Environmental Design + Construction magazine’s Fourth Annual Excellence in Design Awards recognize commercial spaces and offices, institutional facilities, government buildings, multi-use residential buildings and single-family residential homes that clearly demonstrate a commitment to green building and sustainable design. To be considered, projects must have exhibited a variety of criteria as determined by a panel of judges.

In this issue, we highlight the winning government (local, state or federal) project, the Lewis & Clark State Office Building, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, in Jefferson City, Mo., submitted by BNIM Architects.

As part of its mission to protect and restore natural resources, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources commissioned a new 120,000-square-foot office facility to set bold new standards for sustainable design. The building is sited high atop a river bluff where, after years of neglect and destructive runoff patterns, it became apparent a new level of stewardship should emerge – a thoughtful re-addressing and reclamation of the highly damaged site. The Lewis & Clark State Office Building has earned a Platinum LEED rating, the first state government office building in the nation to receive this distinction.

Awards Judge Jerry Yudelson, PE, MBA, LEED AP (Associate Principal of Interface Engineering), said, “The Lewis & Clark State Office Building shows a full range of integrated design considerations in a mid-size government building. The LEED certification attests to the attainment of sustainability goals in this public project. The project also illustrates how a project can save more than 50 percent of projected energy use with daylighting, an efficient HVAC system and a tight building envelope.”

A primary goal of the design team was to eliminate stormwater runoff from the site. Roof forms are sloped in order to harvest rainwater for graywater reuse throughout the building. Restored native plantings, bioswales and other measures ease water absorption across the site.

After walking along a naturally landscaped area from the parking lot, visitors enter the building via a second-level pedestrian bridge into a four-story atrium with grand views of the Missouri River Valley beyond. This atrium lies at the hinge point of the building’s two wings and houses all major vertical circulation and public activity. The four-story building is organized using a narrow, linear floor plate extending east and west from the atrium, giving most occupants access to views and daylight. This strategy maximizes south and north glazing opportunities and minimizes east and west exposures, thus maximizing daylighting opportunities while minimizing unwanted glare and solar heat gain. This configuration allows communal and enclosed rooms to be placed at the core of the building, leaving the perimeter spaces for open work zones and circulation.

Beyond being purely utilitarian, the efficient building systems provide opportunities for unique formal expression and articulation throughout the building. The cast-in-place concrete structure creates a layered field that both orders the flexible partitioning of interior space and naturally creates the light shelf and vertical fin design of the envelope’s skin. Influenced by the native rock outcroppings upon which the building is sited, these exterior “striations” reflect sunlight deep into the floor plate while producing sufficient shade to reduce both glare and heat gain.

The lighting system is automated with occupancy and daylight sensors. Efficient fixtures and localized lighting contribute to a building that is designed to be 56 percent more efficient than the baseline building. Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide 2.51 percent of this energy.

A nearby Missouri prison manufacturing operation provided the office systems furnishings. With considerable efforts, the manufacturing process was retooled to become Greenguard certified, a significant transformation for this industry. Interior building materials include reclaimed brick from former facilities on the site, as well as low-VOC paints, sealants and other finishes. Oak flooring at each atrium level was harvested from a native Missouri sustainably managed forest.

Equally significant is the agency’s commitment to educating the public on “how the building works” through exposed building systems and explicitly educational signage. A new level of awareness and stewardship will emerge for those who enter and use this facility.

This information was provided by BNIM Architects.

SIDEBAR: LEWIS & CLARK STATE OFFICE BUILDING

The building’s siting configuration maximizes daylighting opportunities while minimizing glare and solar heat gain. Photo courtesy of BNIM Architects, Copyright 2005 Mike Sinclair Photographer.

DESCRIPTION: LEED PLATINUM OFFICE FACILITY FOR THE MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

LOCATION: JEFFERSON CITY, MO.

AWARD APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY: BNIM ARCHITECTS

DATE OPENED: 2005

SIZE: 120,000 SQUARE FEET

SIDEBAR: CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PROJECT TEAM:

Lying at the hinge point of the building’s two wings, the four-story atrium provides picturesque views of the Missouri River Valley. Photo courtesy of BNIM Architects, Copyright 2005 Mike Sinclair Photographer.

OWNER: STATE OF MISSOURI OA / DIVISION OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

USER: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGN: BNIM ARCHITECTS (WWW.BNIM.COM)

CONTRACTOR: PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTORS AND ENGINEERS INC.

COMMISSIONING AGENT: SYS-TEK

CIVIL ENGINEER: SK DESIGN GROUP, INC.

CIVIL CONSULTANT: CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM

CODES: F P & C CONSULTANTS

COST ESTIMATOR: CONSTRUCTION COST SYSTEMS, INC.

DAYLIGHT DESIGN / ENERGY STRATEGIES: ENSAR GROUP

LIGHTING DESIGN: CLANTON ENGINEERING

MECHANICAL SYSTEMS DESIGN: RUMSEY ENGINEERS

MEP: FSC / SMITH & BOUCHER

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING ASSOC.

SIDEBAR: MATERIALS AND SOURCES

Visitors enter the building by way of a second-level pedestrian bridge into the four-story atrium. Photo courtesy of BNIM Architects, Copyright 2005 Mike Sinclair Photographer.

