Chuck Bosworth
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) was originally part of SMU, but, because of political issues on campus, the original organization relocated to an old health care facility in Fort Worth, Texas. A few years ago, it was decided to tear down the old building and build a new LEED certified building, mostly because LEED certification went hand in hand with BRIT's ecological mission. As part of the LEED platinum certification process, decision makers opted to use over 90 percent of the former building's materials in the construction of the new BRIT site. The new "building" consists of 2 functional areas, the library and plant research, linked by an enclosed breezeway.
To become LEED platinum certified, BRIT was able to gain points by adding green features to both the interior and exterior of the building. On the outside, they sloped the land so that runoff water would eventually collect into a pond, and trees were planted in the parking area to help prevent flooding. Logs were put underneath trees so that the areas could be used as meeting spaces, which gave the organization more points towards LEED certification. A set of cylindrical solar panels were installed on one roof. The advantage of using cylindrical panels as opposed to flat PV panels is that the roof can be painted white and the panels can be raised up so that light can be collected from 360 degrees instead of the 180 degrees offered by a traditional solar panel. Moreover, the grill shape of the cylindrical solar panels makes them less susceptible to hail damage.
On another roof Texas native vegetation was planted. BRIT chose Texas native plants for two reasons: LEED points and extreme weather. Texas native plants are better able to withstand extreme North Texas weather conditions like drought, making the plants more sustainable. One unforeseen problem that arose, though, was that birds ended up dropping seeds on the roof, seeds that came from invasive plant species that the BRIT team now need to worry about on their roofs.
In addition to trees in the parking lot, outlets for electric vehicles were added and parking lot lights face downward to lessen light pollution. They also chose to grow Texas native prairie grass outside to show off North Texas in a near pristine state, and, of course, to rack up more LEED points. Rain collectors were also installed, presumably to help with irrigation.
Inside, sustainable building materials like wool and bamboo were used for the walls and carpet respectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment