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Lighting Analysis:

Part 1

Background:

The Toyota Corporate Headquarters is composed of 5 buildings that are each about 120,000 square feet and interconnected by a lobby. It was the owner’s goal to have as much daylight as possible which meant the largest windows possible. At the same time, the owner wanted to use tilt-up concrete construction due to its fast erection and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, Toyota had to settle for smaller windows than desired due to the reinforcing needed for the tilt-up concrete panel construction. It was also the owner’s intent to have all office space, private and open, receive some amounts of daylight. The slim buildings, each building 300ft by 130 ft, were able to achieve this goal.

Problem:

The accepted smaller windows allow for less light in the open office spaces than desired.

Solution:

The objective of my analysis is to increase daylight by integrating light shelves into the building’s perimeter.

The first analysis will be to determine what type of light shelf would be best for this building based on design parameters including: interior and exterior length of the light shelf, the height of the window above the shelf, the height of the shelf above the floor, the transmittance of the window about the shelf, the slope of the ceiling, the room surface and shelf reflectance, the sun and sky conditions, and any exterior obstructions. This will also include constructability and maintenance issues.

The second analysis will be to determine the light shelves effectiveness based on its geographical location (South, East, and West facing). Using VIZ, a rendering will be produced to determine the benefit of the light shelves. This model will produce a benefit analysis on whether the light shelves will be worth the effort, as well as notifiable pros and cons to their application.

Part 2

There are approximately 5000 linear lights to illuminate the open office spaces that all require the installation of A-B switching mandated by the California Energy Code. This means that there must be two switches, each switch responsible for turning on 50% of the light in each room. For this reason, Toyota installed light fixtures that are made of two 4 ft (length) T5 28 watt bulbs. One bulb (lamp) of each light fixture is on a switch.

Problem:

There are light fixtures available at potential reduced costs due to less material and constructability issues that contain one T5 54 watt bulb per fixture. A potential problem is whether the one lamp fixture has the same lighting distribution as the two lamp fixture. The wiring and ballast application of two lamps per fixture verses one lamp per fixture will be different as well. In addition, the current lighting arrangement may meet the design criteria of the owner but there may be a more energy efficient lighting set-up.

Solution:

The objective of my analysis is to produce a Value Engineering idea while also showing an alternative light switching design.

The first analysis will investigate the cost and labor savings involved using the light fixtures with one bulb rather than two. Electrical wiring and ballasts will be considered in the cost analysis.

The second analysis will be to determine the best type of switching/lighting design with the new light fixtures. The new switching design will take into account the space with and without the light shelves present and the possibility of presenting lower ambient light with the additional option of more task lighting.

Thirdly, from the second analysis, I will obtain a design to show in VIZ. I will have the choice to incorporate the light shelves into this modeling or not based on my previous work.

Electrical (Energy) Analysis:

Background:

Energy 10 is a type of software that is used to estimate conceptual design energy costs of different types of building systems. Its recent new feature is evaluating life-cycle costs. A year-by-year cash flow of the building can be determined. This analysis accounts for (1) the initial cost of construction, divided into a fixed cost, the HVAC cost, and the cost of applying EESs (energy-efficient strategies), (2) mortgage payments, if any, (3) the periodic cost of replacing the HVAC system, (4) annual fuel costs, (5) annual electric costs, (6) annual maintenance costs, and (7) annual tax benefits. Acting as an owner one can also account for tax benefits associated with deducting mortgage interest, utility costs, maintenance costs, and HVAC replacement costs. Energy 10 produces various graphs showing the difference between two buildings: the building standard, and the designed building with energy efficient strategies. The difference in costs between the two buildings is determined in terms of net present value, NPV (the difference in life-cycle costs), internal rate of return, benefit-to cost ratio, or simple payback. Results of a Rank operation of a set of EESs can be plotted in the order of any of these four criteria. Costs can be estimated using simple scaling laws or users can supply their own cost estimates.

Energy 10 Modeling:

I will first research and investigate the applications of Energy 10 Modeling to assess the appropriateness of my analyzes I have planned to create.

My tentative analyzes are as follows:

1. Assess daylighting integration. This will include assessing light shelves and alternative daylighting studied within my lighting analysis.

