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Retrofit: The Latest Architecture and News

Zaha hadid architects renovates monaco's le schuylkill tower.

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has just begun renovating the iconic Schuylkill Tower in Monaco . Originally built in 1963, the tower currently stands tall as Monaco’s first-ever high-rise. ZHA conducted a feasibility study evaluating its development prospects and the scope of necessary renovations. This led to ZHA’s collaboration with local firm Square Architecte to revitalize and expand the iconic structure, set to be completed in May 2027.

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Successes and Contradictions in Urban Center Retrofitting: The Case of São Paulo

Considered the fifth most populous city in the world as of 2022, São Paulo is confronted with a multitude of challenges befitting its over 22 million inhabitants. Among the numerous urban issues faced, the depopulation of the city's historic center has been a recurring topic for at least four decades, with governments announcing measures that could potentially reverse the situation. In the meantime, the same center has witnessed a rise in housing occupations in abandoned buildings, highlighting the importance of its redefinition and residential potential.

Social Spaciousness: MVRDV Reimagines the Future of Co-Living

MVRDV has just released a new design study exploring how co-living can help shape the future of housing . Created in collaboration with developer HUB and sustainable investor Bridges Fund Management, the study introduces a comprehensive study exploring diverse typologies, aiming to revolutionize communal living and vibrant neighborhoods. It addresses modern housing needs, including flexibility , sustainability, and community, while tackling climate crisis and affordability issues. The endeavor offers tailored solutions for various co-living projects, catering to many demographics and lifestyles.

New York, Milan, and Venice Amongst Participants in C40's Reinventing Cities Competition 2024

“Reinventing Cities,” C40’ s renowned global design competition , has just announced its fourth edition. The competition’s main goal is to “transform underutilized sites or buildings into beacons of sustainability and resilience and act as a showcase for future zero-carbon urban developments. ” This year, 15 cities have stepped up the challenge, inviting professionals from various disciplines to reimagine underutilized urban sites and design transformations prioritizing sustainability and inclusivity .

With a commitment to zero-carbon , urban resilient projects, Reinventing Cities has engaged over 3,500 businesses worldwide with 40 p rojects currently under development globally . This year’s competition is characterized by its ambitious environmental and social objectives; with participating cities spanning continents, including Almere , Bilbao , Bologna , Brussels, Glasgow , Milan , New York , Palermo, Renca , Rome , San Antonio , San Francisco , São Paulo , Seattle , and Venice.

From New Buildings to Retrofit Projects: Solar Facade Systems for a Circular and Low-Carbon Architecture

The sun’s influence on human life encompasses multiple dimensions, from biological and developmental aspects to religious-mythological connotations in civilizations such as the Egyptians and Romans. Moreover, this influence extends to its use as a natural resource within the realm of science. In scientific pursuits, the continuous search to harness the sun as an energy source has been a constant throughout the years. Within this context, the discovery of the photovoltaic effect and its application have paved the way in the history of solar panels , starting from the first observations of Becquerel to the initial prototypes of Charles Fritts in the 19th century.

Nowadays, the energy obtained from the sun through devices such as solar panels has become one of the most widely used sources in regions like North America and Europe, contributing to the efforts for a complete transition to clean energy . The momentum in this transition has motivated the development of new technologies, such as SolarLab facade systems , that challenge the preconceived idea of what a solar panel looks like and where it can be installed. These systems converge with architecture to integrate them as aesthetic elements, serving as cladding for both retrofit projects and new buildings.

How to Save a Building from Demolition: Emerging Procedures to Uncover the Potential of Existing Structures

The twentieth century marked a definitive shift in the realm of architecture, as the Modernist movement broke from traditional building styles and encouraged experimentation and innovation. With the help of new materials and technologies, these times represent a crucial moment in the history of architecture as both cities and building styles evolved at an unprecedented rate. The structures that stand testament to this day are, however, nearing the age of a hundred years old. Their stark design features are not always embraced by the public, while the functionalist principles often hinder the adaptability of their interior spaces. Given that they also often occupy central positions within the city, there is increasing pressure to demolish these structures and redevelop the area in its entirety.

Energetic Retrofitting: A Solution for Environmental Obsolescence in Architecture

Architecture is a continually evolving form of human expression influenced by cultural and contextual factors. While many of the problems we face today aren't directly linked to architecture, it has the ability to provide or facilitate solutions to these challenges. This has been evident throughout history, as societal issues have played a significant role in shaping our built environments. For instance, during the Victorian era , the infamous "Great Stink" led to the modernization of London's drainage system and urban layout. Similarly, the 2008 recession gave rise to the sharing economy and coworking spaces . Nowadays, the climate crisis is transforming the way we conceive architecture, seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and cities to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives . Given this backdrop, what challenges should we expect in the future?

CARE, a New Digital Tool, Helps Designers Quantify the Value of Reuse Versus New Construction

Refurbishment and adaptive reuse have been at the forefront of architectural discourse in recent years. This demonstrates that the profession is becoming increasingly aware of its impact on the environment and the opportunities presented by reusing what has already been built. Architecture 2030 has recently launched CARE , or Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator, a new digital tool that enables designers, owners, and communities to quantify the carbon benefits of adaptive reuse. By entering a streamlined set of project information, such as energy targets and potential building interventions, users can quickly estimate both operational carbon emissions generated by the use of the building and embodied carbon emissions, which are tied to the building materials employed.

Berlin Plans Smart Residential District and Research Park on Former Tegel Airport

The former Berlin-Tegel Airport is set to be redeveloped. The master plan includes the Schumacher Quartier, a new residential district with 200 hectares of landscaped area, and a research and industrial park for urban technologies, Berlin TXL – the Urban Tech Republic. Besides creating a space for industry, business, and science, the innovation park aims to research and test urban technologies. The park will focus on major themes in the development of cities: the efficient use of energy, sustainable construction, eco-friendly mobility, recycling, networked control of systems, clean water, and the application of new materials.

Nieto Sobejano and Richard Faure Design the New Vannes Museum of Fine Arts

The jury's verdict for the competition for the new Museum of Fine Arts in the city of Vannes , Brittany, France , was recently revealed, and the winner of the first prize was the renowned Nieto Sobejano studio (based in Madrid and Berlin), with French architect Richard Faure as associate.

