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http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/columns/2010/07/how_to_lead_the_nation_sustainable_built_environment_innovation.html
Oregon has earned an international reputation as the U.S. epicenter of sustainable built environment research, innovation, design and manufacturing.
A combination of visionary public policy, innovative research, professional expertise, and a committed populace has led to Oregon's ability to boast a wide range of achievements, including more LEED-certified buildings per capita than any other U.S. state.
The growing number of green building design, construction, and development firms with roots here in Oregon reads like a who's-who list of innovators. Oregon firms win green building work across the U.S. and around the world because place of origin matters. Bringing sustainable built environment expertise from Oregon today is like hiring top gas and oil industry experts from Texas.
Portland's award-winning light rail system and bicycle network are among the best in the nation. Oregon ranks No. 5 in the nation in wind energy generation and No. 3 in geothermal energy development. Our systems-thinking approach has led us beyond leadership in the installation of solar panels and green roofs as individual components: Oregon university researchers are first in the nation to explore what benefits accrue when green roofs and solar panels are installed in close proximity - the panels shading the plants and the plants cooling the panels, in synergy. Other Oregon researchers have developed a successful prototype for production of off-the-shelf solar awnings that provide shade and generate power, light shelves that use rainwater to bounce sunlight and create soothing ripple reflections on the ceiling, and a low-cost heat exchanger made of a plastic membrane that operates at 80 percent efficiency using outgoing exhaust air to heat (or cool) incoming ventilation air. And all of this is only the beginning.
Clearly, Oregon is the place to be when it comes to the business of the sustainable built environment. Oregon industry is collaborating with university researchers to develop, test and commercialize innovations so they go to market faster and start moving the needle more quickly towards a sustainable future.
It makes perfect sense then, that the Oregon Sustainability Center (OSC), which will be the first Living Building of its scale in the world, will also be a vast, interactive living laboratory focused on green building innovation and helping Oregon businesses commercialize next-generation sustainable built environment technologies, products and processes. The entire building will serve as a platform from which to better understand how to achieve these aggressive goals through technical and behavioral strategies. OSC will also function as a new-product demonstration and test facility that gives local companies the chance to prove their new products in a real-world environment.
Thousands of sensors installed throughout all areas of the OSC will monitor energy consumption, water use, ambient conditions, stormwater management, how occupants use the building and how they interact with building components such as operable windows, thermostats, lighting, water and more. A central Data Command Center will analyze the data to control HVAC equipment and record energy flows. University researchers affiliated with the Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST) will tap this data for real-time performance measurement and ongoing analysis. The OSC will enable researchers to assess thermal, air, lighting, and acoustic conditions using the embedded sensors, interior climate stations, and instrumented mobile carts for more detailed data. These tools, coupled with occupant surveys, will let researchers assess the connections between environmental conditions and human comfort. Having this fine grain of detailed data will allow for a better understanding of the factors at work in predicting performance with modeling, improving the ability of future projects to achieve similarly aggressive performance targets.
In recognition of the project's aggressive performance targets, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected OSC as one of 18 participants in their Commercial Buildings Partnerships, through which it will provide technical support to project teams pursuing net zero energy goals and serve as a central clearinghouse for the analysis of post-occupancy performance data.
Oregon BEST will connect Oregon industry with research being conducted by four Oregon University System institutions related to the design, construction, and operation of the building so that Oregon firms can more quickly commercialize research into marketable products and services. Researchers from Portland State University, Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and the Oregon Institute of Technology have worked collaboratively with Oregon BEST in the development of a robust research agenda in support of the project.
The five major research areas established for the OSC are:
- Net-zero Energy Building Technologies and Strategies
- Water Use and Rainwater Retention
- Material Utilization, Waste, and Life Cycle Environmental Impacts
- Occupant Health and Performance
- Integrated Performance-Based Design, Construction, and Operation
The wide range of Living Building expertise that will flow from the research agenda at the OSC will accelerate international recognition of Oregon as the place where the sustainability business case is made - where university researchers collaborate to help businesses thrive by innovating and exporting solutions to the world's toughest challenges in creating a sustainable built environment.
