Sustainability, DAG Notes, April 10th

• WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT?  What does sustainability mean and what will be important when you come back and visit the building in 20 years?
  • Water use will be a central concern here in Madison
  • Ecological and carbon footprints and visibility of sustainability are important
• Climate stabilization wedge research (Socolow and Pacala) indicates new buildings must be 80% more efficient than they are currently in order to avoid looming dramatic climate change
• WID (Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, being built across the street) uses 50% less water and energy than a typical campus building - an even more impressive feat when its laboratory nature is taken into account
• Make sure you understand local microclimate conditions, get site windrose and sun data => take advantage of microclimate when possible, avoid negative impacts to greatest feasible extent
  • an example is the southwestern afternoon sun that is generally welcomed in winter, fall, and spring but will present a major challenge in summer
• Natural ventilation, both horizontal and vertical, should be an essential element of this building’s design, particularly given its emerging shape
  • Good examples: Turning Torso (Calatrava, Sweden) & Bedzed (England)
• Pick three big priorities and do them well rather than multiple smaller priorities done on an inferior basis
• Be sure to communicate with Engineering faculty and students who have interest and expertise in relevant areas