College of the Atlantic Student Housing Village

CASE STUDY COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC KATHRYN W. DAVIS STUDENT VILLAGE HOUSING

Opposite These student accommodations, net energy use intensity of 27 kBtu/ BUILDING AT A GLANCE conceived as houses of eight people, are ft2 · yr) and provides an example of sympathetically situated among the large 1800s era summer mansions (known as alternative energy sourcing. Name College of the Atlantic Kathryn cottages), which are the original structures Bar Harbor has approximately 7,000 W. Davis Student Village Housing of the College of the Atlantic campus. heating degree days and only 300 Location Bar Harbor, Maine Below Left Each bedroom has a window cooling degree days per year. The (on Mount Desert Island, 100 miles bay. The lighting fixture design supports west of Augusta) flexibie furniture arrangements. owner and design team determined Owner College of the Atlantic Below Right The first floor kitchen and liv- that while air conditioning was not ing spaces are on a polished concrete slab- necessary, the space heating and Principal Use Student residence on-grade with radiant tubing in the slab. Includes Bedrooms; living, dining domestic hot water loads would be sig- and social spaces; laundry nificant, with heat and hot water about Employees/Occupants 51 beds equal, given a super-insulated shell. Zero Fossil Fuels Occupancy 100% Among other sustainable moves, Predominant strategies involve Gross Square Footage 20,552 ft2 which include operating its own minimizing heat loss through an 2 organic produce farm, installing a efficient building envelope and Conditioned Space 20,552 ft wind turbine and achieving carbon providing efficient and regionally Total Cost $4.175 million Cost Per Square Foot $203 neutrality since 2007, the col- appropriate heating and hot water lege committed in 2002 to achieve systems. Through thoughtful interior Substantial Completion/Occupancy 2008 campus-wide independence from planning, exceptional airtightness fossil fuel by 2015. The student vil- and use of a biomass-fueled central lage housing, which was designed boiler for heating and hot water, Program with this goal in mind, demonstrates these student houses achieve zero Students, faculty, staff and trustees, Sam Coplon the potential energy performance reliance on fossil fuels (the college participated in the design process that is possible even in a heating purchases renewably generated of the student residences, which BUILDING dominated climate (with an annual electricity from the local utility). accommodate 51 students and are

ECOLOGYBY BRUCE COLDHAM, FAIA; THOMAS RC HARTMAN, AIA; AND ERIKA ZEKOS, ASSOCIATE AIA

Unlike most colleges that offer a large menu of majors, College of the Atlantic special- izes only in human ecology. So, it’s fitting that a college that teaches its 300 students about the interconnections between human and natural systems integrates those principles into its new Kathryn W. Davis Student Village Housing. Because most of the buildings of this coastal campus are large 1800s-era summer cottages, the Bar Harbor,

Maine college chose residential-scaled buildings, rather than a large dormitory. John Rivers

42 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013 Summer 2013 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 43

This article was published in High Performing Buildings, Summer 2013. Copyright 2013 ASHRAE. Posted at www.hpbmagazine.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. For more information about High Performing Buildings, visit www.hpbmagazine.org. space that connects the two houses. A DIFFERENT KIND OF COLLEGE WATER AT A GLANCE To further reduce the impression of Founded in 1969 as an alternative to The college offers one major, human the three-story buildings, the upper Annual Water Use 185,616 gallons traditional liberal arts colleges, College of ecology. A human ecological perspec- level is created as an attic story with the Atlantic is a small college community tive, according to the college, integrates a steep (and lower) roof. of some 300 students and 41 faculty knowledge from all academic disciplines ENERGY AT A GLANCE* members, located on the ocean on Mount and from personal experience to inves- Desert Island, Maine. The private college tigate — and ultimately improve — the was chartered by a small group of local relationships between human beings and Biomass Pellet Boiler Plant Annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) (Site) 2 community members and educators who social and natural communities. The design team had several 26.9 kBtu/ft saw in Mount Desert Island a great year- The college has no academic departments, Electricity (Renewable (Wind) Energy options to achieve the zero fos- 2 round location for learning. The college but focuses on interdisciplinary education Purchased from Grid) 10.4 kBtu/ft

