A LEED Performance Report on the sustainable design and construction of the City of Austin's WTP4 Administration Building

1. WTP4 Administration Building
LEED Performance Report BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following Performance Reports were created in accordance with Council Resolution 20071129-045. The
City of Austin is a recognized international leader in sustainable building practices in which municipal building
strive to conserve energy, water, and other natural resources while promoting human health and safety. The
holistic approach to architecture creates high-quality and enduring structures that enhance the economic
value and reduce the lifecycle costs of a building.
Design and construction of buildings are driven by the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines and promote these goals. The following
reports provide information about municipal buildings, highlight LEED credentials, and promote sustainable
building achievements.
City of Austin
Office of the City Architect
Peter Davis, AIA, LEED AP
Peter.Davis@austintexas.gov
Theresa Cascio
Silvia Calderon Laiton
Maanasa Nathan
2018

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Owner: City of Austin
Architect: Negrete Kolar Architects

4. REDUCES
ENERGY
CONSUMPTION
REDUCES
POTABLE
WATER USE
DIVERTS
MATERIALS
FROM LANDFILL
PROMOTES
ALTERNATIVE
TRANSPORTATION
IMPROVES
INDOOR
EXPERIENCE
IACP pg. 191
IACP pg. 11
IACP pg. 53
IACP pg. 187
IACP pg. 205
The following can be found in The IMAGINE AUSTIN Comprehensive Plan (IACP)

5. Water Treatment Plant 4 (WTP4) is Austin’s newest water treatment facility. The plant can treat more than 50 million gallons of water per day. With
WTP4, Austin Water hopes to address rising problems of demand and reliability; a result of the growing population of Austin and the aging of water
infrastructure. The LEED Gold Certified Administration building serves as the headquarters for the entire plant. The building contains the offices and
conference rooms as well as the control room.
The site design preserves 70% of the total site area by restoring its natural habitat through native planting. It also implements a stormwater
management plan that protects stormwater channels from erosion. Water efficient landscaping using rotating stream sprinklers with pressure regulation
reduce water consumption in the irrigation system. This allows for a 75% reduction in irrigation potable water use. In addition, the use of low flow fixtures
in the lavatory results in a 41% reduction of indoor potable water.
The building design claims to reduce energy cost by 48% and energy consumption by 46%. Strategies such as high efficiency glazing, reduced lighting
power and water source heat pumps allow the building to be energy efficient. Additionally, the project uses wind energy, through Texas GreenChoice to
power 100% of the facility’s electricity needs.
Energy efficient construction practices such as reduced demolition cost, diverted waste and recycling help reduce green house gas emissions. The
WTP4 Administration Building diverted close to 150 tons of landfill waste and 50% of the materials used to construct the building were recycled content.
The project also aims to improve the indoor experience by using materials that emit lower levels of VOC’s and installing a CO2 monitoring system that
provides feedback on ventilation performance. Additionally, the building ensures that 99% of regularly occupied spaces have access to views. With regards
to transportation, the WTP4 Administration building has 7 bike storage spaces and 4 alternative transportation parking spaces available for the building
occupants. The project is also located in an area that offers 12 neighborhood services within a half mile radius. The administration building boasts an
innovative and energy efficient design that embraces an industrial aesthetic; the design responds not only to the function of keeping Austin’s water supply
clean but also to the goal of keeping Austin’s environment clean.
WATER TREATMENT PLANT 4
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED v2.2: New Construction
AWARDED LEED GOLD JULY 2018
NEGRETE & KOLAR ARCHITECTS
Project Area: 11,730 sqft

7. WTP4 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED GOLD 2018
REDUCES ENERGY CONSUMPTION
1
2
3
Measures include improved thermal envelope, high
efficiencyglazing, reduced lighting power, occupancy
sensors and water source heat pumps.
Project’s total refrigerant impact is 55.8 per ton,
which is less than the maximum allowable value
of 100
All heating and cooling achieved through water
source heat pumps using raw lake water from the
water plant as a heat sink
This annual savings
is equivalent to: 280 Metric Tons of
GHG emissions
30.3
Energy consumed
by
Per year
Acres of forest330
Carbon sequestered
by
27.6 Times
Driving around
the Earth
46%REDUCTION
ENERGY USE
48%REDUCTION
ENERGY COST
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
STRATEGIES:

8. WTP4 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED GOLD 2018
REDUCES POTABLE WATER USE
1
2
3
Use rotating stream sprinklers, pressure regulating
spray head bodies, valve pressure regulation,and
check valves in irrigation system
Rotating Stream Sprinklers are responsible for about
30% of the reduction in irrigation potable water use
Low-flowfixtures are used for lavatory, toilet,
and urinal fixtures
Per year2,690
Drinking water
for
26 Average sized
swimming pools
12,105 Bathtubs
This annual savings
is equivalent to: 484 kGal of
Water / year
75%REDUCTION
IRRIGATION
POTABLE WATER
USE
41%REDUCTION
INDOOR
POTABLE WATER
USE
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
STRATEGIES:

