When the 34-year-old architectural firm Tucker Booker Donhoff + Partners decided to purchase property and develop a new office environment in East downtown Louisville’s gallery district, the firm’s partners decided to try an experiment in sustainable design. “Every architect dreams of designing a space for his or her own firm; and we were given the chance to showcase our design talents.” said Rob Donhoff, CEO of TBD+.

The firm has been seeing increased interest among clients in sustainable design practice specifically with inquiries about LEED certification. LEED is a consensus-based building rating system monitored by the United States Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org). The LEED standard scores buildings on their degree of green-ness. “Going through the development of a sustainable project ourselves gives us the ability to help owners and developers make sustainable choices when building a project if they are interested in doing so,” commented Patrick Nall, Principal at TBD+.

The new space was planned so that the firm could grow. New training space was needed for the staff’s continuing education requirements. The concept included the creation of a studio atmosphere in an old warehouse portion of the property. TBD+ introduced natural light and integrated the old structure with the new space to produce a contemporary atmosphere which is in harmony with the old structure.” The project is a real showpiece for our firm’s talents,” said Bob Booker, President of TBD+.

The firm’s partners wanted to be able to realistically answer the burning question set forth by most clients: “How much will building a sustainable project and getting LEED certification cost me?” The answer is simple, not much! The firm has found that its LEED certified building cost nothing additional to build. TBD+ has discovered that LEED friendly products are readily available in today’s construction market. Sustainable design is taking hold of the construction industry, even in Louisville, KY. “ We’ve discovered that sustainable construction is not necessarily more expensive; it’s the documentation process by both the design professionals and contractors that add some cost to the project’s bottom line,” noted Tom Kargl, Principal at TBD+.

In TBD+’s case, the only added expense for the project would have been in soft costs for commissioning and additional professional services fees needed to document the process. This seems to be a small price to pay especially given the impact that building construction has on society. Buildings in the US account for the following on an annual basis: (info from the USGBC website: USGBC.org)

• 36 percent of the total energy used
• 65 percent of the total electricity used
• 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions
• 30 percent of all raw materials used
• 30 percent of all waste output (136 m tons)
• 12 percent of all potable water used
  

The operational savings gained as a side benefit from sustainable design is no insignificant matter. TBD+’s utility bill for January, the first month of operation in the new building, was slightly more than one of the partner’s residential utility bills.

The LEED rating system is broken down into five categories, and points are assigned in each. Some of the LEED points TBD+ incorporated in its building are:

1. Sustainable Sites

The building was located close to public transportation; and the design incorporates a bike rack and shower for employees who want to ride their bike to work. These design features decrease dependence on automobiles for transportation. The firm is also located within close proximity to the riverfront, ballpark and many locally owned restaurants that are all within walking distance. TBD+ used a high reflectance roof membrane to reduce the heat island effect which is an environmental issue involving urban areas as ‘hot spots’ contributing to global warming.

2. Water Efficiency

TBD+ installed a low flow showerhead, low flush toilets, and infrared automatic lavatory faucets. These items combined to gain a 30 percent increase in water efficiency for the project.

3. Energy and Atmosphere

The firm added insulation above and beyond code requirements to both the walls and the roof increasing the thermal efficiency of the building and also decreasing the firm’s utility bills. A higher level of reflectance on the interior paint scheme was used to reduce lighting requirements. Highly energy efficient air conditioning equipment was used to save utility costs. The contractor used environmentally friendly refrigerant in the air conditioning systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The mechanical engineer commissioned the HVAC system and building to ensure that all systems would work properly for maximum efficiency.

4. Materials and Resources

TBD+ established a recycling program for the office to reduce the amount of garbage the firm sends to the landfill each week. 75 percent of the existing shell building was re-used keeping new resources from having to be tapped to build the office. High-recycled content building materials were specified including the structural steel, ceramic tile and raised access floor. The firm used rapidly renewable materials such as a sunflower and agrifiber panel material for countertops, flooring and our toilet partition. The firm incorporated MDF (medium density fiberboard) painted with a zero VOC finish for the custom casework. A corn-fiber based carpet was used for all carpeted areas; and a soy-based concrete stain and sealer for the exposed concrete in the lobby and conference rooms.

5. Indoor Environmental Quality

The building is a smoke free workplace. The air conditioning system incorporates carbon dioxide detection in the building’s outside air system so that the system is energy efficient in conditioning of outside air. Low or no VOC adhesives, sealants and paint products were used throughout the building. Formaldehyde-free carpeting with no VOC adhesive was specified. Occupancy sensors were used on all lighting along with daylight dimming in the main studio space to save electricity. An underfloor air delivery system was designed so that each employee would have control of the airflow at his or her own workstation. Thirteen new skylights were added to the existing roof structure in the studio space to increase the natural lighting and create a more pleasant atmosphere.

The project has been a tremendous success. TBD+'s associates look forward tocoming to work every day; and the building itself has become a showplace for thefirm and sustainable architecture. Green building has been a positive experiencefor this growing architectural firm.