Tall Timber | Ethan Alspaugh, Katharine Dyson, Jana Hoerlne, Seth Mears, Jonas Stevens

Ethan Alspaugh

The Team

Originally from Indiana, the book guy, and occasionally nocturnal. I just want to create cool stuff.

Katie Dyson

“The only predictable thing about life is its unpredictability.”

Baltimore native, aspiring urban designer, human-equivalent of the Lorax. Usually seen with a Diet Coke.

Jana Höernle

“The world without ‘art’ is just ‘eh’” Future interior architect from Germany. King’s daughter. Avid photographer and volleyball fan.

Seth Mears Perpetually tired and always up for an adventure. Fighting Quaker, definitely a marching band kid, and always involved in way too many things.

Oh, and I think want to be an architect? Well kinda of... wait...

I’m not sure.

Jonas Stevens

„Die Idee it gut, doch die Welt noch nicht bereit.“ German-Canadian Hufflepuff and interior architect in the making.

I would rather listen to podcasts than my internal monologue.

Contents

Living Building Challenge Site Symbiotic Techtonics Program + Priorities Site Plan Residential Recreation Education Construction Energy Water Agriculture Carbon

What is the Living Building Challenge?

The Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, certification, and advocacy tool for projects to reach a necessary measure of sustainability which we’ll aim to meet within our studio.

The Living Building Challenge consists of seven performance categories, or “Petals”: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty.

Each Petal is subdivided into Imperatives, for a total of twenty Imperatives in the Challenge. The Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure.

Typologies A LBC project is classified under one of six typologies, those include renovation, building, neighborhood, landscape & infrastructure.

L4

General Urban Zone

L5

Urban Centre Zone

L4

Light to medium-density mixed-use development found in small to midsized cities or in the “first ring”of a larger city.

Mount Auburn

L4 = General Urban Zone (light to medium density)

Medium to high-density mixed-use development found in small to midsized cities or in the “first ring” of a larger city.

L5 = Urban Centre Zone (medium to high density)

Place

01 Imperative - Limits Of Growth To curb sprawl, restore natural ecosystems and protect productive agricultural lands and ecologically sensitive areas from the negative impacts of development. Projects may only be built on greyfields or brownfields, previously developed sites.

Greyfield

Developed site, not as contaminated.

Greyfields are not contaminated and usually do not require remediation in order to be reused.

Brownfield

Previously developed site, contaminated, such as real property, expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Must be remediated.

Mount Auburn

Brownfield / Greyfield

Place 02 Imperative - Urban Agriculture To re-establish a tie between humans and their nourishment, and reconnect communities to the land, since no truly sustainable community can rely on globally sourced food production.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Utilizing the Floor Area Ratio, projects must dedicate an appropriate percentage of the land to agriculture based on the project’s scale and density. In conjunction with FAR, single family homes must be able to store at least a two weeks supply of food.

Project FAR Minimum Percentage Required < 0.05 0.05 - 0.09 0.10 - 0.24 0.25 - 0.49 0.50 - 0.74 0.75 - 0.99 1.00 - 1.49 1.5 - 1.99 2.0 - 2.99 > 3.00

80% 50% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 1%

FAR = Gross Area of Development (sq. m)

Total Area of Plot

Sum of Floor Areas

FAR <.05 80%

FAR .05 -.09 50%

FAR .10 -.24 35%

FAR .75 -.99

20%

FAR .25 -.49 30%

FAR 1.00 -1.49 15%

FAR .50 -.74 25%

FAR 1.5 -1.99 10%

FAR 2.0 -2.99 5%

FAR > 3.0 1%

Energy Petal Intent

Performan

Renewable Energy

Net Positiv

Signal a new age of design, wherein the built environment relies solely on renewable forms of energy and operates year-round in a safe, pollution-free manner.

The living building challenge envisions a safe, reliable and decentralized power grid, powered entirely by renewable energy, supplied to incredibly efficient buildings and infrastructure without the negative externalities associated with combustion or fission.

Defined as passive solar, photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind turbines, waterpowered micro-turbines, direct geothermal, or fuel cells powered by hydrogren generated from renewably powered electolysis.

