BLACKSTONE SOUTH OFFICE BUILDING_ Harvard University

1. BLACKSTONE SOUTH OFFICE
BUILDING
46 Blackstone Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Presented by: A.A

2. • Harvard University consolidated several administrative
offices, which resulted in a need for space for 800
employees. The university chose to convert three
historic industrial buildings into sustainable offices.
• Harvard University has steadily built on a series of
“sustainability principles that dictate sweeping
changes aimed at reducing waste and conserving
energy across all of its campuses and schools.
• Adaptive re-use and restoration of a pre-1900 building
into a LEED Platinum Certified facility.
• Scope included a total interior renovation, extensive
structural modifications, installation of new M/E/P
systems, and restoration of historic façade, all while
upholding sustainable requirements including over
90% jobsite recycling, use of locally-sourced and
rapidly renewable materials, and installation of a
geothermal well.

3. But why this building is interesting for me?

4. Double LEED Platinum certification!

5. • 40,000-square-foot renovation
• Completed in May 2006
• Being awarded LEED_NC in April 2007
• Went through an energy audit in 2008
• Went through another energy audit in 2011
• Received LEED_EB in 2012

6. Let’s have a brief review over LEED
Certifications…

8. What is LEED EB O&M?
• Re-Certify a building that was LEED NC Certified
previously
• Certify Existing Whole Buildings (Not for individual
tenant spaces or parts of existing buildings)
• Campuses can be Certified with EB O&M (Utility
metering to individual building level is required for
BTU/SF/Yr. assessment)
• Quantify the Sustainability of a building (Use LEED
EB O&M as the M&V metric)

9. Minimum Project Requirements for LEED EB O&M
• Building must be occupied for at least 12 months with 75%
occupancy rate or greater per industry standards for building type
• 90%+ of the building SF must be included in LEED Certification (Up to
10% SF exclusion allowed but only for areas with separate
use/management practices)
• Must meet all regulatory requirements for hazardous material
management (PCB/Asbestos/Mercury in lamps) & waste water
discharge
• Min. 3 month performance period required for all credits pursued
(One year minimum for Energy)

12. What Happened up to 2006?

13. LEED for New Construction Platinum
Certification
2006

14. History of the Building:
• In 1888, the newly-formed Cambridge Electric Light Company
constructed the Blackstone electric station in order to provide
electricity for the city’s growing number of street lamps. The plant
has provided steam to Harvard’s campus since 1930.

15. • UOS purchased the steam plant and adjoining buildings in 2003.
• The site was renovated to provide new office space for UOS, and to
demonstrate cost effective, sustainable design.

16. Location:
A 40,000 square foot complex,
located along the Charles River,
in Cambridge.

17. Structural Renovations:
• New steel studs were installed two inches inside the
exterior walls and the walls insulated with open cell
spray polyurethane foam. New windows and rigid
foam on the roof completed the new thermal
enclosure.

18. SITE AND LANDSCAPE
• Redevelopment of a brownfield - impervious
asphalt parking lot converted to green space.
• No irrigation required by the use of native plants
and no-mow grass.
• Eliminated all stormwater runoff to municipal
sewer system.

19. • Bioswale filters stormwater before
releasing to the Charles; permeable
paving allows groundwater recharge.
• Erosion and sedimentation controls in
place during construction – silt fences,
hay bales, filter fabric.

20. • The cut off angle of
exterior lighting prevents
light pollution or light
trespass!

21. ENERGY EFFICIENCY
• Blackstone is designed to be 45% more efficient than code.
• Geothermal/ground source heat pumps: 4 in. diameter wells,
1500 feet deep provide cooling.
• Enthalpy wheel: Energy recovery system from exhaust air for
heat and humidity.
• Valance units distribute heating and cooling in multiple zones,
without blowers.
• Ventilation circulates fresh air only; CO2 monitors adjust
ventilation based on room occupancy.
• Lighting fixtures use daylight dimming and occupant sensors,
energy efficient fluorescent bulbs; LED exit signs.

22. • EcoSpace elevator is up to 60%
more efficient than conventional
elevators; gearless technology
requires no oil.
• Energy Star appliances.

23. Envelope
• Applied Icynene® foam
insulation to reduce
energy consumption and
allow for smaller
mechanical systems.
• Energy Star roof reduces
heat island effect and
cooling load; provides
additional insulation.

24. WATER USE REDUCTION
• Occupant water use is reduced by 43% compared to Energy Policy Act
of 1992-compliant plumbing fixtures. Water reduction is achieved by
using dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, and low-flow sinks.

25. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
• Extensive daylighting to the building’s
interior and views provided for 90%
of occupants.
• Interior design with new skylight and
light slot allows light infiltration deep
into the core.
• Direct/indirect lighting reduces glare
by reflecting off the white ceiling.
• Operable windows provide access to
additional fresh air.

26. • The central communicating
stair encourages occupant
interaction while increasing
daylight to interior spaces.

27. MATERIAL
• Waste diversion: Blackstone reused or recycled 99% of construction waste.
• Unpainted wood was ground into mulch. Removed plumbing fixtures were given
to a small town in Guatemala for a village water shelter built by a volunteer team
from Shawmut Construction Co. Windows were sent to Jamaica, to help those
whose homes suffered damage in summer hurricanes.

28. • Over 10% of the non-MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing)
materials’ value came from recycled content, including structural
steel, TPO roof membrane, synthetic gypsum wall board, concrete
with fly ash, aluminum window frames, carpet tiles, Ecostone pavers,
metal door frames, and building insulation
• Rapidly renewable materials: Bamboo flooring; linoleum is made with
linseed oil rather than petroleum products.

