Preservation Green Lab€¦ · San Francisco and D.C. city blocks comprised of buildings from...

Preservation Green Lab Creating Sustainable Communities by Investing in Older Buildings Jim Lindberg, Senior Director Preservation Green Lab Denver, CO

YAMPA VALLEY SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HISTORIC ROUTT COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS: SEPT 29, 2015

c. 1979

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PRESERVATION GREEN LAB strengthens the fabric of communities by capitalizing on the inherent value of their built assets to improve social, environmental and economic performance.

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Released January 2012 Released October 2012 Released June 2013

PRESERVATION GREEN LAB Applied research and practical solutions

Released October 2013

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Buildings

48% Transport

27%

Other

25%

GHG emissions US

Buildings

70%

Transport

20%

Other

10%

GHG emissions US Cities

The importance of buildings in efforts to mitigate climate change

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20

40

60

80

100

120

Total EUI

Heating

Cooling

Lighting

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Average Building Energy Use by Vintage (kBtu/sf/yr)

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Historic building traditions • Use of local materials

• Climate sensitive design

• Human scale

• Large thermal mass

What is already green about historic buildings?

Building form • Appropriately sized

• Masonry construction

• Limited glazing

• Shared party walls

• High floor-to-ceiling heights

• Durability

• Adaptability

• Mixed uses


Building form • Eaves

• Porches

• Balconies

• Courtyards

• Light wells

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Passive technologies • Operable windows

• Awnings, shutters, curtains & shades

• Skylights, reflective ceilings

• Transom lights


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What is already green about Main Street?

Passive technologies • Prismatic glass


Active technologies? • Heating?

• Cooling?

• Ventilation?

Enhance performance of key features

Building envelope • Audit and analysis

• Thermal imaging

• Insulate

• Attic, basement

• Systems and conduit


Department of Energy – Thermal Losses

Windows • Very important to historic integrity

• Not as important to energy performance


Windows • Air infiltration more important than

glazing

• Repair and tighten

• Add low-e films

• Add storm windows

• Awnings, shades and curtains


Lighting • Restore original fixtures

• Space-plan to use natural daylight

• Task lighting to supplement daylight, if needed

• Dimmers, sensors and controls


Heating and cooling • Passive solar

• Separate ventilation

• Remove dropped ceilings

• Use fans and vents

• Radiant heating and cooling

• Chilled beams

• Evaporative cooling

• Geothermal

• Zones and controls


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• Solar • Wind • Geothermal

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Integrate renewable technologies

Active systems

Passive systems

Building form

Adapted from: Inaki Abalos, “Beauty from Sustainability,” Harvard Design Magazine, Spring/Summer, 2009

Site

High-tech green

conflicts $$$

Changing the paradigm

Active systems

Active systems

Passive systems Passive system

Building form

Location and site

Adapted from: Inaki Abalos, “Beauty from Sustainability,” Harvard Design Magazine, Spring/Summer, 2009

Site

Building form

High-tech green Low-tech green

conflicts $$$

Changing the paradigm

Green Lab Research Windows

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• Applied over 80 years of window research.

• Performed energy modeling.

• Conducted detailed cost estimating of all labor and materials.

Approach: Options for Old Windows

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Weather Stripping

Applied Solar Film

Interior Panels

Cellular Shades

Exterior Storms

New, High- Performance

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Return on Investment – Cold Climate (Boston)

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Return on Investment – Hot Climate (Phoenix)

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Green Lab Research Facilitate retrofits of existing buildings

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Research for NREL to document opportunities for energy conservation in small commercial buildings. 95% of commercial buildings are less than 50,000 square feet, representing 4.4M buildings and 5.9M small businesses.

Green Lab Solutions America Saves!

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The Green Lab received a 3-year, $2M grant from the Department of Energy to work with Main Street organizations, utilities, property owners and local businesses to encourage energy conservation retrofits of small commercial buildings across the country.

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Benefit to small businesses

Demonstrate a community-based approach to small business and non-profit participation in utility

energy retrofit programs and district-based sustainability initiatives.

America Saves is a 3-year project funded by the Department of Energy to conduct research and development to support the participation and uptake of small-commercial energy efficiency programs and incentives

How it works…

Step 1 • Data Collection

• Physical whole building/use data + signed utility authorization form

Step 2

• Audits • Partner with local utility or energy efficiency provider to conduct in-

person, basic audits to complement America Saves remote analysis.

Step 3

• Feedback • Return high-level reports to participating businesses summarizing

building data, energy data, America Saves analysis and in-person audit.

Step 4

• Retrofits • Facilitate and track implemented retrofits using project management

guidance and oversight that is compatible with small commercial retrofit projects.

Assertion: the Greenest Building is the one that already exists…

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Green Lab Research Measure the Value of Building Reuse

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Comparing the environmental impacts of two scenarios: • Demolition and new green construction. • Rehabilitation and retrofitting an existing building

LIFECYCLE STAGES

Single-family residential

Multifamily residential

Urban village mixed-use

Commercial Office

Elementary schools

CASE STUDY BUILDINGS

Portland

Phoenix

Chicago

Atlanta

CLIMATE REGIONS

FINDINGS: REUSE MATTERS Commercial Office, Portland: Climate Change Impacts

© National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2012.

YEAR OF CARBON “EQUIVELENCY*”

* When comparing average performing existing buildings to 30% more efficient new construction; results specific to case study buildings analyzed.

Assertion: Smaller + older = vitality?

Madison Avenue, Lakewood, OH 4th Street, Cleveland, OH

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“Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets

and districts to grow without them.”

Jane Jacobs,1961:

New Green Lab Research Older, Smaller, Better

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First empirical test of Jane Jacobs’ theories about the importance of retaining a fine-grained mix of old and new buildings to sustain healthy, livable urban neighborhoods.