admitted its first class in 1972. and research. Its curriculum is loosely divided sil fuel imperative. Passive and Regionally Sourced Biomass Pellets John Rivers 2 Faculty and the inaugural class of stu- into three main resource areas: arts and active solar thermal opportunity 16.5 kBtu/ft Houses are linked by single story shared common spaces, and porches cover all exte- dents explored the oceans around Mount design, environmental sciences and human Annual Source Energy 53 kBtu/ft2** Desert Island and the woods and moun- studies. All students design their own majors. was limited by the college’s desire rior doors, a practical consideration in this the buildings have been pellet fueled tains of Acadia National Park. They studied The college offered one of the nation’s first to keep as many trees on the site as Heating Degree Days (base 65˚F) snowy climate. since the boiler came online. whales in the Gulf of Maine and discussed sustainable design programs in the 1970s. possible. This project was the only 7285 (2011) To foster the renewable economy the texts of naturalists such as Henry Students designed and built sustainable Cooling Degree Days (base 65˚F) David Thoreau and Rene DuBois. buildings over the course of several years. large project scheduled to occur water to the complex of residences in the state, creating Maine jobs, 304 (2011) Sources: College of the Atlantic and the Sierra Club prior to 2015, the time frame for and two existing buildings on the the college awarded the first pellet achieving the zero fossil fuel goal Average Operating Hours per Week 168 site. They decided on a 150 kW (512 contract to a new Maine-based pel- Therefore, the project would need Energy Savings vs. CBECS 2003 kBtu/h) boiler fueled by regionally let distributor in 2008. Lodging 71% organized as duplex “houses” of an additional space, shared by the to provide renewable energy for the sourced biomass pellets. The boiler, eight students each, with three college community, that functions new buildings and had to be the an 85% combustion efficiency, low System Distribution duplexes (six houses) composing the as meeting space, game room or vehicle that achieved the same goal FULL ENERGY PICTURE emission, fully automatic, modulat- Preinsulated and jacketed polyeth- residential village. laundry room. No basements were for the whole southern end of cam- The Davis Student Village, which includes ing, ASME-rated unit, was the first of ylene underground piping carries Each duplex includes an addi- included on this rocky, coastal site. pus. These requirements added to the six student houses and Deering its kind in the United States. Located hot water from the boiler’s 425 gal- tional accessible unit that also The six houses are similar in plan the challenges already presented by Common Community Center, is served in its own building, with an adjacent lon thermal capacitance tank to the by an on-site wood pellet-fired boiler. To serves as the residence advisor’s and form, based on an efficient the rocky, exposed shoreline. understand total site energy use, energy 15 ton pellet silo, this central heating room. Bedrooms occupy the upper module that served to constrain The design team eliminated heat losses at the boiler and in the under- plant accommodates the 20,552 ft2 ground piping must be incorporated. STUDENT HOUSING floors, while shared kitchen, dining costs and establish a repetitive pump technologies as an option Deering Common is 9,000 ft2 and residences (with a designed heating MONTHLY ENERGY USE, and living spaces are located on rhythm on the site. Projecting bays because of the high space heating includes a kitchen, lounge, dining and load of 8 Btu/ft2/h) and the adjacent 2011 the ground floor. Each duplex has invite daylight and provide intimate and domestic hot water (DHW) loads meeting space, offices, project spaces Deering Common Community Center. and a small health clinic. It operates Electricity Heat and interior reading nooks. Each duplex of a college dormitory in Maine, the an average of 98 hours a