29. • FSC-certified, sustainably-
harvested wood used in doors,
sills and casework.
• Low-emitting materials: Low-
or no- volatile organic
compound (VOC) adhesives,
sealants, paints, carpets and
fabrics; all composite wood is
added urea formaldehyde free.

31. The Rest of the story from 2006 to 2012

32. LEED for Existing Building : Operations and
Maintenance Platinum Certifications
2012

33. • After construction was completed in 2006, the Campus Services department was
particularly interested in ensuring that the building was performing to its rigorous
design specifications, most specifically the energy consumption targets as
predicted in the building’s energy model. A 40% reduction in summer energy use
compared to an ASHRAE 90.1 baseline was specified in the original design. When
the building was first occupied the facility was consuming 30% more energy than
the model predicted, but an ongoing commissioning and management process
has improved it to the point that the facility is now consuming 20% less than the
original model predicted. Once the energy consumption of Blackstone was
reconciled to levels below the energy model predictions, a decision was made to
pursue LEED-EB certification.
• In addition to energy use, the LEED-EB rating system evaluates the full profile of
environmental impacts from a wide range of building programs including the
scheduled maintenance of mechanical equipment, recycling and composting,
purchasing of sustainable office supplies and paper products, and elimination of
chemicals for cleaning and landscaping. During the project’s performance period,
Harvard reviewed each operational practice of the building, ranging from
commuting practices to the source and recycled content of the printer cartridges
purchased for the facility. As a result a number of important changes occurred,
including updates to the preventive maintenance routines and adjustments to the
source of ongoing consumables.

34. Building Systems
• Heating: Hot water from steam
• Cooling: Ground source heat pumps (GSHP)
• Ventilation: Decoupled from heating and cooling and equipped
• with an energy recovery wheel
• Special systems: Dedicated Liebert cooling unit for the Operations
• Center with 5 months of free cooling (operates 24/7/365)

35. • Energy Model: A building’s energy model requires careful scrutiny
both during design and operations. After the first two years of
occupancy, the building was performing 30% worse than the energy
model predicted (which predicted a 40% energy use reduction in
summer compared to an ASHRAE baseline). The energy model
undervalued the electric consumption of the Operations Center by
62,000 kWh annually. After this measurement and verification
process, the building is now performing 20% better than predicted in
the model

36. • This graph shows the annual electrical consumption at 46 Blackstone
since 2007.

37. • As part of the 2008 energy audit process, a capital renovation project was
implemented to further improve efficiency. The upgrade removed the
Operations Center, which includes its own data center, from the base
building cooling system in order to allow the building’s ventilation system
and geothermal heat pumps to shut down during nighttime hours when
the rest of the building was unoccupied. Building management installed an
air-side economizer cooling system that provides free cooling five months
of the year. Removing this space from the base building cooling system
significantly reduced the load on the well heat rejection system, and as a
result 46 Blackstone did not have to bleed their well system any longer. This
helped to both stabilize the temperature profiles of the wells and ease
issues with permitting. As a result of implementing this change, the
building’s energy consumption was reduced significantly and improved
Blackstone’s performance to levels predicted in its energy model.

38. • A plate and frame heat exchanger was added to isolate brackish
water and consequently eliminate corrosion in heat pump
equipment. A slight reduction in overall efficiency was offset by
large savings in maintenance expenses.

39. • 2008 Energy Audit Process
a. Plug Loads
b. Lighting Systems
c. Mechanical Systems
d. In 2011, Blackstone conducted another energy audit that identified
seven measures with the potential to further reduce the building’s
energy consumption by 3%, with a simple payback period of 1.4
years. These measures were implemented as part of the LEED-EB
process. As a result of these audits, the building is now operating at
levels even lower than those predicted in the energy model.

40. After receiving LEED_EB Platinum

41. Full LEED EBOM Platinum scorecard, at page 6 and 7:
• http://www.energyandfacilities.harvard.edu/sites/energyandfacilities.
harvard.edu/files/CS%20Blackstone%20EB%20-
%20Case%20Study.pdf

42. “From the earliest design stages of the initial renovation
project in 2006, we established an objective to make
Blackstone a living laboratory for sustainability and the
optimization of building operations,”
Director of Facilities Maintenance Operations, Jeffrey Smith

43. Resources:
• http://www.greenprof.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LEED-Existing-Building-Overview.pdf
• http://www.consigli.com/ny/project/blackstone-offices-harvard-university/
• https://green.harvard.edu/news/harvard-building-goes-double-leed-platinum
• http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/11/growing-green.html
• http://www.consigli.com/portfolio/private-colleges-universities/harvard-university-blackstone/
• http://www.concretethinker.com/solutions/LEED-Certification.aspx
• https://www.igbc.ie/certification/leed/
• http://hbsgreenliving.blogspot.it/
• https://green.harvard.edu/news/harvard-building-goes-double-leed-platinum
• http://www.energysmiths.com/clients/blackstone.php
• isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic212493.files/BlackstoneFactSheet-Platinum.pdf/
• http://www.energyandfacilities.harvard.edu/sites/energyandfacilities.harvard.edu/files/CS%20Blackstone%20EB%20-
%20Case%20Study.pdf
• https://www.google.it/maps/place/Environmental+Health+%26+Safety/@42.3639644,-
71.117796,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e37758cbf161e3:0x3d1af627e99e45ec!8m2!3d42.3639644!4d-71.1156073