Environmental Design Commons^™

Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods To Guide Architectural Decision-Making For Sustainable Prefabricated Modular Buildings, Jeremy Faludi, Michael Lepech, George Loisos

Dartmouth Scholarship

Within this work, life cycle assessment modeling is used to determine top design priorities and quantitatively inform sustainable design decision-making for a prefabricated modular building. A case-study life-cycle assessment was performed for a 5,000 ft² prefabricated commercial building constructed in San Francisco, California, and scenario analysis was run examining the life cycle environmental impacts of various energy and material design substitutions, and a structural design change. Results show that even for a highly energy-efficient modular building, the top design priority is still minimizing operational energy impacts, since this strongly dominates the building life cycle's environmental impacts. However, as an …

Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …

Unlv Students To Build Zero Net Energy Home; Boom & Bust Report, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Design and build an approximately 800 square foot home that consumes zero net energy.

Those are the instructions for Team Las Vegas, after the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) became one of only 20 schools worldwide to quality for the 2013 Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

UNLV’s entry, Autonomy House, is marketed as an “age-in-place” home for an empty nester whose children have grown up. The 730-squarefoot home will use daylighting from windows, insulation and solar panels to produce more energy than it consumes. Additionally, it will filter rainwater for household …

Roger Williams Park Edible Forest Garden, Mark S. Scialla

Senior Honors Projects

An edible forest garden is a low-maintenance system that uses edible native and regionally-adapted plants arranged in beneficial relationships to meet human, wildlife and ecosystem needs. The forest garden in Roger Williams Park will transform underutilized urban land into a highly productive parcel producing market-viable fruits, nuts, vegetables, medicine and fiber. Forest gardens mimic natural forest systems in architecture and complexity. The design follows ecological principles to create a system that promotes biodiversity and enhances the surrounding ecosystem. This project also demonstrates the potential to grow food and create land-based livelihoods in the city.

Located on the edge of a …

Legal Issues In Green Construction, Namrata Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The most recent "green construction movement", made a significant impact on the design and construction industry in the United States. Organizations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have lobbied governmental entities to provide financial incentives to promote green construction. The green construction community also promotes the notion that a healthier working and living environment is achieved. Due to finical incentives coupled with projected long-term energy cost savings, many owners of new construction are considering green construction as an option. Accompanying the "green construction movement", new kinds of legal issues, particularly relating to green aspects such as certification, energy …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

Team Las Vegas Solar Decathlon 2013: Team Selection Celebration, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

DesertSol: Marketing and Promotion

This is a flyer for a celebration of UNLV being selected to participate in the 2013 Solar Decathlon competition.

Ua12/13 2012 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Christian Ryan-Downing, Wku Office Of Sustainability

Sustainability Publications and Resources

The Office of Sustainability has occupied the house at 503 Regents for approximately four months. The space is used to house the Big Red Bikes mechanic shop and program, and other programs and activities. Eight students work in the Office of Sustainability in various roles including bike mechanic, student assistant, four PowerSave Interns, a student “handy-man” who works on various physical improvements, and a student that is completing his Honors Thesis on the project.

Much of the past four months have been spent setting up the bike shop, painting, installation of walkway and way finding sign, and otherwise improving the …

Team Las Vegas Solar Decathlon 2013: Quickfacts, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

DesertSol: Planning and Design

This is a promotional pamphlet designed by Team Las Vegas for the 2013 Solar Decathlon competition. The pamphlet was used to gain support for the project and to offer some "quick facts" about the team, the project, and the competition.

Desertsol: Sponsorship Packet, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

DesertSol: Planning and Design

This is the Sponsorship Packet created by Team Las Vegas for the DesertSol project house to gain financial support fromLas Vegas community partner. The packet provides details on the mission and vision of theDesertSol project, the competition, and how sponsors can help the team.

Desertsol: Promotional Flyer, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

DesertSol: Planning and Design

This is a promotional flyer prepared by Team Las Vegas to gain support in the Las Vegas community for the DesertSol project. The document contains brief information about the DOE 2013 Solar Decathlon competition and about Team Las Vegas.

Factors That Cause Growth And Development In The City Of Lincoln, Ne, Kaylene Tegtmeier

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This qualitative study looks at what factors may contribute to the outward growth and development of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The two main factors the study discusses are the Lincoln Public School planners and their placement of schools in the city, and the “American dream” of the people, looking at where the people of Lincoln want to be living throughout the city and what some of their daily habits are. This study also discusses some of the main visions of the city of Lincoln’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan how the plan’s ambitions may affect the two factors looked at in …

A Health Impact Assessment Of Mixed Use Redevelopment Nodes And Corridors In Lincoln, Nebraska, Katie Clear

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Obesity is a growing threat to America’s health. The national rate of obesity is 34% (Health Consequences, 2011), and Lincoln, Nebraska is not far behind that trend at 20.7% (BRFSS, 2011). Increasing physical activity is one way to reduce weight gain, (Edwards, 2008) and further studies show that small changes to the built environment can induce people to use alternative and more active forms of transportation such as biking, walking, and public transportation (Edwards, 2008; Zheng, 2008). The 2040 Comprehensive Plan for Lincoln, NE includes language to create a more walkable community. The proposal is to redevelop existing areas within …

Fenestration Studies On Building Energy Using The Facade Evaluation Facility, Wendell Cocina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The project was developed to assess several types of facades and their influence on building energy, mainly focused on windows and other building fenestrations. Requirements for the facility are stated in this paper alongside corresponding solutions. The facility is designed to represent a section of a building façade. Experimenting on a wide range of fenestrations including windows with integrated PV elements was the primary prerequisite. The option of removable façade configurations was used and allowed testing specimens to be changed effortlessly. Instrumentation and data acquisition are discussed including calibration and uncertainty analysis. Investigation of the air conditioning unit was concluded …

The Urban Fabric Of The Great Plains, Andrew Becker

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

To most Americans the Great Plains region of North America is mysterious place. There are disagreements when defining its limits, and some people just refer to it as the Midwest. The Great Plains has been a place under an ocean, a place under glaciers, and a place on fire. It was once dubbed “the Great American Desert,” but is now known for its agricultural viability. The Great Plains sparks imagination because it is so massive and was one of the final frontiers for Euro-American settlement. The Great Plains is seen as a rural place but the majority of the region’s …

The Autonomy House: Team Las Vegas Conceptual Design, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

DesertSol: Planning and Design

An overview of a net-zero energy concept house developed for the 2013 Solar Decathlon. Document uses original project name "Autonomy House".

