Woodburn’s Success High School, designed by Opsis Architecture, has received a Zero Energy certification through the International Living Future Institute. It was the first high school in Oregon to enroll in the Energy Trust of Oregon‘s path to net zero program and the first Woodburn School District project to be awarded the Zero Energy certification by the ILFI.

The Zero Energy certification by ILFI is based on actual performance and awarded to green buildings where 100 percent of its energy needs on a net annual basis is supplied by on-site renewable energy sources, with no combustion. It is the only performance-based standard of its kind operating globally.

Opsis and its design team partner, Interface Engineering, designed the new school, which was completed in 2018, with a range of energy-saving features to achieve zero energy performance. Top performance features include a high-performance building envelope, a 251 kw-DC array comprised of 728 panels located on site by A&R Solar and a highly efficient mechanical and electrical system designed by Interface Engineering. The building’s variable refrigerating flow systems provide all the space heating and cooling for the building and offer high cooling and heating operating efficiencies. The efficient design of the building includes three heat recovery ventilators that recover energy from the building exhaust air to preheat incoming ventilation air. Additional energy-saving and sustainability strategies include the use of extensive daylighting controls in the commons and classrooms, occupancy-controlled power receptacles and the use of water saving products from dual-flush toilets to low-flow faucets.

Working closely with the school district and staff, Opsis designed the new 11,700-square-foot school around a unique alternative education program for grade 10-12 students not well served by a traditional high school setting.

The Energy Trust of Oregon worked closely with the school district, providing a range of technical assistance to maximize the efficiency and potential of the new building’s solar array to help reach its goal of generating as much energy as the school uses.

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Portland-based New Buildings Institute is inviting designers, builders, developers and owners of zero-energy and low-energy commercial buildings to submit projects for its .

The database, according to NBI, is the most comprehensive list of zero-energy and zero-carbon buildings in North America, and includes verified projects and emerging projects with a stated goal of getting to zero. Submitted projects are confirmed by NBI and added to the interactive database, which people can use to search for projects based on location, building size and building type.

“As more cities and states set lofty climate action goals, zero-energy buildings are playing an increasingly important role in reducing carbon emissions and costs associated with operating buildings,” New Buildings Institute CEO Ralph DiNola stated in a press release. “By submitting their buildings to our registry for inclusion in the Getting to Zero Buildings Database, people can … increase awareness about the positive economic, environmental and human health impacts of zero-energy buildings.”

A zero-energy building is one that consumes only as much energy as it produces via renewable energy as measured over the course of a year. The number of commercial buildings in the database has grown by more than 30 percent over the past year to 628.

Submissions for 2020 are due by Jan. 31, 2020. The form is available at: .

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In 2007, conceptualization began for a highly energy-efficient office building as part of a mixed-use development in Milwaukie. Around 12 years later, Northwest Housing Alternatives has a two-story headquarters on track for net-zero-energy certification.

The five-building campus was designed by MWA Architects and built by O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders. Three three-story, wood-framed buildings hold a total of 28 affordable housing units, and another building serves as an emergency shelter. All of those were designed and built to Earth Advantage platinum standards.

But the office building stands out for exceptional sustainability. Project team members discussed the effort on Wednesday during an event held as part of Portland’s second annual Sustainable Building Week. Crews broke ground in summer 2018 and finished roughly one year later. But design work dates back to 2013.

“The project started with net zero as the goal,” said Bill Lanning, a MWA Architects principal and lead designer for the project. “Early in the design it was going to be net-zero ready, but as we moved through design and funds were made available through grants we were able to add the solar.”

That was a huge component, said Afton Walsh, project manager for O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders. PGE provided an especially important grant, Northwest Housing Alternatives Executive Director Trell Anderson added.

“With the grant we said, ‘How much solar can we do?’” Walsh said. “And what is needed for net zero?”

A 38-kilowatt solar array placed on the office building’s roof not only powers that structure but at full capacity is also able to feed power into the campus shelter building.

“There will never be any power going back into the grid,” Walsh said. “It will all be going back into … the shelter.”

