Harvard Art Museums Earn LEED Gold

The Harvard Art Museums expansion and renovation project has been awarded LEED Gold certification (New Construction, Version 2.2). Working with Harvard’s Green Building Services, Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Payette transformed the historic structure at the edge of the Harvard Yard into a state-of-the-art, sustainable art museum facility.

Collaborating with our core engineering team of Arup and Robert Silman Associates, we explored sustainability from every angle and ultimately prepared a LEED submission documenting 45 LEED credits. We specified recycled materials, sustainably harvested lumber, limited volatile organic compounds and included sophisticated systems to reduce water consumption. The Construction Manager, Skanska, monitored air quality, tracked construction waste and provided the detailed documentation required to obtain the Materials & Resources credits.

Following is a snapshot of efficiencies the project achieved:

recycled materials

FSC certified sustainable lumber

regional materials (extracted, harvested, or recovered and manufactured within 500 miles of the project)

C&D waste recycling

reduction in potable water

annual energy cost savings (compared to an ASHRAE 90.0-2004 baseline museum), including the effects of the Harvard Distributed Energy System efficiencies

The project achieves exemplary water efficiency, earning every WE credit. The site’s storm water is collected and re-used for toilet flushing. Excess groundwater is harvested and used for irrigation. Low-flow plumbing fixtures are used throughout the building. All told, the project documented a greater than 50% reduction in potable water use.

Understanding that one of the biggest challenges in operating a museum is maintaining very stable environmental conditions 24 hours per day, year round, the design team emphasized energy conservation measures. We developed a high performance envelope to reduce loads. As a result, even within renovated portions of the structure, we were able to design wall systems with an R-value of 29, almost twice what the applicable energy code required. We also eliminated typical thermal bridges that research has shown reduce insulation effectiveness by as much as 50%. This supports not only tremendous energy savings, but also the ability to closely control the interior environment for protection of the works of art.

We also optimized the mechanical and electrical systems to extract as much benefit as possible from the energy consumed. Energy-conservation features incorporated into the mechanical systems include: total energy recovery wheels, displacement ventilation in the auditorium, demand-controlled ventilation and variable volume air distribution. Electrical systems feature sophisticated lighting and daylighting controls. LED gallery fixtures were selected after an exacting evaluation process and became the first to be installed in a major art museum. In addition, LED fixtures were used for temporary construction lighting, and all fluorescent fixtures were fitted with low mercury lamps.

Perhaps the most innovative energy management strategy, however, is the design of the glass roof system dubbed the “light machine.” This sloped glazing system knits together the new and historic construction, bringing natural light deep into the building. It uses triple-paned insulating glass units to minimize heat loss, while maximizing natural light at the upper floors and at the central courtyard. Two shade systems (one exterior and one interior) control solar gain to further improve energy performance and facilitate maintenance of closely controlled environmental conditions. The shades also allow for fine tuning of the quality and magnitude of natural lighting in the conservation laboratories located on the upper floors of the building.

Related:
Greening the Harvard Art Museums