8 Stories of Architects Embracing Refurbishment and Adaptive Reuse

Over the past year, established practices have continued to champion the transformation of existing structures, with adaptive reuse and renovations increasingly becoming a defining aspect of contemporary architecture  From the renovation of landmark structures to the adaptive reuse of obsolete facilities, the idea of giving new life to existing buildings has been embraced as the premise for a more sustainable practice, but also as a means of reinforcing the urban and cultural identity of cities. Discover 8 designs and recently completed projects that showcase a new common practice of reusing existing building stock.

How BIM Can Make Building Renovations and Retrofits More Efficient

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an increasingly common acronym among architects. Most offices and professionals are already migrating or planning to switch to this system, which represents digitally the physical and functional characteristics of a building, integrating various information about all components present in a project. Through BIM software it is possible to digitally create one or more accurate virtual models of a building, which provides greater cost control and efficiency in the work. It is also possible to simulate the building, understanding its behavior before the start of construction and supporting the project throughout its phases, including after construction or dismantling and demolition.

PMC House / PRISCILLA MULLER, Studio Arquitetura e Design

• Architects: PRISCILLA MULLER, Studio Arquitetura e Design
• Area Area of this architecture project Area:  960 m²
• Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2018
• Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers:   B&B Italia , Flos , MDF Italia , Minotti , Npk Mármores , +1 Porada -1

OMA / Shohei Shigematsu to Reimagine Sotheby’s New York Headquarters

Renowned auction house Sotheby’s has unveiled a dramatic OMA/Shohei Shigematsu-designed expansion and re-imagination of their New York City headquarters. Together with OMA Associate Christy Cheng, Shigematsu has redesigned the headquarters to include vast new exhibition galleries for fine art, precious objects, luxury goods, and more. Comprising 40 galleries of varying size across four floors, the new space will increase Sotheby’s exhibition space from 67,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet.

In the proposal, nine galleries will facilitate discreet private sales for dedicated small objects such as watches and jewelry. Three two-story spaces will be set aside for exhibitions, along with a 150-foot-long space for full collections, according to The New York Times . The new space will include “dynamic repertoire” of "spatial conditions", including a white cube, double height, enfilade, corridor cascade, octagonal, and an L-shaped space.

Diffused Light: How to Design 'Lantern Buildings' With Self-Supporting Glass Walls

Recurrently we see how architects opt for translucent facades to create the envelopes of their buildings, promoting the entry of a large amount of natural light, while simultaneously controlling it during the day. Illuminated during the night, many of these projects can be seen in the dark, appearing as lanterns or lighthouses for their neighbors and community. Being exposed to changing conditions – day or night – to choose the right material, it's necessary to study in detail the orientation and location of the building, the pre-existing context, and the configuration of the interior spaces.

We present a system of glass panels that allow buildings with this type of façade –spanning from floor to ceiling without interruptions – with minimal frames and different colors, textures, thermal and acoustic performances. 

Construction Begins on MVRDV’s Redesign for Europe’s Biggest Urban Shopping Center

In the 3rd Arrondissement of the French city of Lyon , construction has begun on Lyon Part-Dieu, an MVRDV -designed scheme seeking to transform the city’s main shopping center . Featuring partly-transparent glass and a public green roof , the MVRDV scheme will revitalize and integrate what was formerly an introverted complex built for an era dominated by the car.

At 166,000 square meters, Lyon Part-Dieu is the largest downtown shopping center in Europe, built in 1975. In order to improve the existing outdated complex, MVRDV worked with co-architects SUD to produce a design that offers a contemporary update to the existing façade and a re-organization of the interior program.

Suspended LED Lighting Installation Projects The Pulse of City Life in Stockholm

Designed by David Svensson , a total of 400 meters of a neon resembled warm white LED from GE is a work of art representing the pulse of city life in busy Stockholm station.

The project, a piece of suspended light, is built by metal profiles and a ceiling where the warm and white light of a series of LED strips is projected, in the quest to represent the basic visual language of the line. 

Custom Bamboo Skylight Illuminates the Interior of a Historic Building in China

In response to the overwhelming growth of cities and neighborhoods in China , architects from Atelier Archmixing’s Shanghai office, have developed a series of proposals that seek to return value to sensitive interior spaces and improve the user’s quality of life through design.

The project consists of an interesting light fixture; a bamboo structure similar in shape to an umbrella, that lets natural light and fresh air into the building.

• home > green building design > housing refurbishment / retrofit > case study 1: 1930s terrace house
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Retrofit Case study 1: 1930s terrace house

Property: 3-bed, 1930s, mid-terrace, south london.

Client: Hyde Housing Association Architects: ECD Architects ECD Architects approached Hyde Housing Association in 2007 with a proposal to undertake an exemplar retrofit project. Retrofit initiatives to date have focussed primarily on installing individual renewables or other low-carbon technologies. Hyde and ECD therefore agreed that the aim of this project would be to establish the most effective overall package of retrofit measures necessary to achieve a 80% reduction in CO2 emissions, recommended by the Existing Homes Alliance, at a typical 3-bedroom mid-terrace house. The project would include a post-construction 2-year monitoring period which would develop a full cost/benefit analysis, with a view to ascertaining the optimum expenditure. This would enable Hyde and others to make the more efficient and effective choices about how best to apply energy saving as part of large scale retrofit programmes.

The property

Performance prior to refurbishment

• The existing house had a SAP rating of 60, well above the national average of 48 and therefore presenting a significant challenge to achieve the 80% reductions. • An initial ‘base case’ airtightness test was executed with which to compare the completed scheme and to highlight existing leakage points that need mitigation. The test revealed a surprising 9.16 m 3 /hr/m 2 @ 50 pascals, which is better than current building regulation requirements. The windows were the source of the worst infiltration with poor seals leaking air badly, followed by incoming services penetrations and the loft access hatch. • According to PHPP software, specific primary energy use (heating, DHW + auxilliary electricity) at the existing property is estimated to have been 414 kWh/m 2 /yr with CO 2 emissions rated at 100 kg/m 2 /yr and space heating demand rated at 223 kWh/m 2 /yr.

Refurbishment priorities

Reducing heat loss

Designed u-values.

· Suspended timber floor – 0.2 W/m 2 K · External walls – 0.15 W/m 2 K · Pitched or flat roofs – 0.1 W/m 2 K

Floors and walls

• In the choice of insulation material, thermal performance and ease of installation has been favoured over embodied energy and material source considerations, although minimal GWP and ZODP credentials were pre-requisites. • Phenolic foam insulation offers the best performance of any readily available panel and therefore has less impact on internal room dimensions where dry-lining is concerned – an important consideration for Hyde. Kingspan’s Kooltherm phenolic range was therefore selected for both suspended floors and external walls. For the main body of the house, insulation-backed K17 plasterboard dry-lining panels were specified, whilst for the rear extension external K5 wallboards with a silicone render finish provides the best solution.

