Urban League Workforce Training Center
The Urban League facility is a highly energy efficient as well as "humanistic" building. The building was designed to take advantage of a mild year-round climate and features spaces that move smoothly between the inside and outdoors. A partially enclosed atrium with a combination of glass and translucent fabric functions as entry, lobby, gathering space and circulation hub, with ventilation designed to release warm summer air and keep out cooler winter air. The effect is not only pleasant but energy and cost effective as well.
Daylight harvesting was woven into the building program, layout, envelope, electrical lighting /controls, and HVAC systems. Photovoltaic power generation system cut lighting costs even further.
Multi-story projects are limited to side lighting (windows) through the vertical exterior walls. The perimeter of the building becomes the daylight farm. This in turn increases the side lighting area. Programmatically, the atrium volume is a sheltered entry spine and an opportunity to clearly organize vertical and horizontal circulation. The resulting occupied areas become rectilinear floor plates with the majority of window facing north and south providing daylight to virtually every space in the building.
The Urban League was an active participant in the design of this space and were willing to forgo a traditional, mechanically conditioned space for the long-term energy / economic savings. Critical to this design was the open geometry at the intersection of the roof and walls. The atrium fabric and glass roof was designed to provide venturi and gravity effects to enhance summer ventilation. Through the use of large openings at the east and west walls at street level, air flow is allowed through the space. During the winter months, the large openings at the street level will remain closed, discouraging the draw of cold air across the atrium. A radiant hydronic system provides additional comfort during winter months.
An indirect evaporative cooling system features VAV zones that minimize reliance on compression cooling, and operable windows, which are energy efficient, help reduce costs and maintain the appropriate feel for the center. Variable drive highly efficient motors were used in all mechanical systems.
The Center illustrates a comprehensive approach to green buildings. The center is located in a redevelopment area and near several bus lines. In addition, construction used an array of green building materials.
Data on green buildings suggest that they bring out better performance in occupants, showing that schools can increase student performance by 20 to 30 percent, retail shops can increase sales by 10 percent to 30 percent and worker productivity in office environments can be improved by 3 percent to 15 percent. "People miss that side of the equation to their own detriment." - David Mogavero.