In addition to the solar array, the office building’s envelope played an important role in energy performance.

“We tend to spend a lot of our love and effort on the envelope,” Walsh said.

Under-slab insulation was used, all sheeting was taped, and an additional air barrier was installed beneath the weather barrier. Meanwhile, the double-ventilated roof assembly features three inches of spray foam under the ceiling sheeting. This gives a final energy efficiency rating of R-69 – far higher than required by Oregon Specialty Code. Finally, vinyl triple glazing is used throughout the building.

Testing showed the building is exceptionally airtight.

“We did a lower door air test and it came out to .047 (cubic feet per minute) per square foot,” Walsh said. “We had to reach 0.1, and we basically cut that in half.”

Lanning and Walsh worked with Green Hammer on the project’s sustainable aspects. The design-build firm has net-zero-energy project experience, especially on the financial side.

“We talked about budgets and how to set the stage so we could be successful with net zero,” Lanning said. “Really, it was looking at how to simplify things as much as possible and focus on the envelope; that’s the first place to start.”

Design started with a passive house model to estimate energy usage. Then the same approach was used for mechanical systems via readily available equipment, including ductless heat pumps and high-efficiency water heaters.

But one of the biggest interior factors was use of a zonal ventilation system.

“The building is split into four zones for ventilation,” Lanning said. “And with that we used a cross-counter-flow heat recovery system. It isn’t readily used in the U.S. right now, and it has an efficiency of 84 percent, which is much higher than most (energy recovery ventilation) systems.”

Budget constraints led to decisions to forgo other options for ventilation, passive cooling and some automated mechanical systems.

Nevertheless, “constant communication” among team members helped advance the project, Walsh said.

“We were always verifying,” she said.

That paid off during construction of the office building, when an air gap raised questions.

“We had started framing and sheeting the roof, and that second gap didn’t make sense to us, so we went back to design team and asked” about it, Walsh said. “And they made changes that meant they were able to give a pretty good credit back to NHA to use on other features. This project was definitely a labor of love … a lot of hands touched it.”

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Development of zero-energy residential units in the United States and Canada is continuing to grow, according to a recent study.

At the end of 2018 there were 22,146 zero-energy units (either single-family or multifamily) in design, under construction or completed in the two countries, Team Zero (formerly the Net Zero Energy Coalition) reported. That is a 59 percent increase from the end of 2017 (13,906 units).

A zero-energy building produces at least as much energy as it consumes over a year.

Recently, San Francisco-based consulting firm Grand View Research Inc. forecast approximately $78.8 billion of investment in the global zero-energy building market by 2025. More interest in such construction is expected in this sector, Geoff Ferrell, chief technology officer of Arizona-based Mandalay Homes, stated in a press release.

“A lot of it is driven by codes and a lot of it (is) being driven, thankfully, by builders and developers that want to get out in front of things,” stated Ferrell, whose firm claims to have built more than 1,100 zero-energy units. “They see zero energy as a proposition that differentiates them in the marketplace, and that is one of our drivers.”

Other findings of the study included:

• Multifamily buildings represented 71 percent of the total zero-energy housing stock.
• California (6,828) led all states and provinces in number of units (6,828), and New York (3,022) was second. Oregon (535) ranked ninth.
• Canada’s number of units (3,404) represented a 240 percent increase from the end of 2017.

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As a forward-thinking design-build contractor, Green Hammer is accustomed to tackling projects that push the green envelope. Its latest fits the bill.

In Oak Grove, an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Green Hammer is wrapping up construction on the Oaks at Rose Villa – a neighborhood of four triplexes. It’s designed to become the first senior living development in the Portland-metro area to receive net zero energy certification from the International Living Future Institute.

All 12 Craftsman-style residences are expected to produce as much energy as they consume. Both active and passive techniques – a large, south-facing solar array on the roof of a shared carport and triple-paned windows, for example – are being used to help achieve this.

Green Hammer architect and design team manager Erica Dunn believes the project has the potential to influence others in the future.

“It’s just about to open, which is really exciting,” she said. “It’s been a really great project and it’s been a lot of fun to work on it with (Rose Villa).”