• For the pitched roof element, a number of other factors came into play rather then straightforward thermal performance. -The loft is to be used for locating plant such as the proposed thermal store and mechanical ventilation unit, therefore access and available headroom were important factors, as was the poor condition of the existing roofing felt. -Simultaneously, we were concerned about achieving good airtightness when recessed light fittings were introduced to the ceiling below. A combination of insulation products were therefore selected – Kingspan Thermapitch, laid on an airtight vapour barrier over the existing ceiling joists, and Web Dynamics’ TLX Gold multi-foil lining the existing rafters and party walls. The rigid boards are laid to the depth of an existing central bearer (170mm), thus allowing a floating floor deck to pass freely across the loft area. TLX Gold is the world’s first breathable multi-foil and the Court Farm Road project will be used as a case study and test-bed for both its ease of installation and performance in operation. This material will also allow the retention of the existing roofing felt and tiles by providing a secondary waterproof layer, as well as minimising the impact on headroom in the loft and reducing summer heat gains due to its reflective gold inner layer. • For the rear extension roof Kingspan Thermapitch rigid polyurethane boards (220mm) were preferred, in conjunction with Knauf Carbon Zero glasswool in the eaves location.

Windows and Doors

• The existing double-glazed windows were shown to be the weakest building element during the airtightness test: they will be replaced with aluminium-clad NorDan Ntech Passive windows, which are triple-glazed with warm edge spacers and composite insulated timber frames, achieving an overall Uw-value of 0.7 W/m 2 K. • Front and rear doors will also be replaced with insulated replacements with a Uw-value of 1.0 W/m 2 K.

Detailing and workmanship

Details were considered in terms of the abutment of insulation, avoidance of thermal bridging and continuity of the air barrier. As well as communicating installation requirements on 1:5 detail drawings, ECD held a workshop on site with the contractor’s site team to explain the importance of their workmanship to these issues, together with background on how the building is intended to perform as a low-carbon dwelling. To ensure a reasonably airtight envelope, the contractor kept a log and photographic record of all service penetrations through the external walls and roofs to ensure they are sealed effectively.

Ventilation and Heat Recovery

To provide controlled ventilation, a Vaillant recoVAIR 275 mechanical ventilation system is being retrofitted into the property. Mounted on the party wall in the loft space, the unit will extract air from the kitchen and bathrooms, reclaiming around 90% of the heat to pre-warm incoming fresh air which is then supplied to the living and bedrooms. In summer mode, a bypass extracts the air direct to outside

Space heating

With the above measures in place, the space heating requirements at the property are estimated to reduce from 17,238 kWh/yr to 2,410 kWh/yr – a drop of over 86%. With such low levels of heating required, tenant fuel bills will be significantly reduced. Capital cost, ease of retrofitting and ongoing maintenance requirements therefore become the most important driver in the choice of fuel source.

Systems considered but rejected

• Ground source heat pumps: are relatively expensive to install and need to be located in a substantial, and preferably sound-proofed, cupboard. Furthermore, to operate efficiently they work best in conjunction with an underfloor heating system, which in itself has inherent problems in a retrofit situation. • Underfloor heating: The feasibility for underfloor heating was explored by ECD and Mears and found to be technically possible but only with a reduction in underfloor insulation levels and an increase in installation time and cost. When further confronted with a solid concrete floor in the kitchen, the concept was rejected in favour of a conventional wet radiator system. • Heat pumps: Heat pumps require electricity to operate, which in the UK is particularly carbon intensive – more than twice the kgCO 2 /kWh than mains gas. Therefore to produce carbon reductions in comparison with an efficient gas condensing boiler, heat pumps need to achieve a Coefficient of Performance greater than 2.5 measured across the whole year – the recent trials at the Barratt EcoSmart show properties recorded a CoP of 2.6. Air source heat pumps are unlikely to improve upon these results at present and would also require underfloor heating. • Biomass boiler: A biomass boiler was also ruled out by Hyde as it was thought to place an undue burden on the tenant to source and store a supply of wood pellets, and would again require additional plant space.

Selected system: condensing gas boiler & radiators

With these considerations in mind, the decision was made to upgrade the existing gas boiler for a more efficient condensing unit and the Vaillant ecoTEC system was selected, with low NOx emissions and programmable controls. This was relocated to a hall cupboard since the existing flue outlet position contravened modern guidelines.

Domestic Hot Water

The gas condensing boiler will also supply hot water to the property but will be supplemented by solar thermal collectors located on the pitched roof. The system is to be supplied and installed by Kingspan Renewables in conjunction with a twin-coil 250l Range Tribune thermal store located in the loft space. Two flat plate collectors mounted either side of the ridge will face east and west but will be controlled intelligently to favour the better performing panel as the sun tracks around the house to the south. It is hoped that 50-60% of the tenant’s hot water needs will be met by this system. All connecting pipework between boiler and thermal store will be well insulated to prevent heat transfer to the internal environment.

A significant proportion of the property’s electricity load will be for lighting therefore the retrofit proposals will seek to minimise this component. Other major demands for electricity, eg for household appliance and entertainment use, are typically beyond the control of any RSL refurbishment scheme and down to tenant behaviour. The ‘Retrofit and Replicate’ exemplar project therefore concentrates on minimising electrical lighting loads through the installation of low energy lighting to every room.

Unlike typical low energy lighting solutions, the use of compact fluorescents is avoided in favour of the latest in LED technology. Unlike CFLs, LED lamps contain no contaminants such as mercury or phosphor and can be safely disposed of or recycled. Although they are much more expensive currently, they are very robust and offer 50,000 hours of use (compared to 10,000 for CFLs or 3,000 for halogens) meaning no need to change then for at least 20 years! In this way, energy use is significantly reduced without the customary start-up delays and only a small reduction in efficacy. ECD worked with Gloucestershire-based specialist GreenLED to develop the layouts and specifications. GreenLED will supplied 3.7W Antares GU10 lamps for installation by the contractor, Mears, into standard recessed fittings.

Micro-generation

Despite all the carbon reduction measures described above, the scheme was still estimated to fall short of achieving the 80% target, largely because of its relatively good SAP rating at the outset.

