2. LEED
The Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design
(LEED) Green Building Rating
System,
Developed by the U.S.
Green Building Council
(USGBC), provides a suite of
standards for
environmentally sustainable
construction.
Started in 1998
3. What is a Green Building?
Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall
impact of the built environment on human health and the
natural environment by
• Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
• Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
• Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
4. Hearst Tower
New York City, New York
300 West 57th Street on
Eighth Avenue, near
Columbus Circle
World headquarters of the
Hearst Corporation
• Cosmopolitan
• Good Housekeeping
5. Hearst Tower
Former six-story headquarters
building was commissioned by
the founder, William Randolph
Hearst
Awarded to the architect
Joseph Urban
The building was completed in
1928 at a cost of $2 million and
contained 40,000 sq. ft.
The original cast stone facade
has been preserved in the new
design as a designated
Landmark site.
Originally built as the base
for a proposed skyscraper, the
6. Hearst Tower
Former six-story headquarters
building was commissioned by
the founder, William Randolph
Hearst
Awarded to the architect
Joseph Urban
The building was completed in
1928 at a cost of $2 million and
contained 40,000 sq. ft.
The original cast stone facade
has been preserved in the new
design as a designated
Landmark site.
Originally built as the base
for a proposed skyscraper, the
7. Hearst Tower
The new tower addition was
completed nearly eighty years
later
• 2000 Hearst employees moved in
on 4 May 2006.
Architect Norman Foster
46 stories tall & standing 182
m (597 ft)
The uncommon triangular
framing pattern (also known as
a diagrid) required 9,500 metric
tons (10,480 tons) of structural
steel – reportedly about 20%
less than a conventional steel
frame.
8. Hearst Tower
First green building
completed in New York City
• Floor of the atrium is paved
with heat conductive
limestone.
• Polyethylene tubing is
embedded under the floor and
filled with circulating water for
cooling in the summer and
heating in the winter.
• Rain collected on the roof is
stored in a tank in the
basement for use in the
cooling system, to irrigate
plants and for the water
sculpture in the main lobby.
• The building was constructed
using 80% recycled steel.
9. Hearst Tower
First green building
completed in New York City
• Floor of the atrium is paved
with heat conductive
limestone.
• Polyethylene tubing is
embedded under the floor and
filled with circulating water for
cooling in the summer and
heating in the winter.
• Rain collected on the roof is
stored in a tank in the
basement for use in the
cooling system, to irrigate
plants and for the water
sculpture in the main lobby.
• The building was constructed
using 80% recycled steel.
10. Hearst Tower
Earned a gold designation
from the United States Green
Building Council’s LEED
certification program.
Atrium features escalators
which run through a 3-story
water sculpture titled
Icefall, a wide waterfall built
with thousands of glass
panels, which cools and
humidifies the lobby air.
The water element is
complemented by a 70-foot
(21.3 m) tall fresco painting
entitled Riverlines by artist
Richard Long.
21. California Academy of Sciences
The Material World
• 90% of all demolition materials were
recycled
• 32,000 tons of sand from foundation
excavation applied to dune
restoration projects in San Francisco
• 95% of all steel from recycled sources
• 50% of lumber harvested from
sustainable-yield forests
• 68% of insulation comes from
recycled blue jeans
• 90% of office space will have natural
light and ventilation
• 30% less energy consumption than
federal code requirement
22. Omi International Arts Center
convened hundreds of
visual artists, musicians, and
dancers at its upstate New
York compound to take part
in programs designed to
foster creativity
300-acre center to stroll
its extensive sculpture park
4,300-square-foot Charles
Benenson Visitor Center and
Gallery, Ghent, New York–
based Peter Franck and
Kathleen Triem, LEED AP,
kept their focus local,
putting an updated spin on
the region’s traditional
23. Omi International Arts Center
convened hundreds of
visual artists, musicians, and
dancers at its upstate New
York compound to take part
in programs designed to
foster creativity
300-acre center to stroll
its extensive sculpture park
4,300-square-foot Charles
Benenson Visitor Center and
Gallery, Ghent, New York–
based Peter Franck and
Kathleen Triem, LEED AP,
kept their focus local,
putting an updated spin on
the region’s traditional
24. Omi International Arts Center
convened hundreds of
visual artists, musicians, and
dancers at its upstate New
York compound to take part
in programs designed to
foster creativity
300-acre center to stroll
its extensive sculpture park
4,300-square-foot Charles
Benenson Visitor Center and
Gallery, Ghent, New York–
based Peter Franck and
Kathleen Triem, LEED AP,
kept their focus local,
putting an updated spin on
the region’s traditional
25. Omi International Arts Center
convened hundreds of
visual artists, musicians, and
dancers at its upstate New
York compound to take part
in programs designed to
foster creativity
300-acre center to stroll
its extensive sculpture park
4,300-square-foot Charles
Benenson Visitor Center and
Gallery, Ghent, New York–
based Peter Franck and
Kathleen Triem, LEED AP,
kept their focus local,
putting an updated spin on
the region’s traditional
26. Omi International Arts Center
Franck and Triem, who
operate under the banner F:T
Architecture + Interiors,
Instead of replicating a
Hudson Valley barn
modern evocation of
utilitarian farm architecture
• better to display contemporary
art
design utilizes posts and
beams,
shade screen installed
along glazed stretches of the
low-slung, boomerang-
shaped volume recall open-
air livestock stalls.
