Committee on the Environment

As a new volunteer for the Intl Living Future Institute, I'm curious how many AIA members are familiar with the LBC as well. I know there are now several collaboratives in the main cities that have been giving presentations, as I am in Nebraska. Please chime in as I'm curious to know if the LBC may be the next 'news' in the mainstream sustainability arena.

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Stuart Shell AIA
Architect
RDG Planning & Design
Omaha NE
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Stuart:

I am hopeful that AIA member's are becoming familiar with the Living Building Challenge as it represents the leading edge of where architecture needs to head to provide for long-term well-being. The LBC provides a framework that leads to simply more sustainable or greener buildings to buildings that can be truly sustainable and starts to open the path to regenerative buildings.  We were the architect for the Living Learning Center at Washington University in St. Louis' Tyson Research Center, which was tied for the first LBC certified building.  The Living Learning Center is zero-net energy; zero net-water and zero-net waste and meets a host of other very high reaching goals. There are currently 4 LBC certified buildings (with hundreds registered). 

Cheers, Ralph

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Ralph Bicknese AIA
Hellmuth & Bicknese Architects, LLC
Maplewood MO
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Hi Stuart,

At UMass Amherst we are certainly aware of the LBC, but there is a sense that it is not yet a standard that could apply to large and complex higher-ed buildings built with public funds.  We are working hard to build at LEED Silver or better and still learning how to manage and maintain these complex structures.  Coldham & Hartman Architects in Amherst are working on a Smith College Environmental Center which is attempting to meet the LBC - you might get in touch with Bruce Coldham if you are interested.

Cheers,

Ludmilla

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Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham AIA
Senior Facilities Planner
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA
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Ludmilla: 

So good to hear from you again.  Glad too to see you are conidering the LBC.  We received LBC certification on the Living Learning Center.  We seriously looked at achieving LBC certification to a 120 bed deep green student residence hall at Berea College, KY. It poved to be a bit much for them and also for the state but do expect to make LEED Platinum. The net zero water (on-site blackwater treatment and/or composting toilets) were not approved by the state, and the costs for some of the other items didn't fit the budget.  However, we designed to meet as much as the LBC as we could and in some ways to be able to add systems to support the LBC later.  One example is that while we were able to drive the Energy Use Intensity down from a typical dorm average of 90 kBtu/sf/yr to 31 kBtu/sf/yr we were still only to accomodate enough renerwable energy systems on the building to make up about 13% of the remaining building load.  So we are not net-zero energy or net-zero water.  But the College can add a "solar field" on nearby land they have to power this building and more of the campus in the future and that would effectively make this building net-zero energy and beyond to be restorative at least in that aspect.

With the more than 30 LEED projects we have been involved with, the one LBC certified building we have accomplished and lessons learned from applying LBC and LEED to the dorm we have learned a great deal that can help make LBC a reality for others and would love to be part of your team.  About half our business is doing green building consulting to design teams and owners.
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Ralph Bicknese AIA
Hellmuth & Bicknese Architects, LLC
St. Louis, MO
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-21-2012 08:52
From: Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham
Subject: Living Building Challenge

Hi Stuart,

At UMass Amherst we are certainly aware of the LBC, but there is a sense that it is not yet a standard that could apply to large and complex higher-ed buildings built with public funds.  We are working hard to build at LEED Silver or better and still learning how to manage and maintain these complex structures.  Coldham & Hartman Architects in Amherst are working on a Smith College Environmental Center which is attempting to meet the LBC - you might get in touch with Bruce Coldham if you are interested.

Cheers,

Ludmilla

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Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham AIA
Senior Facilities Planner
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA
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Our world wide Project V V V team introduced elements of the Living Building Challenge 2.0 last year with a  spreadsheet to introduce the challenge to our audience, the planet, in Step 7 Week 4.

If the Challenge's campaign motto were headed, "What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place ? ", then the urgency to focus on one's act as a designer and builder takes on whole fresh, restored revitalized approach to the creation of shelter and structure.

Our commitment centers on the three of the all important imperatives; 1. net zero energy, 2. biophilia, and 3. the red list.  If political, commerce, and design leaders took the challenge to heart, earthlings all would benefit, no one species would be hurt, ignored, or exstinguished.

May your collaborative work and word spread Stuart Shell.

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Michael Scarmack AIA
Earth_Architect
Scarmack Architecture ':-)
Planet Earth
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