to tip its cap to the sun.

The center will rely heavily on solar panels to produce all of its own energy, and the building’s current design calls for the largest solar array to be placed on top. But its ‘hat’ would be angled to harvest the most sunlight possible. The array would produce 39 percent of the building’s energy needs.

“To get the sun to hit those panels at an optimum angle, it can’t just be flat,” said Jill Sherman of Gerding Edlen Development. “That tilt requires the panels to be above the top of what would otherwise be the roof.”

The downtown site chosen for the Oregon Sustainability Center has created challenges for designers. The building will be smack-dab in the middle of a streetcar line and be limited to a 33,500-square-foot site. And it’s difficult for a 200-feet-tall structure to meet the Living Building Challenge.

Kyle Andersen, lead project designer and associate principal with GBD Architects, said other projects pursuing the Living Building Challenge are more wide than tall, allowing for more roof space to locate photovoltaics.

“Obviously, having your photovoltaic array on top of your building is the most efficient place,” he said. “Earlier we were looking at a much taller building, but the roof doesn’t get bigger and that’s where your (photovoltaics) go.

“The top of this building is bigger than the floor plate,” Andersen added. “It’s striking to look at, but it’s also required to meet those energy needs. In the summer, it will actually turn the meter backwards and store that energy in the power grid. In the winter, we’ll be drawing off that grid.”

A taller building needs more energy, so project architects have pursued novel ways to place photovoltaic panels on the high-rise.

Supplementing the main array will be other photovoltaics installed into the sides of the building itself.

Polycrystalline solar cells will be used on the 10th-floor canopy, as well as on sunshades all around the building. The building’s lower canopies will use a bifacial photovoltaic that can generate electricity on both sides.

“The bifacial (photovoltaic) is not as efficient, but having different technologies on the building allows us to monitor them,” Andersen said. “There’s the opportunity for a solar manufacturer to come to us and swap things out with new technology. We’re treating the building as a lab.

“If this building could have the same area and we could push it lower, the energy conservation measures wouldn’t have to be this aggressive,” he added. “But in downtown, you are restricted by the grid the city wants to preserve.”

Yet a height limit on the site could throw a wrench into the development of the center. But Sherman said the city of Portland is in talks with developers to create a provision that would eliminate height restrictions for high-rise projects that target net-zero energy. The goal would be for the provision to encourage development of exceptionally sustainable buildings.

“(A height provision) has been identified as a possibility,” said Michael Armstrong, senior sustainability manager with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. “We’re looking at a range of possible options and at this point we don’t have a specific course of action.”

[Okstate]

Eliminate height restrictions based on net-zero energy...interesting approach to tackle that issue.

[NJD]

This article is mostly about the Streetcar, but is a good sign the OSC is moving forward...


City is eager to get Portland streetcar turned around
DJC Thursday, November 19, 2009



Planners of the Portland Streetcar Loop never wanted the streetcar to travel the wrong way on a one-way street near Portland State University.

But the temporary alignment along Fourth Avenue between Montgomery and Harrison streets was meant to be just that - temporary, according to Rick Gustafson, director of operations for the Portland Streetcar project.

The plan always had been for the tracks to cut through a site bounded by Southwest Montgomery and Harrison streets to the north and south, and Southwest Fourth and Fifth avenues to the east and west. But before this year, there was no official plan for a building on the site.

“When you’re putting a streetcar in the middle of a block, you need the building proposal,” Gustafson said. “Now that the configuration has been set for the Oregon Sustainability Center, there’s work being done to secure financial resources to build the real alignment.”

The city of Portland has submitted an application for a $2.55 million ConnectOregon III grant to help pay for the $4 million project to realign the streetcar track diagonally through the site of the future Oregon Sustainability Center, much like the track currently cuts through PSU’s urban plaza. The streetcar’s current single track would be replaced with a double track to allow two-way travel through the Oregon Sustainability Center site.

But besides providing a dramatic entrance to the center, the realignment will improve traffic flow in the area, according to Shoshanah Oppenheim of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s streetcar project management team.

“Removing the tracks on Fourth and Montgomery will allow us to manage the flow of traffic for pedestrians, cars and trains better,” Oppenheim said. “There are conflict points with the contraflow of the streetcar there, as well as the moving of pedestrians around Harrison and Fourth Avenue.”

