Natural Resource Efficiency Designed in New Urbanism: A Partnership Designing Efficient Buildings in Efficient Communities

Christine Magar and Gregg Ander, Southern California Edison
Rob Watson and Gayle Petersen, Natural Resource Defense Council
Dimitris Klapsis, Moule and Polyzoides
Rob Bolin, Syska and Hennessy
Susan Munves, City of Santa Monica

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Abstract

The partnership between a city, a design team, a utility and a building owner can be an effective means to realize efficient buildings in efficient communities. This paper reports on the process and cooperation between four partners to produce a comfortable and resource-efficient building in a challenging urban infill site.

Early on, the owner committed to a LEED Platinum building in a progressive City with a commitment to sustainability and to a New Urbanism design team. Together these decisions established the foundation for an innovative building design process. Various technologies and progressive ideas were entertained following the City’s green building guidelines and the New Urbanism principles. Design alternatives were tested through computer simulations to balance building science with occupant comfort and available budget. The developer’s building, among many highlights in sustainable design, uses only 40 kBTu/SF, exceeding the City’s energy standards by 40 percent and California’s Title 24 by over 50 percent; it harvests and recycles water for a 60 percent reduction in consumption; and recycled/salvaged nearly 90 percent of its construction and demolition waste.

Lessons from the partnership:

Cooperation is necessary to test possibilities and be innovative.
Computer modeling can help quantify design intentions.
Final instrumentation and evaluation is needed to verify post-occupancy numbers and make sure that original design intentions and goals have been met.
Energy efficiency has business benefits and behavioral costs.
A city’s vision for sustainable development requires developer/design/utility teams to challenge existing regulations that do not support the vision.
A sustainable building does not need to be high-tech. Active users can control a passive building.