27. Omi International Arts Center
Franck and Triem, who
operate under the banner F:T
Architecture + Interiors,
Instead of replicating a
Hudson Valley barn
modern evocation of
utilitarian farm architecture
• better to display contemporary
art
design utilizes posts and
beams,
shade screen installed
along glazed stretches of the
low-slung, boomerang-
shaped volume recall open-
air livestock stalls.
28. Omi International Arts Center
Franck and Triem, who
operate under the banner F:T
Architecture + Interiors,
Instead of replicating a
Hudson Valley barn
modern evocation of
utilitarian farm architecture
• better to display contemporary
art
design utilizes posts and
beams,
shade screen installed
along glazed stretches of the
low-slung, boomerang-
shaped volume recall open-
air livestock stalls.
29. Omi International Arts Center
Franck and Triem, who
operate under the banner F:T
Architecture + Interiors,
Instead of replicating a
Hudson Valley barn
modern evocation of
utilitarian farm architecture
• better to display contemporary
art
design utilizes posts and
beams,
shade screen installed
along glazed stretches of the
low-slung, boomerang-
shaped volume recall open-
air livestock stalls.
30. Omi International Arts Center
Franck and Triem, who
operate under the banner F:T
Architecture + Interiors,
Instead of replicating a
Hudson Valley barn
modern evocation of
utilitarian farm architecture
• better to display contemporary
art
design utilizes posts and
beams,
shade screen installed
along glazed stretches of the
low-slung, boomerang-
shaped volume recall open-
air livestock stalls.
31. Omi International Arts Center
backdrop for the reception desk
— clad in cypress and hemlock
salvaged mushroom farms in
western New York & Pennsylvania.
• “The mushrooms produce an
enzyme that eats away at the soft
portion of the wood, leaving the
material as if it had naturally
weathered, but with a very beautiful
honey-brown color,” Triem
explains..
Roof of the Charles Benenson
Visitor Center and Gallery is
covered in native grasses.
• “We set out to source locally and
happily had not much trouble doing
so,” Triem says. Franck adds, “In
addition to making good ecological
32. Omi International Arts Center
backdrop for the reception desk
— clad in cypress and hemlock
salvaged mushroom farms in
western New York & Pennsylvania.
• “The mushrooms produce an
enzyme that eats away at the soft
portion of the wood, leaving the
material as if it had naturally
weathered, but with a very beautiful
honey-brown color,” Triem
explains..
Roof of the Charles Benenson
Visitor Center and Gallery is
covered in native grasses.
• “We set out to source locally and
happily had not much trouble doing
so,” Triem says. Franck adds, “In
addition to making good ecological
33. Bronx Library Center
Architect: Dattner
Architects
Gross Square Footage:
78,000 ft2 (7,200 m2)
cost $31 million
completed January 2006
annual percentage energy
used is 28% reduction from
base case
Intensified the community
aspects by centering its
design around a four-story-
high-performance glass
curtain wall that fronts East
Kingsbridge Road, just steps
from the Bronx’s busy
34. Bronx Library Center
Architect: Dattner
Architects
Gross Square Footage:
78,000 ft2 (7,200 m2)
cost $31 million
completed January 2006
annual percentage energy
used is 28% reduction from
base case
Intensified the community
aspects by centering its
design around a four-story-
high-performance glass
curtain wall that fronts East
Kingsbridge Road, just steps
from the Bronx’s busy
35. Bronx Library Center
Architect: Dattner
Architects
Gross Square Footage:
78,000 ft2 (7,200 m2)
cost $31 million
completed January 2006
annual percentage energy
used is 28% reduction from
base case
Intensified the community
aspects by centering its
design around a four-story-
high-performance glass
curtain wall that fronts East
Kingsbridge Road, just steps
from the Bronx’s busy
36. Bronx Library Center
Architect: Dattner
Architects
Gross Square Footage:
78,000 ft2 (7,200 m2)
cost $31 million
completed January 2006
annual percentage energy
used is 28% reduction from
base case
Intensified the community
aspects by centering its
design around a four-story-
high-performance glass
curtain wall that fronts East
Kingsbridge Road, just steps
from the Bronx’s busy
37. Bronx Library Center
Architect: Dattner
Architects
Gross Square Footage:
78,000 ft2 (7,200 m2)
cost $31 million
completed January 2006
annual percentage energy
used is 28% reduction from
base case
Intensified the community
aspects by centering its
design around a four-story-
high-performance glass
curtain wall that fronts East
Kingsbridge Road, just steps
from the Bronx’s busy
38. Bronx Library Center
Architect: Dattner
Architects
Gross Square Footage:
78,000 ft2 (7,200 m2)
cost $31 million
completed January 2006
annual percentage energy
used is 28% reduction from
base case
Intensified the community
aspects by centering its
design around a four-story-
high-performance glass
curtain wall that fronts East
Kingsbridge Road, just steps
from the Bronx’s busy
39. Bronx Library Center
Reading areas are
positioned along the curtain
wall in a 16-foot-wide
structural cantilever,
resulting in a display of
people that makes the
building look more like a
busy retail store than a
traditional library.