week, with an It will also serve an additional kWh DHW kBtu has a covered porch and a common absence of air-conditioning require- annual EUI of 37 kBtu/ft2. existing building (Sea Fox, a former Jan 5,460 78,022 KEY SUSTAINABLE FEATURES The following total EUI for the student Feb 4,847 60,588 ment, and the absence of a depend- housing and Deering Common includes summer cottage that has been con- Mar 4,730 48,181 Water Conservation Composting toilets, A central biomass pellet boiler is housed in able solar aperture for PV production. energy losses at the boiler plant and in verted into student housing). Sea Fox low flow faucets and showerheads. this small building adjacent to the pellet silo. The team ultimately chose a central the underground piping. was included in the planning and Apr 5,728 28,363 Daylighting Windows on two sides of The peaking hyperbolic paraboloidal roof May 5,471 16,544 form eases the architectural transition from boiler plant to provide heat and hot Annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) (Site) is piped, but has not yet been con- every room and projecting bays provide 42.6 kBtu/ft2 Jun 7,460 15,668 daylight and natural ventilation. the dominant silo. nected to the system. Electricity: Renewable (Wind) Energy Jul 6,674 9,725 2 The combined current serviced Individual Controls Operable windows Purchased from Grid 10.4 kBtu/ft 2 Aug – Oct* 16,501 35,861 throughout. Student-controlled thermo- Regionally Sourced Biomass Pellets area is 29,452 ft , and the total heat- 2 stats on upper floors. 32.2 kBtu/ft ing design load is 180 kBtu/h. Two Nov 3,996 23,707 2 Dec 1,957 21,721 Carbon Reduction Strategies Boiler Annual Source Energy 67 kBtu/ft condensing gas boilers (each 192 Annual Total 62,824 338,380 fueled by regionally sourced biomass pel- Site Energy Savings vs. CBECS 2003 kBtu/h) provided heating for about lets provide heat and hot water energy Lodging/Dormitory 54% Annual Electricity, 552,735 to the buildings. The college purchases three months before the pellet boiler Heat and DHW renewable electricity from the local utility. came online. They now provide a * Energy used at student housing only. Does not include total (kBtu) Local Materials The project used locally energy losses at boiler or in underground piping. See Full backup to the biomass pellet boiler, Energy Picture for total site energy use. sourced wood for framing. but this is manually executed, and Note: Data is from meters and includes all six houses. ** Estimated source energy ratio of 1.1 used for biomass pel- *Monthly breakdown of data not available for lets to reflect harvesting and transportation energy costs. August – October. Sam Coplon 44 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013 Summer 2013 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 45 buildings. Each of the six houses BUILDING ENVELOPE contains a heat exchanger and storage tank for DHW with electric Roof backup for summer periods when Type Asphalt shingles over 5/8 in. sheathing with 14 in. I-Joists at 19.2 the pellet boiler is off and allows a o.c., air sealed at the sheathing, cavi- single house to be occupied while ties filled with dense-pack cellulose others are not — during summer Overall R-value R-45 programs, for example. Walls Type Double stud wall, 11.5 in. thick, The air barrier was achieved by taping the Boiler-heated water delivered 2 × 6 load bearing exterior wall with seams of the exterior roof and wall sheath- 2 × 4 interior stud wall. Cavity filled with ing panels with a tenacious self-adhesive to the housing is used directly for cellulose, air sealed exterior OSB with tape. (See detail on Page 49.) heating via the ventilation system. primer and tape Glazing Percentage <10% Overall R-value R-40 BOILER SYSTEM DESIGN Basement/Foundation Slab Edge Insulation R-value R-15 Under Slab Insulation R-value R-15 HOUSE HOUSE Windows WOOD PELLETS: DELIVERY -> STORAGE Effective U-factor for Assembly 0.19 (Whole window) Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) 0.28 BOILER Visual Transmittance 0.41

