September 27th, 2008
California Academy of Sciences Green Credentials Explained
As we rapidly approach the opening of the California Academy of Sciences tomorrow (Saturday, September 27th), I thought it important to explain just what it is that makes this property so unique and green. We have all been paying close attention to the project of course, and San Francisco as a whole seems energized to be associated with such a ground breaking building.
The reason this reopening is important to San Francisco office tenants beyond the obvious is that the Academy has been housed at 875 Howard since 2004. That space is now going to be available for lease and the intention is to create office space. This is good news for the Soma/ RIncon Hill/ Yerba Buena submarkets, as growth is positive and these neighborhoods continue to meld into one.
LEED certification can be easy or difficult to attain, but to gain LEED Platinum status your efforts have to be beyond intelligent, they have to be inventive. Points are awarded for coming up with new concepts and implementing them in your project, the hope being that your ideas will be used in future projects. The best breakdown of what points have been acquired and in what way they were acquired can be found at the Dwell Blog, in a posting by Miyoko Ohtake. I have included her posting below as well as linking to it here.
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Cal Academy’s Green Credentials
A blog posting by Miyoko Ohtake of Dwell
Energy efficiency: The new CAS building will use 30-35 percent less energy than required by code thanks to:
• A radiant floor heating system that will reduce energy needs by 5-10 percent
• A heat-recovery system that will capture and reuse heat produced by HVAC equipment
• High-performance glass that reduces energy loss through heat absorption
• Reverse osmosis humidification systems that reduce energy consumption for humidification by 95 percent
• Natural light reaches 90 percent of regularly used spaces and reduces consumption of electricity
• Natural ventilation through openings in the undulated roof system and motorized windows
• 60,000 photovoltaic cells on the roof will supply nearly 213,000 kWh of energy per year (the equivalent of 5 percent of the Academy’s energy needs) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 405,000 pounds
• Bathroom sensor faucets recharge themselves as water flows through an internal turbine, which generates power and charges the battery
• A grey-water system and low-flow fixtures will reduce the use of potable water by 30 percent
Recycled and sustainable materials:
• Over 90 percent of demolition waste from the old academy was recycled, including 9,000 tons of concrete that were used in construction of roadways in Richmond, California
• Over 50 percent of the wood used in the new building is Forest Stewardship Council certified
• All of the building’s structural steel is recycled
• All of the insulation is made from recycled blue jeans
• All of the concrete contains 30 percent fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, and 20 percent slag, a waste product from metal smelting, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 5,375 tons
• Over 20 percent of building materials were harvested and manufactured within 500 miles of the Academy
Living roof: The 1.7 million plants on the 2.5-acre roof:
• Decrease the urban heat island effect by staying 40 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than standard roofs
• Provide insulation to keep interior temperatures 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler and noise levels 40 decibels less than standard roofs
• Absorb up to 3.6 million gallons (98 percent) of storm water a year, preventing runoff to carry pollutants into the ecosystem
SF Business Times Coverage Here
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If there is anything I can do to help you as a Tenant Representative in the commercial real estate world, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.
Thanks for visiting,
Tom Poser, Jones Lang LaSalle, San Francisco
www.sanfranciscotenantrep.com
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