ecolibrium magazine cover story, featuring the environmental nature center in newport beach

8/3/2019 Ecolibrium Magazine Cover Story, Featuring the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach

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The naturalThe Environmental Nature Center (ENC) in Newport Beach, California, blends simple, passive,

fundamentally sound strategies, such as understanding and responding to climatic conditions,

with some high-tech kit, writes Matthew Dillon.

One o the sustainability principlesthat underpins the activities o LPA,a Caliornia-based design frm thatspecialises in green buildings,is to do less.

That might sound somewhat

counterintuitive when youre talkingabout high-perorming buildings, whichare oten loaded with a ormidable arrayo cutting-edge equipment and materials.Which, o course, is perectly fne, andthe industry needs exemplar buildingsto show the way orward, to demonstratewhats possible and to test boundaries.

Yet according to Dan Heineld,LPAs president, doing less is animportant concept because manyo the best practices or sustainabilityhave nothing to do with earning pointson a rating scorecard.

He says the Environmental Nature Center(ENC) in Newport Beach Caliornia is acase in point o this design approach.

Doing less saves money by fndingand using what is ree or what we like

to call the gits o the site, Heineldexplains. We oten use the sun toprovide solar energy and interior

daylighting, and incorporate existing

landscapes into the overall scheme.Thoughtul building orientation canmaximise the use o prevailing breezes

to support natural ventilation. Each andevery one o these techniques is appliedat the Environmental Nature Center.

Net-ze dngs

eqe ette enegy

deng than ent

ts avaaeThe ENC is a small (836 sq m) envelope-load-dominated building that relies on

natural ventilation to stay comortablein its mild coastal location. Openable

windows and venting systems allowocean breezes to permeate the building.

Rated LEED Platinum (the equivalento 6 star Green star) the ENC is net-zeroenergy, meaning it produces as muchenergy as it consumes. A grid-connected

photovoltaic system on the roo more thano-sets the buildings modest energy use.

The insulation used in the building ismade rom recycled blue jeans, just oneexample o second-hand materials usedthroughout the project.

Boasting 15 ecological exhibits, the ENChosts a rat o natural science and socialscience education programs or students,amilies and the community.

Heineld, however, also hopes visitorsgain a more complete understanding osustainable design.

Says Heineld: Everything about thebuilding and learning centre is shaped bysustainability and efciency.

The ENC produces as much energy as it consumes.

C O V E R F E A T U R E


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Prevailing breezes are able to enter the building through a series of openable windows.

Ecolibrium: The Environmental NatureCenter uses the site gifts that is,

it takes advantage of the coastal windson Newport Beach and doesnt requireHVAC equipment. Did you do modellingon this how did you know you wouldbe able to naturally ventilate the spacewithout compromising comfort forthe centres visitors?

Dan Heinfeld: Yes, we did do modellingto understand the temperature variationthat the ENC would experience usingonly natural ventilation or the space.Given the site location and mostimportantly, the client, who was willing

to accept a much greater range otemperature control in their space thatour typical clients, we eliminated allHVAC equipment.

What we typically do is a mixed modesystem, where HVAC equipment andnatural ventilation work together increating healthy indoor environmentsand energy savings. The idea is that whenthe climate allows, operable windowsare opened and a control located in thewindow tells the HVAC equipment thatthe window is open and turns o the

system. We believe there are so manybenefts o allowing users the opportunityto open their buildings, and we wouldbe doing it even without the obviousbeneft o energy savings.

Eco: This building could have onlyhappened at this site, and that

makes it beautiful and timeless.What did you mean by this whycouldnt the building happensomewhere else?

DH: Our design process starts with athorough understanding o the site andlocal conditions, prevailing breezes, thesun pattern, rainall, climate conditions,etc. Once we do that we see what passivesystems can be used on the site frst andthose passive systems shape the buildingand our response to architectural orm.So the unique conditions on this site

shaped the building design and thereoremake it o its place and beautiul. Webelieve that by solving problems and notchasing ashion we will create projectsthat are beautiul and timeless.

Eco: How does the cooling systemwork? How does the air circulate?

DH: The prevailing breezes which comeo the ocean are allowed to enter thebuilding through a series o operablewindows. The windows are sizeddierently to allow the ENC to tune

the space to ft the local conditions, wherethe amount o air can be adjusted byopening and closing windows. The coolair enters into the space and naturallyrises as it warms and is vented out o the

space. This natural displacement o theair circulates the air through the building

section.

Eco: What about heating? Is thatrequired in Californias winters?

DH: The building is actually a netenergy producer, and small electricheaters are used during only the coolestwinter months by the sta or heating.The sta areas with the lower ceilingare the only areas where the heaters areused. The classroom building with theshaped roo and higher volume is muchbetter at controlling the temperatures

within the space.

Eco: Why do blue jeans make goodmaterial for insulation? Has theconcept been around for a while?