Rose Villa is the owner and developer of the project, which is being integrated into a 22-acre senior living community featuring a wide range of stand-alone neighborhoods.

“I’ve been here 12 years,” Rose Villa CEO Vassar Byrd said. “And when I came on site it was slowly but surely crumbling at the edges. There was no place to go but up.”

The complex has since been transformed.

“We have a huge group involved in environmental stewardship,” Byrd said. “And this is a great opportunity to really play to the interests of both current and future elders. The idea of taking it one step further as a housing provider was great. It was like, ‘let’s go all the way to a zero-energy footprint.’”

The complex is designed around a central courtyard dominated by a towering heritage savannah oak. Each triplex – wood-framed and with metal roofing – has two ground-level units and one second-floor unit served by both staircase and elevator. Residences range from roughly 1,100 square feet to around 1,600 square feet. Each one is heated and cooled by just a single HVAC unit stashed above the bathroom entrance. Triple-paned glazing imported from Poland and a virtually airtight envelope help insulate the building and keep air quality high.

Byrd admitted that net-zero-energy certification likely added around $50,000 per unit to the final cost, but that didn’t deter prospective residents.

“It does come at a higher price because it’s not a standard yet,” she said. “I wasn’t sure people would put their money down, and as a nonprofit you have to prove the concept before loans are approved,” she said. “But we sold out and it only took about six months max. It was really amazing.”

And down the road, the cost savings generated by the energy efficiency is expected to continue to hold appeal.

“I think that often net zero energy is most appealing to owner-occupied buildings or buildings that owners hold onto,” Dunn said. “So they make a lot of sense for someone who can get dollars for construction but a harder time with operating costs. In senior living we’re seeing a lot of growth in that area, regardless, and I think the (baby) boomers in particular are a group coming out of the ’60s where living their values is really important to them even as they age into community living spaces.”

To earn net zero energy certification from the ILFI, occupants will monitor their energy usage over the next year and compare it with the energy produced by the solar array. If the numbers work out, the project will be certified sometime in 2020.

“We’ve set up a lot of monitoring, but the expectation is zero or very little energy cost,” Byrd said.

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Participants in the American Institute of Architects‘ program seek to achieve net zero energy use in their projects. How they accomplish it is up to them.

“They don’t tell you how to do it; they just say, ‘do it,’” said Erica Dunn, director of design for Portland-based Green Hammer.

The 2030 Commitment supports the , which was issued in 2006 to spur a global effort toward carbon neutral construction.

In 2018, Green Hammer became one of just 10 design firms in the United States to meet 2030 Commitment standards. More than 400 firms have signed on to participate in the program.

“It was surprising that there were so few firms meeting it,” Dunn said. “It was a nice confirmation that we are really pushing the envelope, that edge, in terms of sustainability.”

The 2030 Challenge ideal is that all future buildings and major renovations should be designed to meet an energy consumption standard of 70 percent below the regional or country average for the building type. Further, that standard will rise to 80 percent in 2020, 90 percent in 2025 and total carbon neutrality by 2030.

“It was a way to encourage firms to get on board with the 2030 Challenge, and also a means to start tracking what you’re doing,” Dunn said of participation in the 2030 Commitment program. “And if you’re tracking, it’s a way to improve upon it.”

Committed firms are then measured annually by their work. So firms achieving standards for 2018 are being judged on design work completed the previous year. Participants ensure consistent standards through use of the AIA’s 2030 Design Data Exchange, which creates standardized reporting and metrics and allows firms to measure their progress.

For Green Hammer, the major projects of 2017 that helped them achieve 2030 Commitment standards are the Tillamook Row multifamily project in the Eliot neighborhood of Northeast Portland and The Oaks at Rose Villa senior living community in Milwaukie. The former is the first net zero energy project of its type in the Portland area, while the latter is the first net zero energy senior living community of its type in the region.

Green Hammer also designs and builds single-family homes, and a number of those projects, Dunn said, also contributed to the firm’s achievement.

