Texas Turning Green

USGBC Chapters Across the State Help LEED Thrive

The state’s three USGBC chapters say owner- and client-driven desire for LEED certification is adding to an already active green building movement in Texas.

By Debra Wood

Officials from the Texas chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council say  owners are exhibiting greater interest in sustainable building, which is leading to more innovative features.

"The economics of it are finally starting to sink in, and that's why it's taking off," says Tim Murray, chair of the U.S. Green Building Council Greater Houston Chapter and an associate with Morris Architects of Houston.

"The public sector is doing it out of an obligation to taxpayer value, and the private sector owns buildings and recognizes the energy savings," Murray adds. "Tenants are starting to ask for it, and they are starting to see the value of building green. Even if owners want to sell their buildings, they will get more money per sq ft for a LEED building."

USGBC Greater Houston Area Chapter About 600 members belong to the Greater Houston Chapter. The chapter recently hired an executive director, Lora-Marie Bernard, and has begun charging an annual membership fee, ranging from $25 for students and young professionals to $65 for associate members. Murray says the chapter is in the midst of a membership drive and will not charge dues to new members for one year.
 
Murray says no government entities in his chapter's territory require sustainable design. While Houston passed a resolution in 2004 that encouraged LEED silver standards in buildings greater than 5,000 sq ft, it is not mandatory. 

The USGBC has certified eight buildings in Houston, all privately owned. Three have achieved silver LEED status, including a building for Horizon Wind Energy. Murray says 110 projects were registered for LEED certification in June, up from 29 one year earlier.

"Citywide, it has taken off," he adds.

Hines, a Houston-based developer, is overseeing construction of a 170,000-sq-ft, six-story office building and adjacent 30,000-sq-ft, single-story amenities center for Shell Oil Co. in Houston's Energy Corridor District. Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) of Houston designed the expansion of Shell's Woodcreek campus to achieve LEED certification, and D.E. Harvey Builders of Houston serves as general contractor.

Manhattan Construction is working on two phases of the Energy Center, an office complex in Houston’s Energy Corridor. HOK of Houston designed the project, which will seek LEED core and shell certification. (Image courtesy of Manhattan.)

Manhattan Construction Co. of Houston is working on two phases of the Energy Center, an office complex for Houston-based developer Trammell Crow, also in the Energy Corridor. HOK designed the project.

The two phases include a $35 million, 13-story, 350,000-sq-ft Class A office building and eight-story parking garage, as well as a $38 million, 12-story office building and parking garage. The team will seek LEED core and shell certification for both buildings.

A.J. Restum, vice president of project management for Trammell Crow Houston says that the company expects LEED certification will attract clients to the complex and add value to the property because enhanced indoor air quality and natural lighting can lead to a more productive environment.

North Texas Chapter of the USGBC The North Texas Chapter of the USGBC has grown to include 450 members, about half designers and half contractors. Financially, the chapter relies on membership dues, ranging from $50 to $65 annually, and corporate sponsorships.

The chapter serves as a resource to design teams, says sustainability consultant Mike Kawecki, 2007 chair of the North Texas Chapter of the USGBC. 

Kawecki credits the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2001, with spurring demand for more green government buildings.

"Senate Bill 5 mandated that all government entities reduce their energy use 5% for five consecutive years," Kawecki says. "The only way [Dallas] could reduce consumption was to bring in new buildings that were more energy efficient than standard."

Dallas now mandates that all new government buildings greater than 10,000 sq ft achieve at least silver LEED certification.

The Northwest Service Center, a vehicle maintenance facility, became the second project in Dallas to earn a LEED gold designation

The other is the Hensley Field Operations Center. Vivaud + Associates of Dallas designed the $13 million service center and Mitchell Enterprises of Dallas built the facility.

The Jack Evans Police Headquarters and the McCommas ECO Training Center both attained silver certifications.

"The industry has really embraced green building," says Sean Garman, project architect with Perkins+Will of Dallas. "More people know about it and are interested in doing something with it, particularly in the higher-education market."

Perkins+Will has designed a new $40 million, 123,000-sq-ft, two-story science building for Richland College in Dallas that aims for LEED platinum status. Gilbane Building Co. of Dallas is scheduled to begin construction on the concrete-frame building this month, with completion expected in July 2009.

"The building is an example that teaches the community how we should be responsible stewards of our environment," says Janet James, assistant to the president of Richland College.

Plumbing fixtures will help reduce water consumption at the Richland building by more than 40%. Windows will allow views to the outdoors from all labs and offices. As part of the project, the college will restore the natural Texas prairie landscape, reintroduce native tree species and monarch butterflies and create a small duck habitat. While some of the features may cost more initially, Richland looks longer term.

"All of these things will help us operate at less cost than other buildings on campus, proportionally, so we can put that money into the operational fund toward teaching and learning," James says.

Corporations also are wising up to green building. Toyota has made a nationwide commitment to sustainability, Kawecki says. Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney, designed by Gensler of Dallas and built by Turner Construction of Dallas, opened earlier this year and earned LEED silver certification. A second Toyota dealership in Rockwall, also designed by Gensler, is now under construction by the Austin office of The Beck Group.

