Ashley McGraw Architects

Ashley McGraw Architects Designs New York's First Net Zero Energy School District Building

Tue

May

Designed by Syracuse-based Ashley McGraw Architects' Advanced Building Studio, the Liberty Central School District's new Media Center in Liberty, New York could become the state's first net zero energy school district building after it breaks ground this summer. The 4000-square-foot Media Center should open in time for the 2010 school year; many of the project's green design strategies are those which critics of the recent NAIOP study (which we wrote about extensively over at GRELJ) decried as lacking in the study's methodoloy, which concluded that 30 to 50 percent reductions in energy consumption over ASHRAE 90.1-2004 were not practicable for most owners given current technologies and corresponding payback periods. For example, Ashley McGraw implemented a comprehensive site orientation and daylighting strategy, designing the structure's shape and windows to provide sufficient natural north light to the project's interiors, as well as low-level south- and west-facing windows which will reduce both solar heat gain and corresponding cooling loads.

ML: Glass Tower Hall at SUNY Cortland Earns LEED Certified Rating

Mon

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

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SUNY Cortland's Glass Tower Hall dormitory building recently received LEED certification from USGBC. The $12.6 million project was completed back in August of 2005 and is the school's newest residence hall, housing upper-class and transfer students.The 194-bed dorm includes a bicycle room that's large enough to store a bike for every student, as well as charging stations for hybrid automobiles. Standard LEED features include efficient HVAC systems, windows, and insulation. The design team, which included Ashley McGraw Architects and Burt Hill Kosar Rittlement Associates, also specified a number of sustainable features for the project's landscaping, including narrow sidewalks, efficient lighting, and native shrubbery.