“Achieving (net) zero energy is no small feat,” said Han-Mei Chiang, president of the AIA’s Portland chapter. “Green Hammer and the other nine firms that achieved this significant milestone have helped prove that (net) zero energy buildings, the key to meeting the 2030 Commitment, are attainable in today’s marketplace.”

Dunn agreed.

“I would say it’s definitely a feather in our cap for getting it now, given that we got the Living Building certification for a 2015 design,” she said. “So that’s outside our portfolio right now, but coming off the completion of Tillamook Row, it’s been such a great project for us it’s nice to have this confirmation we’re on the right track.”

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The application deadline is fast approaching for a grant program supporting net-zero design internships.

Energy Trust of Oregon is offering five grants of up to $6,000 each for a 12-week internship program that will run from January to April 2019.

The deadline to apply for the 2019 Net Zero Emerging Leaders Internship is Friday.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has joined 18 other mayors from around the world in pledging that all new buildings in the city, and all city-owned buildings, will be carbon-neutral by 2030. The pledge also has a goal for all buildings, existing and new, to be “net zero” by 2050.

“This grant will promote opportunities for future architects to gain an understanding of net-zero building design in Oregon while gaining real-world experience,” Energy Trust senior program manager Jessica Iplikci stated in a news release.

The interns will deliver presentations at a high-performance design training event at the program’s conclusion.

To be eligible, a firm must be located in Oregon, design buildings in Oregon, and be an AIA 2030 Commitment signatory. More information is available at .

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Amid efforts at the federal level to repeal and roll back environmentally conscious regulations, some builders are continuing to strive to exceed them.

One is Green Hammer Inc. The design-build firm, based in the Pearl District, has built a portfolio of buildings with performance greater than required by current building codes for Oregon and beyond.

The firm’s latest project in this vein is Tillamook Row, a multifamily development at 20 N.E. Tillamook St., in Portland’s Eliot neighborhood. Crews are building 16 townhomes ranging from 750-square-foot studios to 1,320-square-foot, four-bedroom units.

Five structures will wrap around a central courtyard, and have roofs covered with photovoltaic panels. Combined, those panels will provide up to 82 kilowatts of energy per hour. The aim is for Tillamook Row to become the first net-zero-energy multifamily project in Portland to offer units for rent, Green Hammer design team manager Erica Dunn said.

Net zero certification is granted by the International Living Future Institute, a nonprofit that also oversees the Living Building Challenge. To gain certification, a structure (or group of structures) must produce more electricity over the course of a year than it consumes.

“I always say any building could be net zero if you just have a big enough place to put a solar array,” Green Hammer project manager Mike Liggett said. “You could have a really inefficient building with a big plot of land next to it with a solar array, but really, the trick is reducing the need for energy. That is first and foremost.”

For Tillamook Row, the solar energy component is just the beginning of that effort.

“A lot of reduction is in the design and the envelope,” Liggett said. “This has a super-insulated envelope that’s also airtight. And then we also use high-efficiency mechanical systems to ventilate the air and bring fresh, clean air into the units. Primarily by limiting the air infiltration you can get and provide a robust insulated layer, and that’s how we reduce the demand for energy.”

Even Energy Star appliances and LED lighting make a difference, he added.

Tillamook Row will have a 2,000-square-foot common house open to all tenants for shared meals, exercise and other gatherings. On-site parking will include electric vehicle charging stations, a storage building and an additional bike garage.

There will even be a trio of 1,200-gallon capacity cisterns that will collect rainwater to support maintenance of the central courtyard and landscaping.

“There’s enough water storage there to service the courtyard during the summer months and the dry season,” Liggett said. “Primarily it’s a gravity system, so it doesn’t require pumps or other such things that require energy.”

Plus, the Tillamook Row structures are being built to Passive House standards, which are meant to produce superior indoor air quality and greatly reduced heating and cooling needs. Typically, a house meeting those standards consumes around 70 percent less energy than a standard single-family home.

Green Hammer has already successfully completed a Living Building project in Southern Oregon. As such, the contractor generally chooses to use only building materials that would be acceptable within the Living Building Challenge, Liggett noted.