CERAMIC TILE – TERRA TRAFFIC BY TERRA GREEN AND CHROMTECH SERIES BY FLOOR GRES

ACOUSTICAL PANEL CEILINGS: ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES

WOOD FLOORING: SMITH FLOORING

RESILIENT WALL BASE AND ACCESSORIES: ROPPE

CARPET TILE: HAPPENING BY INTERFACE

FABRIC-WRAPPED PANELS: DESIGNTEX, MAHARAM, KNOLL

PAINT: SHERWIN WILLIAMS

MULTICOLORED INTERIOR COATINGS: POLOMIX


TOILET COMPARTMENTS: GENERAL PARTITIONS

LOUVERS AND VENTS: GREENHECK

ACCESS FLOORING: TECCRETE XL (INTERFACE NOW HAWORTH)

FLAGPOLES: AMERICAN FLAGPOLE

FABRIC LIGHT SHELVES: ROSE BRAND AND DECORCABLE INNOVATIONS

SIGNAGE: STAR SIGNS

OPERABLE PANEL PARTITIONS: MODERNFOLD, INC.

MOBILE STORAGE UNITS: SPACESAVER CORP.

TOILET AND BATH ACCESSORIES: BOBRICK WASHROOM EQUIP.

DISHWASHER: INSINGER


ROLLER SHADES: SIGNATURE CRAFT

PHOTOVOLTAIC COLLECTORS (UNI-SOLAR)

HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS: SCHINDLER ELEVATOR

CHUTES: U.S. CHUTES



LAVATORY FAUCETS: DELTA

URINALS: KALAHARI

DRINKING FOUNTAIN: ELKAY

COFFEE FAUCETS: GROHE

KITCHEN FAUCETS: GROHE

JANITOR MOP BASIN FAUCETS: CHICAGO FAUCETS

SHOWERHEADS: MOEN


INTERIOR LIGHTING SYSTEMS: AAL, KIM, SISTEMALUX, HYDREL, PEERLESS, NIEDHARDT, LITHONIA, WILLIAMS, ZUMTOBEL, EDISON PRICE, COLUMBIA, FOCAL POINT, PRUDENTAIL, COLE, ELLIPTIPAR, DIALIGHT, LSI, ALKCO, GARDCO, KARLIN

INTERIOR LIGHTING CONTROLS: WATT STOPPER

PORTLAND CEMENT PLASTER: MONARCH CEMENT CO., WESTERN LIME CORPORATION, THORO, DUR-O-WAL, INC.

PIPED UTILITIES: METAL CULVERTS, INC.

SEGMENTAL CONCRETE PAVERS: PAVESTONE

CAST-IN-PLACE CONCRETE: CONTINENTAL CEMENT COMPANY (CEMENT), FARMER’S CONCRETE COMPANY, INC. (CONCRETE), ISG RESOURCES, INC. (FLYASH), CAPITAL QUARRIES COMPANY, INC. (GRANULAR FILL), PLANT CAST: MID AMERICA PRECAST, INC. (PRECAST CONCRETE)

CAST STONE: ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTS, INC.

UNIT MASONRY ASSEMBLIES: NORTHFIELD BLOCK

GYPSUM WALLBOARD: NATIONAL GYPSUM

GALVANIZED STEEL WALL PANELS: BERRIDGE

PERFORATED STEEL CEILING: CENTRIA

ORNAMENTAL HANDRAILS AND RAILINGS: MATTHEWS MANUFACTURING INC

EXPANSION JOINT COVERS: BALCO, INC.


EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORK: TREX

SELF-ADHERING SHEET WATERPROOFING: J-DRAIN

COTTON WALL INSULATION: BONDED LOGIC, INC

SPRAY ON INSULATION: INTERNATIONAL CELLULOSE CORP.

NAIL BASE ROOF INSULATION: ATLAS

METAL ROOF PANELS: BERRIDGE

THERMOPLASTIC MEMBRANE ROOFING: VERISCO

FIRE RESISTIVE JOINT SYSTEMS: HILTI



STEEL DOORS AND FRAMES: CURRIES

FLUSH WOOD DOORS: VT INDUSTRIES, INC.

ALUMINUM-FRAMED ENTRANCES AND STOREFRONTS: KAWNEER / BRADYS

ALUMINUM WINDOWS: KAWNEER

LIGHT PIPE SKYLIGHTS: HUVCO, LLC

DOOR HARDWARE: BEST LOCKS, LCN, PEMKO, RIXON, MAJOR METALFAB

GLAZING: VIRACON

PLASTIC GLAZING: GE PLASTICS

GLAZED ALUMINUM CURTAIN WALLS: KAWNEER

ED+C’s 2006 excellence in design awards government finalists

nasa building 4600

The National Aeronautics & Space Administration at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center achieved LEED Silver certification and the goals and objectives of several executive orders.

Submitted by: Thomas, Miller & Partners, LLC
Location: Huntsville, Ala.
Size: 138,000 square feet
Completed: July 2005

pennsylvania department of environmental protection

LEED-Gold Moshannon District Office demonstrates daylighting techniques, integrates energy systems, and reduces water use and waste.

Submitted by: dggp Architecture
Location: Moshannon, Pa.
Size: 15,000 square feet
Completed: January 2005

national park service headquarters

Sustainable office maximizes NPS mission and goals within a fixed budget and schedule.

Submitted by: Group Goetz Architects
Location: Washington. D.C.
Size: 230,000 square feet
Completed: March 2005
(construction January 2003)

national archives southeast region

National Archives and Records Administration utilized effective site planning and redevelopment as well as innovative design of the building shell, interior and mechanical systems.

Submitted by: Peck Peck and Associates
Location: Morrow, Ga.
Size: 117,000 square feet
Completed: March 2005

chicago marine safety station

The City of Chicago renovates and rehabilitates an existing U.S. Coast Guard station to LEED standards while preserving the historic nature of the building.

Submitted by: Knight E/A, Inc.
Location: Chicago (Lakefront)
Size: 12,600 square feet
Completed: October 2005

Coming next month!

A call for entries and application form for the 2007 Excellence in Design Awards program (for projects completed in 2006) will be available in the November issue and online for download at www.EDCmag.com.