Green dealerships must make economic sense for franchisees, says Rives Taylor, director of sustainable design at Gensler in Houston. Therefore, sustainable features focus on energy and water conservation, which provide long-lasting cost savings. Shop areas feature daylight and comfortable surroundings, which helps to retain technicians. 

Emerson Partners, developers of Angel Field Center at Montgomery Farm, are aiming for LEED platinum for the 164,000-sq-ft Class A office complex in Allen. Dallas-based Sustainable Structures of Texas expects to complete the three-building campus, designed by Oglesby Greene Architecture of Dallas, by spring.

The entire 500-acre mixed-use community strives to be environmentally conscientious. A 1 million gallon rainwater collection system will provide onsite irrigation. Solar power will make the center 40% more energy efficient than a standard office complex.

USGBC Central Texas – Balcones Chapter At the beginning of the year, about 400 people belonged to the USGBC Central Texas-Balcones Chapter, which does not collect dues. It is teaming with area businesses to promote green design, including working on an international conference focused on sustainability in the semiconductor industry. 

Another chapter project is the Sustainable Technology Applications Resource Team, or START, a research and development committee that maintains a Web site and plans to launch an interactive, online database to share technical knowledge about green building.

Austin requires all public projects greater than 5,000 sq ft to achieve LEED certification. The Austin Climate Protection Plan, a program still pending passage, aims to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from virtually all municipal activities by the year 2020, in part by powering buildings with renewable energy. 

The Beck Group is the contractor on the 28,000-sq-ft, LEED-registered Ronald McDonald House in Austin. Eckols & Associates of Austin designed the four-story, steel-frame facility. (Photo by Aero Photo.)

"It's the most progressive plan in the country for cities, and a lot of people are looking at Austin," says Kathy Zarsky, chair of the USGBC Central Texas-Balcones Chapter and director of business development for Beck in Austin. "It's [made] us as the epicenter of how cities can become carbon neutral."

Six Austin projects hold certified status. In addition, three have achieved gold and three silver. Zarsky says that the popularity of green projects has spread from public to private owners.

Beck serves as the general contractor on the 28,000-sq-ft, LEED-registered Ronald McDonald House adjacent to the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin. The site, now the Robert Mueller Development, once housed the city’s municipal airport.

Eckols & Associates of Austin designed the four-story, steel-frame hospitality house, which will feature day-lighting and shading devices, an energy-efficient mechanical system and simplified interior surfaces. Beck expects to complete the project by November.

White Construction of Austin recently finished the Dell hospital, which is seeking LEED platinum status. The company recycled 47,000 tons of Mueller airport runway material, used 40% fly ash instead of Portland cement in the concrete mix and recycled 92% of the construction waste.

The project features low-flow plumbing fixtures and reclaimed water for irrigation. An onsite natural gas turbine supplies all electricity and converted steam energy from a heating and cooling plant provides chilled water.

Also seeking platinum is Block 21, the redevelopment of a vacant city block north of Austin City Hall. A ‘W’ hotel, condominiums and a children's museum are planned for the project, which has not yet broken ground.

In East Texas, the Stark Foundation of Orange is going for a LEED platinum rating for the restoration of its 1930s-era Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center complex. Lake|Flato Architects of San Antonio completed the design, which The Beck Group will complete by fall. Rendering courtesy Lake|Flato.

The Stark Foundation of Orange is restoring its 1930s-era Shangri La Biological Gardens & Nature Center complex in East Texas, which has been fallow since 1958. Lake|Flato Architects of San Antonio completed the design, which Beck will bring to life this fall.

"Our basic strategy was to try to minimize damage to the existing area, maximize access for education of schoolchildren and visitors and restore the gardens to the prominence they once had," says Bob Harris, Lake|Flato principal in charge of the project. "We chose to only use areas that were previously disturbed, and to try to restore systems that had once been in balance but were out of balance due to the urbanization of the surrounding area."

Tracking for a LEED platinum certification, Shangri La features include a ground source water pump, rain-collection system, heat-reflective roofing on the visitors center, native landscaping and a filtration area to naturally purify lake water and restore bird habitat. Classroom structures sit on helical piers to avoid the need for concrete. The piers can be removed in the future if needs change. The gardens, including the visitor center, will use 65% less electricity than average. And the power will come from solar panels and wind.

Hurricane Rita passed over the site in 2005, felling many trees. The Stark Foundation salvaged that wood and used the cypress for furniture and garden benches.  

Harris says he's proud to have designed one of Texas' first platinum projects and says sustainable design is picking up momentum.      

"The USGBC has made a huge impact, and it's getting larger," he adds. "We're seeing owners and project teams becoming more conversant on the topic and the interesting things that can be done." 

Useful Sources

USGBC Greater Houston Chapter
usgbc-houston.org/

North Texas Chapter of the USGBC
usgbcnorthtexas.org/

USGBC Central Texas-Balcones Chapter
http://chapters.usgbc.org/centraltexas/

Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center
shangrilagardens.org

Montgomery Farm
montgomeryfarm.com

Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas
dellchildrens.net/about_us/about_our_green_building