2. Assess Access Flooring

a. Background: The Open Office design consists of all overhead return air plenums and supply air. Electrical service is routed through core drilled holes from the ceiling space below each floor to electricalized furniture.

b. Problem: Evenly distributed air is not the most ideal situation for control with very large plenum spaces. The current Open Office plan is not ideal for changing the layout of the partitions due to the electrical service access

c. Analysis: I will analyze the cost and electrical effects of adding access flooring to the building through the use of Energy 10

3. Cost-Benefit Analysis of LEED Energy and Atmosphere Credit #1 “Optimize Energy Performance”

a. There is one opinion that I have found in common when talking of the issue of Sustainability throughout all construction industry members as well as the owner’s representative of the Toyota Building Project: Some LEED Credits are nearly impossible to quantify with a cost figure. This has produce aggravation in the industry to where owners are finding themselves trying to attain a LEED Certification and having no idea of what kind of costs they will incur. It is an enormously challenging task to quantify the difference in cost of the LEED ratings of Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Rather than attack the big picture, I will try to quantify one very important credit in particular (E & A Credit 1- Optimizing Energy Performance), a credit that includes many differences and degrees of integrated system depth, and accounts for a possible 2 to 10 points of the big picture. Using Energy 10 Modeling I will try to measure the difference in costs between the various point stages of 2 points (20% optimized), 4 points (30% optimized), 6 (40%), 8 (50%), and 10 (60%) using the Toyota Building as a reference.

Interior Wall Framing

Background:

There are two types of interior walls for the floor spaces within each building. One wall type is a full height wall that is found around corridors and near the perimeter of each building. The other type of wall is an under-ceiling (under-grid) wall. Toyota’s intent in using the under-grid wall type deals with sustainability. At any point in the future, if Toyota wishes to change the layout of the space, the under-ceiling grid walls are considered easier to remove with less damage than a full height wall and provide for an easier renovation. The pertinent issue in this situation is the extended amount of time it takes to build the two different types of walls. The method of interior construction is as follows (finish to start activities): (1) the assembly and prime finish of the full height walls (2) installation of the ceiling grid (3) the assembly and prime finish of the under-ceiling walls.

Problem:

The fact that there is a two wall system that is dependant on the finish of one system to install the next becomes a constructability issue giving rise to greater coordination efforts and more risk in schedule delays.

Solution:

The objective of this analysis is to determine the amount of money and time saved in construction costs by building walls that exceed the ceiling grid by 6 inches as well as analyze the costs of the walls’ removal in comparison to the under-ceiling walls. This will assess its sustainability pertinence.

The first analysis will be to produce a cost detail of the “materials” and “labor” for the construction of the two types of walls.

Secondly, I will revise the schedule of the project based upon the amount of time saved building all the walls at once. The duration of time saved over the entire project will be calculated as General Condition’s savings.

I will then be able to produce the difference in time and money between the two systems which may possibly prove to be a Value Engineering Idea.

Thirdly, I will analyze the costs of tearing both types of walls out. This will give a life-cycle cost of the walls and determine the best walls for Toyota’s sustainability benefit.

LEED for Multiple Building Rating Analysis

Background:

The Toyota Corporate Real Estate & Facilities Project will have a Gold rating based on the LEED (Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design) 2.0 Version. At the Smart Design Conference in Washington DC on October 3 & 4 of 2002, Nigel Howard, speaker representative of the Center for Sustainable Construction in the United Kingdom, discussed the various new ratings that will be released in their final context within the next couple of years (2003-2005). These new ratings are geared towards specific types of buildings and construction. The LEED ratings will be established for: Existing Buildings, Commercial Interiors, Core & Shell, Homes, Neighborhood Developments, Multiple Buildings/Campus Developments, and Volume Buildings.

Research:

It will be my objective to define the LEED rating of the Toyota Project based upon the unfinalized edition of the Multiple Building Rating, provided that I obtain permission from the United State Green Building Council.

I will first research where points might be attainable or where points might be lost due to the use of another version.

Secondly, I will assess how appropriate the new edition is and whether it addresses multiple buildings issues in its new points system.

Defining the Role of a Contractor for Green Building Procurement

Background/Literature Review:

The Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence held a discussion roundtable at Penn State addressing issues that faced the Construction Industry today. Present at the roundtable were construction industry contractors (project managers, superintendents, etc.), owners, software developers, and designers (engineers). One of the issues discussed was “Green Team” Building. From much of this discussion of the fairly new Green Building Market, it was unclear to many members of the industry exactly what the role of a contractor should incorporate.

I extensively explored search engines on the internet, journal articles, and green building design workshop material for defined responsibilities of a contractor for green building procurement and construction. Surprisingly, I found little information pertaining exactly to roles to be carried out by a contractor on a LEED Registered Project.

Most of what I found relating to a “Green Process” only incorporated the design phase of a construction project. European countries such as Finland and Sweden, the United State Department of Energy, Canada, and such professional societies as ASHRAE have all produced research and development extending expertise on the process of integrating design systems and development. The processes bring the contractor on board through the integrated design strategies but focus mainly on pre-planning and pre-construction issues. The substantial role of the contractor is barely mentioned.

