May 2009, Featured Articles
Construction Evolution
Thinking about going green? Start with your existing facility to avoid reinventing the proverbial wheel.
With the demand for new construction down and difficulties in getting financing for such projects, the building trades sector is looking for business opportunities in green remodeling and improving existing buildings. The Better Buildings, Better Business conference for residential builders in Wisconsin Dells in March drew more than 900 participants, a 25 percent increase over previous years, according to Marge Anderson, associate director of the Energy Center of Wisconsin, the sponsoring agency.
The contractors, remodelers, code officials and weatherization professionals at the conference took part in 55 sessions, including one breaking down what the federal stimulus package means for the building industry in this state. “There are multiple building-related initiatives in the (federal) stimulus package –from $5 billion for weatherizing homes to funds for community projects,” Anderson says. “These initiatives will be terrific opportunities for many in the building trades.”
Anderson adds that state incentives for green construction, particularly in government buildings, could provide business for commercial building contractors in the coming years.
“Green building is not just an environmental trend any more,” says Sue Loomans, executive director of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, who notes that green building appears to be a bright spot in a construction industry hit hard by the recession.
Loomans says she’s seen a 500 percent increase in interest in green building in the last five years.
Architect James Chambers, co-owner of Racine’s FWC Architects Inc., was involved in passive solar and other green designs in the 1980s, but says he saw that market dry up after then-President Ronald Reagan killed the tax incentives for such projects in 1985.
All that has changed in recent years. “I’m amazed at the depth and breadth of interest in green building,” he says. “Green builders were almost treated like a cult in the ‘80s, but by bits and pieces it’s been absorbed into the mainstream for commercial buildings.
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Green cash from construction trash An excavator scoops huge bites of the debris onto a specially-designed $8-million sorting machine with fast-moving conveyor belts. A series of mechanical shakers, magnets, and air blasts sorts the material into bins, spitting out larger pieces to a conveyor belt where a crew of face-masked, hard-hatted workers sort the pieces for recycling. Seventy-five to 85 percent of the material gets recycled while the remainder goes to the landfill. If it weren't for City Wide, the state’s only DNR-licensed, off-site mixed waste processing facility, much of this trash would be dumped at landfills, where it makes up more than 30 percent by weight of all the trash. Since its opening in 2006, City Wide has completed two additions. It became a “fully automated,” 80,000-square-foot facility a year ago, according to co-owner John Hansen, and now employs 30 workers. Hansen and co-owner Eric Konik make cash from this trash by collecting tipping fees that Konik says are “almost identical” to what clients would pay to dump at a landfill. They also make money selling the recyclables, although the current slack demand for these materials has cut into revenues. Konik says about 70 percent of company revenues now come from tipping fees and 30 percent from selling recyclables. In past years when the market for recyclables was better, the breakdown was about half and half for each revenue stream, he says. Diverting recyclable waste from landfills isn't just good for City Wide and the environment, it's a boon to green construction firms. City Wide saves contractors from the costs of developing waste recycling plans, separating construction and demolition waste and storing the waste at the construction site. City Wide's computer programs document the amounts of waste recycled, a requirement for obtaining certification under rating system such as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED system. “They're a big help to us and they’re doing good things in their recycling efforts,” says Phil Vetterkind, director of the Sustainabile Building Solutions Division of Hunzinger Contruction Co. in Brookfield, a City Wide client. Hansen and Konik, both operated trash-hauling companies that they sold to larger firms before opening City Wide. When they began looking into the business, they found that Wisconsin was “years behind” the East Coast, West Coast and even Illinois in recycling construction and demolition waste. While several cities and states have laws mandating recycling of construction waste and finacial incentives to encourage it, Wisconsin has none. “Some day this will be the standard for handling construction waste,” Hansen says. Konik emphasizes, “Some day it will be illegal to throw recyclables into a landfill.” |
LEED the way
The LEED certification program of the U.S. Green Building Council is an evolving rating system that certifies green construction projects at four levels based on the points they accumulate in six categories. Wisconsin now has about 40 LEED certified projects and many more registered to receive certification, Loomans says.
