What Makes a Building Green?

"The Expansion should make a major contribution to the urban structure of the city."
- David Chipperfield, Architect

Anchorage Museum Expansion Seeks
LEED Certification

The Anchorage Museum is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the 80,000-square-foot expansion slated to open in June 2009. The LEED Green Building Rating System promotes a whole building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.


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"We understand that, if achieved, the museum expansion will be the first municipal building in Anchorage LEED certified as a Green Building," said James Pepper Henry, Anchorage Museum president and CEO. "It is our hope that by securing LEED certification, the museum will be an example of sustainability for future public building projects and other museums throughout the state."

A grant from the Kresge Foundation's Green Building Initiative allowed the museum to investigate sustainable building options early in the design process. A LEED checklist tracked sustainable features incorporated during the design phases and highlighted additional opportunities to conserve resources and maintain energy efficiency while creating a beautiful public building.

Environmentally friendly elements of the museum expansion include the following:

Site

  • Building footprint is minimized by stacking program into four levels plus a basement
  • Increases development density of downtown rather than developing new land
  • Easily accessed by pedestrians, bicyclers and public transportation
  • Plantings and green spaces maximized, minimizing storm water runoff and impact on city storm water system
  • Primarily native plants chosen for landscape design
  • Paved areas selectively and sensitively placed
  • Exterior lighting carefully selected and placed to reduce light pollution
  • Heated sidewalks included in design to increase safety and reduce use of chemical de-icers and snow removal equipment

Building

  • An energy model was used during the design process to optimize energy performance by customizing the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration system (HVAC&R) for the unique envelope of the new building. A tuned relationship between the exterior skin and the interior heating and cooling system results in reduced environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use.
  • Building Systems Commissioning used to reduce energy use, lower operating costs, improve occupant productivity and verification that systems perform in accordance with owner's project requirements
  • No refrigerants with Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) used in new building's HVAC&R systems
  • More than 10% (based on cost) of the total building materials value extracted, harvested and manufactured locally (primarily the concrete aggregate and landscape plantings)
  • Low flow or automatic plumbing fixtures utilized to save water
  • Collection and storage area for recyclables provided
  • Materials with recycled content specified whenever possible
  • Indoor air quality exceeds baseline building standards and smoking is prohibited
  • Outdoor air delivery, air temperature, radiant temperature, air speed and relative humidity are all closely monitored to maintain the thermal comfort and wellbeing of both occupants and collections
  • Filters to be installed over air handlers during construction and replaced after construction to increase comfort for construction workers and building occupants
  • New building to be flushed out prior to occupancy to reduce indoor air quality problems resulting from construction and renovation process
  • Adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets and composite cabinetry products used on the building's interior specified as low-emitting, low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
  • Staff will have control over lighting systems in their workspaces to promote productivity and likely energy reduction
  • Ninety percent of non-gallery, regularly occupied areas of new building will connect indoor spaces and outdoors through daylight and views
  • The cleaning and maintenance program will utilize green, non-toxic products
  • Upon completion, green features will be highlighted to educate the public and staff
  • Building occupants will be surveyed within six to 18 months after occupancy to assess overall satisfaction with thermal performance and to identify thermal comfort-related problems

Construction on the $116 million expansion started in September 2006. The new addition is expected to be complete in June 2009, opening levels 1, 3 and 4. Level 2, home to the Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center, is slated to open in April 2010, about the same time renovations of the existing museum and the exterior public plaza landscaping are expected to be complete.

For more information on the LEED program, visit the U.S. Green Building Council.