Presentation given by Filo Castore at Gulf Coast Green 2016.

1. COTE Top 10:
Intelligent Design for a Restorative Future
Gulf Coast Green 2016
Session 2 – Track 4

2. Course Description:
The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top 10 Award
is the profession's best-known recognition for sustainable
design excellence.
The 2016 award winners will be presented with an overview of
the design and sustainability goals that drove their projects,
stellar performance features of their respective projects, and
lessons learned.
Jurors‘ comments will be shared on the advance of
sustainability by this year's winners, and on how the projects
are responsive to regional challenges and opportunities.

3. Learning Objectives:
1. Observe and appraise 10 nationally recognized case studies'
achievements in various aspects of sustainable design.
2. List the COTE Measures of Sustainable Design, identify why
both qualitative and quantitative measures are important, and
recognize how these measures can be applied in projects.
3. Summarize proven methods of working to reduce energy use
in regionally and place-specific ways.
4. Recognize the professional value of the COTE Top Ten Green
Projects program and evaluate the feasibility of submitting
attendees' own projects in the future.

4. What is COTE:
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) works to
advance, disseminate, and advocate—to the profession,
the building industry, the academy, and the public—design
practices that integrate built and natural systems and
enhance both the design quality and environmental
performance of the built environment.

5. COTE Timeline:

6. • 10,000+ members
60+ local chapters
• 2016 Advisory Group
– Paula McEvoy, FAIA, LEED Fellow 2016 Chair Perkins+Will
– Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C 2017 Chair Elect MALeco
– Rand Ekman, AIA, LEED Fellow Past Chair HKS
– Andrea Love, AIA, LEED Fellow Payette
– Lance Hosey, FAIA, LEED Fellow Perkins Eastman
– Z Smith, AIA, LEED Fellow Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
– Jonathan Penndorf, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Perkins+Will
– Tate Walker, AIA, LEED Fellow OPN Architects
– Angela Brooks, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C Brooks + Scarpa Architects
– Alison Kwok, PhD, AIA, LEED AP University of Oregon
– Stephanie Horowitz, AIA, CPHC ZeroEnergy Design

7. 2016 Initiatives and Programs
 AIA/COTE Top Ten
 AIA/COTE Top Ten Plus
 AIA/COTE Top Ten for Students
 AIAS/COTE Student Research Scholar
(www.aia.org/cote)
 Carbon Neutral Design Project
 Ecological Literacy in Architecture Education
 Sustainability Leadership Opportunity Scan

8. What is COTE Top Ten:
This Awards program recognizes
exemplary and innovative built projects
that establish a standard of design
excellence that creatively integrates
sustainable design strategies,
demonstrating their benefits while educating
and inspiring the profession and the public.

9. What is COTE Top Ten:
The COTE Top Ten Green Projects program
celebrates structures that use a thoroughly
integrated approach to architecture,
natural systems, and technology to provide
architectural solutions which protect and
enhance the environment.

10. What is COTE Top Ten:
design and innovation
community integration
land use
site ecology
bioclimatic design
energy and water use
light and air
materials and construction
long-life considerations
feedback loops

16. COTE Measures of Sustainability:
1. Sustainable Design Intent & Innovation
2. Regional Community Design/Connectivity
3. Land Use & Site Ecology
4. Bioclimatic Design
5. Light & Air
6. Water Cycle
7. Energy Flows & Energy Future
8. Materials & Construction
9. Long Life & Loose Fit
10. Collective Wisdom & Feedback Loops

17. COTE Top Ten 2016 Jury:
Larry Strain, FAIA, LEED AP Siegel & Strain Architects Emeryville, CA
Luke Leung, PE, LEED ® Fellow SOM New York, NY
Judith Heerwagen, PHD US General Services Administration Seattle, WA
Margaret Montgomery, FAIA, LEED AP NBBJ Seattle, WA
Anne Fougeron, FAIA Fougeron Architecture San Francisco, CA

18. 1997 – 2016 | 20 years of Design Excellence
……

19. 2016 Tope Ten Stats:
Size: 5,400sf – 301,099sf
(2)<10Ksf / (4)<50Ksf / (3)<100Ksf / (1)<500Ksf
Type: 5 Education
1 Residential
1 Mixed-Use
1 Library
1 Laboratory
1 Supermarket
Region: 5 California
2 Texas
1 Wyoming
1 Pennsylvania
1 IRELAND
Year: 2012 (2), 2013 (6), 2014 (1), 2015 (1)

20. Biosciences Research Building
Higher-Ed
Galway, Ireland
Payette
86,112 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: 133kBtu/sf/yr

27. The jury was unanimous in its opinion that this building really knit design and
performance. Great performance on a tight budget that focused on elegant,
passive solutions. This is not an easy project type in which to incorporate
passive strategies. Separating the lab portion from the non-lab allowed 45
percent of the building to be naturally ventilated. A simple building with a clever
parti; labs are surrounded by daylit corridors that function as a thermal sweater
for the interior spaces.

28. Center for Sustainable Landscapes
Education/Office
Pittsburgh, PA
The Design Alliance Architects
24,350 sf
Completed in 2012net EUI: -3kBtu/sf/yr

35. This project incorporated a number of innovative sustainable standards: piloting
the sustainable SITES, the WELL building standard, and the Living Building
Challenge. The project reclaimed a brownfield site and created an ecological
regeneration of a blighted site, all on one of the most difficult sites on the whole
campus. The building connects the inside and outside, demonstrating how to
live in harmony with nature.