Photo voltaics

Working with Solar Technologies, proposals for an array of eight panels located on the rear extension roof were developed. Bearing in mind the short lead-in time, product availability and the need for grant funding, Solar Technologies recommended Sharp 170W polycrystalline panels, to be laid at a pitch of only 5° to limit any impact on the neighbouring property. A single inverter has been located in the existing ‘electrical’ cupboard and a wall-mounted display will inform the incoming tenants of its electrical contribution.

Getting to an 80% reduction

Water conservation

Water efficiency.

Materials specifications generally reflects the environmentally-friendly aims of the project, for example: • FDT Rhepanol pvc-free single-ply roof membrane to the rear extension • Finnforest Thermowood fascia cladding boards • Lindab Rainline steel guttering These materials have been selected because their manufacture and processing avoids the use of toxic materials. Typically they are durable products that require minimal maintenance and can be easily recycled at the end of their life.

Internally, the focus has been on responsible sourcing and avoidance of materials prone to off-gassing wherever possible. This is especially important in a dwelling where air leakage and draughts are very low. Timber used throughout the house is either softwood or occasionally temperate European hardwood, with FSC or PEFC accreditation. Natural products have been selected for floor finishes as far as possible, with Tarkett Marley Veneto XF linoleum flooring in the kitchen and an eco-wool carpet to bedrooms and hall areas supplied by the Alternative Flooring company. The latter has even been laid on a recycled rubber underlay! The access door to the rainwater harvesting cupboard was fabricated in MDF for ease but the zero-formaldehyde Medite Ecologique was used in lieu of conventional fibreboard.

Landscaping and external works

In the garden and driveway the tenant has been provided with the tools to help with a greener lifestyle, for example: • raised planter to encourage home-grown vegetables • twin composting bins • rainwater butt to store water for use in the garden • a rotary washing line • recycle box storage

Internal decoration has been carried out throughout the entire house post-refurbishment – paints were generously supplied by Dulux Trade from their Ecosure and Light & Space ranges. Working with consultants from their in-house team, the specifications have been selected to highlight their performance credentials, whether that be low VOC levels in the bedroom environments, improved durability and lifespan in the hallways or increased light reflectance in the living areas. The Dulux team will then benefit from the tenant feedback on the performance of these paint finishes over the two year monitoring period.

Post-occupancy Monitoring

n addition to carrying out the comprehensive eco-refurbishment, Hyde are providing the incoming tenants with an understanding of how to best maximise energy savings and to optimise use of the property. The design team will then comprehensively monitor the property’s performance whilst in occupation, in order to give us a thorough understanding of what technologies best work in terms of CO2 savings, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness. Working with Parity Projects, thermocouples are being installed across all wall and roof constructions. These temperature readings will be recorded and uploaded directly to a datalogger, together with ongoing electricity, gas and water usage. Furthermore, a heat meter linked to the output of the Vaillant ecoMAX condensing boiler will provide details of the actual energy used for space heating and supplementary hot water at the property. Uploading this information to a PC-based software package will allow continuous remote monitoring and analysis of the property’s energy use and emissions. In addition to the quantitative data PPCR will undertake post-occupancy interviews conducted throughout the monitoring period to assess resident reactions to the eco measures employed and their impact on comfort and satisfaction. The refurbishment can greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but another crucial question is: ‘What’s it like to live in?’ PPCR will conduct a complimentary exercise with a family living in a nearby similar but non-refurbished property as a comparator. They will discuss general aspects through a questionnaire type agenda with each household member able to contribute, for example: · Does living here seem any different to another home of this type? · Does the ‘ecohome’ present any requirements for lifestyle changes? · Are there any aspects of the measures that are difficult to use/understand? · Are there any measures you would like to change? Why? · Do you think it would work for all tenants/families? · What re the benefits of living in an eco-home?

Financial savings

Of equal importance to reductions in carbon emissions are the financial savings to residents resulting from the significant reduction in energy consumption. It is estimated that energy consumption will be reduced by up to 85% with a saving to the residents of around £600 per year as a result of the retrofit being carried out (at 2008 energy costs). This project will therefore make a major contribution to the growing problem of tackling fuel poverty. At the end of the project a cost benefit analysis will be produced for each of the eco measures adopted. This information will be disseminated publicly and will specifically inform Hyde’s future stock investment and refurbishment plans.

Publications

• Sustainable refurbishment of Victorian housing , Yates, BRE Press, 2006

Further information

• Hyde Housing Association ( www.hyde-housing.co.uk ) • ECD Architects ( www.ecda.co.uk )

GreenSpec accepts no responsibility or liability for any damages or costs of any type arising out of or in any way connected with your use of this web site. Data and information is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended for trading purposes. Neither GreenSpec nor any of its partners shall be liable for any errors in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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• Building the case for net zero…

Building the case for net zero: retrofitting office buildings

Following on from the 2022 report, Delivering Net Zero: Key Considerations for Commercial Retrofits ‘Building the case for net zero: retrofitting office buildings ‘ reframes retrofit as an iterative process, rather than a standalone project, and demonstrates that upgrades should be planned and implemented to align with critical opportunities, such as lease and maintenance cycles.

This report outlines which retrofit measures are the most energy and cost efficient, empowering industry professionals to understand what would work best for their particular project. These retrofit measures span the breadth of building upgrade types: building optimisation, light retrofit and deep retrofit. Additionally, this report details steps for overcoming common challenges to maximise compliance with anticipated Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) and closing the gap towards future net zero carbon performance targets.

What does industry need to do to drive commercial retrofit?

Retrofit now, greater transparency, minimise whole life carbon, invest in long-term value, collaborate and share lessons learnt, download the report here, commercial retrofit case studies.

Uncover more information on the nine case studies featured in the report in our case study library.

5 New Street Square

134-138 Edmund Street

1 & 2 Stephen Street

Minerva House

The Entopia Building

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Our live projects on commercial retrofit are made possible thanks to our project partners

Commercial Retrofit

Advancing Net Zero

Delivering Net Zero: Key Considerations for Commercial Retrofits

Embodied Carbon Modelling and Reporting

Renewable Energy Procurement Part 2

Carbon Offsetting and Pricing Guidance

• Sustainability

The Empire State Building’s Green Retrofit Was a Success. Will Other Buildings Follow Suit?

U nderneath the Empire State building, a maze of pipes, gauges and steel valve wheels that comprise the building’s chiller plant look as if they might have remained unchanged since President Herbert Hoover turned on the tower’s iconic lights at its opening in 1931. Despite their appearance, those enormous heat exchange machines have been thoroughly upgraded on the inside. They have been gutted and reassembled using much of their original materials as part of an extensive and unprecedented retrofit—launched a decade ago, but ongoing to this day—that saw this Big Apple landmark reworked top to bottom in an effort to save energy and reduce costs.

Energy usage by large, old buildings like the Empire State Building represents a huge obstacle to cities’ dreams of carbon neutrality. New York City’s buildings account for 70% of its carbon emissions, for example, and half of those emissions are produced by the largest 5% of its structures. But retrofitting old buildings to make them more energy efficient represents a formidable challenge, both from an engineering perspective and in terms of convincing owners that doing so is in their financial interest.

The Empire State Building’s original green retrofit, completed in 2010 and costing just over $31 million, was groundbreaking for its time. Beyond the chiller plant rebuild, the building’s 6,514 windows each received an additional pane of coated film that helps reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. Insulation was installed behind radiators, also to prevent heat loss. The elevator system was upgraded with regenerative braking, which recaptures electricity as the cars reach their destinations. All told, the upgrades have cut the building’s energy usage by about 40%, saved its owners more than $4 million every year and played a part in attracting high-value tenants that have fattened the building’s bottom line.

“There’s no silver bullet,” says Anthony Malkin, CEO of the Empire State Realty Trust, which owns the Empire State Building. “It’s silver buckshot. It’s lots of different pieces that work together.”

Now, as the Empire State Building turns 90 years old this month, New York State is moving forward with a program that aims to encourage other building owners to follow the world-famous Art Deco skyscraper’s example. “What the Empire State Building did a decade ago was pioneering and really led a green building movement,” says Janet Joseph, senior vice president for strategy and market development at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). “This needs to continue, and we actually need to even go further and deeper than what the Empire State Building did a decade ago.” Through a program called the Empire Building Challenge, NYSERDA is providing $50 million in funding to a group of high-rise building owners to test innovative new green retrofit solutions. Major private sector collaborators, including Vornado Realty Trust and Silverstein Properties, are on board.

It might not seem like the owners of some of the world’s most valuable real estate should need a publicly-financed carrot to upgrade their buildings. But in New York City, there’s also a stick within the overlapping layers of city and state authority that govern the largest city in the U.S. Gotham’s Local Law 97 , enacted in 2019, places ever-shrinking carbon caps on tens of thousands of large buildings in the city, and requires their owners to reduce their energy usage. “We understand that this is costly,” says John Mandyck, CEO of the Urban Green Council, which advocated for the law. “But we’re doing this for a reason. We’re doing it to protect our city from the impacts of climate change.” Those effects are already being felt. Water in New York Harbor is a full 12 inches higher than it was a century ago, and some of the city’s infrastructure is still recovering from damage it sustained during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Water levels surrounding the city are anticipated to rise between 1 and 3.5 feet over the next six decades, costing billions of dollars in property loss.

But even faced with tightening carbon caps, risk-averse, financially-minded building owners may decide they’re simply better off paying fines in the short term rather than upgrading their buildings to use less energy. “Beating people over the head with this stuff doesn’t seem to work,” says Kenneth Lewis, president of the American Institute of Architects’ New York chapter and a partner at architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. “It encourages them, but they’re going to do a balance sheet calculation to decide whether they’re going to do it or not.”

That’s where the Empire Building Challenge comes in. The “heart and soul” of the program, Joseph says, is creating blueprints from the private sector partners’ initial projects, which will then be shared with other building owners across the state, so they know which ideas are worth pursuing. The program also comes as many new relevant technologies are on the verge of becoming viable, including electrochromic glass (which can darken automatically to reduce incoming sunlight) and flooring tiles that can gather electricity from footsteps. Lewis says a “little bit of money” can help encourage building owners to try those technologies and other experiments. “Then they can take that information and share it and encourage further innovation,” he says.

There’s no time to waste. In New York City and elsewhere, old, inefficient buildings are belching out planet-warming emissions and consuming vast amounts of electricity every day. Green building retrofits take time and money, and Lewis says there is perhaps a five-to-ten year window to get moving on initiatives across New York if the City is to meet its climate goals. “This is not about replacing some lightbulbs,” says Joseph. “We need to be retrofitting 200 buildings a day, every day, for the next 12,000 days.”

For their part, the Empire State Building’s owners are planning additional upgrades, which they say they’ll likely unveil next month. They’ve also been picked as part of the Empire Building Challenge. As with their previous work, they’ll make the how-tos of their upgrades available for other building owners to use. That’s important for advocates of green design, as the Empire State Building’s cultural status means that it carries leadership weight even in the profitability-oriented world of real estate. “What I hope [the retrofit] shows, is that if you can do it in the Empire State Building, you can do it anywhere,” says Mandyck.

Still the challenge of decarbonizing the country’s largest city and fourth-most populous state remains daunting. “It’s a scale of transformation that’s unprecedented, but one that we believe is actually vital to the survival of our planet,” says Joseph. “Seems worth doing.”

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Nine Things to Consider Before Starting a Retrofit Project

e-Commerce, omnichannel, speed, changing order profiles and new customer requirements − your business has changed. The distribution center (DC) you designed several years ago may not be the one you need today. Over time, even small changes in your operations can erode efficiency. It may be time for a retrofit to take advantage of newer technologies, process changes and systems advancements that will optimize your operation for the needs of the business today and prepare your company for future growth. But how do you do that without crippling your current operations?

Doing a DC retrofit is a little like having heart surgery while running a marathon. The operation has to keep running while you make changes. Tear-outs and cut-ins take time. But there is often limited time in the day for work that requires processing of orders to be put on hold. You often have a lot of activity happening in a short period of time (overnight/off-shift) which requires strong team organization and project management. And once you start the work, you often don’t have a “go back” solution. When you turn the equipment on, it has to work or operations suffer until you get it running. The time limitations also apply to testing, which is a critical aspect of any retrofit. How do you test in an operating facility without giving up some productivity?

Here are 9 things to consider before beginning a retrofit project:

1. Map your processes to determine whether upstream and downstream equipment and processes are sized to handle the impact of the new equipment.

In an automated environment, when you change any piece of equipment, there are conveyors leading to and from the equipment that will be impacted. The speed of the conveyor has to be matched to the equipment in place. Existing processes may require additional work stations or additional labor. Can these be accommodated in the new design? All of these can be limiting factors when considering new equipment.

• 2. Consider the maintenance and rehab costs of re-using older equipment.

There has been a lot of merger and acquisition activity among material handling equipment suppliers over the last few years. Is the equipment still supported by the original manufacturer or the company that acquired them? What is the cost of that support? Can you still get spare parts when you need them? Equipment warranties can also be voided by changes made during a retrofit. Make sure you fully understand the warranty and support of any equipment impacted by the retrofit.

A Quick Look

• 1. Determine whether upstream and downstream equipment and processes are sized to handle the impact of the new equipment.

3. Dedicate time and resources to change management as part of the solution to mitigate resistance to the new processes.

• 4. Prepare for software systems changes and the need for upgrades.
• 5. Plan for extensive testing at production volumes.

6. Augment your existing resources.

7. budget for contingency where there are known areas of risk..

• 8. Thoroughly document site conditions before you begin the design work.

9. Choose a partner who will take responsibility for the entire solution, rather than just their piece of it.

Process changes can be more difficult than equipment changes. New processes standards must be taught and measured. Educating and training associates on the new processes is necessary no matter what, but change management helps to lower resistance and ensure a smooth transition. Retrofits often require new operating methods used and procedures. The adoption of new methods requires getting staff involved early in the process and asking for their buy-in. Prototyping is a great way for the associates to “try-out” the new design in order to gain their buy-in. You need associates to take ownership for the change from the lowest levels of the organization all the way up through leadership. It’s best to roll-out changes slowly through a series of town hall meetings and trainings to ensure that everyone is on board and ready for the change.

Case Study: Planned Expansion

A leading apparel distributor planned their retrofit as part of an overall strategy to expand operations when they moved into their current facility. During the site selection and design process, they made decisions with expansion capability in mind. Through tipping point analysis, they were able to identify when it would be necessary to add capacity to their operation and when it would make sense to consolidate operations under a single roof. Rapid growth combined with the cost inefficiencies of operating out of two facilities drove the decision to consolidate and expand. The building was new construction with a new lease. The operating method was similar to the existing operation so they were able to quickly bring talent up-to-speed as the expansion came online. The retrofit allowed the client to:

• Consolidate management into a single DC
• Reduce complexities and costs associated with inventory balancing and transfer of overflow volume
• Improve service levels for small retail customers by combining multiple categories into the same shipping carton
• Reduce fulfillment cost per unit
• Nearly double the number of units stored through increased cube utilization
• Support 25% sales growth and 40% unit volume increase

4. Prepare for software systems changes and the need for upgrades, especially in the controls software.

The systems piece can become the biggest area of cost and complexity. In facilities with a well-defined systems architecture and understanding of the functionality that falls to each system (ERP, WMS and controls software ), it’s easier to add equipment and make updates to systems. This is often the case with newer buildings. But over time and for any number of reasons, operations change and move away from the planned architecture. You end up with multiple systems in a single warehouse with overlapping capabilities and no clear architecture. There’s always some level of risk around equipment controls and the handoff from one system to the next. Ask yourself: Is the I/O scheme (wiring of the equipment) to be connected together similar? Can they talk to each other? The way to mitigate the risk is by implementing a warehouse control software solution to make the equipment work together.

5. Plan for extensive testing at production volumes because that’s where you find the issues.

The testing plan is critical to success. You want to set your testing time for a time when the operation is not running production, but be sure to use production-like volume to properly stress test the system. Simulation software can help with testing capabilities before you start moving equipment.

A simulation will help you understand the overall flow and look at downstream impacts before you do a full volume production test. WMS testing is another critical area. Suppliers often do functional, technical and stress tests on their individual pieces of the solution, but a fully integrated operational readiness test (ORT) is necessary to ensure various components of the solution work together and that you are ready for full production.

Project management is often a full-time job on complex retrofits; but even on smaller retrofit projects, it can require significant time and energy. But companies rarely dedicate full-time resources to this critical role, and instead they add the responsibility for the project to a leader who already has a full-time job to do daily. Where possible, consider off-loading some daily responsibilities from your project manager to other resources for the duration of the project, so that they are able to give their full focus where it is most needed. When going from manual or low-level automation to more complex automated environments, be sure that a maintenance team is in place to support it. New software may also require additional technical resources or skill enhancements to support.

Case Study: Complex Retrofit

A footwear distributor made a different choice. Even though the building was older, the lease was close to its end and a business case could be made for a new DC, the company felt vested in the community and its current employee base so they decided to expand the existing facility. When using the same talent in the operation, it’s easy to overlook the importance of training; but this company found it was still necessary to bring them into the training process early to avoid challenges. The primary drivers for the project were growth and omnichannel customer requirements. The retrofit was one of the most complex and challenging in the company’s history due to:

• The precise timing required to change equipment and systems in a fully operating facility with limited clear space
• Tie-ins to and re-use of older and used equipment, which required repairs and hard-to-find parts
• Lack of documentation of controls systems in the older facility
• Multiple instances of WMS software that had to be converted to a single system

The retrofit was justified by the opportunity it offered for the company to enhance its service level agreements with customers across all channels (wholesale, retail and e-Commerce), enable faster order fulfillment and support a broader assortment of the latest styles with a 30% increase in inventory storage.

What will you do if it doesn’t work the first time you turn the solution on? The timing and sequencing of changes to the building, equipment, people, processes and systems must be clearly understood and agreed upon by all parties. You may want to seek outside help to gain a better understanding of some of the risk areas (controls, certain equipment types, etc.) and the long-term implications of the decisions you’ll be required to make. Alignment of all stakeholders both within your organization and those with whom you contract for work on the project is one of the most challenging aspects of any retrofit project.

8. Thoroughly document site conditions before you begin the design work with both structural design plans from the architect (where available) and extensive field measurements.

Make sure that the slab and any existing mezzanines or platforms can compressor pneumatics are sufficient to sustain the additional load requirements, and ceiling joists can support the additional weight of hanging conveyor and other equipment attached to them. Take the time to measure accurately in multiple locations. Don’t measure the distance between two columns of a platform and assume that the rest are placed uniformly throughout. If they’re not, your design can be way off or require significant re-work.

If you have multiple equipment suppliers, it can be hard to find one who will step up and take responsibility for the solution when the problem lies outside their own equipment. And you want a partner who will be there to support you and your team after the solution is up and running. A partner who demonstrates they are in it for the long-term is one who has significantly invested in their controls software, provides a clear technology roadmap for development and provides 24/7/365 support for the entire solution.

Retrofits are more complex than ever because technology is advancing rapidly. Solutions are more complex. And the stakes are high when making changes in a facility that’s operating at or near capacity already. But a retrofit doesn’t have to set you back if you carefully plan and manage it well. Doing so can buy you several years in your existing facility and save you significant capital investment while addressing the changing business requirements of the operation.