Many architects, contractors, project managers and other building tradesmen are also taking the difficult test to put the title of LEED-AP (LEED accredited professional) after their names and bolster the sustainability credentials of their companies.
When it started, LEED was a single rating system for new construction, but it is now evolving into a system of interrelated standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. There now are ratings for projects on existing buildings, commercial interior fitouts by tenants, core and shell commercial projects, homes, neighborhood development, schools and retail projects.
Johnson Controls is in the process of completing a $73 million remodel and expansion of its five-building headquarters in Glendale, and is seeking LEED-Platinum certification for the project. It would be the world's first multi-building project to achieve this highest certification level, according to Dennis Kois, Johnson's director of employee relations.
It’s appropriate for the company to build a “showcase for technologies and design elements and all the other things that go into LEED certification,” Kois says, because building efficiency is one of the company’s three core businesses. Johnson Controls makes controls for lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, security and fire protection.
The Johnson Controls project, being built by Hunzinger Construction Co. of Brookfield, will double the area of the headquarters campus while only raising the operating cost 25 percent. Johnson Controls estimates it’s investing $11 million in green features for the project, which includes two solar power generation arrays; a closed geothermal heat pump system that will add heat to the water in winter and cool it in summer and a resurfacing of the company’s nearly three-acre parking lot with pavers that allow rain and snow to filter through a gravel base and soils before being piped to a retention pond.
Another area of business for Hunzinger is project consulting for companies seeking certification under the new LEED for Existing Building Operation and Maintenance rating system.
LEED-EBOM, started last year, was developed to bring sustainability into projects in the nation’s five million existing commercial buildings. It especially focuses on energy and water efficiency.
Hunzinger is consulting on a LEED-EBOM certification project for the Poblocki Sign Co. headquarters in Milwaukee. And in March, the circa 1980’s Lincoln Center II and III office buildings in West Allis became the first projects in Wisconsin to receive LEED-EBOM certification.
But going green doesn’t necessarily mean that a LEED certification is necessary or realistic, depending on the project.
“Sustainable construction has certainly taken hold; clients want to increase efficiencies and save money, while not necessarily going through the LEED certification process,” says James Corkery, president of ACS Inc. in Madison.
For example, while focusing on the stringent safety standards needed for the new Institute for Influenza Viral Research in Madison, ACS also included several features to conserve water and energy in its design of the $12 million research laboratory. The project did not pursue LEED certification.
Factoring costs
Companies seeking to increase the sustainability of their buildings have an excellent resource in the state's Focus on Energy program, a non-profit agency that collects 1.2 percent from the profits of energy companies. Specifically, Focus provides technical expertise, training and education, energy assessments and access to reputable and experienced vendors and service providers. It also provides financial assistance to businesses to help offset the costs of implementing energy management projects.
Focus on Energy, for example, worked with Gilbane Building Co. of Milwaukee on the new $60 million Technical Center in Beloit for Kerry Group, a food ingredient and flavors company based in Ireland with production facilities in 23 countries and offices in 20 additional countries.
The company’s Wisconsin project included a pilot production plant, research laboratory and four-story office building. Focus awarded the Kerry Group $198,000 in financial incentives to increase the project’s green building elements.
One of the most frequently heard arguments against green building is cost. “With a thoughtful approach you can do green and do it at less than conventional costs,” says Mark Hanson, director of sustainable services for Hoffman LLC in Appleton. “There's a fairly steep learning curve at first.”
The increased experience and the greater amount of sustainable building equipment and supplies in recent years is helping to keep costs down. In general, green building is likely to increase with more people and companies seeing the payoffs in energy savings, elimination of waste and increased productivity as well as in the health of the environment.
You can contact John Hill by e-mail at jhoythill@sbcglobal.net.
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