“We absolutely do use the healthiest materials we possibly can,” he said. “People don’t really think about their indoor air quality that much, but they should.”

Developer BCMC Properties is already growing its reputation for engaging in sustainable projects, and Tillamook Row is a huge step in that direction. Crews are quickly approaching the finish line for the project.

“We are getting close, although we’re at the point where we’re fine-tuning all the little bits and pieces,” Dunn said. “So we’re looking to be done by end of August, middle of September.”

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A new, state-of-the-art office building is in the works to house employees of three California state agencies in Sacramento. ZGF Architects is designing a $274 million, glass-covered structure to replace a vacant building on O Street in the state capital.

“We are seeing a trend in state buildings,” said Allyn Stellmacher, a partner at ZGF. “This building will be more appropriate for high-performance workforce. It will give a new look and feel on new models of government. It will be something that is there for workers and the public to see.”

ZGF Architects, Sacramento-based Lionakis and Redwood City, California-based builder Rudolph and Sletten won a design-build competition for the project. ZGF Architects is the architect of record. Lionakis is providing design, technical and local support. Plans call for a 360,000-square-foot office building. The California Department of General Services is overseeing the project, which is slated to finish in 2021.

“This building is a fundamental 180-degree shift from the bunker buildings (of the past),” Stellmacher said. “It has a glass curtain wall and looks to reflect light and be transparent. It has a focus on the pedestrian realm and looks to improve the pedestrian and transit realms.”

One of the structure’s most unique attributes will be how it responds to summer temperatures that regularly soar past 100 degrees for weeks on end. Instead of a typical forced-air system, the building will employ a passive cooling system.

“Sacramento is known for its robust summers,” Stellmacher said. “Sacramento has recognized how it fits into climate change and is making changes in its buildings all the way down to the streetscape.”

Cool air will travel through the building in spaces in the flooring and into rooms through vents. As the air warms and rises toward the ceiling, it will come in contact with radiant coolers filled with cold water; resultant cool air will then drift downward toward building occupants. That system will be paired with more traditional ones such as mechanical shades and windows that will open and close in accordance with temperatures.

Also, the amount of glazing will be approximately less than for a typical office building to make its surface more heat-resistant.

The building is being designed to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design platinum standards. Also, the target is for net zero energy use. To meet those challenges, designers are aiming to use materials that will capitalize on the surrounding environment.

“The winds off the Sacramento River come up in the evening and can really cool down the concrete frame of the building,” Stellmacher said.

The building’s proximity to the river will present a challenge for construction due to the water table.

“The groundwater table is concern,” said Kyle Glankler, senior project manager with Rudolph and Sletten. “We are going to have to de-water the site.”

Water will be pumped from the site and then concrete and sealants will be used to make sure water doesn’t seep into the building basement.

The building will house more than 1,100 state employees with the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Department of State Hospitals and the Department of Developmental Services.

“We’re not building a Google headquarters, but it will affect the notion of how to provide a workplace,” Stellmacher said. “It really looks to connect with (the streetscape) and create a number of new work environments. In some ways it is working to change the rules on how buildings should perform.”

Design Beyond Borders is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at the projects outside of Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91��Ƶ architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or khohlfeld@djcOregon.com.

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A team of engineers from PAE Engineers took the top spot in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 2017 Lowdown Showdown, a net zero competition.

Four teams from around the country were directed to retrofit a building in the Washington, D.C. area into a net zero energy building. To boost the challenge, teams had to deal with unreliable design and measurement information.

None of the teams reached the net zero goal, but all four reduced the building’s energy use by at least 69 percent. A team of PAE engineers, calling themselves Sustainability Savants, reduced the building’s energy use by 83 percent, according to team member James Cullin.

The team achieved its energy savings by adding insulation on vertical walls, installing fly roof shades to provide a solar PV platform and reducing infiltration by verifying building tightness and increasing operational awareness.

The engineers installed occupancy controls wherein lights are turned on by sensors that determine when someone is within a certain range. The team reduced the facilities’ lighting energy by about 75 percent.

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