A minimum of 85% o area must be occ begin the 12 m period. For unoccup must document tha proportionate energy occupied areas. If 85 area is occupied duri period, then that e show that the projec of the energy produc

One hundred and fi projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy need by on-site renewabl annual basis, withou combustion. Projects site energy. Storage f

nce

of the gross building cupied in order to month performance pied areas the team at they are using y and water for the 5% of the gross floor ing the performance energy data should ct is only used 85% ced.

ve Energy

five percent of the ds must be supplied le energy on a net ut the use of on-site s must provide onfor resiliency.

Scale Jumping

Going outside the limits of the community boundary for better solutions. Scale jumping will be considered beyond the community, based on project scale, occupancy, and energy demand on a case-by-case basis.

Intent is to reduce the scale of the conventional utilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s network. Purchasing renewable power from an existing utility is not allowed.

Documentation

All projects require all basic documentation, unless noted otherwise.

Documentation incudes: schematic drawings, photographs, energy bills, energy usage and productive tables, resilient energy storage, metering, finanical or contract documents.

Petal Intent

The Living Building Challenge Water Petal has a primary focus of meeting the demands of the Net Zero Water Imperative. It emphasizes efficient measures to reduce demand in a closed-loop cycle such as, small scaled management systems, fit for purpose water use, and diverse, commonly decentralized infrastructure. All of this is to redefine â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;wasteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the built environment.

Water Sources

Harvested Rainwater On-Site Groundwater Condensate from the Air Surface Water (ponds, reused grey water, etc) DO NOT use reclaimed water from municipal water facilities.

Natural Water Flows

The project must mirror natural site conditions and flow.

Carrying Capacity

Lack of carrying capacity is not an exception. All water that lands on site must be resolved on site.

Usage of rainwater must not interfere with evapotranspiration. If using an aquifer it must be allowed to recharge.

Water Systems

Piping, roofing, and UV disinfection must be made of approved materials. While polyvinyl chloride(PVC) is not allowed, there are various alternatives. These alternatives include HDPE, polypropylene, vitrified clay, concrete, and steel, among others.

Treatment Of Water Supply

Must be treated without the use of harmful chemicals like chlorine, calcium hypochlorite or sodium hypochlorite.

Calcite, soda ash and caustic soda are allowed. Ultraviolet disinfection is also allowed, but the lamps must not have Mercury in them.

Storm Water

Must emulate natural conditions.

Stormwater that is not used must be absorbed by the site, unless the natural pattern means that it flows off.

Ex: having a stream run through the site. To size the filtration systems LBC requires using 10-year storm events. In this studio, 20-year storm events were used.

20-Year 24 Hour Event In Cincinnati Maximum - 5.02 in Average/Month - 3.04 in Monthly Rainfall In Cincinnati Average - 3.52 in Minimum - 1.42 in

Grey And Black Water

Must be treated and managed on site.

Options include: Composting Toilets Trickling Bio-filters Constructed Wetlands/Bioswales Conventional Septic System Cannot be disposed into sewers

H

H 50 sy co se

N N P P C M

Ty Th Th C D

A

Fo pr

Ro

Water

Hydroponics

Hydroponics growing systems grow 300% faster than traditional soil growing ystems. They have a greater yield due to ontrolled conditions and greater nutrients ent directly to roots.

Nutrients needed: Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Calcium Magnesium

ypes of hydroponics systems: he Wick System he Ebb and Flow System Continuous Drip Dutch Bucket System

Agriculture Needs

or this studio we looked at one common crop to calculate the general growing cycle and needs of our rojectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agriculture.

omaine Lettuce Days in Incubation Days until Harvest Water Light/Day Area Yield Harvest/Year

11 40 3.74 GAL 16DLI 1 SF 1 LB 9

Beauty

Beauty and Spirit

Ensure that beautiful buildings contribute to their communities sense of place, delighting and inspiring their occupants by creating architecture that contributes to the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of place through a connection to the regional vernacular.

Requirements two- to four-page narrative written by the designer or owner describing how the design meets the intent of the imperative an outline illustrating the major ideas with photographs, drawings and diagrams Survey representing at least ten percent of occupants/users confirming that the project designers have succeeded in creating something beautiful

Healthy Interior Environment

To improve occupant health by reducing or eliminating indoor pollutants.

Requirements compliance with the current version of ASHRAE 62

Civilized Environment

means to provide a direct connection to the outdoor environment Requirements Every regularly occupied space must have operable windows that provide access to fresh air and daylight Must incorporate as much daylight as programmatically appropriate into the project in order to balance energy use and support visual acuity.

