Projects

Projects

Desert Research Institute

LEED® Consulting

Desert Research Institute

The Weidt Group teamed with Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) to assist the Desert Research Institute (DRI) with LEED-NC certification and consulting services for their CAVE (Automatic Virtual Environment) Building, a 33,000 square feet office and laboratory building. DRI is the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The budget for this building was $11.5 million.

SDR facilitated a goal-setting work session to educate design team members about LEED®, identify target LEED® credits, and provide resources and tools. SDR also met with the DRI team at key design phases to review credit progress, provide design recommendations, and clarify CIRs (credit interpretations and rulings). In addition, SDR prepared summary reports for each review that documented design solutions, the progress on each credit, and calculations that exposed assumptions for validation or refinement.

Additionally, SDR facilitated LEED® documentation by reviewing team member Letter Templates, coordinating information across Templates and completing Templates. Other services included assisting DRI with creating an educational exhibit to use the building as a teaching tool and surveying occupants to achieve LEED® credit.

SDR worked closely and efficiently with the design team to integrate LEED-NC effectively into project's budget and schedule.

Greening of the California State Capitol

Operations and Maintenance "Greening" Charrette

Greening of the California State Capitol

As a subcontractor to Rocky Mountain Institute, Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) participated in a three-day charrette to identify ways to reduce the environmental impact of the State of California's Capitol and Legislative Office Buildings. The focus of the charrette was the operations and maintenance of the two buildings.

During the charrette, breakout groups consisting of users, facility maintenance staff, and consultants generated action items for six areas: 1) energy saving design and engineering, 2) waste reduction, 3) water conservation, 4) indoor air quality, 5) community interaction, and 6) education.

SDR facilitated the community interactions, education, and security breakout teams. This included brainstorming overarching goals, challenges, and problems; identifying which environmental actions must be considered when making important decisions; and defining the breadth of topics that were considered.

A decision making tool was used to evaluate systems and technologies systematically based on cost, impact on operations, and synergy (multiple benefit) categories.

SDR was instrumental in compiling and synthesizing reports from the breakout teams and drafting the final 75-page report that detailed action items for each of the six areas.

City & County of San Francisco

Litter Study

Litter Study

As a subcontractor to Brown Vence & Associates/HDR, Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) assisted with litter studies in 2007 and 2008 within the City of San Francisco.

The purpose of the litter study was to identify the most frequently occurring litter and create waste reduction programs to address these types of litter. The litter study quantified the amount and type of litter at 105 randomly selected sites within the City.

SDR managed a team of interns. This included advising on methodology, scheduling, and verifying intern data.

The methodology for counting the litter consisted of organizing the litter into two different categories: large litter (4 square inches or larger) and small litter (less than 4 square inches). Both types were counted and identified.

Large and small litter was counted in a 200' x 18' area. Small litter was counted in 3 smaller sections within this area.

In 2007, the findings were 36 items of litter/site. In 2008 the number was 31. In 2007 the largest category of large litter was miscellaneous paper. For example, MUNI tickets and receipts are a significant part of the litter problem. The second most significant material type observed was plastic material.

Pacific Gas & Electric

Newsletter Editing and Publication

Pacific Gas and Electric

Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) was hired by Pacific Gas & Electric to publish 11 issues of the newsletter eNews. The four-page newsletter is distributed to 3,500 California design and construction professionals and others.

As editor of eNews from 2005–2006, SDR established the editorial calendar, pre-screened projects and interviewees, researched and wrote articles, and obtained images. As the prime contractor, SDR managed a team including a writer and a graphic designer.

The eNews newsletter is part of the Energy Design Resource package of resources for the design and construction community. Energy Design Resources is funded by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Southern California Gas under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Visit energydesignresources.com to access backissues.

City of Richmond

LEED® Consulting

Richmond LEED Consulting

Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) assisted the City of Richmond with LEED® certification and green building consulting services. This design build project includes two adjacent buildings: renovation of the existing Hall of Justice, and the renovation of the existing City Hall. Pankow was the design build contractor.

