Real Science for Real PeopleA Green Xanadu? By Dr. Beth Ravit 
The first houses constructed
in the Hackensack River watershed by the Dutch settlers integrated natural
materials available in the early 1700s. Timber was harvested from the white
cedar forests, bricks and porcelain were fired from Hackensack River mud, and
the walls were filled with dried salt hay for insulation. Unfortunately, the
harvest and use of these natural products was not sustainable, and the cedar
trees and salt hay are no longer found in the Hackensack Meadowlands. But with
the construction of the Xanadu complex next to the Continental Arena in East
Rutherford, there is the opportunity for the Hackensack Meadowlands to showcase
modern technologies that can contribute to sustainable building practices. ‘Green technology’ has come
a long way from the solar panels developed in the 1970s in response to
America’s first energy crisis, and sustainable building products are now being
incorporated into both commercial and residential projects throughout the U.S,
as well as globally. Leading the way in promoting ‘green building’ is the U.S.
Green Building Council, which has developed the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) rating system (www.usgbc.com). Using a specific
checklist of criteria to judge a building’s ‘greenness,’ the LEED system has
been adopted as the popular standard for sound environmentally sustainable
design. Highly rated LEED buildings include the 624,000 sq. ft. Toyota office
complex in Torrance, CA, the 1.5 million sq. ft. Pittsburgh convention center
and the 48-story Condé Nast building at 4 Times Square in New York City.
‘Green’ projects are the result of the work of forward-thinking developers,
municipal officials, engineers and scientists who are integrating exciting
design concepts with environmentally sound materials and building practices.
Many of these ‘green’ technologies are now well proven and cost effective, both
in the short term (the actual cost of installation) and the long term
(life-time cost savings due to lower maintenance or energy costs). So what ecologically sound
design technologies might we expect to find in a “green” Xanadu? American
buildings account for 65% of our country’s electricity use, and so a Green
Xanadu would be designed to reduce energy consumption. A survey of 99 ‘green’
buildings found their energy use was 30% less than that of conventional
buildings. In a complex the size of Xanadu, a 30% energy savings would be quite
substantial. Half of all energy consumed by commercial buildings is used to
produce the indoor climate - heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting
systems. The Sustainable Building Technical Manual (1996) published by Public
Technology Inc. and the U.S. Green Building Council, and sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Energy and U.S. EPA (downloadable at www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook),
estimates that using climate-sensitive design and currently available energy
saving technologies can result in up to 50-60% reductions in energy costs. An
example of innovative energy saving design can be found in the Pittsburgh
Convention Center. This project incorporated a special roof design, which
circulates air in a pattern that integrates the naturally cooling effects of
the river to produce cool air within the convention center building. Passive solar heating
systems are now in use in 17,000 commercial U.S. buildings. According to the
U.S. Department of Energy, this technology consumes 50-60% less energy than
conventional heating systems. Use of passive solar heating requires a strong
integration between project designers, architects, and builders. The building
structure must be oriented to the solar geometry specific to a site and
building materials must be used that reduce heat transfer. Vapor barriers are
required to prevent moisture build up, and shading strategies are required that
minimize the need for mechanical cooling systems. ‘Green’ building materials are
now commercially available for foundations, interior and exterior walls, roofs,
windows and doors, floors and floor coverings, paints and finishes, roadways
and walkways (Chiras 2004). In addition to the Sustainable Building Technical
Manual, other sources of information are available on the web at www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook.
Material resources, the commercial status of various technologies, implementation
issues, and guidelines are detailed for pervious asphalt and concrete that
allow water infiltration, passive and active solar systems, and landscaping for
energy savings. Although the cedar trees and
the salt hay are long gone, technology is now available to implement
sustainable building practices in the Hackensack Meadowlands. Hackensack
Riverkeeper will continue to work to make sure these priorities remain in the
forefront during the development of Xanadu. References: Chiras, D.D.
2004. The New Ecological Home. |