Traffic jams near a streetcar stop at the transit mall at Fifth Avenue and Montgomery Street are a frequent occurrence with the current streetcar alignment, Gustafson said. If a streetcar stops on the transit mall’s only lane of auto traffic, an increasing line of vehicles begins to form behind the idling streetcar.

“It’s a hazard because cars start to consider driving into the light-rail section to avoid the streetcar,” Gustafson said.

Oppenheim says the realignment project is in a good position to take a slice of the $100 million ConnectOregon III pie. The program will award grants to non-highway transportation projects that improve connections between the highway system and other modes of transportation, as well as projects that improve the flow of traffic and remove delays. The remaining cost of the project will be paid for with South Parks Blocks Urban Renewal Area tax increment financing allotted for the Oregon Sustainability Center.

The city’s application for a ConnectOregon III grant will be reviewed by the Oregon Department of Transportation in the first quarter of 2010. Final review is scheduled for June 2010 and a decision is expected to be made in August 2010.

Damin Tarlow of Gerding Edlen, who is working on the development of the Oregon Sustainability Center, says the new alignment can bring visitors from all over to the doorstep of Portland’s most sustainable building without ever having to enter a car.

“When someone flies in to PDX from around the world, they will be able to get from the airport to the Oregon Sustainability Center by MAX and streetcar,” Tarlow said. “All of the parts and pieces are coming together.”

[65MAX]

Can't wait for this to start construction. I'll be able to see this building (and Russia) from my house.

[tworivers]

Local officials take Oregon Sustainability Center message to D.C.
Delegation seeks federal funds to help build the $120 million project

The Portland Tribune, Jan 25, 2010

An Oregon delegation that includes Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Portland State University President Wim Wiewel, Nancy Hamilton of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office, Janet Gagnon of Solar World and several local entrepreneurs travel Washington, D.C., this week to lobby for money to build the proposed $120 million Oregon Sustainability Center.

The center is expected to serve as both a technological model and a hub for sustainable practices, policy, education, research and entrepreneurship. The building to house the center also will be considered sustainable and meet the rigorous certification protocol of the Cascadia Green Building Council’s Living Building Challenge.

“The Oregon Sustainability Center is an on-the-ground example of green jobs and sustainability leadership,” Adams said. “Our time in Washington, D.C., will help us identify the champions and funding opportunities to help make the Center a reality.”

The delegation plans to meet Monday and Tuesday with representatives of the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Green Building Council.

A reception is planned Monday evening at the U.S. Green Building Council’s headquarters, sponsored by the Portland Sustainability Institute, U.S. Green Building Council, Oregon BEST, Ball Janik LLP and Lane Powell. It will highlight the sustainability center building and Oregon’s leadership in sustainability.

“We’re eager to help Oregon and the Portland metro region extend its leadership in creating livable communities and a green economy, by sharing the Oregon Sustainability Center’s clean energy jobs and innovation message,” said Janet Gagnon, government relations manager for Solar World, which last year opened a new plant in Hillsboro.

[RoseCtyRoks]

I'm wondering how the lobbying is going in D.C. this week, for some federal $$ to help with this project. Anyone think it would be a hard sell, with the EGWW Federal Bldg project already receiving so much attention and money?

The folks at SERA especially, will certainly be busy for a while with projects like these going forward. I heard that there were some possible design glitches? changes?....not that it's totally back to the drawing board, but something that could definitely slow this down a bit. I'm sure hoping it's not the case.... Anyone hear anything similar?

[awg]

I'm wondering how the lobbying is going in D.C. this week, for some federal $$ to help with this project. Anyone think it would be a hard sell, with the EGWW Federal Bldg project already receiving so much attention and money?

The folks at SERA especially, will certainly be busy for a while with projects like these going forward. I heard that there were some possible design glitches? changes?....not that it's totally back to the drawing board, but something that could definitely slow this down a bit. I'm sure hoping it's not the case.... Anyone hear anything similar?

Where did you hear that from? I haven't heard anything like that... but the building wasn't "designed". My understanding was the goal was to evaluate whether or not a living building at that scale was possible (turns out yes, that appears possible).