HOUSE HOUSE Location Latitude 44˚ North Orientation Various orientations TO DEERING COMMON Advertisement formerly in this space. TO SEAFOX* HOUSE HOUSE (INSULATED PIPE) The rocky site precluded basements,

* Seafox is slated for renovation. It will be connected to the boiler at a later point. but allowed for the first floor of each building to have hydronic radiant heating in the slab on grade. Dramatically reducing the heating load with a high performance thermal envelope allowed a minimal increase in the size of the ventilation ducts to also provide the heating to the upper two floors. A traditional envelope would require larger heating ducts than needed for ventilation only or perhaps a separate hydronic distribution system. Instead, the design team added a small heating coil fed from the boiler loop in the ventilation system Each of the floors is its own zone, which was intended EL Shea The low emission, fully automatic, modulating pressure rated, ASME rated boiler provides to allow the students to maintain heating for all of the newly constructed buildings and Deering Common Community Center. their own comfort level.

46 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013 DEERING COMMON COMMUNITY CENTER MECHANICAL COMPONENTS

Deering Common Community Center, The first floor includes a student lounge Constance Cary Harrison (Rotch and Tilden housed in renovated an oceanfront 19th and cafe. The offices of student life staff, architects). Both of the Harrisons played To form the air barrier, the sheathing was century large summer cottage serves as the nurse and counselors are on the upper prominent roles in the Confederacy during primed and then the self-adhesive tape the campus “living room.” It is served by floors, as are the meditation room, stu- the Civil War. Burton Harrison served as was pressure applied (rolled) to achieve a the same biomass pellet central boiler dent organization meeting space, and the Jefferson Davis’ private secretary and later durable attachment. plant that provides heat and hot water to music practice room. Deering Common also practiced law. Constance Cary Harrison the Davis Student Village Housing. The houses the school’s graduate program. sewed an early prototype of the Confederate renovation, designed by Stewart Brecher The cottage, formerly known as Sea flag and later became a novelist. Numerous air and theatrical Architects, was completed in 2008. Urchins, was built in 1886 for Burton and fog tests on the buildings during construction demonstrated the effectiveness of taping all exterior sheathing joints and sealing gaps at material connections. The final A Composting Toilet F blower door numbers resulted in E B Hot Water Heater with Drain Water Heat Recovery an air tightness standard of 0.77 B C D C Electrical Panel 2 A G ACH50, or 0.08 cfm50/ft of shell D Telecommunications area. The goal of 1 ACH 50 was E Energ y Recovery Ventilator (ERV) Intake F ERV Exhaust and Kitchen Exhaust I exceeded, but the building’s air H G ERV tightness is just short of the Passive H Heating Loop From Boiler Haus Standard of 0.6 ACH50. I Heating Loop to Next Building

An axonometric drawing shows the dense consolidation of building services in the 6 ft × Water 12 ft first floor mechanical space. The design team executed a complete 3-D model of all Interior water use is reduced by components, including pumps, ducts and piping, to understand the sequence in the sys- using low flow faucets and show- tem coordination of component installation and service requirements. erheads and is further reduced by

John Rivers using composting toilets on upper floors. (Composting toilets cannot to students, but maintenance staff has

