The 379,000-square-foot Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center became the first juvenile justice center in the United States to achieve LEED Gold certification. A county ordinance required Alameda County to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver, and Alameda County’s General Services Agency proactively supported HOK’s efforts to aim for a LEED Gold rating.

Detention Housing; photo by John Swain.

While the security issues involved with maintaining a 24-hour detention center somewhat hindered traditional sustainable options, the team still achieved exceptional levels in water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the reuse of materials via an integrated design process that sought innovative solutions. The project was a design-build effort with HOK and Hensel Phelps Construction.

Water Efficiency

Corridor featuring local artist’s custom work; photo by Chi Fang.

Effectively reducing the facility’s water consumption was of great importance. To that end, native landscaping and water-efficient irrigation reduces site water consumption by more than 50 percent. Additionally, waterfree urinals and water-efficient plumbing fixtures further reduce the water consumption by 41 percent.

Approximately 100 percent of the post-development-produced stormwater is filtered and treated in on-site retention ponds and the adjacent wetland to remove contaminants and limit the disruption of natural water flows.

Energy

Juvenile Courtroom; photo by John Swain.

The building not only complies with California Title 24 requirements, but it is nearly 66 percent more efficient than the baseline. To achieve this, an 850 kW solar panel array on the rooftop provides more than 60 percent of the building’s energy demands. A light-colored ENERGY STAR- rated roof system reduces energy and minimizes impacts on microclimate and wildlife habitat from thermal differences between developed and undeveloped areas.

No CFC-based refrigerants were used in the building. Several monitoring systems, such as occupancy sensors for lighting, were installed to reduce energy consumption in real-time.

To encourage the development and use of grid-source, non-polluting renewable energy technology, the project has contracted to purchase 100 percent of its energy needs, which is equivalent to 2,629 MWh, from wind generation by employing a two-year renewable energy contract.

Carefully designed site lighting is energy efficient and avoids light spillage into adjacent off-site areas, nocturnal environments and the night sky.

Materials and Resources

850 kW solar panel array on the rooftop provides more than 60 percent of the building energy; photo by Phrohel Studios.

To assist with the reduction of waste generated by occupants, two main areas are provided for the collection, sorting and storage of recyclable materials as well as dedicated bins at all staff break areas and workspaces. Several products used throughout the building, with post-consumer and post-industrial recycled material content ranging from 2 percent to 100 percent, constitute a total building recycled content of 5 percent.

Crushed foundations were actually used as aggregate in some of the new concrete on the project. The general contractor also was organized about separating materials for recycling, diverting 93 percent of the construction waste from the landfill.

Indoor Environment

An indoor air quality management plan was enacted to protect all air delivery systems in the building from collecting any dust or contaminants during the construction process. Along that same thread, all sealants, paints, carpet, wood and other finish materials are either free of pollutants or low emitting, thereby enhancing the indoor air quality.

In order to prevent occupant exposure to tobacco smoke, designated smoking areas are located away from entries, operable windows and mechanical intakes.

To avoid exposure of building occupants to potentially hazardous chemicals brought into or used within the building, all entries are equipped with permanent walk-off grills to capture dirt and particulates. In addition, all rooms where chemical use occurs, such as janitors’ closets and copy areas, are separately exhausted without recirculation into the ventilation system.

Innovation

Approximately 23,800 gallons of biodiesel fuel was used in the site grading equipment, saving 200 tons of CO2 discharge into the atmosphere; the equivalent of planting approximately 240 trees.



This information was submitted by HOK. For more information, see ED+C’s October 2007 story, “Justice for the Environment,” at www.EDCmag.com.

Sidebar: Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center

EID Award Category: Government

Completion Date: April 1, 2007

Size: 379,000 square feet

Location: San Leandro, Calif.


Congratulations to

Architect: HOK Associate Architect: Beverly Prior Architects Consulting Architect: Gerson/Overstreet General Contractor: Hensel Phelps Construction Co. Construction Manager: Vanir Construction Management, Inc.

