Living Building Challenge: Defining the Future and Gaining Publicity

Developed over the past few years, the Living Building Challenge (LBC) rating system is a meticulous green and sustainable rating system that is raising the bar for sustainable design. Since its establishment in 2009, only six buildings have been recognized as “living” and have acquired the LBC certification. Of the six certified buildings, PlanetReuse has aided in sourcing and supplying reclaimed materials for two of the first three projects.

Different than any other green building certification, the LBC system takes a step farther than the typical design build ratings and goes beyond design and construction to include the livability and performance of the building. The LBC views building as a process where humans are completely integrated with their surroundings and the ecosystem.

The LBC system focuses on categories of site, water, energy, health, materials, equity, and beauty. It takes approximately 14-16 months to gain this certification. Those buildings that meet all of the LBC standards go beyond the traditional definition of “building” and become a living part of the ecosystem.

This rating system is being used in eight different countries currently and is expected to grow in popularity and eventually become a global standard of building. Thank you to Jason McLennan and Cascadia for providing the vision for the future of sustainability.



Here’s some great press by CNN bringing this vision more to the masses: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/21/world/living-building-challenge/index.html

Architect Magazine - Great article for the Reuse Industry

Reuse continues to be brought to the forefront in discussion. It's hot topic at conferences as well as in the press and is becoming more common in practice.

There's a wonderful piece in this month's Architect Magazine this month on the past, present and future of the industry.

The article features some great quotes from leaders in the reuse industry such as the BMRA, CMRA, BNIM, el dorado inc, Deconstruction & Reuse Network, PlanetReuse, Standford University, and many others.

"We are moving away from the status quo of how we handle our construction and demolition waste for many reasons. Dumping has become more expensive and thus less appealing for contractors..."

"If architects really want to look out for the ecosystem, they should start by making the most of what they already have."

Link to the article: Architecture’s Afterlife

You can even earn one HSW/SD CEH (Health/Safety/Welfare and Sustainable Design Continuing Education Hour) for reading this article and successfully completing a free online quiz. To do so, go to: go.hw.net/archceu

Living Future '11 - Panel Discussion: Building Material Reuse: Understanding the Challenges, Celebrating the Successes, and Providing the Tools

With increasingly limited resources and a growing awareness around sustainable stewardship, material reuse represents one of the ultimate forms of resource conservation. It not only provides a vision of how to live more sustainably, it can also be economically pragmatic and nurture a community. Such principles overlap greatly with the goals of certification standards like the Living Building Challenge. Despite this potential, reuse remains significantly underutilized. Key to maturing the opportunity is building a greater awareness.  Panelists will address reuse challenges and opportunities, innovative tools and resources available, and strategies to utilize reuse as a vehicle for creativity and sustainability.

Presenter Bios

Kevin R Hydes
Kevin R Hydes, CEO of Integral Group, is a professional engineer and honorary architect in BC. He has been addressing green building issues for 2 decades since first meeting Bob Berkebile on the CK Choi project at UBC. That project opened his mind and curiosity to reuse of building materials, weaving through noteworthy projects such as the Materials Testing Lab and Telus Headquarters in Vancouver and many projects across North America including his own adaptive reuse office in Oakland, California, a low energy LEED Platinum targeted office. Kevin is also founding chair of the Cascadia Chapter and a Cascadia Fellow.

Laura Lesniewski
Laura Lesniewski, AIA is a principal at BNIM. An architect with 20 years of experience, she has spoken nationally on emerging technologies and philosophies in sustainable design, BIM and lean thinking and, most recently, at Brazil’s first Greenbuild in Sao Paulo.  Laura led the design team efforts on the Omega Center for Sustainable Living, which achieved both Living Building and LEED Platinum certification.  She co-authored “Roadmap for Integration” for the AIA’s 2006 Report on Integrated Practice and recently completed FLOW: In Pursuit of a Living Building with Bob Berkebile and Steve McDowell.  Laura is a graduate of MIT and UCBerkeley.


