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Chattanooga architects take the LEED
Rendering of the Chattanooga Outdoor Center
Baylor School’s new residence hall
By Holly Cowart
Staff Writer
When Outdoor Chattanooga’s new River Street location opens later this year it is expected to join a select group of area projects that meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s benchmark for environmental design.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification works to promote sustainability by guiding designers through six categories to lessen their project’s environmental impact.
“LEED doesn’t guarantee that a development is not detrimental to the environment,” explains River Street Architecture project manager Blythe Bailey, LEED AP. “It just guarantees that it’s not as detrimental as it would have been.”
For the architects working on Outdoor Chattanooga that means designing a building that lets the outside in. The front of the building will have a 6-foot bi-fold door. The back and western side will be insulated garage doors.
“It’s an outdoor center so it’s made to be opened up,” says Steven Brown, Artech intern architect. “On nice days we can shut the mechanical systems all the way down and just let the building breathe.”
A live roof will filter rainwater into a cistern that will supply the facilities’ toilets and irrigation system.
“We really think that we’re going to be able to keep that cistern in proper working order for a long while even in the case of dry months,” Steven Brown says. “It stores three months of water or more.”
Outdoor Chattanooga will be the first city-owned building to become LEED certified. Steven Brown says the project is expected to have 35 points over the six categories giving it LEED Silver status.
“A lot of architects and designers are worried about their costs since it’s all new to them,” he says of the certification. “Once you take that leap of faith it’s fairly easy to work these principles into your design process.”
Artech is also currently working on a LEED-certified fire station and Avenue Three, the city’s first LEED-certified housing project, says CEO David Hudson.
River Street Architecture recently received the city’s 2008 Green Building Award for its work on Two North Shore and its Cherry Street office. Both projects are in the process of becoming LEED certified.
River Street Architecture’s renovated building on Cherry Street took a combination of basic steps, such as replacing single pane windows and more creative solutions including a second floor railing made of salvaged metal panels. The west side of the early 20th century building will support vegetation with a green screen and a green roof is already improving runoff.
“By virtue of the water running through the green roof it’s cleaner when it enters the storm-water system,” Bailey explains.
The renovation received credit in the sustainable sites category by providing bike racks and shower facilities. One of the most significant changes for employees came under the indoor environmental quality category. This section gave the renovation points for increasing daylight and views for a majority of the employees.
River Street Architecture has four LEED-accredited professionals on staff. Bailey says the program provides a broad-spectrum analysis of the way a building affects the environment, but there is room for improvement.
LEED-accredited architect Matt Brown, with Franklin Associates Architects, says the next version of LEED is expected to be more regionalized, taking into account factors such as climate.
“It’s transformed the entire industry,” Matt Brown says of LEED, “in a short period of time too.”
Franklin Associates Architects is working on Baylor School’s new residence hall that is slated to be LEED certified.
“We’ve focused a lot of the material selection on things that are regionally available to support local economies and minimize transportation costs,” Matt Brown says.
The project is also reducing indoor pollutants. This means everything from the carpet adhesive to caulk is made with materials that do not off-gas, meaning no volatile chemicals evaporate at normal atmospheric pressure.
“We have to anticipate the occupants being here 24 hours a day,” he says. “The indoor environment quality, which also includes access to views and fresh air and controlling their heating and lighting, is a major factor.”
By stacking the floors, the firm looked to minimize the footprint of the building and decrease impervious surface to reduce storm-water runoff. All of the LEED features built into the new residence hall still keep within the overall style of other buildings on the campus.
Matt Brown says one of the most promising aspects for the future of LEED certification in Chattanooga is the existing support for conservation principles. Greenspaces, a local resource with financial incentives, is offsetting the cost of LEED-certified development. Matt Brown said this support means developers can no longer fall back on the old excuse of wanting to do the right thing, but not wanting to pay for the plaque.
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