Browsing the internet led me to many Case Studies of green buildings. While all of the information was logged and obtained of the entirety of the green project, most sources only gave information on the benefits of performance and costs of these buildings.

I was able to find some information that related to sustainability, but was not specifically written for green issues. For example, one article was written on environmental management of pollution and hazardous materials on urban construction projects. Another related article was entitled “A Contractor’s Waste Management Guide” and gave an extremely detail approach to managing and recycling all types of waste.

I found various overview design guides giving vague definitions of the role of a contractor such as: The role of the contractor is: to assemble and maintain records necessary to document a building’s compliance with LEED requirements, or demonstrate knowledge of the numerous materials that are rapidly renewable, or assist project teams in identifying ways to reach a project’s LEED Goals. Other design guides explained construction procedures so simply they could have been applicable to a non-green construction project. Such guidelines included: Work as a team from the beginning, use computer simulation tools, and commission all systems. The green guidelines included: select a sustainable site, use an integrated design approach, design for flexibility and adaptability. I found the majority of lists to be vague and give only a miniscule understanding of the entire process for a contractor.

The best contractor design guide that I encountered was produced by the renown architecture firm Hellmuth, Obata, + Kassabaum (HOK) in Kansas. They devised a checklist that targeted key issues of four major phases of a project: PreDesign, Design and Documentation, Construction Administration, and Operations and Maintenance. Each phase was further divided into six areas of sustainable design and team members were keyed for general areas. While some key issues are pointed out, it is by no means a sufficient list for all roles. The checklist does give more documentation on PreDesign and Design/Documentation which makes sense since HOK is an architecture firm.

Other great resources included details for a specific task on a green building project. Some Environmental Building News articles include information pertaining specifically to materials. This includes ways of how to make decisions for such products as concrete, paint, and plastics. Another article contains particulars on Indoor Air Quality Management.

Goal & Objectives:

The goal of my research is to definie the role of a contractor for Green Building Construction On-site, including the buyout and procurement stages.

My objectives for my research are as follows:

1. Develop a process/checklist of goals/responsibilities that should be developed from the moment the contractor is awarded the project.

a. Form critical roles/responsibilities from literature and case study reviews

b. Identify where industry members are putting the emphasis on green building construction (and compare to established critical issues).

2. Show where contractors are focusing their emphasis in the industry on green building procurement by this research.

Methods

1. Research to find green buildings that have been complete or are almost complete. Contact companies and get contact information for the key figures of the project. Make phone calls to individual people and ask if they would be willing to participate in filling out a research questionnaire on the specific project. (Collaborate efforts with Mike Pulaski).

2. Review existing design manuals, checklists, and suggested information that describes roles and responsibilities

3. Interview people on Toyota building to confirm configured checklist as well as add items

4. Put together a key checklist that address the most critical issues that breaks up roles by who’s responsible (ex. Project Manager, Superintendent, Project Engineer) and also broken up by the 6 LEED areas. (Model HOK Design Guide Format)

5. Have a few interviews with key industry members to review initial concepts and critical issues that will lead to the formation of a survey (Ex. Ziegler)

6. Form an electronic survey that focuses on

a. Addressing a specific green building that is completed or almost complete

b. The survey will be broken up into pieces addressing specific people on the project (Project Manager, Super, Etc.)

c. Start with some Yes/No questions that lead to other questions if it applys

i. Was there a construction recycling plan? Y or N

ii. If so, check (below) what you recycled.

iii. Who managed this plan

iv. What was there percentage of time consumed

Expected Results:

1. Expect to not only develop a checklist of roles for a contractor on a green building construction project, but discover where the industry contractors are putting their emphasis to share with others. This will show where the industry is weak in green building procurement, if it is at all.

1. Benefit all industry members in a general understanding of the requirements involved when building “Green” Projects from a standpoint of different people on the job.

Timeline:

Jan. 13- 17: Work on producing a list of companies with green building projects and contact info. Begin preliminary checklist.

Jan. 18- 24: Interview Turner employees. Start to call companies for contact info of key personnel and how to contact them

Jan. 25- 31: Finalize checklist and list of agreed participants for survey. Produce preliminary questionnaire.

Feb. 1 – 7: Meet with 1 or 2 industry members to review checklist and form pertinent ideas on questionnaire. Continue to finalize participant list.

Feb. 8 – 14: Finalize Questionnaire and test

Feb. 15- 21: Email questionnaire

Feb. 22- 28:- Formulate responses

March 1- 7: Follow up email to get unanswered questionnaires. Formulate Responses.

March 8- 14: Spring Break

March 15-21: Formulate responses. Finalize.

March 22- 28: Finalize this portion of thesis.

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