CREJ

22 / 28

Page 22 — Property Management Quarterly — October 2017
Universal Protection Service provides the best security
solutions, personalized customer service and unmatched
value available. We now also offer our clients Safety Act
protection from the Department of Homeland Security.
Universal offers an expansive range of security solutions,
consultations and investigations for properties of
every type, including:
Airports
Corporate Campuses
Distribution/Manufacturing
Facilities
Government Facilities
Healthcare Facilities
Office Buildings
Petrochemical Facilities
Residential Communities
Retail Centers
Educational Facilities
For more information call
Lorie Libby at 303-901-9037
Vendor Trends
G reen building is
becoming more
prevalent in the
industry. Colorado is
a leader in sustain-
able building innovations
and practices. The state
ranks in the top 10 states
for LEED building. The
state also is a leader in the
movement toward net-zero
energy districts as a part-
ner of the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Better Com-
munities Alliance. Net-zero
energy districts comprise a
group of net-zero buildings
that generate as much ener-
gy as they consume over
the course of a year. Yet net
zero is only one aspect of
sustainable building.
• The Living Building Chal-
lenge – net zero times 10. The
Living Building Challenge is
the world’s most rigorous
sustainable building certifi-
cation program. Developed
as a standard for creat-
ing advanced sustainable
buildings, certified Living
Buildings are integrated
with the environment from
top to bottom, inside out. A
building’s design, materials,
resources, location and pur-
pose must meet the highest
standards to be certified as
one.
The Living Building Chal-
lenge program is comprised
of seven performance areas
– place, materials, water,
energy, health and happi-
ness, equity and beauty.
Called the Petal Certifica-
tion, each “petal” has a
stringent set of standards
and requirements. Archi-
tects and builders are
required to achieve at least
three of the seven petals to
receive certification. One of
the three petals must be the
water, energy or materials
petal.
The water petal requires
that 100 percent of the Liv-
ing Building’s water needs
must be supplied by cap-
tured pre-
cipitation
or other
natural
closed-
loop water
systems,
and/or by
recycling
used proj-
ect water.
Water
must be
purified
without
the use of
chemicals.
The energy petal requires
buildings to rely solely on
renewable forms of energy
and operate year-round in a
safe, pollution-free manner.
The Net Zero Imperative
states that 105 percent of
the project’s energy needs
must be supplied by on-site
renewable energy on a net
annual basis, without the
use of on-site combustion.
Projects must provide on-
site energy storage.
The materials petal
requires the building meet
indoor environmental
quality standards. Tradi-
tional building materials
are responsible for many
adverse environmental
issues, including personal
illness, habitat and species
loss, pollution and resource
depletion. The materi-
als petal requires building
materials to be nontoxic
and have zero negative
impact on human and eco-
system health. Builders
must certify that all mate-
rials used – from fixtures
to wood finishes to wiring
– are free of intentionally
added chemicals or materi-
als.
The Bullitt Center in
Seattle is the first urban
infill commercial building
to receive Living Build-
ing certification. Net-zero
energy, net-zero water, on-
site treatment of sewage
and the use of toxic-free
building materials are just
some reasons the building
is innovative.
To achieve the Net Zero
Imperative, the Bullitt Cen-
ter’s 575-panel rooftop solar
power system generates
as much electricity as the
building requires in a year.
Heat is generated via 26
geothermal wells beneath
the center. The root-like
wells dive down 400 feet
below the ground surface
to create a ground-source
heat pump and in-floor
radiant system. Concrete
flooring embedded with
radiant tubes run through
the building at 90 degrees
Fahrenheit, warming the
building in the winter. Five
heat pumps help keep the
building thermally comfort-
able throughout the year.
• Concrete flooring: Nature’s
green foundation. Most net-
zero buildings install con-
crete flooring, and for good
reason. Concrete is a sus-
tainable building material
that meets Living Building
Challenge indoor environ-
mental standards as well as
the Green Building Coun-
cil’s LEED rating system.
Thanks in large part to the
advances in concrete floor-
ing product formulas, low
volatile-organic-compound
concrete flooring contrib-
utes to clean indoor air
quality. Additionally, con-
crete flooring embedded
with tubing can provide
economical, nontoxic space
heating and cooling. Con-
crete-radiant floors reduce
energy requirements by as
much as 60 percent.
Whether a space is a
remodeled warehouse,
apartment building or mod-
ern office, concrete flooring
not only meets LEED green
standards, but also concrete
floors can be the basis of a
design direction.
“Many white-box projects
we service require remov-
ing carpet adhesives from
concrete floors,” said Mark
Marone, general manager of
Custom Concrete Prep and
Polish. “Architects, designers
and space planners often
ask us to grind and seal the
exposed original concrete
flooring. This creates LEED
certified flooring and a
natural palette onto which
unlimited decorative design
options may be applied,
such as microtoppings.”
Applying a high polish or
decorative microtopping to
an existing concrete floor
can transform the entire
space, all while meeting
Green Building Council’s
LEED requirements, he
said.s
Carrie Hebert
Decorative concrete
consultant, Custom
Concrete Prep and
Polish, Arvada
Brad Kahn
Seattle’s Bullitt Center combines solar and geothermal wells to
achieve net-zero energy and became the first urban infill commercial
building to receive Living Building certification.