Nathan Benjamin
Nathan Benjamin - LEED AP, Principal + Founder of PlanetReuse & PlanetRestore – a reclaimed construction material broker and consultant predicated on a simple but revolutionary idea: make it easy for people to use reclaimed materials and they’ll do more of it to keep materials out of landfills. He has an Architectural Engineering degree, is on the Building Materials Reuse Association Board and worked on two of the first three “Living” projects. He worked on two of the Reuse Primer’s projects and has presented at the National Demolition Association, Greening the Heartland, GreenTown, past two Greenbuilds, Living Future, and the USGBC Federal Summit.

Liz Ogbu
Liz Ogbu is Associate Design Director at Public Architecture, a nonprofit that mobilizes designers to create positive social change.  Liz directs the public-interest design initiatives, which creatively address critical environmental and social justice issues.  She led development of the Design for Reuse Primer, a USGBC funded e- publication intended to demystify and inspire mainstream material reuse. Liz has written and lectured extensively on sustainable design.  She was a member of the 2010 AIA COTE Top Ten and USGBC Natural Talent Design juries and honored as a "Green Giant" by Steelcase for her work in promoting environmentally and socially sustainable design.

For more info to attend sessions, check out the conference website.

Removing the Roadblocks to Material Reuse - Cascadia Green Building Council's Trim Tab - Winter 2011

The Cascadia Green Building Council's Trim Tab is an amazing resource for provocative articles, interviews and news on the issues, designs, and people that are truly transforming the built environment.


PlanetReuse is proud to contribute to this great publication where we review successes as well as struggles when it come to material reuse in commercial and residential projects.

 
To review and download the complete issue and to sign up for updates, visit their website.

2010 K-State Sustainability Conference.

Nathan Benjamin of PlanetReuse will travel to Kansas State University Sustainability Conference on January 30th to serve as a guest speaker. Along with Benjamin will be Stephen Hardy of BNIM Architects, Bill Hanlon of Flint Hills Technical College, and KSU College of Architecture, Planning and Design professor Gary Coates. Moderating the session will be Casey Cassias, also of BNIM Architects. Here is a little bit of information about this year's focus of the conference.

"This year's sustainability conference at K-State will focus on sharing ideas and building new networks across Kansas in the higher education community. Sustainability has become a very important word in the life of universities, but we need effective partnerships to bring meaning to that word. In the overlap between environmental stewardship, smart planning, and saving money on resource costs, universities have a responsibility to serve their own needs and those of society. They can bring action on their own campuses that radiates outward through our partnerships and outreach."

Those to attend this event include university faculty, students, and non-university professionals and a copy of the presentations will be posted to K-State Research Exchange.

Go State!

Air & Waste Management Association Midwest Environmental Conference.

Nathan Benjamin of PlanetReuse will attend the annual Environmental Conference held by the Air & Waste Management Association as a guest speaker on the topic of "Recycling, Reuse, Reduction Successes." In attendance will be various representatives from Midwest section firms and businesses such as BNIM Architects' Bob Berkebile, Mike Utz of Ripple Glass, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore's Brian Alferman, just to name a few. This year, the A&WMA event changes will include a new partnership with the local US Green Building Chapter, one of the founders of the USGBC, Berkebile, as key note speaker, and tools and techniques over lunch for "Networking for Success."

To find out more information about the schedule for this event, go here.

Salvaged Materials Find a Home in America’s Greenest Building Project - F'09 Newsletter

When one of America’s greenest projects opened its doors this summer, the world learned that many of those doors were salvaged. The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) in Rhinebeck, New York debuted on July 16 as one of the world’s best showcases for reclaimed building materials. PlanetReuse was privileged to coordinate much of the salvaged building material used in the project.

The OCSL, an environmental education center and wastewater treatment facility, is expected to be certified as the world’s first Living Building Challenge project, the highest measurable standard for sustainable design and construction. The award-winning building was designed by BNIM Architects, with John Todd Ecological Design.

