Sol Harris Day Architecture

Anatomy of a Green Building - Lesson 6 - Efficiency

Tuesday, August 23, 2011
By Matt Sutter, Chief Executive Officer
In Sustainability

Efficiency is a word that we often associate with how much energy a building uses after it is built. But what about the efficiency of the actual materials that go into the building? The structural system of a building is a great case study for this type of idea. Are we using the most efficient products for the job? Are we supporting the most weight with the least amount of material resources?

The structure was studied closely in the design of the new SōL Harris/Day offices. Traditional steel joists are generally used for floors and roofs on larger commercial structures. Spaced about every 2 feet, the steel joists average out to about 6 pounds per square foot of floor. So for the 3,000 sf of elevated office floor this would require 18,000 pounds of structural steel for the SōL Harris/Day building. Wood was not an option due to the heavy concrete floor that was designed to hold heat and cold inside the building. A hybrid product was investigated.

A combination of wood and steel, these joists are made within 90 miles of the jobsite. Their weight is incredibly light. They weigh a shocking 14 ounces - yes ounces - per square foot. Imagine a system that can hold up 145,000 pounds of concrete and 150,000 pounds of desks, chairs, filing, computers, people and other "stuff" that is in an office, all while weighing less than 2,900 pounds. This saved more than 15,000 pounds of structure for the elevated floor alone while giving us an appealing aesthetic. Two goals reached with one decision.

Through the use of this light weight structure, this lowered shipping costs and redced fuel usage. In addition, each joist weighs about 50 lbs, which makes it very easy to pick up and put into place.

It amazes me that for every one pound of structure the hybrid structure is holding up 102 pounds of "stuff". Does this equate to 102 "angry birds" with one stone? That is efficiency!

Matt Sutter
SōL Harris/Day Architecture
msutter@harrisday.com
330.493.3722


Anatomy of Our Team

Hybrid Joists
Redbuilt Corporation - Dave Koons
419.353.8800 - www.redbuilt.com
Design Coordination

Hammontree & Associates - Dan Grinstead330.499.8817 - www.hammontree-engineers.com

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