Smoking is prohibited within the project boundary Results from indoor air quality tests before and nine months after occupancy compliance with the California Department of Public Health Standard Method v1.1-2010 for all interior building products that have the potential to emit Volatile Organic compounds Dedicated exhaust for kitchens, bathrooms and janitorial areas an entry approach that reduces particulates tracked in through shoes

Provide a visual connection to the environment.

an outline of a cleaning protocol that uses cleaning products that comply with EPA Design for Environment label.

Inspiration and Education

Biophilic Environment

Requirements An annual open day for the public An educational website A brochure copy of Operations and Maintenance Manual Interpretive signage Living Building case study

Requirements incorporate nature through Environmental Features, Light and Space, and Natural Shapes and Forms

To teach and encourage the community about the project.

Promote designs that bridge the divide between natural and built environments by including elements that nurture the innate human/nature connection.

Mount Auburn

We chose this site as it has incredible potential and is basically a vacant lot ready to be tr developments in Uptown as of now, our prompt was to focus on sustainability and lowerin feature AstroTurf courtyards or concrete and stone plazas, We saw this sight as an opport way to a more sustainable future.

ransformed in an area of town with lots of new investment. Unlike many of the ng our ecological footprint. As a comparison many of the new apartment buildings tunity to give the Uptown community an example of biophilic design that could lead the

Symbiotic Techtonics

Symbiotic Techtonics The underlying goal of this project is sustainability in its purest form. To manage all resources and needs on site, whether this is the water, energy, or nutrition needs of the community. This idea of the most extreme form of sustainability can be represented in the Living Building Challenge, an initiative to lower our environmental footprint in the construction and architecture industry to zero.

This connection back to the earth can be implemented into design. We began by pixelating the terrain which we then zoned with housing on the hillside, recreation and retail on the main road, and a daycare and secondary recreation facility on the hillside, This focuses the views is towards the valley in the center of the site where we have an abundance of native greenery from around the Midwest. By connecting people with nature every day, we allow them to understand the importance of preserving the environment around them as it is incredibly beneficial to their well-being. The units are imbedded into the hillside in a terrace-like formation, making the dwellings more energy efficient, as well as giving them a structured yet organic form. They seem to flow along the hillside with interruptions for circulation stairs that provide access to light deeper in the units as well as ventilation and potential community spaces. These circulation paths lead to the wider valley in the center with winding promenades that offer leisure walks between units and a host of biodiversity in the gardens themselves.

Our overall outlook on this site is to create a remarkable structure that also gives a nod to the importance of the earth its foundations are laid in, and its faรงade is based on.

Priorities Facilitate social interaction + strengthen the community bond Public recreation + education center Potential storefront space Units need multiple points of daylight Work with the landscape rather than against it

Residential

1-Bedroom 2-Bedroom 3-Bedroom 4-Bedroom Co-living Spaces Private Terraces

Recreation Center Entry Exterior Tennis Court Squash Courts Locker Rooms Dance Studios Exterior Basketball Court Weights and Cardio Rock Climbing Interior Basketball Court

Education

Classrooms Infants PreK

K-2nd Grade

3-5th Grade Playroom Administration Office Prep Kitchen Child Restrooms

Program

Site

SITE PLAN

Residential The housing units are adapted to the site, and step up the hillsides to get as much sunlight as possible. They are arranged in blocks and are accessible in between via external stairs.

Under the ground there is also a corridor that connects the units additionally. In total there are 100 residential units. To address different target groups such as families, couples, students and singles, there are apartments with 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms.

pine wood cladding exterior

metal

plaster

oak parquet

fabric

leather

plaster

Number of bedrooms

1

2

3

4

Number of blocks per apartment

3-4

5

7

8

Square feet

675-900

1,125

1,575

1,800

Total number

30

40

20

10

Vectorworks Educational Version

Vectorworks Educational Version

Vectorworks Educational Version

Level -3

Vectorworks Educational Version

1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 4 bedroom walkways & community areas technical room - 1 per block

Level -4

Vectorworks Educational Version

Vectorworks Educational Version

1 bedroom units 2 bedroom units 3 bedroom units 4 bedroom units walkways & community areas technical room - 1 per block

Unit Plans

Vectorworks Educational Version Vectorworks Educational Version

30'-0"

15'-0"

30'-0"

15'-0"

30'-0"