Project Overview

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• Test Jane Jacobs’s hypothesis that older buildings support community vitality

• Use newly available data to assess the social, cultural, and economic value of older, smaller buildings

• Focus on Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

Locations of Flickr photos taken in Seattle in 2012

Contributions of older, smaller-scaled buildings and blocks

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• Intensity of human activity • Economic vitality • Diversity and inclusion

• Cultural vibrancy • Real estate performance • Alternative transport options

Number of Open Businesses in San Francisco at 10am Sunday, 2pm Tuesday, and 10pm Friday

40 performance metrics

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Methodology

Methodology

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• Overlaid 200m x 200m grid

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• Focus on mixed-use corridors

Methodology

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• Focus on mixed-use corridors

• Measured key features of the built fabric: building age, diversity of building age, granularity

Methodology

1%

8%

20%

32%

13%

8%

9% 9%

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San Francisco Building Age

1%

8%

20%

32%

13%

8%

9% 9%

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74% over 50 yrs old


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• Focus on mixed-use grid squares

• Date built

San Francisco Diversity of Building Age

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• Range of date built

San Francisco Granularity

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• Size of building and parcel

Composite Measure = Character Score

+ + =

Building Age Age Diversity Granularity “Composite Measure”

Measures of Built Fabric: Character Score

San Francisco Character Score

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Building age

+

diversity of building age

+

size of buildings and parcels


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Older, smaller, more age-diverse buildings

Newer, larger, less age-diverse buildings


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Older, smaller, more age-diverse buildings

Newer, larger, less age-diverse buildings

34.3% of jobs are in small businesses

46.6% of jobs are in small businesses

Statistical Analysis • Developed spatial regression models to determine relative role of building fabric alongside other measures

–Private investment (Construction permit dollars)

–Access to transit (Transit Score)

–Income (Median income)

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Older, Smaller, Better

Key Findings

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Photos: Walking and Transit in San Francisco (top right by Kim Komenich, SF Chronicle; bottom left from Flickr); Seattle (bottom right from worldchanging.com); Map: Walkscore in the Mission District, San Francisco

In Seattle and San Francisco, older neighborhoods with a mixture of small old and new buildings have a significantly higher Walk Score and Transit Score than neighborhoods with large, new buildings.

Older, mixed-use neighborhoods are

more walkable.

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Young people love old buildings. In Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., the median age of residents in areas with a mix of small, old and new buildings was significantly lower than in areas with larger, predominantly new buildings.

Capitol Hill Block Party on Pike St., Seattle, KEXP Blog; Map: Median Age of Residents, 3rd and 4th St NE, Washington Credit: D.C.

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San Francisco and D.C. city blocks comprised of buildings from different eras host greater activity on Friday nights.

Right: H Street NE, Washington D.C., Amanda Voisard; Below: Pine and 11th, Seattle, WA, Michael Hanscom

Seattle’s Pike-Pine Corridor - Cell phone usage at 10pm on a Friday night

Nightlife is most alive on streets with a diverse range of building age.

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The creative economy thrives in

older, mixed-use neighborhoods.

In Seattle and D.C., mixed-use neighborhoods with a mix of old and new buildings are significantly more likely to house creative companies and creative jobs.

Pictured: Urban Outfitters corporate offices in Philadelphia (Inhabitat); Graham Baba Architects studio in Seattle (Picasa)

Creative jobs per commercial square foot (log) – Seattle, WA (Red = High performance; Blue = Low performance)

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Older business districts offer opportunities for entrepreneurs

of all backgrounds. In Seattle and Washington D.C., neighborhoods with a fine-grained mix of old and new buildings host a significantly higher proportion of new businesses and women and minority-owned businesses than areas with predominantly larger, newer buildings.

Pictured: Marcus Book Store, San Francisco, CA Credit: Steve Rhodes, above (Flickr); sfsmallbusinessweek.com, right.

New businesses per commercial square foot (log) - San Francisco (Red = High performance; Blue = Low performance)

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Older, smaller buildings provide space for a strong

local economy. In Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., streets with a combination of small old and new buildings have significantly higher proportions of non-chain businesses and small businesses.

Pictured: H Street in Washington D.C. Credit: Ted Eytan (Flickr)

Percent of businesses that are locally owned - Washington D.C. (Red = High performance; Blue = Low performance)

Older commercial and mixed-use districts

contain hidden density. In Seattle, San Francisco, and D.C., streets with a mix of old and new buildings have greater population density and more businesses per commercial square foot than streets with large, new buildings. In Seattle and D.C., those areas also had significantly more jobs per commercial square foot.

Pictured: Melrose Market in Seattle, WA. Credit: Graham Baba Architects

Businesses per commercial square foot (log) - Seattle, WA (Red = High performance; Blue = Low performance)

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Implications of the research The character and scale of buildings and blocks matters

Green Lab Solutions Partnership for Building Reuse

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Collaboration with Urban Land Institute and preservation partners to remove technical, financial and regulatory barriers to make building reuse easier and more likely in major US cities.

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Zoning Reform

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Zoning Reform

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Energy Codes

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• Current codes are based on design, not measured outcomes

• Many projects fall short of projected savings

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Performance of older buildings New York City energy benchmarking results

Energy Codes

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past energy codes

future energy codes?

Exemplary!

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• Existing buildings as carbon sinks

•Calculate the embodied energy in existing buildings

• Provide credits for retaining existing buildings and making them more efficient

Incentives: Carbon credits

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Preservation Green Lab:

www.preservationnation.org/greenlab

[email protected]

http://www.preservationnation.org/greenlab�

mailto:[email protected]�

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