Wishcamper Center has Grand Opening on October 16

Over 200 people, including Maine politicians, helped to open the new Wishcamper Center at USM on October 16, 2008.  The new center houses the Muskie School of Public Policy and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The Wishcamper building is one of the projects that Wright-Ryan is doing for USM’s University Commons in addition to the Osher Map Library expansion and renovation, Glickman Library renovations and significant sitework in order to create a cohesive campus community. The building has been submitted for approval as a LEED Gold building.  The four-story, 59,000 square feet facility incorporates a curtainwall system and state of the art, energy efficient mechanical systems and geothermal in addition to a green roof. The architect was Koetter Kim & Associates, Inc.

Wright-Ryan recognized at 2008 Governor's Carbon Challenge

On Monday, March 17th Wright-Ryan Construction was recognized at the 2008 Governor's Carbon Challenge , for it's efforts in reducing greenhouse gases. W-R was 1 of 20 companies, organizations and institutions honored for the continued effort to reduce engergy costs and lower carbon emissions.

Learn How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

 Tour a LEED home, a platinum-certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design pilot home in Freeport. The energy efficient, resource friendly house is decorated by 12 local designers featuring environmentally friendly, occupant healthy products. Attend a lecture series to learn more about ways to go green by experts in the field of energy conservation and environmental choices and shop at the on-site green boutique. The event benefits Freeport Community Services. $15 for tour, and $5 per lecture. For directions and more information, call Kim Knowlen at 865-3985. House open Wednesdays through Sundays, 28 March -  19 April, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

LEED for Homes Platinum- First in Northeast!

Cranberry Ridge, the LEED pilot home we completed in fall 2006, has received the highest rating allowable by the US Green Building Council.  The platinum rating was awarded to the project in April.  There are only two other projects in the country that have been awarded the platinum rating and this is quite an accomplishment.

LEED for Homes encourages buildings with small footprints and therefore gives additional points for little spaces.  We knew that Cranberry Ridge would lose points for having 3200 square feet.  Summary of points received:

Innovation and Design (9 points) We received points for having a third- party durability inspection and innovative, regional design. 

Location and Linkage (3 points) The project avoided an environmentally sensitive site.

Sustainable Sites (15 points) The landscaping was native and remained permeable.

Water Efficiency (10 points) The fixtures used in the home were of the highest efficiency.

Energy and Atmosphere (27 points) The project exceeded Energy Star requirements with third-party testing.

Materials and Resources (14 points) WR selected environmentally preferable products and used advanced framing techniques.

Indoor Environmental Quality (15 points) The project featured a high performance fireplace, a dedicated outdoor air system with heat recovery, sophisticated timing controls and a blower door test rating of 0.12.

Awareness and Education (2 points) A comprehensive homeowners manual was created and the home received public attention.

Sustainable Flooring

According to the Project Manager, this project contains:

-Ceramic tile floors that are made with recycled glass.  We picked this product because it is resilient and the glass has been recycled from old car windshields, and other post-consumer glass products.  Carpet was not used due to it ability to hold particulates and "cheapen" the air quality in the house. 

-Wood flooring is a local wood product.  FSC was not used due to the thousands of dollars it would have added to the project.  Low VOC finish will be used on the wood flooring.

-We are using cocomats (walkoff mats) at all the entries to reduce contaminants entering the house.  This will assist in better indoor air quality in the home.

Building a LEED Home

Interested in hearing the architect for the LEED home speak in depth about his design?  Ian Parlin, of Richard Renner Architects, is giving a a talk next week on September 14th at 7pm.  Contact FW Horch, a sustainable supply store in Brunswick, for more details. 

Architects Comments

Here are some images from a recent site visit. Mike’s crew is working fast to make up for some lost time due to the bad weather we’ve had recently so things are changing on a daily basis. The triple-glazed fiberglass windows had just arrived on site the day before my visit so by the next time I go back I’m sure they will have a few in place.

From the interior you can see some of the advanced framing techniques which save materials and actually contribute to a better insulated building. Headers over window and door openings in the exterior walls are kept to the outside face of the wall to allow insulation on the inside, and in non-load bearing exterior walls no headers were used at all thus allowing maximum insulation. Roof rafters, wall studs and floor joists are all aligned vertically to transfer loads directly to the foundation which also makes the system more efficient.

The exterior shot is of the north side of the house where there are few window openings, this is part of the passive solar design to reduce heat loss. Windows on the south elevation are protected by overhangs and exterior sunshades, these were sized to allow maximum sunlight into the house in the winter and to shade the windows in the summer. The large steep roof plays a role in the active solar design by supporting the photovoltaic cells and solar water heating system on the south-facing roof pitch.

I’ll be back on site next week and will return here with more photos and another update.

Site Work Specifics

Sustainable Sites, simply put, is planned to minimize impact on the natural site.  The category includes minimizing demand for water and synthetic chemicals and to reduce heat island effects.  Here are some ways that the Cranberry Ridge home addressed sustainable sites:

-Installed silt fencing around entire site to prevent erosion control.  Erosion is found to cause pollution in our waterways by carrying contaminates to them.
-We left 50% of the previously undeveloped lot undisturbed.  We delineated these areas with flagging and silt fencing and made sure no one parked/worked in these areas. By disturbing the site, it is thought that natural drainage flows can be disturbed and harmfully affect adjacent areas.
-For landscaping we will plant drought-tolerant plantings that don't require irrigation and constant use of water for health.  We will also use indigenous plants from local cooperatives minimizing transportation. 
-Using permeable paving materials for the driveway.  Currently we are carrying a gravel driveway for cost reasons, but may end up using a more resilient materials such as permeable asphalt or concrete.  We are constructing the patio/walkways out of concrete pavers that are spaced at least 1/2" apart to aid in permeability.  Permeability of surface materials assist in reducing runoff and erosion (see first item this list).
-We are limiting turf (grass) to 50-20% of the landscaping.  By doing this, we are reducing the need for water use and runoff.
-We are applying 3-4 inches of mulch around all plantings to improve soil structure and provide natural nutrients around plantings as it decomposes.

Cold Climate Framing Techniques

We have used a few of the Cold Climate building techniques in this house.  The book, by Joseph Lstiburek, holds a lot of information and I suggest you read it.  Here are a few techniques we used in the construction of our LEED house:

-Rigid at the perimeter band joists (outboard of the rim joist) to act as a thermal break
-ICF foundation to minimize heat loss through the basement
-Compressible sill sealer to minimize air infiltration through that interface
-Insulation at all box sills
-2' O.C. framing to conserve lumber as well as maximize insulation in exterior walls
-Rainscreen wall system to prevent moisture retainage in the siding and trim plane - More durable
-Metal roof to minimize snow/ice buildup on roof
-Sealed all wall plate to deck interfaces to tighten envelope

Architect and Builder Speak Up

Great news readers!  Ian Parlin, project architect for Richard Renner Architects, and Ben MacDonald, project engineer for Wright-Ryan, will be contributing to this blog about the LEED pilot home project on a regular basis.  Now there will be a greater opportunity to learn from the professionals about the process, the challenges and what they might do differently next time.  You can post comments and questions to this blog so feel free to use it as an educational tool.