Sources: College of the Atlantic, http://tinyurl.com/cg9qenb be used on the first floor since there taken over this task. Despite the unfa- A dedicated service door provides service is no basement.) Total water use, miliarity of composting toilets to most access for the composting toilet in the including irrigation, is just 10 gal- students, no complaints have been Windows are triple glazed fiber- Thermal mass coupling to the inte- densely consolidated utility space. The liq- lons of water per person, per day. reported to the architects. Building Envelope uid end product drains to the central accu- Efficient systems alone could not glass casements or awnings with rior is provided through R-15 under- mulating tank seen at bottom. The composting toilets alone save In addition, drain water from the achieve the zero fossil fuel mandate. low-e glazing. The exterior finish is slab 3 in. expanded polystyrene 340,000 gallons of water annually. showers serves as an energy source. The building design is key to reduc- fiber cement siding and trim with (EPS) type IX rigid insulation. The Liquid end product (LEP) from all of Heat is captured from the shower ing demand on mechanical systems rain screen venting. foundation has a slag-derived cement the houses was designed to be col- water and is returned to help pre- and electricity used for lighting. Roof planes are 14 in. I-joists. substitute in footings and foundation lected in a central underground tank. heat incoming DHW. Building enclosures were designed, Large roof overhangs, which serve walls and in the floor slab. Solid waste goes into the composting detailed, constructed, repeatedly as a “rain hat” and shelter the For air sealing, the exterior units on the first floor of each house. Sustainable Community tested and verified to achieve a peak walls from wind-driven rain, were sheathing was taped with a tena- Composted material is harvested Strategies for creating a healthy load of 8 Btu/h/ft2 with R-40 walls, detailed for prefabrication and cious self-adhesive tape over a con- every few years and the nutrients in environment for the students include R-45 roof plane and R-5 windows. attachment after the primary air tact adhesive primer on the OSB. the LEP and compost can be added using no-VOC materials, providing Wall construction is double-framed, sealing was completed. Photovoltaic Construction documents included back to the soil when properly han- ventilation directly to all spaces and 12 in. thick and filled with dense panels were not installed due to separate air sealing sheets show- dled, turning waste into nutrients. ensuring that cleaning supplies are packed cellulose insulation. Wood existing tree canopy and cost, but ing the critical details in color, Originally, maintenance of the com- also low VOC and environmentally framing is locally sourced. Cellulose roofs were sized, cleared, and ori- and these were carefully reviewed posting, pumping the LEP within the appropriate. Green cleaning policies insulation follows the 14 in. deep ented for future PV installation. with the construction team prior tank and turning the crank that mixes were already well established at the I-joisted, unvented roof planes. The buildings are slab on grade. to assembly. the composting material was assigned College of the Atlantic. John Rivers 48 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013 Summer 2013 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 49 comfort standards. These program- matic goals took priority over strict energy performance.

Landscape Located within an existing complex of historic shoreline residences, the design of the new student village was further constrained by encircling wetlands and a 75 ft setback from a perennial stream. The design team’s

Sam Coplon choice to create a dense cluster of Above Buildings are organized in a dense new and existing buildings around cluster of new (left) and existing (far right) buildings that accentuates a north/south electrical energy, total water and a pedestrian spine created a north- pedestrian spine that links the campus, total domestic hot water. Residents south campus link in an otherwise breaking the historic pattern of wooded initially read and tabulated the vari- disconnected campus, as well as a and walled boundaries between the historic cottages. ous meters to record consumption series of landscaped outdoor rooms. Below Runoff rainwater is directed to infil- data from each house. The intention Porches spill out to these naturally tration swales, protecting existing wetlands was to establish awareness of energy furnished outdoor spaces and invite and avoiding direct discharge to the ocean. consumption and a friendly sense of students outside to gather on the Small bedrooms on the upper floors competition between the houses. rocks on the rare warm day. benefit from the single-story link, A significant variation in the The landscaping design, using trap which provides separation between houses’ use of heat and hot water has rock gravel for walkways instead of Advertisement formerly in this space. the units and allows upper stories been observed, thermostats set in the paved surfaces, reduces impervi- to be ventilated and daylit from all high 70s (˚F), for example. This level ous surfaces by 8%. Offsite runoff is sides in a way that a large unified of control over thermal comfort may directed into landscaped infiltration building would not. Artificial lighting be an asset from the student per- areas that surround the individual is mostly linear and compact fluores- spective, but does not contribute to building courtyards. These catchment cent fixtures withLED under-cabinet optimal energy performance. areas minimize off-site flows and pro- lights. The design team developed a The design team did push for sim- mote infiltration and recharge into the custom light fixture for the bedrooms pler zoning of the heating system: so the task light could be relocated one thermostat for the common space by facilities staff depending on the and one for both floors above, to room layout. moderate the variation that individ- Stairwell lighting is controlled by ual controls might give. The college, occupancy sensors. The efficient however, was committed to more lighting and controls contribute to a fine-grained zoning. The administra- lighting power density of 0.5 watts/ft2. tion wanted to be mindful of interna- First floor community spaces tional students, some from tropical include kitchen and dining areas, climates, who might be uncomfort- which have integrated recycling and able in Bar Harbor’s deep cold. composting systems. Entry air locks In addition, the college, devoted to for each house preserve comfort in the study of human ecology, wanted the small, populated living spaces. students to grow and benefit from Data tracked for each house the conversations and negotiations

