Consolidated Security Forces Building

Green Building Makes Sense

CE's Kurt Eickhof infront of AE2S and ICON's new building in late March.

Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. and the ICON Architectural Group’s new office building was recently featured in the Grand Forks Hearld and will soon be submitted for LEED certification.  Mike Kuntz, ICON’s co-founder, references efforts made to achieve an eco-friendly building stating, “We wanted to make sure we weren’t doing ridiculous things just so we could say we were green… this isn’t the most expensive building in Grand Forks, but I would argue that it is as nice as any building in the city” (Grand Forks Hearld).  Construction Engineers was right there along the way to ensure that smart choices were made regarding LEED specifications and keeping costs to a minimum.  To read the full article click here.

 

Announcing a partnership in community health: The ALTRU Y FAMILY CENTER

Dave Molmen, CEO of Altru Health System, takes a swing at the ceremonial wall during the Y’s 125th anniversary celebration and kick-off of its renovation project.

While Altru and the Y are partnering in programs and services to enhance health and wellness in the community, Construction Engineers and JLG Architects are getting ready to renovate the Y’s current facility.  Starting in August, 2011, the renovation will include more space for cardio and strength training, large group exercise classes, and youth, senior and beginner exercise classes.  The renovations will update systems and increase energy efficiency.

Jim Galloway of JLG Architects is interviewed about the design work for the Altru Y Family Center renovation. Listening in is Kurt Eickhof of Construction Engineers.

Construction Engineers:

Building Healthy Communities

www.altru.org

www.jlg.com

www.gfymca.org

Photos by Emily Dawes Photography

Traditional Vs. Design-Build Methods

Time and money can be saved by selecting Construction Engineers as a single-source contractor.  An increase in accountability, performance, and quality of work are a few benefits of design-build construction.  Considering the the cost of the project is calculated early in the design-build method, clients are more aware of what all the project entails.

 

The Spirit Lake Grocery Store is a recently completed Design-Build Project.

 

 

 

Is Green Building right for you?

Buildings are recognized as huge users of energy.  Each year buildings consume thirty-nine percent of total energy needs and produce thirty-eight percent of carbon dioxide emissions (EPA, “Why Build Green”). Not only does the building itself have an impact on the environment, but the construction process does as well.  The typical North American commercial construction project generates up to 2.5 pounds of solid waste per square foot (“Why Design Green?”).  Landfills are piling up and the earth’s natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate (“Recycling at the University of Pittsburgh”). To reduce dependence on the high costs of energy and limited resources, the construction of buildings must be altered to create a more sustainable, efficient, and eco-friendly product. The regeneration of the earth can be supplemented by green building thereby reducing the carbon footprint of today’s society and ensuring a better future.

As Walter Deal discusses in the article “A Place to Stay: Building Green”, around the time of the Industrial Revolution “energy supplies seemed to be limitless, and little thought was given to the impact that the extractive and refining processes of fossil fuel would have on the environment.” As the price of energy rose and the costly effect of “consuming large quantities of fossil fuels” was identified, attitudes changed regarding the construction process (Deal).  A new form of construction that maximizes “both economic and environmental performance”, as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, was needed.  Green building evolved from this need (EPA, “Why Build Green”).  Greg Kats et al. discusses “green or sustainable buildings” as using “key resources like energy, water, materials, and land much more efficiently than buildings that are simply built to code” (Kats et al. v).

Waste generated from construction projects and buildings poses a huge problem.  Approximately 160 million tons of debris per year are created from construction and demolition and constitute about twenty-six percent of non-industrial waste in the U.S. (EPA, “Buildings and the Environment” 6).  In California, one “ton of waste disposed in a landfill generates $289 of total output in the state economy” (Kats et al. 51).  In addition to monetary costs there are social costs of hazardous substances and greenhouse gases being emitted from landfills or by incineration (“Energy Saving Benefit”).

“Energy is a substantial and widely recognized cost of building operations” and an increasing concern as the price of energy rises (Kats et al. 19).  “The average annual cost of energy in [California] state buildings is approximately $1.47 per square foot” (Kats et al. 19).  This number can quickly add up considering a 100,000 square foot building devours $147,000 per year in energy cost.  Energy use leads to carbon dioxide emissions which are dangerous to the environment.  Buildings are huge contributor to both factors; they are expensive and contribute to global warming (Kats et al. 19).

Green building provides answers to the major problems of “increasing energy prices and the prospect of climatic changes” (Deal).  A building is a system comprised of many subsystems including “site, foundation, framing, roof, electrical ventilation, door and window systems, insulation, plumbing, and landscaping details” (Deal).  Each subsystem plays a part in the efficiency and sustainability of a building and with minor changes in planning, people and the environment will benefit (Deal).

To verify that a building is “green” the United States Green Building Council developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating.  LEED rates “new and existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings according to their environmental attributes and sustainable features” (Kats et al. 4).  The rating system consists of six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process (Kats et al. 4).