SDR facilitated a LEED® goal-setting work session to educate the design team about LEED-NC, identify target LEED® credits, and distribute resources and tools. SDR also collaborated with the design team at biweekly meetings to review credit progress, provide recommendations, and clarify CIRs (credit interpretations and rulings).

Additionally, SDR prepared a summary report that documents design solutions, progress on each credit, and calculations that expose assumptions. SDR further assisted team members with LEED® documentation by reviewing Letter Templates. Other services included coordinating PG&E's Savings by Design energy modeling program, providing building material recommendations, reviewing indoor air quality plans, and coordinating the salvaging and recycling of ceiling tiles, carpeting, equipment, furnishings, paper, and other recyclables from the vacant City Hall.

San Diego Gas & Electric Sustainable Communities Program

Measurement and Evaluation

San Diego Gas and Electric

Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) assisted with the evaluation of San Diego Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) Sustainable Communities Program (SCP). SDR was a subcontractor to Quantec, who was hired by SDG&E to conduct an Evaluation, Measurement, and Verification (EM&V) of the SCP. The purpose of the EM&V was to provide the California Public Utilities Commission with measurable and quantifiable results in the form of achieved levels of energy and peak demand savings by the SCP.

SDG&E implemented the Sustainable Communities Program in concert with cities and counties in the utility's service area to promote sustainable development and showcase energy efficient design and building operations.

As part of this effort, SDR generated interview questions and conducted interviews of three entities: San Diego Regional Energy Office (SDREO), the City of San Diego's Sustainable Communities Program, and a private green building consultant who was instrumental in the development of the SCP. Each entity had created programs or policies to promote and create green buildings in San Diego. SDR gathered and synthesized interviewee comments into a final report.

SDR's findings from this research effort provided insights on how to design and implement effective green building education and technical assistance programs, as well as how to integrate various local government, state, and utility efforts that have parallel and/or overlapping missions.

Thoreau Center for Sustainability

Post Occupancy Evaluation

Thoreau Center for Sustainability

The U.S. Department of Energy retained Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) to: 1) test the Green Building Challenge '98 rating system software and 2) evaluate the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. The Center was one of six buildings evaluated as part of the US team at the 1998 Green Building Challenge International Conference in Vancouver.

To pilot test the Green Building Challenge rating system, SDR collaborated with other US team members to test the software rating system's user-friendliness, performance indicators, data collection (inputs), regional capabilities, and scoring methodology. SDR evaluated performance indicators for their measurability and user-friendliness for the design team. Ahead of its time, the software calculated CO2, NOx, and other emissions.

Secondly, SDR used the Green Building Center software to evaluate the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. SDR collaborated with the project architect, engineer, landscape architect, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to gather and analyze information on the team's design intent and solutions.

This project is a rare example of a building evaluation that measured energy performance, user comfort (daylighting), and how well "green" building materials performed. It also identified many additional "lessons learned" for design professionals and facility managers.

US Gypsum

Ceiling Tile Recycling Feasibility Study

US Gypsum

US Gypsum hired Sustainable Design Resources (SDR) to conduct a Ceiling Tile Recycling Feasibility Study that included market research, an economic analysis, and an evaluation of a competitor's program. SDR used qualitative and quantitative analyses to study the feasibility of recycling used ceiling tiles by shipping them back to USG's manufacturing plants and mixing them into the slurry to manufacture new tiles.

To conduct market research that explored the "social behavior" of design and construction professionals, SDR created a questionnaire, conducted interviews, and compiled and analyzed data.

SDR surveyed 180 "generalist" design and construction professionals in four cities (San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York City). The survey's objective was to obtain newcomer perspectives on the motivators and obstacles to recycling construction and demolition waste, with a focus on ceiling tile in particular. SDR also surveyed 45 "environmentalist" design and construction professionals in two cities (Seattle and Portland) to obtain their innovator perspectives on motivators and obstacles.

In addition, SDR conducted an economic analysis that compared the costs of ceiling tile recycling to landfilling in 11 cities. The analysis calculated and compared costs at three phases: construction site, shipping, and final destination (manufacturing plant or landfilling).

Lastly, SDR surveyed interviewees about environmentally responsible building materials to obtain their perspectives on obstacles and motivators to using such materials.

Project Directory