includes total thermal energy, total inevitably arising from different Sam Coplon

50 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013 surrounding landscape, while protect- TABLE 1 STUDENT VILLAGE, DEERING COMMON NET EUI’S ing the existing wetlands. Energy Percent of Energy Square Consumed Used/Lost Footage Net EUI* Project Costs Davis Student Village 551 MMBtu 44% 20,500 ft2 27 kBtu/ft2 · yr The total project cost including Deering Commons was $6,533,000. Deering Common 334 MMBtu 26% 9,000 ft2 37 kBtu/ft2 · yr The total site work and landscaping Underground Piping 95 MMBtu 8% was $510,000 and the central heat- Boiler Plant** 276 MMBtu 22% ing plant including building, underground piping and equipment was * Net consumption not including energy lost at boiler plant or in underground piping. ** Based on what remains from energy inputs unaccounted for by submeters or calculations. The boiler $220,000. The student housing net itself is rated at 85% efficient, but the overall boiler plant appears to be approximately 75% efficient. cost not including landscaping and central heating plant is $4,175,000 2011 ENERGY, WATER USE BY HOUSE or $203/ft2. The total student hous- Electricity Heat and DHW Total Water DHW ing project cost $221/ft2. kBtu kBtu Gallons Gallons Inner North Energy Performance House A 29,415 65,773 30,803 13,750 Since 2009 data has been manually House B 26,498 61,844 37,063 12,730 Laundry 14,672 * * 2,240 gathered from Btu meters on the incoming heating loop and electri- Inner South cal submeters in each building. House A 36,867 23,987 35,163 18,210 The data indicates general trends House B 37,266 63,684 27,160 26,750 Seminar Room 887 * N/A N/A in energy consumption among Advertisement formerly in this space. the six houses, but year to year Outer South variations in hot water and heat- House A 26,699 55,484 29,247 15,120 ing energy indicate the impact of House B 40,316 67,608 26,180 13,400 occupant behavior. Game Room 1,733 * N/A N/A While the house meters indicate Total 214,352 338,380 185,616 102,200 the energy used by each house, *Included in house data. Data from house meters.

BUILDING TEAM they do not account for system the student housing and Deering Architect Coldham&Hartman Architects losses that occur at the pellet-fired Common used 59.5 tons of pellets Mechanical Engineer boiler and in the underground pip- for heat and hot water. At 16,000 Petersen Engineering ing. To determine the total energy kBtu/ton of pellets, annual con- Electrical Engineer Bartlett Design produced, the project team started sumption is 952,000 kBtu. Structural Engineer Ryan S. Hellwig, P.E. with the total amount of pellets con- The student housing is 70% of the Acoustical Consultants Acentech sumed by the boiler in 2011. project area, and the following met- Construction Manager E. L. Shea Heat and Hot Water from Pellet- rics are based on the total project. Fired Boiler. The total area of the The EUI calculation assumes that Owner’s Consultants 2 Systems Consultant Marc Rosenbaum, project is 29,500 ft and includes the buildings perform at the same P.E., Energysmiths the six student houses in Davis efficiency for heating and hot water at Owner’s Representative Phil LaClaire 2 Landscape Architect Coplon Associates Student Village and Deering 32.2 kBtu/ft · yr. This is based upon Civil Engineer Hedefine Engineering Common, which was renovated by the pellet delivery directly applied to another design team and connected the square footage. The Btu meters to the common boiler plant. In 2011 that measure heating and hot water