For more information on how FORTNA provides support in a retrofit project, visit   https://www.fortna.com/insights-resources/footwear-retailer-designs-for-speed-flexibility-and-capacity/ .

Case Studies

Showing results 1 - 50 of 701

Advanced Extended Plate and Beam Wall System in a Cold-Climate House

Baxter community - high performance green building, bedford farmhouse high performance retrofit prototype, best practices case study: artistic homes, albuquerque, nm, best practices case study: devoted builders, llc, mediterrtanean villas, pasco,wa, best practices case study: nelson construction, hamilton way, farmingon, ct, best practices case study: s&a homes, east liberty, pittsburgh, pa, best practices case study: shaw construction burlingame ranch ph.1, aspen, co, blue sea construction: affordable housing case study, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: artistic homes, albuquerque, new mexico, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: artistic homes, albuquerque, nm, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: centex corporation, san ramon, california, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: clarum homes, watsonville, california, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: community development corporation of utah, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: david weekley homes, houston, texas, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: ecofutures building inc., boulder, colorado, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: ferrier custom homes, dallas, texas, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: g.w. robinson builders, gainesville, florida, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: ideal homes, oklahoma city, oklahoma, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: kacin homes, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: lakeland habitat for humanity, lakeland, florida, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: martha rose construction, inc., seattle, washington, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: masco environments for living, las vegas, nevada, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: palm harbor homes - bimini ii, plant city, fl, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: pulte phoenix cabrillo point, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: rural development inc., turner falls, massachusetts, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: tim o'brien homes, waukesha, wisconsin, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: tindall homes, princeton, new jersey, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: tommy williams homes, builders challenge high performance builder spotlight: yavapai college, chino valley, arizona, builders challenge technology information packages - cold climate: chicago, builders challenge technology information packages - cold climate: denver, building america builders challenge - pulte homes and communities of del web, las vegas division, building america case study technology solutions for existing homes: bedford farmhouse high performance retrofit prototype, building america case study technology solutions for existing homes: concord four square retrofit, building america case study: assessment of a hybrid retrofit gas water heater, building america case study: indoor heat pump water heaters during summer in a hot-dry climate, redding, california, building america case study: side-by-side testing of water heating systems: results from the 2013–2014 evaluation final report, building america case study: simple retrofit high-efficiency natural gas water heater field test, minneapolis, minnesota, building america case study: simplified air distribution, desuperheaters, and sub-slab geothermal heat exchangers, building america case study: standard- versus high-velocity air distribution in high-performance townhomes, building america case study: tankless gas water heater performance, building america comprehensive energy retrofit, efficient solutions for existing homes case study; smud's fair oaks lab home remodel, building america comprehensive energy retrofit, efficient solutions for existing homes case study; smud's mascot avenue remodel., sacramento, california, building america efficient solutions for new homes: case study: concord cape prototype, building america efficient solutions for new homes: case study: habitat for humanity cold climate high r-value prototype, building america energy performance brief: air sealing a flue or chimney shaft, building america energy performance brief: air sealing a porch wall, building america energy performance brief: air sealing and insulating fireplace enclosures.

The Empire State Building: A Case Study of an Aggressive Energy-Saving Retrofit

In April, the Clinton Climate Initiative, the Rocky Mountain Institute, Empire State Building owner Tony Malkin, the city of New York and project partners Jones Lang LaSalle and Johnson Controls Inc. unveiled their bold plan to green the iconic skyscraper -- a project that has proved a high level of energy savings can be captured cost effectively.

By Eric Maurer, Caroline Fluhrer and Aalok Deshmukh

June 11, 2009

• Taking a Comprehensive Approach: Most energy service companies (ESCOs) do not capture all available energy gains. This is because they rarely take a comprehensive building approach and building owners do not specifically ask for a "whole-building" analysis. Hence, most projects focus exclusively on meeting loads efficiently instead of reducing or eliminating them all together. This often leads to retrofit projects that generate about 10 percent to 15 percent savings from easy and quick payback measures, such as lighting and HVAC controls. By considering energy efficiency measures that reduce energy loads like building envelope changes and daylighting, in addition to more efficient systems to meet existing loads (e.g., lighting and HVAC), a whole-building retrofit can achieve much greater energy savings while improving the project economics. • Aligning energy retrofits with equipment replacements: For an energy efficiency retrofit to be cost effective, the retrofit needs to align with planned replacement or upgrades of multiple building systems and components. For instance, the Empire State Building had plans under way to replace its chillers, fix and reseal some of its windows, change corridor lighting and install new tenant lighting as leases expired. Since these upgrades were already on the books, the team redesigned, eliminated and created projects that cost more than the initial budget but would generate significant energy savings over a 15-year period. When these energy savings were accounted for along with the added upfront project costs, the net present value of the energy efficient retrofit projects was better than that of the initial retrofit projects. The key takeaway here is that you actually have to align retrofits with the scheduled replacement of equipment because the energy savings are typically not substantial enough to offset the full non-incremental capital cost and can only justify the incremental capital cost (e.g., the difference in cost between resealing windows and remanufacturing windows). • Capturing tenant energy savings: In existing commercial buildings, capturing the full energy efficiency opportunity requires engaging with tenants. In the Empire State Building retrofit, over 50 percent of the energy savings required some level of tenant engagement. Often energy efficiency opportunities are not implemented because of numerous real or perceived barriers, including a hesitation to engage with tenants, split incentives, business interruption concerns, etc. • Finding a financing model that works: Financing building retrofits through private capital alone will be difficult in today's lending environment. Given tight lending conditions, it is unlikely that private capital will be widely available for retrofits of privately owned commercial buildings. In addition, since most first mortgage liens cover existing equipment that will be replaced or upgraded in a retrofit, an inability to collateralize loans may further complicate the financing situation. A number of possible solutions that combine private capital with publicly funded loan guarantees and other public financing mechanisms have been proposed, but no single financing mechanism has gained national traction. • Retrofitting small and medium-sized buildings: The ESCO business model, employed mostly for the retrofit of municipal, state, federal, university, school and hospital buildings and some large commercial office buildings, is not suited to small and medium-sized commercial buildings, where transaction costs are often disproportionately high relative to the profit opportunity for ESCOs. Small buildings with less than 50,000 square feet of floor space account for approximately 50 percent of the total commercial building stock in the United States. This presents a major opportunity for business model innovation to deliver retrofits to a large and underserved commercial building market segment.