36. Exploratorium at Pier 15
Mixed-Use
San Francisco, CA
EHDD
301,099 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: 6kBtu/sf/yr

42. This project capitalized on its unique location by using the surrounding San
Francisco Bay for heating and cooling. The existing pier building was
completely remodeled: new exhibits were carefully integrated into the building
and even spill out to the surrounding bay. Great use of natural light. This
interactive science museum, oriented toward children and families, was
relocated to a fabulous central location on the bay with great public access.

43. H-E-B at Mueller
Supermarket
Austin, TX
Lake | Flato Architects
and H-E-B Design and Construction
83,587 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: 237kBtu/sf/yr

50. The jury was happy to see this type of program addressed. This prototype store
rethought the energy and water use for a typical supermarket. The store
replaced display ice with refrigerated cases, made extensive use of daylighting,
and created a large entry vestibule that serves as a thermal buffer between the
inside and the outdoors—important in a climate such as Texas.

51. J. Craig Venter Institute
Laboratory
La Jolla, CA
ZGF Architects
44,607 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: 0kBtu/sf/yr

59. The jury was impressed with how this project achieved net zero for a lab. The
building was well crafted from materials well suited for the marine location.
Interior spaces and the courtyard were well daylit. The program connected the
labs and offices across an exterior courtyard.

60. Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation
Higher-Ed
Berkeley, CA
Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
24,035 sf
Completed in 2015net EUI: 12kBtu/sf/yr

71. A compact, elegant building with a clear point of view. Sustainable measures
are well integrated into a holistic, high-quality design. Modest, beautifully
detailed; the building really fits the context of the university.

72. Rene Cazenave Apartments
Multi-Family Residential
San Francisco, CA
Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
74,723 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: 24kBtu/sf/yr

82. The jury recognized the complexity and difficulty in delivering high-density,
transitional housing on a challenging site next to a freeway off-ramp and still
making it comfortable, affordable, and well-designed. This project achieved high
performance on a very small budget. Innovative, passive design strategies
included bringing clean, filtered fresh air from the roof.

83. The Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion
Education
Decatur, TX
Lake | Flato Architects
5,400 sf
Completed in 2014net EUI: -1kBtu/sf/yr

95. This is the perfect example of design excellence and sustainability working
hand-in-hand. Elegant bioclimatic response to program and site. The
vernacular forms fit the site and are appropriate to the Foundation’s mission of
sustainable agriculture. We loved that the design allowed much of the program
to function without conditioned interior space. Who needs walls? The architects
thought outside of the box. The jury particularly appreciated the clarity of
thought, the elegance of the parti, reinforced by a simple palette of locally
sourced, low-carbon materials. Beautifully detailed.

96. University of Wyoming – Visual Arts Facility
Higher-Ed
Laramie, WY
Hacker
30,370 sf
Completed in 2012net EUI: 73kBtu/sf/yr

104. A contextually appropriate design that fits the landscape very well. The jury was
impressed by the attention paid to the health and well-being of the building
occupants, the way the design addressed air quality in the studios, and the way
this was expressed by the ventilation stacks on the exterior. Art materials
contain many toxic chemicals; this project is a model for how to do this type of
facility.

105. West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library
Library
Berkeley, CA
Harley Ellis Devereaux
9,400 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: -11kBtu/sf/yr

113. This is a beautiful net-positive library on one of the main streets of Berkeley.
The design refers back to the prototypical libraries of the 19th century: tall
spaces, daylit reading rooms, and a sense of quiet and simplicity. The building
skillfully incorporates passive strategies for daylighting and natural ventilation.
At its core, a very simple building that creates a very successful and adaptable
space.

115. The Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building
Adaptive Reuse
Portland, OR
SERA Architects
with Cutler Anderson Architects
512,474 sf
Completed in 2013net EUI: 28kBtu/sf/yr

124. This project transforms a generic concrete office building into a high-
performance, environmentally responsive, comfortable place to work. There are
a lot of existing, low-performance buildings out there that don’t contribute much
to the urban fabric. In terms of impact, these are the buildings we need to
address. This sets a great precedent for re-use and upgrade, and demonstrates
the potential for creative, green reuse projects.

125. General Jury Comments:
· The winning projects were completed between 2012 and 2015, which means
that some of them were likely designed when the 2030 target was 50%. The good
news is that all of the winners met (or nearly) the 60% reduction target in place
when they opened.
· Four of the ten projects were either predicted to or actually achieving net zero or
net positive energy. This is impressive!
· While not all projects reported actual energy and water performance, the jury
would encourage this in the future. We particularly valued the projects whose actual
performance may not have met expectations – but for which the team had identified
or implemented improvements.
· The majority of the entries achieved a high level of daylight autonomy. This
shows that passive design considerations are influencing form and massing early,
which is a marker of well-integrated design.
· Encouraging to see multi-family and low-income housing projects in this mix –
it’s a critically important project type where performance can make or break
affordability for tenants.
· In a field of submittals where there are multiple net zero energy and/or water
projects, Living Buildings and numerous LEED Platinum projects, it’s great to see
the trend toward deeper integration of performance and design excellence –
mastery of both is the holy grail!

126. Contact Info:
AIA COTE
www.aiatopten.org
www.aia.org/cote
cote@aia.org
@AIA_COTE
Filo Castore, AIA
DLR Group
fcastore@dlrgroup.com