DH: Yes it has, and one o the beneftswe didnt think about originally wasduring the insulations installation.During the installation the installerswere not wearing masks and gloves, asthey do with a typical insulation project:not only were we using a highly recycledmaterial or our insulation we were

providing a better work environmentduring construction. Bo Glover, the ENCdirector, told me that was the day whenhe knew we were really doing somethingspecial at the ENC.




The ENC has exceeded modelling in termsof energy efficiency and thermal comfort.




Eco: How is the building performingin practice in terms of energyefciency and thermal comfort?

DH: The project has exceeded all o ourmodelling in terms o energy efciencyand thermal comort. As we have statedbeore, the ENC is a net energy provider.We designed the acility to be a net-zero,but because the project is perormingbetter than our model, it is actuallyproducing more energy than it is usingon an annual basis. The comments romthe user group and visitors have been verypositive about the thermal comort andthe healthy indoor environment. Giventhe large number o school children that

visit the centre (over 16,000 a year) thiswas an important consideration duringthe design.

Eco: What do you mean by sayingthe building wears its sustainability?

DH: The building looks the way it doesbecause o sustainability, rom the biggestures to the small, all o them areshaped by the programs sustainablequotient. Starting with the buildinglocation on the site, the way the buildingopens to the north, and the pitch o

the roo or the PV panels, which alsopromotes the natural ventilation. Thebuilding design creates sustainablesynergies, which are also the buildingsarchitecture. They are one in the same.

A PV array provides the ENC with much of its energy.

lPAs 10 sstanaty pnpes

1. Inter + act

Ensurestakeholdershaveavoiceintheprojectssustainableaspects.Itsaboutcommunication,collaborationandcooperation.

2. Do less Minimiseyourenvironmentalfootprint.Conservationisvital.

Useasitesgifts.

3. Challenge convention Neverassume.Neversettle.Neveracceptthestatusquo.

Keepanopenmindandexplore.

4. Zoom out Eachbuildingispartofamuchlargerwhole.

Lookbeyondthebuildingsiteforthebiggerpicture.

5. Zoom In Eachplanninganddesigncomponentispartofamuch

largerwhole.Greenthedetailsandyoullgreentheproject.6. Build smart Everyplanninganddesignchoiceshouldhaveareasongrounded

insustainability.Sustainabilityandarchitectureareoneinthesame.

7. Enrich lives Greenplanninganddesignshouldenrichthelivesofbuildingusers

onadailybasis.

8. Create value Thegreenplanninganddesignprocessshouldcreatevalue

forallinvestedineachproject.

9. Prove it Providethehardnumbersaboutthetruecostsandbenets

ofbuildinggreen.

10. Step up Stoptalkingaboutitandstartdoingit.Thetimefor

energy-efcient,greenbuildingsthatdomorewithlessisnow.

Go to ww w.lpainc.com for more information



The project embodies LPAs philosophy of do less.


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Eco: How did the process ofintegrated practice work inactuality? Are there tensions,and if so how are these dealt with?

DH: The process o an integratedpractice is very dierent. The traditionalpractice where the designers almostalways begin working and then presenta solution to the client and even laterthe engineering team, is a model that

just doesnt product the best sustainablesolutions. Our process is dierent bydesign - our integrated team o architectsand engineers start working on aproject together and do that on a dailybasis. We dont have to bring them onor a meeting; it happens much more

organically then that. The dierence hasbeen proound: the engineers are makingus better architects and we are makingthe engineers better engineers. We arelooking at things more much holistically,and that makes the projects and theprocess better at every level.

Eco: You say that sustainabilityis not about nding new technology.Whats it about?

DH: I am a little concerned that generallythe media and public are looking orthe next new thing and cutting-edgetechnology when many times a simplerapproach that starts with conservationcould have been much better or theclient and their management o theproject. An example, I was on the jury ora sustainable award recently and severalo the projects we reviewed had lots ocomplicated HVAC and lighting systems

but did not have one operable window.That is why we always start with whatdoes the site gives us or ree and how wecan use those gits, over and over again.

Our defnition o sustainability is doingmore with less.

Eco: What were the lessonsyou took away from the project?

DH: The lessons we took away romthe project:

Passivedesignmustleadsthe

design process with net-zeroprojects

Userscangreatlyaffectenergy

use, positively and negatively, and

require training ater moving in Net-zerobuildingsrequirebetter

energy modelling than currenttools available.

Eco: What are your thoughts onthe Living Building Challenge willyou be designing buildings to meetits protocols?

DH: Yes we will, and are currentlylooking at several buildings using theLiving Building Challenge. For us everyproject is sustainable, whether the client

wants to process the Living BuildingChallenge or LEED doesnt matter to us.It really depends on the client and whattheir requirements or a specifc ratingare. We are ocused on providing ourclients with the most sustainable projectthat meets their program and budget,regardless o rating systems.

ecolibrium magazine cover story, featuring the environmental nature center in newport beach

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