Page 39 - Designing for Zero Carbon - Case Studies of All-Electric Buildings

Post Occupancy: Observations and Conclusions
The building has had almost no occupants since the scheduled opening date in April of 2020 and began increased though still less than normal occupancy (approximately 15%) in June 2021. There has been limited opportunity to perform a normal review of building operations and com- pare with design intent and project goals. However, there is every indication that the building will achieve the project objectives related to Living Building Challenge certification. As with every project, however, there are issues that might be addressed differently with the benefit of observ- ing the completed product.
Post Occupancy: Energy Metering
In spite of the plan for energy use metering of the new building separately from the main City Hall building, this was not initially undertaken when construction was completed. This has been remedied at the start of actual occupancy in June 2021 and should result in valuable information for building management.
Real-time public display of the categories of separate sub-system energy use is possible as a potential added informational feature. As a communication tool with the general public, these displays can perform a useful public service.
Post Occupancy: Approvals Process
The building uses many innovative systems not usually seen by regular building officials. Even though the project was for and by the City of Santa Monica, this resulted in prolonged responses to these officials in order to resolve issues and questions. Although generally a recommended procedure for any project design team, a written record should be made of discussions and agreements concerning particular issues to forestall revisiting complex issues when building official staff changes over the course of construction. These procedures should be followed for the benefit of the client project managers, which inevitably experience some turnover as well. Continuity of staff is valuable with the complex and unusual design issues of a project such as this one.
Post Occupancy: Preparation for Living Building Challenge Certification
The Living Building Challenge consists of an ambitious set of design goals which can require an unusual set of building design strategies and systems. Previously LBC-certified buildings with similar systems or features should be referenced when possible to minimize delays in construc- tion time. For the City Hall East building, for example, the contractor experienced some chal- lenges in the construction of the radiant slabs, which contained embedded tubing for heating and cooling, post-tensioning steel and electrical conduit. The construction schedule for this particular item had to be extended because of the unanticipated coordination required. (Nevertheless, the building opened on-time because of schedule adjustments elsewhere.)
Post Occupancy: Embodied Carbon Assessment
The client and design team did not carry out an embodied carbon assessment as is customary for buildings designed today. The consensus among the members of the project team is that this would now be included in the design studies. For example, a cross-laminated wood structural system1 would be studied and could possibly have been preferred to the post-tensioned concrete structure employed.
1 See for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-laminated_timber https://www.archdaily.com/893442/cross-laminated-timber-clt-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it https://archinect.com/news/article/150218387/california-adopts-suite-of-high-rise-timber-regulations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuAya0hRjwU
Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 1
25
SANTA MONICA CITY HALL EAST
CASE STUDY NO. 1