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Residential Retrofit: 20 case studies

Residential Retrofit: 20 case studies Marion  Baeli ,  RIBA Publishing, 128pp, PB, £25

Did you hear the one about the architect who asks his Irish builder ‘So Paddy, what’s the difference between a joist and a girder?’ ‘Ah,’ he replies ‘One wrote Ulysses and the other wrote Faust.’ We can be confounded by our own preconceptions, which is why I like the fact that before this book even starts, the author, an associate at architect Paul Davis+Partners, gives precise definitions: units of measurement, energy nomenclature and sustainable terminologies. Only then does she go into detail on 20 completed retrofit residential projects from 1919 to the present, by different architects. Plans and sections augment concise explanatory text, photographs, graphs and diagrams. Many books cover this topic, but in few is the information so readily to hand and comprehensible. An invaluable text for those working in residential retrofit.

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International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate

CRIOCM 2022: Proceedings of the 27th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate pp 280–290 Cite as

BIM-Enabled Design for Hospital Retrofit in China: A Case Study

• Yue Xu 23 ,
• Tan Tan 23 ,
• Jinying Xu 24 ,
• Ke Chen 25 &
• Qi Zheng 25  
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• First Online: 05 August 2023

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Operations Research ((LNOR))

With the increasing demand for healthcare in China, the retrofit of old hospitals has become an effective practice to upgrade hospitals and improve the healthcare environment. How to fully utilise digital design to retrofit old buildings to improve functionality, reduce energy consumption, shorten building cycles and reduce retrofit costs becomes a significant challenge for the industry to meet the environmental quality needs of patients and healthcare workers. This research explores the industry practice of a leading hospital design institute in China by adopting a single case study of the Beijing Ditan Hospital retrofit project. It reveals the status quo, challenges and prospects of adopting BIM-enabled design in China’s hospital retrofit. The results show that the BIM-enabled design faced the challenges of the Beijing Ditan Hospital retrofit in terms of the complexity of design requirements, functional partitioning and environmental changes through six functions: storage, integration, connection, automation, visualisation and statistical analysis.

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Alaboud, N., Cooney, J.P., Zeeshan, A.: Using a mobile BIM based framework to enhance information provisioning support in healthcare projects. BIM Manag. Interoperability (2016)

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Barber, S.L., Borowitz, M., Bekedam, H., Ma, J.: The hospital of the future in China: China’s reform of public hospitals and trends from industrialized countries. Health Policy Plan. 29 , 367–378 (2014)

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Pikas, E., Koskela, L., Sapountzis, S., Dave, B., Owen, R.: Overview of building information modelling in healthcare projects. In: HaCIRIC 2011 Conference Proceedings, HaCIRIC, Imperial College, Tanaka Business School (2011)

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number U21A20151].

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Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

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Weisheng Lu

Department of Emergency Management, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

School of Management, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

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Xu, Y., Tan, T., Xu, J., Chen, K., Zheng, Q. (2023). BIM-Enabled Design for Hospital Retrofit in China: A Case Study. In: Li, J., Lu, W., Peng, Y., Yuan, H., Wang, D. (eds) Proceedings of the 27th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate. CRIOCM 2022. Lecture Notes in Operations Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3626-7_22

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Case Study: Hallway Lighting Retrofit

Published october 2014.

Not every lighting retrofit project we do takes on an entire facility all at once. Sometimes, clients decide to address major areas of concern first, or because their budgets necessitate it, they simply do several smaller projects over time. Whether the project is exterior parking lot lights, a gymnasium, or simply common areas like hallways, every reduction in usage can help. This case study shows how one school converted T8 fixtures to a slimmer, lower maintenance cost LED fixture to achieve better aesthetics, more energy savings, and reduced maintenance.

Deciding to take control of their maintenance costs by upgrading their hallways was a pretty simple decision for this school. An area with aging fixtures and astronomical replacement costs was a great target to start saving.  The major problem?  Fixture lenses were brittle, easily broken, and no longer manufactured meaning they cost a ton to replace.

Projects like this prove you don’t have to bite off more than you can chew by retrofitting your entire facility at once. Selecting high-traffic corridors with high maintenance costs or long burn hours can make a significant savings impact. Take a look how this institution is using LED updates to control costs, mitigate maintenance expenses, AND save energy! Their new fixtures are even network ready if the building moves toward a facility-wide control system.

PROJECT GOALS & SUCCESSES

• Inefficient T8 fixtures retired & recycled
• 114 unnecessary fixtures removed from use!
• New lighting layout for maximum efficiency
• Decreased kW& kWh by 60% overall
• Project rebate over $1700
• Annual savings over $1100 / nearly $100 a month!
• New system connects to building controls
• Cut maintenace costs, new fixtures have 5 yr warranty!
• New fixtures contain no hazardous materials

EQUIPMENT FACTS

• Sustainable, Energy Saving LED
• 2 inch fixture profile
• Rated 100K hours, L70
• Dimming and Network ready
• Even Light Distribution, >80CRI

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

CARBON SAVINGS Total greenhouse gas reduction 9.1 Metric Tons equivalent to:

• Passenger cars not driven for one year 1.9
• Gallons of gasoline saved 1020.7
• Acres of forest preserved from deforestation 0.07
• Tons of waste recycled vs. land filled 3.25

Case studies

Explore our home retrofit case studies.

Every home is different, and homeowners make the decision to retrofit their homes for a range of reasons, from reducing carbon emissions to saving money on energy bills to addressing mould and damp issues.

Explore the remarkable stories of Oxfordshire homeowners who have enhanced their homes for greater comfort and energy efficiency. From a humble 1960s terrace to a delightful 16th-century thatched cottage, these stories show how retrofit works for different homes and homeowners.

If you find yourself inspired, take the first step in retrofitting your home with us with our free Plan Builder tool.

Maureen’s Whole House Plan story

Nilam’s inspiring retrofit journey in the heart of the Paddox estate 

Eco-retrofit at a large Victorian Semi-detached

“We’ve wrapped our whole house in insulation”

Eco-Retrofit at an East Oxford terrace

Peter and Maggie make 1970s Sandford home energy efficient

Retrofitting a Didcot home to be warm and comfortable all year round

Retrofitting an end-of-terrace family home in East Oxford

Retrofitting to get a Cotswolds cottage off fossil fuels for good

Retrofitting a barn in Hook Norton to add additional space to the home

Making a cold, dark terraced house in Oxford feel cosy and warm

Tackling extreme mould in a semi-detached house in Headington