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8th
Annual Sustainable Innovation Awards Announced at
U.S. Green Building Council-L.A. Chapter Green Gala
Los
Angeles, CA (December 7, 2018) – Last night at its 14th
Green Gala, the
Los
Angeles Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council
(USGBC-LA) presented the 8th Annual
Sustainable Innovation Awards (SIA), with the Project of
the Year awarded to the Robert Redford Conservancy for
Southern California Sustainability (Pitzer College), a net zero,
adaptive reuse model for existing buildings. L.A.’s “Oscars” of
green building, the awards affirm a
project team’s commitment to a sustainable built environment,
and
reflect the
Chapter’s emphasis on energy & water savings, air quality, good
design, community engagement and equity. The SIAs are open to
projects certified under any sustainability rating system.
The Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern
California Sustainability (Pitzer College) was once an abandoned
historic building which had been damaged in a fire. It has been
transformed into a LEED Platinum Certified learning environment
which is educating the next generation of change makers at
Pitzer College. The 12,000 sq. ft. project is also tracking
towards Zero Net Energy operation, and, eventually,
certification. Noted one judge, “Tracking to net zero for
adaptive reuse is no easy task, and is to be commended.”
Robert Redford Conservancy for
Southern California Sustainability
(Photography
courtesy Pitzer College/William Vasta)
Highlights of the project, which also earned the
Honor Award in the SIA Energy & Atmosphere category, include:
·
91% of the existing building structure/enclosure
was reused and reinforced to extend the building’s life cycle by
over 50 years, contributing to the vast reduction in embodied
carbon. The construction and demolition waste to landfills was
reduced by 95%.
·
Passive design elements included extensive
daylighting, thermal massing and natural ventilation.
·
Some of the elements in the building serve a dual
purpose. For example, the skylight well also acts as a thermal
chimney, and the outdoor photovoltaic array also serves as the
outdoor classroom cover.
·
Roof gutters and downspouts direct storm water to
porous vehicular paving and detention basins absorbing 100% of
on-site storm water runoff whicheliminated the need for
municipal form sewer connection and filtration.
·
The design strategy used passive elements of the
original design to provide a highly efficient HVAC system and
decrease the size of photovoltaic system.
·
Prime exampleof transforming a building that is
over 100 years old into a new space, where the exterior is
intact and preserved.
·
This project successfully revives and improves an
existing building, going above and beyond code regulations which
focus mainly on efficiency of new construction rather than
renovation of our existing building stock.
·
The building itself provides sustainability
education opportunities for the students at the college.
On the community side, the center supports five
associated colleges, local primary/secondary schoolscience
programs, and is a research hub for Southern California.
Originally inhabited by the Tongva Tribe, the site also offers
outdoor indigenous study areas an and medicinal herb
gathering/storage activities. The demonstration gardens – with
72 protected, matured trees, and 10.8 acres of habitat
protected/restored using native plants grown for genetic
compatibility – is open to the nearby residential neighborhood
to learn about ongoing biological field experiments and
alternative transportation strategies.
“The Sustainable Innovation Awards recognize
projects that go above and beyond credit achievement. The
project teams honored this year employed creative strategies
that we hope will inspire the design and construction community
to push the limits of standard practice. Thank you to all who
submitted projects for consideration,” shares SIA co-chair Patti
Harburg-Petrich of BuroHappold.
The
awards honor premier projects—COMPLETE LIST FOLLOWS BELOW—that
have already been envisioned, designed and/or built,recognizing
exceptional achievement and innovation in each category for
Southern California certified projects from the previous year.
The submis-sions attract project teams throughout Southern CA's
sustainable community and are awarded regardless of
certification achieved (i.e. LEED, WELL, Passivehouse,
EcoDistricts, SITES, etc.).
“The
projects and people honored by the Sustainable Innovation Awards
exemplify thought leadership and creativity in their design
solutions to site and building challenges,” says SIA co-chair
Amelia Feichtner of the City of Santa Monica. “It is inspiring
that our community is advancing sustainability in a wide range
of project scales and in both private and public development.”
Additionally, four special awards selected by the Board of
Directors (full announcement
HERE),
were presented:
·
Visionary “Excellence in Athletic Facilities”
Awards were presented to the Los Angeles Lakers for their
UCLA Health and Training Center, Home of the Los Angeles Lakers,
and to UCLA for their recent Wasserman Football Center
and the Mo Ostin Basketball Center.
·
LADWP
General Manager David Wright accepted the “Business Leader of
the Year” award on behalf of the utility. The Award recognizes
LADWP’s outstanding leadership in leveraging their influence to
increase the prevalence of sustainable business practices across
the Los Angeles region.
·
GRID Alternatives
earned the “NonProfit Partner of the Year”award. Accepted
by Executive Director Michael Kadish, the award recognizes
outstanding leadership by a partner organization of the USGBC-LA
that is leading the way to a more sustainable future through its
dedication to serving its community through programs, education,
and support for their members and/or employees.
“Innovation, education and community are at the heart of what
USGBC-LA
celebrates in projects and partnerships. In line with that, the
design & construction teams, and the other businesses awarded
last night,offer inspiring models for our future,” states Julie
Du Brow, USGBC-LA Interim Executive Director.“Thanks to the
Robert Redford Conservancy for showing that existing buildings
can be so very efficient and sustainable, especially in such a
hot area. And thanks to all the teams that are shifting the
discussion on the importance of social equity and health &
wellness.”
The
Awards were presented during the Green Gala at theTaglyan
Cultural Complex in Hollywood infront of a guest list of over
400 top industry professionals from local government, real
estateowners and developers, architects, engineers, contractors,
and LEED professionals. USGBC-LAworks with anyone who is
interested and engaged in collaborative sustainable initiatives.
The
Green Gala
is supported through the donations of many corporate partners:
Diamond Sponsors – BuroHappold, Kilroy Realty Corp. and Southern
California Edison; Sapphire Sponsors – Building Skills
Partnership and FormLA Landscaping; Aquamarine Sponsors – Arup,
Athens Services (Zero Waste Sponsor), Bernards, ChargePoint,
Inc., Egan | Simon Architecture, Gensler, Hathaway Dinwiddie,
Howard Building Corporation, Integral Group, Internal Removal
Specialist, Inc., LA Family Housing, Land Mark Electric,
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
Vanir, Yardi, and ZGF Architects. To see the most updated list
of all sponsors, please
click here.
Significant annual support for USGBC-LA comes fromBuroHappold,
ClimateWorks Foundation, FormLA Landscaping, Howard Building
Corporation, Kilroy Realty Corp. andLADWP.
About U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles
Founded in 2002, USGBC-LA
isa501(c)3nonprofitorganization
committedto
creating
aprosperous
and
sustainable
future
within
one
generation.Ourmission
is to accelerate all aspects of
sustainabilityin
thebuiltenvironment
by deliveringaccess
to knowledge,resources,recognition
and
networking.Learn,
Share and Lead Green. (www.usgbc-la.org)
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