52 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013 Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI). Adding the heat, hot water and electricity together results in a combined gross site EUI of 42.6 kBtu/ft2 · yr or 1,256 MMbtu. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Weighted Mean Energy Use

Sam Coplon Intensity for Lodging is 94 kBtu/ The new housing was set within the con- ft2 · yr, and the project is performing straints of the existing buildings and the many mature trees; the trees prevented Electricity. The project is connected 54% better compared to CBECS. most of the roofs from becoming serious to an electrical transformer system solar energy harvesting planes. The porches and patios at each house provide outdoor that serves several other buildings Determining EUIs for Deering and rooms for sunny days. beyond the project, so utility data Student Housing. Based upon the is not available. Electricity use is Btu meter and electrical submeter use show that the consumption rates based on the submeters within the readings at each of the six student for student housing and Deering differ six student houses, which was aver- houses and Deering Common, the slightly as noted below and show that aged over the entire project area. total EUI was allocated as indicated the overall system efficiency for heat The total electrical use is 306,800 in Table 1. and hot water is 70%. kBtu, or 10.4 kBtu/ft2 · yr. Conclusion LESSONS LEARNED The Davis Student Village demonstrates the potential energy sav- Advertisement formerly in this space. Add Better Insulation Under the Slab. Establish Redundant Protocols for Data ings that can be achieved despite More rigid foam insulation under the slab Collection. The design team thought that would have created a better envelope. In the manual meter reading system would a challenging climate. By using 2006, the design team thought they had provide a reliable basis for understanding regionally sourced biomass, the chosen a lot of insulation. After working on the buildings’ performance (and one that college avoids the purchase of subsequent projects, however, they would would engage the occupants and main- increase the amount of insulation on a tenance staff in a constructive feedback 6,800 gallons of oil annually. This project in design today. process). But it seems this plan was overly student village is meeting the col- optimistic, and it has taken considerable LEP Collection Tank Unnecessary. Liquid effort over the years to obtain good data, lege’s zero fossil fuel goal, while end product doesn’t collect in the under- and then question it. also providing a living example for ground tank. This is a result of eliminating water consumption with the composting Manual Reading (Even with Facilities Staff students who care deeply about toilets located on the upper two stories of Oversight) of 30 Individual Meters was the sustainability of their built and the residence houses. The urine compo- not Adequate to Provide a Reliable Data nent is volatized/evaporated through the Stream. With current Web-based digital natural environments. • ventilation stack, producing an insufficient technology, the team would design data col- amount of excess liquid to accumulate. lection differently. In this educational environment the design team and college still Better Manage Temperature Control. The feel that it is important to include the stu- owners requested student control over dents in the reading process. Digital access temperature in each of the upper floors. to online monitoring has its drawbacks as ABOUT THE AUTHORS Upper stories could have been zoned well, such as losing data with power loss together to provide more consistency or the exclusive dependence on a controls Bruce Coldham, FAIA, and Thomas across the buildings, with a centrally contractor to provide access to this infor- RC Hartman, AIA, are principals at located thermostat on each second floor. mation. A redundant system that includes Coldham&Hartman Architects in According to the meter readings, had all remote access AND visual meter-reading on Amherst, Mass. six student houses used heat and hot site would increase the likelihood of reliable Erika Zekos, Associate AIA, is a con- water at the rate of the lowest consuming reporting and would provide the option of sulting designer at Coldham&Hartman house, the heat and hot water energy use checking the information via both methods. would have been reduced by nearly half. Architects in Amherst, Mass.

54 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Summer 2013