Structural Engineer: The KPA Group Civil Engineer: Telamon Engineering Landscape Architect: Keller Mitchell, Geotechnical Geolabs Mechanical Engineer: Marelich Mechanical Electrical Engineer: Rosendin Electrical Inc. MEP Design/Build: MCT Engineers Energy Consultant: Loisos + Ubbelohde Security/Electronics: Buford Goff & Associates Food Service: The Marshall Associates

Sidebar: Materials

Flooring: Armstrong Linoleum flooring, resilient athletic flooring by Gerflor Taraflex Sports Flooring with a W.F. Taylor adhesive (Greenguard Certified & CRIGreen Label), Shaw Eco Solution Q carpet tile with Ecoworx backing

Ceiling: Armstrong Cirrus Tegular ceiling tiles

Wood: Skyblend 100 percent recycled Particleboard (SCS Certified), Medite II formaldehyde-free MDF

Roofing: Sarnafil EnergySmart membrane roof

HVAC System and Appliances: Kele Frontier Wireless Transmitters to monitor water use, air temperature and air quality in the building

Insulation: Owens Corning R-19 thermal batt insulation

Interior Finishes and Furnishings: Bobrick Sierra Series toilet partitions

Paints and Wallcoverings: Sherwin-Williams Harmony zero-VOC paint, ICI Lifemaster zero-VOC paint

Energy Efficiency: Powerlight 850 kW solar array

Building Envelope: Basalite Block with flyash and recycled aggregate, Structural Precast with flyash

Plumbing Fixtures: Sloan Waterfree Urinals, Sloan Ultra-low Flow Flush Valves on all toilets and    lavatories, flow restrictors used on all showers

Landscaping: Crushed aggregate from existing foundations used in sitework

Other: Biodeisel fuel used in all major site grading equipment

Government Building Category: ED+C’s 2008 Excellence in Design Award Finalists

Photos by Robert Canfield.

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 Headquarters

Completion Date: January 2007

Size: 292,000 square feet

Location: Denver

Submitted by: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP

The LEED Gold EPA Region 8 Headquarters supports the EPA’s mission and sets an example of environmental stewardship, efficiency and functionality. The building is predicted to exceed the ASHRAE 90.1 1999 baseline energy performance by 39 percent, well below GSA’s target. Design features include: daylighting; high-performance, optimized insulation levels; external solar shading devices; energy-efficient lighting and reduced lighting power density; occupancy sensors; variable-speed drives for chiller and pumps; and more. It also features a three-level, 20,000-square-foot green roof. Sustainable Facility magazine (www.SustainableFacility.com) addresses green cleaning and maintenance strategies at the headquarters in its November 2008 issue.

Photos by De Shields-Marley, Shields Marley Photography.

Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality

Completion Date: July 2007

Size: 115,000 square feet

Location: North Little Rock, Ark.

Submitted by: Williams & Dean Associated Architects

The new Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) six-story office building is designed to represent the standards that the department is striving to achieve throughout the built environment in Arkansas. From the initial site selection all the way to the interior finish-out, ADEQ has been focused on demonstrating how buildings can make a positive impact on the environment and reduce the impact on the surrounding infrastructure and environment by making a 100 percent reduction in potable water use for landscape irrigation. Materials were sourced from local/regional vendors, rapidly renewable selections, and were considered for high-recycled content and recyclability.

Photos by HNK Photography.

Village of Orland Park Police Headquarters

Completion Date: March 2007

Size: 65,175 square feet

Location: Orland Park, Ill.

Submitted by: SRBL Architects

An existing commercial warehouse was transformed into the new LEED Gold police headquarters. The result is a dramatic new exterior appearance and a dynamic, daylight-filled interior. Three basic strategies were used to accomplish a high level of energy efficiency — a high-performance building envelope, a high-performance HVAC system, and a highly efficient lighting system (featuring less than one watt per square foot). The Orland Park Police Headquarters realized a 41 percent reduction in water usage, and more than 75 percent of the existing building structure, shell and floor were re-used.

Photos by Jonathan Hillyer / Atlanta.

Twin Creeks Science and Education Center

Completion Date: April 2007

Size: 15,000 square feet

Location: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tenn.

Submitted by: Lord, Aeck & Sargent

The new Twin Creeks Science and Education Center not only supports research aimed at understanding and managing the park’s sensitive ecosystems, but serves as a working model of ecological design. Targeting LEED Silver certification, the facility is on track to become the National Park Service’s (NPS) first LEED building in the southeastern U.S. Lord, Aeck & Sargent implemented a number of strategies including bio-retention of stormwater, daylight harvesting, use of cleared site trees and boulders in construction of the facility, light pollution reduction, and an automated natural ventilation system.


ED+C announced the winners of the 2008 Excellence in Design Awards in the September 2008 issue. Winners and finalists are featured in detail in the September, October and November issues. The online application for the 2009 Excellence in Design Awards is now available at www.EDCmag.com.