Wanted to achieve
openness without sacrificing
energy efficiency
Translucent nylon mesh
mechanized shades,
integrated into the wall
system, manually operate at
each floor’s service desk.
40. Bronx Library Center
Reading areas are
positioned along the curtain
wall in a 16-foot-wide
structural cantilever,
resulting in a display of
people that makes the
building look more like a
busy retail store than a
traditional library.
Wanted to achieve
openness without sacrificing
energy efficiency
Translucent nylon mesh
mechanized shades,
integrated into the wall
system, manually operate at
each floor’s service desk.
41. Bronx Library Center
Reading areas are
positioned along the curtain
wall in a 16-foot-wide
structural cantilever,
resulting in a display of
people that makes the
building look more like a
busy retail store than a
traditional library.
Wanted to achieve
openness without sacrificing
energy efficiency
Translucent nylon mesh
mechanized shades,
integrated into the wall
system, manually operate at
each floor’s service desk.
42. Bronx Library Center
Reading areas are
positioned along the curtain
wall in a 16-foot-wide
structural cantilever,
resulting in a display of
people that makes the
building look more like a
busy retail store than a
traditional library.
Wanted to achieve
openness without sacrificing
energy efficiency
Translucent nylon mesh
mechanized shades,
integrated into the wall
system, manually operate at
each floor’s service desk.
43. Bronx Library Center
Reading areas are
positioned along the curtain
wall in a 16-foot-wide
structural cantilever,
resulting in a display of
people that makes the
building look more like a
busy retail store than a
traditional library.
Wanted to achieve
openness without sacrificing
energy efficiency
Translucent nylon mesh
mechanized shades,
integrated into the wall
system, manually operate at
each floor’s service desk.
44. Bronx Library Center
Reading areas are
positioned along the curtain
wall in a 16-foot-wide
structural cantilever,
resulting in a display of
people that makes the
building look more like a
busy retail store than a
traditional library.
Wanted to achieve
openness without sacrificing
energy efficiency
Translucent nylon mesh
mechanized shades,
integrated into the wall
system, manually operate at
each floor’s service desk.
45. Bronx Library Center
For the main reading room
on the fourth floor, the
architects wanted to “peel
back” the ceiling up to the
fifth-floor mezzanine to
create a west-facing
clerestory that would let
late-afternoon sun flood the
two floors.
Swooping ceiling and roof
element crown the building,
establishing library’s claim to
civic landmark status.
A Con Edison utility
building previously on the
site was torn down;
• 80 percent of it was recycled,
46. Bronx Library Center
For the main reading room
on the fourth floor, the
architects wanted to “peel
back” the ceiling up to the
fifth-floor mezzanine to
create a west-facing
clerestory that would let
late-afternoon sun flood the
two floors.
Swooping ceiling and roof
element crown the building,
establishing library’s claim to
civic landmark status.
A Con Edison utility
building previously on the
site was torn down;
• 80 percent of it was recycled,
47. American Embassy in Sofia,
March 13, 2007 received
LEED for New Construction
certification.
There are some unique
challenges when building a
green embassy building with
the most prominent one
being the issue of safety.
• The Sofia Embassy building
design was based on a model
created after the dual
bombings of embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania.
• This ensured that the embassy
would incorporate the safety
features from the Standard
Embassy Design (PDF) as it
implemented green building
48. American Embassy in Sofia,
Sensors and timers ensure
that lights are turned off
when rooms are unoccupied
or when there is sufficient
daylight.
Lightshelves contribute to
the daylighting, and energy
use is further reduced by a
solar water heater and extra
insulation.
1/3 of the project’s
materials were sourced from
within 500 miles of the
project site.
First LEED certified U.S.
Embassy building
49. American Embassy in Sofia,
Sensors and timers ensure
that lights are turned off
when rooms are unoccupied
or when there is sufficient
daylight.
Lightshelves contribute to
the daylighting, and energy
use is further reduced by a
solar water heater and extra
insulation.
1/3 of the project’s
materials were sourced from
within 500 miles of the
project site.
First LEED certified U.S.
Embassy building
50. Discussion Roundup
materials
• focusing on recycling materials
• (similar or dissimilar to Romans excavating ancient sites?)
• incorporating the natural world
• (is this a modern idea? or an established idea?)
design choices made for reasons beyond aesthetics
• environment is key
thinking a great deal about interior environment
and user experience
• lighting
• (how does this relate to lighting of gothic churches?)
• new and different ways of regulating interior systems
(temperature, water)
• (how does this relate to Roman bath houses?)
51. Reflection
Can beautiful design and sustainability co-exist in a
building?
What do you think about combining new and old? For
example, the Hearst Tower being built on the facade of the
1928 building.
Do you think it’s important to think about the
environment when we build new buildings?
