Page 67 - Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings-Volume 2

SPECULATIVE OFFICE BUILDING AT 435 INDIO WAY
CASE STUDY NO. 9
The project team was largely assembled over time, with Sharp engaging the engineering team and the general contractor initially, followed by the design architect. Project delivery was es- tablished as design-build, with strong contractor involvement in engineering and architectural decisions.
The project team anticipated that, because of the passive design approach that was initially taken (passive ventilation and use of the thermal mass for pre-cooling), a key to success in ZNE performance would be a seamlessly operating set of control systems. For that reason, a master system integrator was added to the team in the design phase to work with the engineering team with regard to the sequence of operations for coordination of all building systems.
Design Process and Low Energy Design Strategies
The design process was driven by two principal directives: the resulting renovation must be a ZNE-performing building and, at the same time, the developed project must be a more profitable investment than a code-minimum renovation of the same building would be.
To accomplish this, the project team evaluated the effect of every energy-related design decision on the overall performance and measured this total against the overriding financial directive. Hard bids of both the ZNE alternative and the code-minimum alternative were obtained and put into the financial pro forma analysis. The bottom-line profitability of both alternatives was evalu- ated throughout the process, ultimately confirming that the ZNE design in fact had a better bot- tom line (higher profitability) for this project.
See the Profitability Sidebar on the next page for a summary of the methodology and outcome of this financial analysis.
Planning Concept and General Design Considerations
With this project, the owners and developer wanted to develop a more holistic approach to the integrated design of ZNE features and systems. They recognized that many building features provide benefits—even financial benefits—that cannot be easily quantified but have been mea- sured in other ways. For example, office space with daylighting and a connection to nature has been shown to be associated with higher productivity among building users, as well as simply being more desirable space among potential tenants who recognize this.
With this in mind, the owners used this approach to select the mix of design features and sys- tems for the ZNE design, while keeping a close watch on its profitability bottom line in compari- son to the code-minimum building.
(Left) View of the original 1970s building before renova- tion. (Photo courtesy of RMW Architects).
Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings, Volume 2
55