“So much building material heads for landfills, when instead it can find new life in new building projects,” said PlanetReuse founder Nathan Benjamin. “As the world’s greenest building, the Omega Center is a perfect showcase for salvaged materials, but it also demonstrates how easily any building can take advantage of material reuse.”
Using reclaimed materials is one of the purest ways to build green, and an important consideration for Living Building certification. To discover effective ways to incorporate these materials into the OCSL, BNIM sought out PlanetReuse, whose focus is linking reclaimed materials with the design community.

With the design team, PlanetReuse identified key areas for the use of reclaimed materials. They worked with six demolition and reclamation contractors (three not-for-profits and three for profit) to procure and test the materials, sourcing close to the project to reduce fuel consumption. The company provided documentation on every step to support the certification process. The architect and contractor valued PlanetReuse’s insight, to that point that both wished the company had been involved even earlier in the process to assist with schedule and incorporate more materials.

Reclaimed materials within the Omega Center include dimensional lumber, plywood, interior doors, beech wood paneling and toilet partitions, among many others. The materials came from warehouses, schools, office buildings and other projects within the source radius. Reclaimed materials typically offer 15 to 20 percent savings over new and their use earns significant points towards LEED accreditation.

Most significantly, reuse keeps tons of building materials out of landfills.

PlanetReuse in KC Star Press Release.

This week, the Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) in Rhinebeck, New York will be opening. As the July 16 ribbon-cutting approaches, the KC Star issued a press release explaining the importance of this facility and it's relation to PlanetReuse, BNIM Architects, and John Todd Ecological Design. The article titled, "Salvaged Materials Find a Home in America’s Greenest Building Project," highlights how the use of reclaimed, recycled, or salvaged materials can be some of the purest ways to be earth-conscious in architecture today. The following is a little background from the article about how PlanetReuse got involved in this outstanding project.

"With the design team, PlanetReuse identified key areas for the use of reclaimed materials. They worked with five demolition and reclamation contractors (three not-for-profits and two for profit) to procure and test the materials, sourcing close to the project to reduce fuel consumption. The company provided documentation on every step to support the certification process.

Reclaimed materials within the Omega Center include dimensional lumber, plywood, interior doors, beech wood paneling and toilet partitions, among many others. The materials came from warehouses, schools, office buildings and other projects within the source radius. Reclaimed materials typically offer 15 to 20 percent savings over new, and their use earns significant points towards LEED accreditation. Most significantly, reuse keeps tons of building materials out of landfills."

To read the article in it's entirety, click here! Enjoy!

Omega Institute's Supergreen "Living Building"

Congratulations to the Omega Institute, BNIM and Sember Construction on this great project raising the bar on sustainable design and construction. The project team worked to meet the Cascadia Region Green Building Council's Living Building Challenge requirements as well as met and pushed beyond many LEED requirements.

PlanetReuse enjoyed helping the team by providing the reclaimed materials for the project. Check out this great article about the facility in Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/137/its-alive.html. We look forward to attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 16th.

Congratulations on this great accomplishment!

PlanetReuse featured in KC Star Business Weekly article.

In the Kansas City Star Business Weekly section today, PlanetReuse along with BNIM Architects were mentioned for the reuse of the Inaugural Address stage in their upcoming Omega Institute project. For the entire article, continue reading and be sure join the PlanetReuse Facebook Group so you can check out pictures of the project as work progresses!

"Two KC Businesses Have A Post-Inauguration Link

An Innovative Kansas City firm is helping assure the inaugural platform used by President Barack Obama for his brief swearing-in ceremony lives on in upstate New York.

PlanetReuse LLC, a one-year-old firm based in the Crossroads Arts District, is brokering a deal in which lumber salvaged from the inaugural platform will be used in building a waste-water treatment and classroom facility for the Omega Institute. The holistic healing center occupies 200 acres in the scenic Hudson Valley near Rhinebeck, NY.

And in another local connection, the new Omega facility was designed by BNIM Architects. The goal is to make it the most environmentally friendly project build in the U.S.
If all goes according to plan, the 6,200-square-foot structure will be the first to receive the Living Building designation from the Cascadia Green Building Council. It's a chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council that runs the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program known for its platinum, gold and silver rankings.