“Of twenty-one buildings submitted to USGBC for certification, eighty-one percent reduced construction waste by at least fifty percent, while thirty-eight percent reduced construction waste by seventy-five percent or more” (Kats et al. 48).  Reuse and recycling are two strategies used in green building that reduce waste by diverting materials away from landfills.  Other strategies include using more durable materials, designing to generate less scrap, use of recovered building materials, and use of structural materials as a finish.  For every one thousand tons of waste recycled, 4.73 jobs were created compared to 2.46 jobs for waste disposed.  These statistics demonstrate the effect of waste reduction as a benefit to both the environment and people (Kats et al. 51).

“Green buildings use thirty percent less energy than conventional buildings” (Kats et al. 19).  The increased energy productivity of a green building leads to a decrease in energy costs.  The average energy cost of $1.47 per square foot per year falls to $0.44, creating savings that “exceed the average additional cost of green over conventional construction” (Kats et al. 27).

The environmental, economic, and social benefits clearly predict the impact green building has on the future.  The conservation and restoration of natural resources, reduced operating costs, and improved quality of life demonstrate the reasons of why a shift to green building is necessary.  Green Buildings “create healthier work, learning, and living environments, with more natural light and cleaner air, and contribute to improved employee and student health, comfort, and productivity” (Kats et al. v).  These benefits clearly outweigh the outdated techniques of the average building process that are dangerously costly to today’s society.  The minor changes made to create a green building benefit the people and the environment in ways that exceed the expenses of the efforts (Kats et al. ix).  In a time when environmental consciousness is a crucial frame of mind, green building presents itself as an obvious and doable answer to positively affect the environment, improve lives, and reduce the carbon footprint of humanity.

Works Cited

“Energy Saving Benefit.” Green Energy Efficient Homes, 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. <http://www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com/energy-saving-benefit.html>.

“Why Design Green?” Green Building Design. Arizona State University, 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. <http://cfo.asu.edu/fdm-green-building-design>.

“Recycling at the University of Pittsburgh.” University of Pittsburgh, 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2011 <http://www.facmgmt.pitt.edu/recycle.htm>.

Deal, Walter F. “A Place to Stay: Building Green.” Technology Teacher 69.6 (2010): 11-16. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.

Kats, Greg et. al. “The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings.” Oct. 2003. Web. 26 Feb. 2011 <http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/News477.pdf>.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Buildings and their Impact on the Environment: A Statistical Summary. 22 Apr. 2009. 26 Feb. 2011 <http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/gbstats.pdf>.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Wastes- Resource Conversation – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Construction and Demolition Materials. 22 Sep. 2010. 26 Feb. 2011 <http://www.epa.gov/epawaste>.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Why Build Green. 2 Dec. 2010. 26 Feb. 2011 <http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/whybuild.htm>.

Written by Hadley Eickhof

Happy New Year!

It’s 2011 and around here the snow is deep, the wind is brisk, and we have construction on our minds!

If you’re like us and never stop thinking about building, exercise your skills at the Lego’s^® Construction site:

Lego Construction Game

Have a great New Year building with

Construction Engineers!

Do Something Constructive in 2011

 

Whatever your goals are for the New Year, take time to review what you really want to accomplish in 2011.

Step 1- What is it you really want?  Ask yourself what you consider success to be; how does success look, feel, taste?  Most importantly, contemplate how your short-term goals fit in with larger life goals.

Step 2- Write it down.  Mark McCormack’s book, “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School” uncovers these fascinating facts:

• Only three percent of graduates had written goals and plans
• Thirteen percent of graduates had goals, but they were not in writing
• Eight-four percent of grads had no specific goals at all

What was the effect?

• The thirteen percent who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the eighty-four percent without goals
• The three percent with clearly written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other ninety-seven percent

Step 3- Decide what not to do.  The busy-ness of life can get in the way of achieving goals. Simplify.

Step 4- Go do something constructive!

 

*Thank you to Stacy Westfall and her article “Some Thoughts on Goals”.

Professional Services Building

Green Business Showcase

Altru Health System

Our work at Altru Health Systems has been flying under the radar this year. With 23 projects completed or currently underway, ourcrews have been diligently working to accommodate Altru’s broad scope of projects. Health care facilities are constantly changing asscience and technology move along at breakneck speeds. The series of renovation projects we have been working on will facilitate thesechanging conditions.From a total demolition/rebuild project such as the Digital Mammography renovation to projects in the neonatal intensive care unit,upgrades to the dietary department, replacement of elevator drives, creation of office and training rooms, Same Day Surgery WaitingRoom, remodel of the Family Medicine Center Pharmacy, exterior foundation and sitework etc., the diversity of the projects keeps ourcrews’ interest piqued.Due to the very stringent conditions under which any work in a healthcare facility can be done, great attention to detail, air and noisepollution control, air infiltration and understanding of the environment is a key part of everyone’s duties.Leading this multitude of projects, many of then happening concurrently, is our Project Manager, Donny Wilcox. Dave Braaten andRandy Zeman have led our field crews as Site Superintendents on these projects. Our thanks gentlemen for the great work!