Page 18 - Designing for Zero Carbon - Case Studies of All-Electric Buildings

CASE STUDY NO. 1 SANTA MONICA CITY HALL EAST
Santa Monica City Hall East
Case Study No. 1
Data Summary
Building Type: Mid-Rise Office
Building (New)
Location: Santa Monica, CA Gross Floor Area: 50,200 sq.ft. Occupied (Partial): 3/2020
This first case study of a three-story municipal office building describes the process, design features and performance characteristics associated with the realization of “one of America’s greenest city hall buildings”.1 The building was designed to meet the standards of the Living Building Challenge 2, aiming in particular at a certification for zero-net-energy performance as documented after a year of operation.
Although occupancy of this building and the performance verification was delayed by the Covid pandemic, this facility is now expected to achieve the full LBC certification in 2022.
Background
The public service functions of the City of Santa Monica had long-outgrown the original City Hall building, a 1938 historic structure designed in the WPA Moderne style located in the heart of the city along Main Street. (Photo below)
As the city and its administrative functions grew over the decades, these departments were housed in leased spaces in other parts of the city. By 2004, these leased spaces were in five separate locations and discussions began about consolidating these offices in a new building in the City Center.
(Above) View of the western facade of Santa Monica’s historic City Hall facing Main Street circa 1990.
1 Architectural Digest, 27 August 2020.
2 The Living Building Challenge is administered by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and consists of seven performance categories, including net-zero-energy, net-zero-water and net-zero-waste. For more information, see: https://living-future.org/lbc/basics4-0/.
Modeled EUI (Site):
24.9 kBtu/sq.ft. per year
Measured EUI (Site):
(Data available in 2022)
On-Site Renewable Energy System Installed:
292 kW (DC) Solar PV
On-Site Storage Battery:
None
Measured On-Site Energy Production:
399,430 kWh per year
27.1 kBtu/sq.ft. per year
(Oct. 2020 through Sep. 2021 for first year of full operation)
Owner/Client
City of Santa Monica
Design Team
Architect:
Frederick Fisher Architects, Los Angeles
Structural Engineer:
John A. Martin Associates Los Angeles
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineering:
Buro Happold Engineering, Los Angeles
Landscape Architect
AHBE Landscape Architects Los Angeles
General Contractor:
Hathaway Dinwiddie, Los Angeles
Solar Contractor:
Blue Sky Energy, Los Angeles
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Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 1