"We're a guinea pig for the nation," said BNIM architect Laura Lesniewski. "A key piece is the materials. That's where PlanetReuse comes in."

An important element contributing to the LEED status of a building is the amount of reclaimed materials included in its construction. PlanetReuse has found a niche in linking architects with "deconstruction" firms that carefully dismantle structures to save building materials.

"We take the guessing out of the game," said Nathan Benjamin, co-founder of PlanetReuse. "Deconstructors like it because they don't have to mess with architects. Architects like it because they don't have to drive around the country to find materials."

Benjamin, a former construction industry professional, teamed with Brad Hardin, a former architect, to start the company in March 2008. At first, the pair tried a business model selling reclaimed materials on the Internet. When that proved cumbersome, they decided to instead be a broker, linking architects with salvagers, and certifying the materials.

"We're connecting dots not otherwise connected," Benjamin said.

"When BNIM got the commission for the Omega project, it reached out to PlanetReuse. As part of the energy-efficiency equation, reclaimed materials for a green project should come from a 500-mile radius. That is how Benjamin found the non-profit group in Washington, D.C., that was slated to receive the inaugural platform lumber -- it's still being dismantled.

"The stage was built very well," Benjamin said. "Obviously, somebody important was on it."

The 10,000-square-foot, 40-foot-tall platform was built from entirely new lumber and was obviously used only once. It's yielding 24 dumpster loads of reclaimable material.

Lesniewski said the fact her project's lumber component comes from such a historic structure is a "cool factor, an add-on" to the overall environmental quality of the $1.65 million building.

Benjamin said: "This stage was only used a few minutes. This will be part of a building that will last many years."

--Written by Kevin Collison

PlanetReuse to provide reclaimed material for the Omega Center For Sustainable Living Project (OCSL)

PlanetReuse is working with BNIM Architects and Sember Construction to provide reclaimed materials for the Omega Center for Sustainable Living project (OCSL). PlanetReuse will source framing, structural steel, exterior siding and sheathing for the project to help meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum standards and achieve certification as a "Living Building", an ambitious project designed with total sustainability in mind.

You can read more about the OCSL project in the attached PDF here


About the OCSL

An innovative educational center, the OCSL will be the first of its kind in the United States to combine the most sophisticated green building and wastewater treatment technologies under one roof. It will serve as the heart of Omega's ongoing environmental sustainability initiatives and will include the Eco Machine™ (a water garden and constructed wetland to treat our wastewater), and a classroom for visitors—students, teachers, activists, corporate executives, elected officials—who want to learn more about green building and sustainable living.

The building will be self-sustaining, featuring the latest technology in the sustainaiblity field; it will be heated and cooled by geothermal systems and use solar and photovoltaic power. It is being built to exceed both the LEED Platinum standard and achieve certification as a Living Building. It will be a model of environmental sustainability that can be seen, understood, and replicated locally and globally.

The OCSL will protect our local ecosystem, preserve our freshwater resources, and serve as a community resource, demonstrating sustainability, ecological responsibility, and green alternatives, reminding all of us that if we take care of the Earth, the Earth will take care of us.

About BNIM Architects and the Omega Insitute

In 2006, the Omega Institute commissioned BNIM Architects to design a new 6,200 square foot facility to serve as a new and highly sustainable wastewater filtration facility. The primary goal for this project was to overhaul the organization’s current wastewater disposal system for their 195-acre Rhinebeck campus by using alternative methods of treatment. As part of a larger effort to educate Omega Institute visitors, staff and local community on innovative wastewater strategies, Omega decided to showcase the system in a building that houses both the primary treatment cells and a classroom/laboratory. In addition to using the treated water for garden irrigation and in a greywater recovery system, Omega will use the system and building as a teaching tool in their educational program designed around the ecological impact of their campus. These classes will be offered to campus visitors, area school children, university students and other local communities. Preliminary engineering work was done for the project by John Todd Ecological Design (wastewater engineer) and Chazen Companies (civil engineer). This early investigation was invaluable to the full design team in the early design phases for the building and site.