MAIN FEATURE
SOLAR ENERGY 61,699 kWh/day 2.2% photosynthesis 15% reflected
82% absorbed & re-radiated WATER
5.1 Mg/year precipitation 45 Mg/year streamflow 1.9 Mg/yr groundwater recharge 3 Mg/yr evapotranspiration 115,00 gal/yr runoff
WATER
5.1 Mg/year precipitation 45 Mg/year streamflow 100% discharge to sewer
1609
SOLAR ENERGY 61,699 kWh/day 23% reflected
77% absorbed & re-radiated 2011
CARBON
303 tons stored 3.7 net tons/year sequestered
CARBON
Net emissions 85,460 tons/year
BIODIVERSITY 23 mammal species, 60+ bird species,
27 reptiles & amphibians, 300 plant species
2
What would you say to a friend, who says that she is in a relationship that is just sustainable?
William McDonough
metrics are calculated for the building. The delta between the ecological services numbers and the building’s current performance provides the basis for the aspirational goal. Put simply, can the building and site be modified to provide the ecosystem services that the site as an intact natural ecosystem provided?
This is not just a theoretical concept. It is being used in two ongoing efforts. The first is a large building in Manhattan, New York City; the other involves two factories and an office building in the state of Georgia, US.
111 8TH AVENUE
It was built as a warehousing building by the Port Authority of New York in the early 1930s. It is more than 200,000 square metres, and covers an entire Manhattan city block, sidewalk to sidewalk. It is a 16-storey wedding cake that now houses a number of different tenants, including 100,000 square metres of data centres, and has the biggest energy bill in the city. It has a carbon footprint of 77,000 metric tonnes per year. There is a small central HVAC system for the base building, and each tenant has their own independent HVAC system. The building purchases 193M litres of water a year, but discharges 341M litres per year into the city sewers. Obviously, there are some opportunities for improvement.
The reference ecosystem for the site was determined by using the data from the Manhattan project, which was led by the Wildlife Conservation Society. This effort remapped the ecosystems of Manhattan back to their state at the point of European contact in 1609. At that time, the site was a mixed deciduous forest that contained one of the original streams of Manhattan. That stream has been continuously pumped out of the sub-basement of the building since its construction. This accounts for the dramatic discrepancy between the
FUTURARC 83 3
Photo by Beyond My Ken - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=12782475
Images from Terrapin Bright Green
BIODIVERSITY
Minimal biodiversity & habitat provided
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