Sustainability Aspects
Since 2000, GSA has been formally committed to incorporating principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency into its building projects. As such, GSA has made its own portfolio into a laboratory of sorts, proving out technologies before implementing them across its buildings. For example, GSA’s long history with planted, or vegetated, roofs has made them a viable option for new construction and reroofing alike. “We have some roofs that were planted back in 1935 that still are in place,” Davis says. “When you’re getting a return on your investment that’s lasting for 80 to 90 years that is fantastic and leads to more use of that technology.”
A vegetated roof recently was planted on the Art Deco John W. McCormack U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Boston, which was built in 1933. The high-rise U-shaped building features a 5-story base in the middle of the U. The base’s black roof only offered building occupants a view of mechanical equipment.
“From a real-estate perspective we were able to turn the roof into an amenity for the user instead of an eyesore,” Davis notes. “This planted roof now offers places for people to go outside; there’s even a solar-powered fountain on the roof. It’s an amazing amenity that has made employees happy.”
When renovating existing buildings to improve energy efficiency, there is a lot of focus on mechanical systems. Geothermal has especially impressed GSA because of its efficient means to transfer heat. For example, the Wayne Aspinall Courthouse, Grand Junction, Colo., is a 3-story Second Renaissance Revival-style building that was constructed from 1915-18. As part of its current renovation, GSA contracted for a geothermal system that greatly reduced the energy usage inside the building. “This is a historic building originally designed for natural ventilation and natural daylighting, so when it’s all done we expect it to come in at net-zero energy,” Davis says. “For a historic existing building to come in at net zero is fantastic!”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been integral in providing funds for GSA’s recent projects. “The recovery act was a great opportunity for us to go through our deferred maintenance list and really look at which technologies are going to give us the best bang for the buck from a sustainability, energy and water perspective,” Davis explains. “We were able to do window and roof replacements, insulation upgrades and lighting replacements—things that were likely to get a good return on the investment.”
However, because GSA cannot depend on an influx of cash like ARRA again, it follows certain protocols with all its buildings to ensure technologies perform as they should. “We require energy modeling and commissioning for our projects, which allows a lot of these sustainability ideas to fit into our budgets,” Davis adds. “We can really push the envelope and think differently about these buildings and achieve so much more.”
For example, the 6-story Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, San Antonio, is a neo-classical, Beaux-Arts style-building built in 1936 that has achieved LEED Platinum with its renovation that used a typical GSA budget. “The design team in the region was really able to use the budget Congress gave them and achieve much more than what I think a typical building is able to achieve because we’re already thinking at a higher level about our buildings,” Davis notes.
Listening to Buildings
Davis believes the invention of air conditioning caused us to forget how to make a building fit into its community and environment. But by “listening” to historic buildings’ original characteristics, we can retrofit them to meet today’s occupants’ needs and be more sustainable.
“We can recognize a lot of the wisdom that was designed into these historic buildings that we can take advantage of to make the buildings meet our modern-day needs,” he explains. “We currently have a great opportunity to look at our existing buildings and determine how we can better utilize them. At the same time, we can potentially save other federal agencies money because our strategies will help them minimize their rent, and they can focus that money back on their core missions, which is something all of them would love to do.”
IMAGES: U.S. General Services Administration