Greenfire Wins ASHRAE Award for Energy-Saving Design

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently awarded the JA-designed Greenfire development a 1st Place Chapter Level Technology Award for effective energy management, indoor air quality, and good mechanical design.

The site consists of two main buildings: an apartment building that targets LEED Platinum standards, and a commercial building that targets LEED Gold standards.  Greenfire employs a diverse number of sustainable design elements to save resources and energy, including:

  • An emphasis on natural ventilation, passive cooling, and heat recovery ventilators

  • Buildings are heated and cooled with the help of heat pumps, a hydronic based HVAC system, radiant floor heating, exterior solar shades, and chilled beams

  • Photovoltaic panels

  • Rain screen siding

  • Rainwater collection / greywater re-use systems

  • Green roof with edible and native plantings

  • 50% of site dedicated to open space including bioswales, pervious walking surfaces, urban agriculture, resident P-patches, riparian zone and green community spaces

  • Low VOC and toxin materials / locally sourced and recyclable materials

  • Design that maximizes use of daylight

 

The two main buildings that make up the site are anticipated to use 42% and 70% less energy (respectively) than a building of comparable size and type.  On-site solar panels are projected to further add to the efficiency of the buildings by another 4-5%.

To see more of this project, click here.