Commercial

In commercial buildings, tenants account for more than 50% of energy use. With the recent enactment of Local Law 97, tenant energy contribution becomes even more critical, as commercial landlords will not be able to comply with emission caps if tenants are not engaged. This session will highlight how two tenants collaborated with their building owner to implement advanced energy solutions and reduce building energy consumption.

Embodied Carbon (EC) will account for nearly half the global carbon emissions from new construction in the next 30 years. The urgency with which industry professionals, real estate developers, product manufacturers, and property owners must work together to reduce EC in their projects and product selections is mounting. Though sometimes in conflict, EC and Operational Carbon (OC) must be addressed holistically, rather than solving for one at the expense of the other.

For too long, making buildings healthier has focused on occupant health, a narrow view neglecting manufacturing workers and communities around the factories. Truly healthier materials must be free from chemicals of concern throughout the supply chain. Outrage over the injustice embodied in unhealthy products is valuable only if it spurs action, and action means designing out bad product types and pushing manufacturers for safer materials. You can contribute to the movement by lending your voice and your project’s buying power.

Electrifying existing buildings is easier said than done. There are numerous roadblocks to electrification, from first costs, to technical feasibility, to grid limitations, operating costs, and tenant education, just to name a few! Richard Gerbe will moderate this roundtable discussion with key stakeholders representing manufacturers, utilities, engineers, and building owners, to learn how cross-sector collaboration will help accelerate the decarbonization of New York’s existing building stock efficiently and equitably.

While certifications are crucial to pushing the limits of sustainable construction, validating investments, and providing quality assurance, they sometimes risk a narrowed viewpoint, shifting priorities towards meeting a prescribed matrix and away from big picture values better benefitting building occupants and the environment. This presentation showcases individual projects and lessons learned from pursuing single and multiple certifications (LEED, Living Building Challenge, Passive House and WELL), and how they can be leveraged to create truly regenerative buildings.

For decades, the drive for energy efficiency took priority over indoor air quality (IAQ). With COVID, the pendulum swung in the direction of IAQ, but as we emerge from the pandemic and prepare to meet ever more stringent building performance standards, we need to design and operate buildings for both IAQ and efficiency. The question is how to solve for these seemingly contradictory goals given the “energy penalty” associated with higher ventilation rates.

Adjacent to each other in the flood-prone Rockaways in NYC and completed 2 years apart, Beach Green Dunes I and Beach Green Dunes II are two of the largest multifamily Passive House projects in the U.S. Although nearly identical in appearance, they are very different under the hood. Each has a different structure, envelope, HVAC system, resiliency strategies, and operational requirements.

New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) is viewed by many building owners as legislation thrust upon them, mandating unaffordable retrofits that benefit the environment at their expense. But for owners with the right strategy in place, these retrofits present a highly profitable investment opportunity, even with little access to capital.