TECHNICAL DWGS CONT. 03/22/08

I am working on specifying the finishes for all of the hotel rooms. The walls are a plain white color made by Benjamin Moore, known as Snow White. The wall that backs to the bed is painted a dark navy blue color. The wall base is a chocolate base color to match the Mocha Suede Finish that matches the Kimball Hospitality Suite Finish.

MORE TECHNICAL DWGS 03/22/08

Here are some drawings and rough ideas of the Sketchup model for the interior courtyard area. The area is inspired by the historical context of the downtown area with more modern colors and forms. The inpirational photograph was taken in New Orleans near the W Hotel on Poydras Street. The interior courtyard takes its inspiration and interprets it from the historical exterior into the interior.

MIDTERM REVIEW 03/12/08

I met with Matt for a midterm review today. We discussed some critical issues to deal with the space planning of the hotel. There are several rooms on the second floor that have no windows. I am going to convert these into breakoff meeting rooms to accompany the Conferencing Facilities or Banquet Rooms that are already provided on the second floor. I also have to check out the newly added stairwells to make sure that they are meeting the code.

The focus research is going well, and I am going to work on completing the remainder of the construction documents over spring break. I will also do additional research on LEED Certification Standards and Credits. I ordered the LEED NC 2.2 Manual for the student membership price, and this will be the basis of my research. I will continually post revisions that I am making to the construction documents phase of the program.

Please check my blog for updates.

RENDERING AND ELEVTIONS 03/12/08

I have been working on renderings of different spaces. The renderings below are of the hallway and the entry approach to the guest rooms from the second floor.

The elevations are of a typical of each room type. I began specifying the furniture and finishes on some of the elevations. There are drawings for the Wonderful Room, the Spectacular Room, the Fantastic Suite, and the Wow Suite. In the two regular rooms, I showed what the room would look like in elevation if it had two doubles instead.

SS CREDIT 1: SITE SELECTION

The United States specifies guidelines for places that are not recommended for placement of building sites. Since the building at hand was an existing site, the renovation process is deemed safe. However, research was dedicated to making sure the site is appropriate.

The Reference Guide recommends examining information provided by the NRDC or the National Resources Defense Council. The website provided useful tips on the preservation of different ecological environments. There is also a portion of the website dedicated to the design of sustainable buildings and implementing sustainable practices.

http://www.nrdc.org/land/default.asp

The NRDC website provides information on legislative documentation, such as the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act is referenced in the guide as an important code to know during site selection. Further research into the EPA’s website provided information about the act. There are regional topics for discussion about water cleanliness and sources of contamination, and Louisiana belongs to Region 6. Region 6 encompasses the states of Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The Clean Water Act is also referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972. The aim of the Clean Water Act is to eradicate the harm of toxins and water pollution.

The following map is from The FEMA Map Service and shows the Flood Zones of the downtown Baton Rouge Area. The map below and the one found by FEMA both diagram 333 Laurel Street as Flood Zone X, which is defined as area of minimal flooding. The website that provided this information is listed below.
http://gis.brgov.com

SS CREDIT 4.1 and EA PRE-REQ 1 INFORMATION AND FURTHER RESEARCH

LEED encourages the location of one or two public or campus bus lines within a quarter of a mile. There is currently a public transportation system set up by CATS, also known as the Capital Area Transportation System.

There is also a Capitol Park Trolley system that is implemented in downtown Baton Rouge. It is a free service, but the hours of operation are limited from 10:30 –2:30 p.m. with continuous service. There are several pick-up and drop-off locations, one being for the 400 block of Third Street located on the retail corridor of the proposed site.

New Technologies: There are new initiatives being established by the Louisiana Speaks Program based on transit oriented development. According to the author or “Green Building A to Z”, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a residential or commercial area that is designated to maximize accessibility to public transportation and encourages the use of this system to reduce emissions and traffic congestion. The use of transit-oriented development decreases the need for parking spaces, particularly parking garage structures.