Team Las Vegas Solar Decathlon 2013: Technical Proposal, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

DesertSol: Planning and Design

Team Las Vegas is proposing an elegant, sustainable, and innovative home design that aims to be net zero energy as part of participation in the 2013 Solar Decathlon supported by the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The home will be constructed and tested at the 2013 Solar Decathlon competition at a location to be determined by NREL. Imagine a home that captures energy instead of reflecting sunlight; one that filters rainwater and sequesters carbon in its vegetation and soils; one that actually gives back to the ecosystem in which it resides, and supports sustainability for …

Wku-Habitat For Humanity Green Community: A Model For Engagement And Partnerships, Nancy Givens, Rodney Goodman

Education for Sustainability Summer Institute

No abstract provided.

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV participated in several meetings with BLM regarding updating the current Task Order, obtaining a two-year no-cost extension for the two Assistance Agreements, and to develop the future WBR operating agreement between BLM and UNLV
• UNLV met with Sara Moffatt, one of Senator Reid’s staff, to provide an update on project progress. UNLV also requested the Senator’s support in obtaining additional funding for the project for construction, and also for UNLV to bridge the transition from construction through the first two years of operation.
• UNLV held several internal meetings to advance planning for a July VA meeting with BLM to …

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curricula., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States.  Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

An Empirical Comparison Of Life Cycle Cost Of Green School Buildings And Non-Green School Buildings, Nitisha Pushpala

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the major economic concerns today of the world is reduction of energy consumption because of depleting energy sources in the world. The construction sector in the United States is also contributing in reducing the energy consumption and construction cost of the buildings by constructing cost and energy efficient buildings with energy efficient materials and techniques. The U.S Department of Energy introduced the Building Technologies Program that develops techniques, tools and technologies for making buildings more energy efficient. Other private bodies like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council …

Planning For Building-Integrated Agriculture In Las Vegas, Robert Vralsted

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

High food prices, concern about food nutrition and safety, and an awareness of commercial farming's environmental impact have generated a renewed interest in sustainable urban agriculture. Advances in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) have made it possible to grow food virtually anywhere in a much more sustainable manner than traditional field-based agriculture. Locating and planning urban farms using retrofitted existing building stock to maximize food production and ease of distribution in Las Vegas requires consideration of multiple barriers related to geography, economics, and the built environment. Consideration of these factors in the planning process informs the design of a successful BIA …

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curriculum., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States.  Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Stochastic Hybrid Embodied Co2-Eq Analysis: An Application To The Irish Apartment Building Sector, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy, Biswajit Basu

Articles

Although embodiedCO2-eq analysis has seen recent developments as evident in the establishment of the ISO14040 and 14044 LCA standards, it is recognized that due to weaknesses in gathering data on product-related emissions,embodiedCO2-eq values are probabilistic. This paper presents a stochastic analysis of hybrid embodied CO2-eq in buildings to account for this weakness in traditional methods and, by way of example, applies it to an Irish construction-sector case study. Using seven apartment buildings, 70,000 results are simulated with Monte Carlo analysis and used to derive probabilistic and cumulative embodied CO2-eq intensity distributions for apartment buildings in Ireland. A Wakeby distribution with …

Hybrid Cooling Systems For Low-Temperature Geothermal Power Production, Andrea Ashwood, Desikan Bharathan

Publications (E)

The overall objective of this investigation is to identify and evaluate methods by which the net power output of an air-cooled geothermal power plant can be enhanced during hot ambient conditions using minimal amounts of water.

Geothermal power plants that use air-cooled heat rejection systems experience a decrease in power production during hot periods of the day. This decrease in power output typically coincides with the time when utilities need power to address high air conditioning loads. Hybrid cooling options, which use both air and water, have been studied for this report to assess how they might mitigate the net …

Interview With Steven Ribeiro, Aldeia Development, 2011 (Audio), Steven Ribeiro

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Steven Ribeiro by John Stephenson in Salem, Oregon on February 18th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

U.S. Department Of Energy Commercial Reference Building Models Of The National Building Stock, Michael Deru, Kristin Field, Daniel Studer, Kyle Benne, Brent Griffith, Paul Torcellini, Bing Liu, Mark Halverson, Dave Winiarski, Michael Rosenberg, Mehry Yazdanian, Joe Huang, Drury Crawley

Publications (E)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program has set the aggressive goal of producing marketable net-zero energy buildings by 2025. This goal will require collaboration between the DOE laboratories and the building industry. We developed standard or reference energy models for the most common commercial buildings to serve as starting points for energy efficiency research. These models represent fairly realistic buildings and typical construction practices. Fifteen commercial building types and one multifamily residential building were determined by consensus between DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and represent approximately two-thirds …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings, New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Water

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings Presentation, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

Interview With Michael O'Brien, Osd, 2010 (Audio), Michael O'Brien

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Michael O'Brien by Ian Caputo in North Portland, Oregon on November 22nd, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.