If the answer was yes, the next question was how much would it cost and could tenants be found to pay the premium rent a building like that would need to command. The trip back east was probably to see if federal money could make the premium smaller.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by awg

Where did you hear that from? I haven't heard anything like that... but the building wasn't "designed". My understanding was the goal was to evaluate whether or not a living building at that scale was possible (turns out yes, that appears possible).

If the answer was yes, the next question was how much would it cost and could tenants be found to pay the premium rent a building like that would need to command. The trip back east was probably to see if federal money could make the premium smaller.

Well in technicality, that is what lobbying is.

[crow]

bump..
some early elevation studies, which show how the different exposures are treated. I think the east and west elevations are especially intriguing how the skin wraps and changes from southern to northern exposure.




This project is rumored to be going into Schematic Design early this spring...although it may be a different size and shape while still chasing the Living Building Challenge.

[tworivers]

^^^Hey, what happened to the other three views?

I mean, thank you for posting them in the first place. I really liked the north elevation. How do you engineer a dramatically cantilevered solar roof like that that is also seismically sound?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by tworivers

^^^Hey, what happened to the other three views?

I mean, thank you for posting them in the first place. I really liked the north elevation. How do you engineer a dramatically cantilevered solar roof like that that is also seismically sound?

Dont worry too much about it being seismically sound, from the sounds of it, Portland would be wrapped in so much chaos to even notice if that thing came down.

Actually I am really impressed to see some architecture that is actually trying to visually push itself in Portland at this scale.

[bvpcvm]

i hope it's just the drawing, because i've liked the renderings i've seen up until this one, but this looks to me kind of 80's almost. in a bad way.

[crow]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

i hope it's just the drawing, because i've liked the renderings i've seen up until this one, but this looks to me kind of 80's almost. in a bad way.

80's - really? that is a funny thing to say. i think the elevations give a better look at how the curved shape actually changes as it wraps. I think you also have to be careful how much you read into either technique of rendering. They can be deceptive.

20 ft deep trusses hold the array in place, and of course seismically strengthened with lateral trusses as well. No visions of 2012 coming from the top of the building.

I took the other three elevations off, b/c they were big and I was trying to re-size them, but now photobucket is creating some trouble...I will insert them later.

[Delaney]

I think they should make it more visually chaotic. It needs another dozen moves on top of the two dozen moves they've already made.

[crow]

delete

[crow]

Originally Posted by Delaney

I think they should make it more visually chaotic. It needs another dozen moves on top of the two dozen moves they've already made.

...snarky

feel free to peck away Delaney

[PacificNW]

↑ I like how this center is turning out but I think the comment posted by Delaney is funny.

[mmeade]

I'd really love to see these renderings with a bit more context. The apartment building on the block may not be the prettiest thing to look at, but it isn't going away. Also, it would be interesting to see how this compares with the heights of the buildings surrounding it on either sides.

For a building that makes so much about solar and wind access, I would think that this type of thinking must be taking place. I only wish it would show up in the renderings.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by mmeade

I'd really love to see these renderings with a bit more context. The apartment building on the block may not be the prettiest thing to look at, but it isn't going away. Also, it would be interesting to see how this compares with the heights of the buildings surrounding it on either sides.

For a building that makes so much about solar and wind access, I would think that this type of thinking must be taking place. I only wish it would show up in the renderings.

I actually love that little apartment building, how many old wood structure buildings does Portland have left in its downtown?

Also, how would solar and wind show up in a rendering?

[mmeade]

Sorry, I didn't intend to come off so negative about the apartment building. It may be the exact polar opposite of this tower though, and I am curious as to how the two will relate to eachother. It is curiously absent in almost all the renderings I have seen of the Sustainability Center.

For the second question, buildings cast shadows, both with light and wind. If my memory serves, the prevailing winds in Portland through the warm months tend to come from the West/NW. The new PSU rec center sits directly west of the building and will affect the first few floors of the tower. The new tower may be set back enough, and the rec center might be far enough away that this doesn't matter. It's hard to tell without seeing it. One thing is for sure though, until the rest of the neighborhood is built up this building will dwarf most of the development around it.