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%.
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