According to an article in The Times Picayune from July 2006, planners are on board with the new commuter rail system. There was a meeting held where people came to a consensus about the transportation and recovery of Louisiana. The residents stated that “they are more ready than ever to use a commuter rail system that can move them between far-away jobs and homes…” Furthermore, the Louisiana Speaks Program diagrams the planned transit corridor to extend primarily from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. The rail line stops at several indicated town centers, existing urbanized areas, city centers, and urban centers, including the Baton Rouge Area.

With the following three transit systems in place, the site at 333 Laurel Street meets the requirements of 2 or more transportation systems within a quarter of a mile of the site.





The following maps are cited from the Capital Area Transit System Website and from t he Capitol Park Trolley or Baton Rouge Government's Website and are used a reference for the LEED SS Credit 4.1

Here is some useful information that I obtained on this credit from the USGBC website, "Green Building A to Z", the AABC Commissioning Group Website and some more insight into the credit.

The idea is to test all the energy-using and life-safety systems in actual building operation and to work out the errors or faults before actual occupancy. Comissioning can save a building anywhere from ten to fifteen percent of energy costs. Based on this savings, the cost to commission pays for itself within five years. The general cost range is from $.40 to $1.00 per square foot. For the Commerce Building, the rate can range from $60,000 to $150,000. The fundamental consideration for this process is the selection of the commissioning agent. It is necessary that the commissioning agent be clear on the project’s goals in addition to the systems and performance requirements before the beginning of testing.

The typical structure for commissioning is to draft a plan that specifies the commissioning requirements into the project’s specifications. Secondly, subcontractors should be involved with the process — to address testing and resolution of errors.

Further enhanced commissioning may take place depending on the scope of the project. Activities associated with this type of commissioning are reporting to the building owner, the examination of design documents, and examination of building efficiency levels after a year of being operational. In the case of the Commissioning authority for the W Hotel Riviere, there will be a third party designated for these responsibilities.

The Commissioning Plan should highlight six essential items according to the United States Green Building Council Those requirements are as listed:
(1) Engage a Commissioning Authority
(2) Review design intent and basis of design documentation
(3) Include Commissioning Requirements in the Construction Documents
(4) Develop an d utilize a commissioning plan
(5) Verify installation, functional performance, training, and documentation
(6) Complete a commissioning report

The above information came from the listed website: http://www.engr.wisc.edu/epd/faculty/altwies_joy/CxforLEED.pdf

The AABC Commissioning Group will be the commissioning authority for this project. They set forth a set of guidelines, which are listed on their website and will appear on the next several pages. With this the OPR(Owner Project Requirements) and BOD (Basis of Design) will be written down for documentation purposes.

http://www.commissioning.org/resourcecenter/docume.aspx

LEED UPDATE 03/07/08

I just emailed John Anderson a list of credits so that I can being to prove the technical portion required to receive these credits. They are as follows:

MR Credit 2.1: Construction Waste Management: Divert 50% from Disposal
MR Credit 3.1: Material Re-Use 5% (possibility of acheiving 10% for MR Credit 3.2)
MR Credit 4.1: Recycled Content 10% (post-consumer + 1/2 pre-consumer) with possibility of acheiving
MR Credit 4.2MR Credit 5.1: Regional Materials: 10% Extracted, Processed, and Manufactured Regionally
MR Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials
MR Credit 7: Certified WoodEQ Prerequisite 1: Minimum IAQ Performance
WE Credit 3.1: Water Use Reduction, Reduce 20% with possibility of acheiving
WE Credit 3.2: Water Use Reduction, Reduce 30%
EQ Credit 8.1: Daylight and Views: Daylight 75% of Spaces (with possibility of acheiving EQ Credit 8.2)

I have also been researching materials and finishes for my retail spaces in addition to bringing up the walls in all of the Skethcup models that I will render for my final project. In addition, I have begun to draw interior elevations for the different room typicals for my set of construction documents, which is my other focus. I researched some companies in Hospitality Design magazine, such as Kimball Hospitality, Transformations Furniture, Waterworks, Harbor Linen, Tres Molinos, Cypress Hotel and Spa, and many other manufacturers. I made contact with Scott from Kinball Hospitality to order some fabric, laminate, and wood samples.