Path to Decarbonize the New York US District Attorney’s Office

Gabriel Wilcox
Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Username
Gabriel Wilcox
Proposer First Name
Gabriel
Proposer Email
gwilcox@ks.partners
Proposer Last Name
Wilcox
Proposer Phone
(312) 547-4931
Proposer Job Title
Director of Sustainable Design
Proposer Additional Info
Co-Chair of ILFI Illinois Regional Member Community
Proposed Session Description
How does the nation’s largest building owner (GSA) transition buildings in it’s portfolio to zero carbon? This session will showcase the design team’s process to decarbonize and create an exemplar 10 story project in NYC to guide future projects across the nation. Existing building repositioning with expansion, transition to all electric, high-performance façade and systems will be showcased with decision points along the design process.
Why is this session important?
Retrofitting existing building stock to transition from fossil fuels to an all electric high performance building. In the local New York climate zone 4a heat pump technologies are illustrated to achieve success at cold temperatures. The value of understanding and calculating embodied carbon will also be represented to compare against the building's operational carbon when the timeline is moved up from 60 years to 15 years, to avoid 1.5 degree Celcius rise.

Comments

Amritha Rajan Wed, 05/17/2023 - 12:48 pm

Round 1: Maybe  Need more information about the project and what data is available. It would be helpful to understand why this project was unique.

Monisha Royan Mon, 05/22/2023 - 9:14 am

Round 1: Maybe- promising topic on electrifying government building portfolios- could be a case example- requires in-depth analysis of design strategies, budgeting, O&M & ROI- can include current available incentives

Ben Sachs-Hamilton Thu, 05/25/2023 - 10:48 am

Round 1 discussion: - Lack of in-depth analysis, need more info- Any incentives used? Would be helpful- What measures have been taken to decrease EC and OC?- Why is this project unique- Want to hear from the federal government on this one!!! (Sara Bayer)

Sara Bayer Fri, 06/09/2023 - 10:30 am

DEFINITE YES!!  Great presenters, speakers, passionate and knowledgable Team.  They put the project in the context of carbon, and how can we get to zero in time to not pass 1.5d warming. Excellent example of a GSA building and how the federal government is approaching these issues right now. Needs to be celebrated and scrutinized. How can an existing office building be renovated to reach zero carbon.  During design, they went from the goal of LEED Gold, to Platnium, to Zero Carbon ILFI!!!  They will explain the GSA's emboided carbon strategies and goals.  Technologies used:  air to water heat pumps with fan coils, new facade (37% window to wall area), clever ways to increase floor area without expanding the building too much. Currently connected to steam on a campus setting so how to decouple from that.  Lots here!!

Diversity and Inclusiveness
The speaking panel will consist of diverse industry professionals as experts in their field ranging from Architect, Sustainability Consultant, and Structural Engineer. Nikita is a diverse female speaker, Gabriel and Nate are male speakers. The content will focus on issues of JEDI concepts which formulated the original building design concept.
Learning Objectives
Learn methods to expand existing building reuse and available programable area.
Understand the GSAs material embodied carbon reduction policy.
Understand building envelope and systems approaches to shift a building from fossil fuels to a high-performance all electric building.
Learn the relationship between embodied carbon and operational carbon of a 60-year life cycle building, relative to 1.5 degrees Celsius rise.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.

NYC 2023 Areas of Focus

Session Format Details
Panel of 3 speaks providing a 50 minute presentation of examples in a case study building. The Architect, Sustainability Consultant, and Structural Engineer will all provide detailed methods of the path to decarbonize the USAO's office in NYC.
Recommended Length
60-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2023

Reviewer 1
Royan, Monisha
Reviewer 2
Bayer, Sara
Proposal #
169
Committee Decision
Being Considered

Presenters