Vectorworks Educational Version Vectorworks Educational Version

small 1 bedroom unit

bigger 1 bedroom unit

Vectorworks Educational Version

Vectorworks Educational Version

30'-0"

15'-0"

15'-0"

45'-0"

30'-0"

30'-0"

Vectorworks Educational Version

Vectorworks Educational Version

2 bedroom unit

3 bedroom unit

Recreation

Entry Exterior Tennis Court Squash Courts Locker Rooms Dance Studios Exterior Basketball Court Weights and Cardio Rock Climbing Interior Basketball Court

DN

DN

DN DN

DN

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5 10

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100

Rec Center Street Level

DN

DN

N

0

5 10

20

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100

DN

DN

UP

DN UP

N

0

5 10

20

50

Rec Center Level B3

100

DN DN

DN

UP DN

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5 10

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100

Rec Center Level B2

UP

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UP DN

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UP UP

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Rec Center Level B1

100

Pool Ground Floor

N

0

5 10

20

50

100

Education Center

VECTORWORKS EDUCATIONAL VERSION

VECTORWORKS EDUCATIONAL VERSION

Retail

Administration/Maintenance

Convenience Store

Cafe

Restaurant

Entrance to Admin

Bicycle Store

Administration & Maintenance

Convenience Store

Hardware Store

Hair Salon

Pet Store

South Side

Sections

Construction Details

Interior Walls 5/8" Gypsum Board 2x4" Timber Construction 5/8" Gypsum Board

Interior Floors

Hillside Walls & Floors 12" Reinforced Concrete 3/4" Flooring

3/4" 2x 5/8" 2x10" 10" 2" 1/3" 5/8"

Flooring Plywood Timber Constructio Insulation Ceiling Suspension Gypsum Board Fitt Gypsum Board

on

n ting

Exterior Walls

Ceilings

5/8" 2x8" 8" 2x 5/8" 1/5" 4/5" 1"

1" 1/5" 1 5/8" 2x 5/8" 2x10" 10" 1/3" 5/8"

Gypsum Board Timber Construction Insulation Plywood Weather Barrier Ventilation Cavity Wooden Exterior Siding

Decking Weather Barrier Sloped Insulation Plywood Timber Construction Insulation Gypsum Board Fitting Gypsum Board

Energy EUI

Base | 18 Base + Geothermal Energy | 16 Energy + Geothermal Energy + Solar Panels | 0 Energy analysis was conducted primaraly with Sefaira and Microsoft Excel. The original energy model was 12,150 square feet. Three scenarios were run to compare the effectiveness of each strategy. Our original base value, thanks to our already-efficient simple design, was only 18. The model was run again but with geothermal heat pumps, in accordance with the Living Building Challenge’s ‘no on-site combustion’ rules. The addition of solar panels was able to allow the site to confidently generate the 105% energy requirement.

Base Values

Facade glazing: 0.25 r-value

concrete walls: 49

stud walls: 41

floors: 48 roof: 60 lighting density: 0.75

Square Footage Building: 95,500 Residential: 25,000 Recreation: 32,500 Education: 18,000 Retail: 15,000 Community: 20,000

Solar panel calcs 95,550sqft # panels

∙

12,150sqft 42 panels

System Size 250m² 2,658.7sqft² 330 total panels 2,671 area ft² 249 area m²

Annual Energy Use, kWh/mo

Daylighting Analysis

Living Building Challenge

How does geothermal energy work?

Sun Shading

Living Building Challenge

Energy

Water

This Block: 6,075 sqft Catchment from Roof 1,575 sqft Catchment from Cut-through 11,728 Gal Sand Filter Underground Walkway 46,000 Gal Whitewater Storage Water Storage

Rainfall

Sand Filtration

Living Building Challenge

Plants

All of the plants used are native to either Ohio or the Midwest they eall have a veirety of needs and soil conditions and are placed on site to maximize efficience of water use. Water loving plants are concentrated on edged of resevoirs and in the bioswales while drier plants are places away from these bodies of water and on hillsides.

American Hazelnut

American Sm

Height - 18’ Width - 12’ Soil Type - acidic, alkaline, loamy,moist, richy, sandy, well-drained,and clay.

