https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Administration


Neumann Monson

News

When thinking about green energy and new construction, build smarter

When thinking about green energy and new construction, build smarter

  • Written by Andy Castillo
  • 10th May 2022

From solar solutions to rainwater reclamation, of the many advancements in green energy that’ve been made over the past few decades, city and county administrators should take particular note of those made in the building construction sector.

In 2018, for example, a little more than $300 billion in public dollars was spent on new construction, according to Statista. Especially now, with trillions in the federal pipeline slated for public infrastructure projects, consideration of green design practices is paramount for the environment and because it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.

A building designed by Neumann Monson Architects for Iowa City, Iowa’s City Public Works department encapsulates some of the more innovative and thoughtful design elements that are being implemented these days into new construction—which administrators should consider when putting out a request for proposals. 

“The building is essentially a large warehouse that’s quite energy efficient,” said Ron Knoche, City of Iowa City public works director, in a statement. “The project goal was to achieve LEED Silver certification. It also fits well into the surroundings of park land and future development with aesthetic lighting and other features, making it a welcomed part of the neighborhood for decades to come.”

For its innovative design, the building was awarded a COTE Top Ten award from the American Institute of Architects—the industry’s highest recognition for sustainable design and green energy excellence. Notably, the architects institute estimates urban buildings account for about 40 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions.

In Iowa City, the community’s 2015 master plan called for the design of a one-stop DPW building to house the municipality’s snow plows, construction vehicles and various other publicly owned pieces of equipment. Previously, many of these items were housed outside, exposed to the weather, or in smaller buildings located throughout the jurisdiction.

Between the long term maintenance savings and reduced energy costs, “when we finally get done with all of this, we’re projecting around $300 and $400,000 in savings” over the previously way of doing things, said Jesse Bulman, associate principal and architect at Neumann Monson Architects. “Our budget wasn’t any more or less than any other warehouse, but we’re trying to use the dollars (responsibly).”

Among the new building’s features, a vehicle wash bay employs a reclamation system to capture greywater, accounting for 65 percent of the facility’s potable water. 

“It was really important that we create not only an energy efficient building, but one that supports the health of the occupants,” said Bulman. A combination of passive and mechanical ventilation brings fresh air into the building when “the air becomes less than ideal to breathe.”

The HVAC system is zoned, designed to circulate fresh air passively in some areas while making sure others are temperature controlled via mechanical methods. Large transparent polycarbonate windows let in light, and concrete slab walls (which are more expensive than metal, and cost more environmentally to make, but have a much longer lifespan) maximize insulation. Skylights throughout cut down on lighting costs. Destratification fans mounted in the high bays push air down to the floor “So the space stays comfortable,” Bulman continued. Outside, Bulman highlighted a firefighting training simulator outside that operates with reclaimed water. 

“The fire department traditionally would pump water from a fire hydrant and spray it down into a storm (drain) or body of water,” he said. “Now they have a tank; they spray into one end, and a series of baffles pulls all the water out. It’s a closed loop system.”

The system was particularly difficult to design because if air gets into a firefighting water system, it’ll destroy the pump. To that end, the baffles draw air out of the water while also regulating temperature.

Beyond these already-installed features, the architects and city administrators anticipated future needs and a changing climate, building adaptability into the design from the get go. For example, the roofline diverts all water runoff to one location, where a reclamation system could be installed in the future. The treated runoff could be used for street cleaning and roadside irrigation. Elsewhere on the roof, the electrical design also anticipates the addition of a phased solar photovoltaic system, which, “when expanded to cover the entire structure, will provide net-positive electrical energy use for the 99,294 square foot facility,” according to a statement about the building.

The architectural industry recognition has come as a surprise for Bulman, because, as he sees it, there’s nothing extraordinarily special about the building. There weren’t additional funds set aside to install green energy features, and it wasn’t intended to be poster child for sustainable building design—rather, it was the result of thoughtful conversations among city administrators and the architects, and consideration of future adaptability.

In this, there’s a lesson to be learned.

City and county administrators contemplating green energy and building design “should be considering not only their upfront costs, but their long term operational costs,” Bulman said. “If you go with the bottom dollar, is it going to cost you more in the long run?”

Beyond the next budget cycle, administrators have a responsibility to think about what life will be like for constituents 50 to 100 years down the road. What will the climate be like? Who will be using the building, and will it still be useful? Are there any related costs that can be reduced through the new construction? Small savings add up in the long term—benefiting constituents and the environment.

“These buildings outlive us,” Bulman said. “If you can just save a couple more years on a snowplow, it equates to millions of dollars in savings to a city.”

Tags: homepage-featured-1 homepage-featured-2 homepage-featured-4 Administration News Administration News News

Most Recent


  • MSPs
    The MSP downstream cyberthreat paradox: Understanding the city and county connection
    Recently the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) along with the FBI, NSA, and international cyber authorities issued a cybersecurity advisory aimed at protecting managed service providers (MSPs) and their customers. This high-level advisory has been gestating for some time ever since the SolarWinds and Kaseya supply chain cyber-attacks. A software supply chain attack occurs […]
  • Philanthropic group to launch assistance portal for local admins navigating federal bureaucracy
    A joint venture announced Tuesday by a group of philanthropic organizations—in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities (NLC) and Results for America—seeks to help small and mid-sized communities secure their piece of the $550 billion in funding available for local governments navigating federal bureaucracy. The digital portal will launch […]
  • Report: Nearly 95 percent of America's mayors face harassment, threats and violence
    In today’s divided socioeconomic landscape—one that’s rife with political angst—harassment of mayors has become commonplace, especially against minority leaders. Women mayors and mayors of color face more frequent and acute incidents of harassment and violence, according to new research from the advocacy organizations Equity Agenda and the Mayors Innovation Project. Nearly half of all women mayors […]
  • Report: Almost half of public sector retirees don't touch their retirement plans for a decade
    Once retired, nearly half of public sector employees aren’t taking any action with their defined contribution retirement plan funds for at least a decade, according to research from Mission Square Research Institute, which included the analysis of more than 100,000 public service data records. In their first ten years of retirement, researchers found that 48 […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • EV chargers
    Cities steadily adding more EV chargers for public to use
  • Report: To keep up with infrastructure maintenance costs, local governments need to rethink land use policies
  • infrastructure
    The road to America’s infrastructure overhaul is paved in technology
  • Addressing water waste is one way cities and counties can increase resilience against drought conditions

White papers


The PIO’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media

16th May 2022

Gain Greater Visibility Into Your Public Works Fleet

16th May 2022

Arizona Arts Center Meets Rapid Deadline with Hundreds of Thousands in Savings

26th April 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

The MSP downstream cyberthreat paradox: Understanding the city and county connection dlvr.it/SQYVjs

17th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Philanthropic group to launch assistance portal for local admins navigating federal bureaucracy dlvr.it/SQY16G

17th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Nearly 95 percent of America’s mayors face harassment, threats and violence dlvr.it/SQTn2z

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

The PIO’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media dlvr.it/SQTdCK

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Gain Greater Visibility Into Your Public Works Fleet dlvr.it/SQSqXG

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Almost half of public sector retirees don’t touch their retirement plans for a decade dlvr.it/SQKMjp

13th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Four steps to ensure your budget prioritizes equity dlvr.it/SQJgZz

13th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Victims of Surfside condo collapse settle for nearly $1B in class action lawsuit dlvr.it/SQJffb

13th May 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X