9. WTP4 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED GOLD 2018
DIVERTS MATERIALS FROM LANDFILL
1
2
3
No incinerators were used for the disposal of any
materials leaving the Project site; all waste was
diverted to off-siteuses or collection services
Reduced constructionand demolition cost
through lower landfill dumping fees and earnings
from reusable items
Upon generation of waste, there will be designated
dumpsters on the constructionsite with signs for
respective materials to be received
This savings is
equivalent to: 338Metric tons of
GHG emissions
37
Energy consumed
by
Per year
Garbagetrucks
of waste recycled17
Times
Driving around
Earth
33
86%REDUCTION
LANDFILL WASTE
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
STRATEGIES:
Concrete
33% 32%
Wood
14%
Metal Asphalt
A CLOSER LOOK
AT DIVERTED WASTE:
21%
Cardboard

10. WTP4 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED GOLD 2018
REDUCE AND REUSE OF MATERIALS
1
2
3
88% of recycled material content is post-consumer
recycled content and 12% is Pre-consumerrecycled
content
Recycled materials include paper, cardboard, metals,
plastics,and glass
Using recycled materials reduces the impacts
resulting from extracting and processingof virgin
materials
Where does regional material come
from? A portion of the materials are regionally
purchased from within
500 miles of the site
Total Material Cost:
$585,020
50% Recycled Material Content:
$290,207
11% Regional Material:
$65,748
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
STRATEGIES:

11. WTP4 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED GOLD 2018
PROMOTES ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION
Alternative transportation includes:
1
2
3
7 bike stalls is equal to 27% of the available
parking spaces for cars
4 alternative transportationspaces available
for 5% of the total peak users
Total travel distance from main entrance to
bicycle rack and showers is less than 200 yds
= 42,4727 4+
Alternative fuel
charging spaces
Bicycle stalls Miles of commuting
per year
This savings is
equivalent to:
Metric tons of
CO2 emissions18
15%
of Parking Reserved for Alternative
Transportation
Total Parking Spaces:
26
Alternative Fuel Charging Spaces: 2
Bicycle Stalls: 7
8%
of Users have Access to Bicycle Stalls
Total Peak Users:
85
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
STRATEGIES:
Preferred Parking (car/vanpool) Spaces: 2
The WTP4 AdministrationBuilding is located in an
area that offers 12 neighborhood services within
a half mile radius.

12. WTP4 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
6708 North FM 620 Austin, Texas, 78730
LEED GOLD 2018
IMPROVES INDOOR EXPERIENCE
1
2
3
A CO2 monitoring system provides feedbackon
ventilation system performance to ensure that
systems maintain design minimum requirements
92% of regularly occupied space has windows
with a minimum 2% glazing factor
100% of the rooms have lighting controls which
include: roll up mesh shades, blackout shades,
dimmable light switchesand task lamps
ADHESIVE
&
SEALANTS
Regularly Occupied
Spaces with Access
to Views :
99%HAVE ACCESS TO
VIEWS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
STRATEGIES:
A CLOSER LOOK
AT VOC CONTENT:
ADHESIVES&
SEALANTS
PAINTS &
COATINGS
WOOD
COMPOSITE
PRODUCTS
Baseline: 870 g/L
Design: 61 g/L
Baseline: 1300 g/L
Design: 250 g/L
Design: No VOCs
4 OUT OF 4
CREDITSACHIEVED
FOR LOW-EMITTING
VOLATILEORGANIC
COMPOUND (VOC)
CONTENT
ADHESIVE
&
SEALANTS
PAINTS
WOOD
COMPOSITE
PRODUCTS
CARPET
CARPET
Design: No VOCs

13. RESOURCES
Leedatx.com
USGBC
Website
usgbc.org/leed
Project Profile
https://www.usgbc.org/projects/austin-animal-center
Imagine Austin
Imagine Austin Vision
austintexas.gov/department/imagine-austin
Comprehensive Plan
ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/npzd/ImagineAustin/IACP_corrected2018.pdf
EPA
Waste Reduction Model
epa.gov/warm/versions-waste-reduction-model-warm#WARMTool V14
GHG Conversion Calculator
epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
Public Works Department
Website
austintexas.gov/department/public-works
PWD Capital Green Infrastructure
austintexas.gov/page/green-capital-improvement-projects
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ARCHITECT
Office of the City Architect
Contact Us
pwdcityarchitect@austintexas.gov
Team
Peter Davis, AIA, LEED AP
LEED/SustainabilityProject Manager
Peter.Davis@austintexas.gov
Theresa Cascio
Silvia Calderon Laiton
Maanasa Nathan