Drought-Tolerant Full Sun - Partial Sun

Height - 30’ Width - 30’ Soil Type - Clay tolerant Full Sun

Black Cherry Tree

Black Chokeberry

Cockspur Hawthorn

Eastern Prick

Northern White Cyprus

Pin Oak

Pitch Pine

Red Buckeye

Silky Dogwood

Smooth Hydrangea

Swamp Azalea

Swamp Rose

Height - 80’ Width - 50’ Soil Type - prefers Wet Soil, well draining, acidic-alkaline Drought and Salt tolerant Full Sun-Partial Shade

Height: 50’ Width: 25’ Soil: Tolerant of most conditions Cold and Heat Toldeant

Height: 8’ Width: 8’ Soil: Drought Resistant, Wet, Alkaline, Clay Sun: Full Sun

Height - 6’ Width - 6’ Soil Type - Wet and Dry. Prefers Acidic Full Sun - Partial Sun Pest Resistent

Height: 70’ Width: 45’ Soil: Poor Draining Floorplains, acidic soils Full-Partiaal Sun

Height: 5’ Width: 5’ Soil Type: Acidic, Rich, Well Draining Partial Sun Pest Resistant

Height - 30’’ Width - 35’ Soil Type - moist, welldrained Acidic/Alkaline tolerant Drought Tolerant Full Sun Thorns

Height: 100’ Width 40’ Soil: Tolerates Extremes from dry acidic to sandy uplands and swampy lowlands Full Sun - Partial Shade

Height: 6’ Width 6’ Soil: Wet, Well Draining, acidic, rich, clay.

Full Sun - Partial Shade

Height: 19” Width: 6.5” Soil Type: Dry Thin Soil Full Sun

Height: 20’ Width: 20’ Soil: Acidic, Lo rich sandy, silty, loa drain Full Sun - Partia

Height: 6’ Width: 5’ Soil: Wet, swam Bald Cypress kn Partial Sun

moketree

y and Drought

kly Pear well draining,

e

oamy, moist,

am and well

al Shade

mpy, located on nees

Blue Flag Iris

Bur Oak

Bald Cypress

Eastern Redbud

Eastern Red Cedar

Horizontal Juniper

Red Sunset Maple

Rose Mallow

Shining Willow

Sweetbay Magnolia

Sweetgum

Switchgrass

Height - 3’ Width - 2’ Soil Type - wet to semi-aquatic, highly organic soil, Full Sun - Partial Sun

Height: 30’ Width: 35” Soil: Acidic or Alkaline and heavy clay Full Sun - Partial Shade

Height: 50’ Width: 40’ Soil: Acidic, loamy, sandy, silty loam, well--drained, wet and clay Full Sun - Paartial Shade

Height: 20’ Width: 20’ Soil: Acidic, loamy, moist, rich, sandy, silty loam, welldrained.

Full Sun - Partial Shade

Height - 80’ Width - 80’ Soil Type - acidic, alkaline, loamy, moist, richy, sandy, well-drained, and clay.

Drought-Tolerant Full Sun Tollerates heat and pollution

Height: 30: Width: 15” Soil: Tolerant except for swamp Full Sun - Partial Shade Pollution and heat Resistent

Height: 6’ Width: 4’ Soil: Moist, Acidic, rich Sun: Full Sun

Height: 75’ Width: 50’ Soil: Acidic, loamy, moist, sandy, well-drained, wet, and clay Full Sun

Height - 120’ Width - 45’ Soil Type - Wet,Dry, or Swampy Full Sun - Partial Sun

Hdight: 6’ Width: 8’ Soil:Well Draining and space to grow Full Sun

Height: 13’ Width: 10’ Soil: Swampy, Moist Sun: Full Sun - Partial Shade

Height: 10’ Width: 6’ Soil: Tolerates many soil types Drought Resistent, Heat and Pollution Resistent.

Full Sun

Carbon

Growing forests obsorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen

O2 Natural regeneration and planting begin the cycle

CO2 Carbon storage plateaus in older forests and can slowly be released as trees decay or burn

Wood buildngs store carbon and it remains stored over the lifetime of the building

Harvesting for wood products ensures that carbon continues to be stored

Living Building Challenge

Carbon

%

Percentage of carbon stored and soil by forest types:

86

Boreal

58 24 0 12 31 61

%

Temperate Tropical

Type of soils: spodosols ultisols + oxysols

Embodied energy requirements of concrete, steel and wood 10x 5x

d in biomasse

8x concrete 4x steel 1x wood

boreal forest temperal forest tropical forest

Living Building Challenge