The Vitruvian Building System: Green, Cost-Efficient And Fast

‘Vitruvian is a full service green building system. Utilizing new technology, new ideas and alternative materials, our mission is to provide the most efficent building solutions for a seamless transition into the Green Age.

In America, it’s estimated that buildings contribute to 36% of energy consumption and 30% of green house gas emissions and it’s an area that’s ripe for improvement. Innovative American building company Vitruvian is doing just that by offering a full service green building system that utilizes pre-engineered modular construction consisting of inter lockable panels to form a complete, weather tight building shell. As well as delivering extremely low energy bills, Vitruvian has calculated that if its process was used for all building replacement and construction in America between now and the year 2030, its environmental impact would be the equivalent of removing more than 80 million cars from the road.

Building in the Vitruvian way can be the equivalent of removing more than 80 million cars between now and 2030.

It is something that can be done with no additional cost but it pays the owner’s back in reduced operating cost daily.

The essence of green building is creating structures that are far more efficient in their consumption of energy and water, and less wasteful in their use of materials than conventional buildings.

Savings through better products and efficiencies: Our custom wall and roof panels, made with EPS (Expaned PolyStyrene) and light gauge steel, combined with our proprietary software will cut-list and provide shop drawing accuracy to all elements of the structure and finishes. The result is an overall efficiency that will cut up to 20% of the cost of traditional constrution, at the same time providing a clean, green, healthy, and safe environment for the occupants and even the construction crew.

We offer a complete building package that will provide a completed, weather tight shell, that also provides the absolute lowest carbon footprint and extremely low energy bills for the life of the building. The more custom and complex the building, the more Vitruvian will benefit the project. By applying our technologies from start to finish it is possible to eliminate up to 20% of costs of traditional methods of construction.

Long-term environmental benefits: The materials used in the Vitruvian system have a double the life span of traditional wood framing. Thus, the material in the panels are recyclable and reusable. Because most of these parts have a screwed mechanical connection, this lends to easy assembly or disassembly compared to traditional construction or demolition. Vitruvian panels would never need to be diverted to a landfill, nor would they lose any of their structural or insulating properties over time.

Project transferability: Vitruvian has designed both software and machinery that are simple to operate; virtually any apprentice mechanic could become fluent in their operations within a few weeks time.

Environmental leadership: Vitruvian has brought together the design, engineering and manufacturing standards to forge a new path of acceptance in every City and County that before, was challenging to attain. The long-term benefits of creating this overall acceptance are immeasurable.

Creativity and other considerations: Vitruvian’s automation encourages design flexibility. Once a building shell is designed, Vitruvian’s patented software will actually build the wall itself in 3D, labeling each component and generating code to cut the materials. If the shell design happens to change, the 3D wall can be rebuilt in seconds and all of the data associated with it will update. This modern technology, coupled with flexible materials can adapt, but are not limited to traditional architecture. There are no design limitations.

Improving resource conservation, sustainability and improving energy efficiency: Through our customized software, we are able to accurately cut-list, not only the wall and roof panels that create our highly efficient envelope, but all of the other building materials that make up a structure. The result is an overall waste rate of less than 1% or 1/10 that of traditional construction methods.

Improving air and water quality: All Vitruvian materials produce zero off-gassing for the life of the building. Virtual jobsites enable Vitruvian to confront potential problems digitally (on-screen) rather than physically (in-field), insuring an efficient assembly. Like a tiger, saving reserve energy (resources) for the critical moment when it is needed most, in short bursts. Also, because of the lightweight building product, there is a huge reduction in the associated transportation costs, therefore minimizing green house gasses.

Innovation is the hallmark of the Vitruvian system. The idea of taking any design from any computer, directly to the manufacturing environment, with no required human intervention is the Vitruvian ideal. The simplicity and access to energy conservation empowers the end user to utilize these now accessible processes.

Vitruvian’s process management technology is available to the open market immediately. By initially adopting this technology in the first stages of construction, efficiencies can be realized throughout all aspects for every phase.

Vitruvian has not only created a new use for a material, but a manageable process and a new way of thinking about how a new paradigm may help humanity and the environment.’

FarwellChapel

Slovenian architecture firm Ofis just completed their competition-winning farewell chapel in Krasnja, near Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The curved, concrete structure nestles into the rising landscape.A cruciform skylight with integrated lighting illuminates the larch-paneled interior.The glazed facade opens onto a terrace for outdoor gatherings during the summer.
Photographs are by Tomaz Gregoric.

From Ofis:
‘A farewell chapel is located in a village close to Ljubljana.The site plot is next to the existing cemetery. The chapel is cut into the rising landscape.The shape is following the lines of the landscape trajectories around the graveyard.Three curved walls are embracing and dividing the programs.External curve is dividing the surrounding hill from chapel plateau and also reinstates main supporting wall.Services such as storages, wardrobe restrooms and kitchenette are on the inner side along the wall.Internal curve is embracing main farewell space. It is partly glazed and it is opening towards outside plateau for summer gatherings.

Roof is following its own curvature and forming external porch.Catholic sign is featured as laying cross positioned on the rooftop above the main farewell space.It also functions as luminous dynamic element across the space during the daytime and lighting spark in night time.Materials are polished concrete, larch wood, glass.’

Invited competition 2005Construction start 2008Completed 2009

New Symbol Of Spiritual And Civic Renewal Designed By Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Cathedral of Christ the Light Opens with Dedication Mass…
The Cathedral of Christ the Light opened on September 25 with a dedication mass led by The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron, Bishop of Oakland. Designed by Craig W. Hartman, FAIA, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the new cathedral and its complement of facilities embody the Diocese of Oakland’s abiding commitment to the East Bay communities it serves. Built to stand for centuries, the cathedral replaces the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales—which was rendered unusable in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake—and provides a new spiritual home for the region’s 500,000 Catholics.

‘For East Bay Catholics, the Cathedral of Christ the Light becomes the new heart of the Diocese of Oakland. At the same time, with a very public presence in the heart of the city of Oakland, we envision programs of ministry and cathedral life building a community of communities within and around the Cathedral Center,’ said Bishop Vigneron. Set on a prominent, two-block site overlooking Oakland’s Lake Merritt, the 1350-seat cathedral is the centerpiece of a 224,000-square-foot complex that includes a mausoleum, conference center, administrative offices, bishop’s and clergy residences, bookstore, café, and community-serving ministries. The design gives special consideration to the Cathedral Center’s physical and cultural place within the city of Oakland. A landscaped public plaza, accessible from all directions, firmly links the center with the city’s commercial downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Within the cathedral, the experience of light and space, rather than traditional iconography, instills a deep sense of sacredness.

Hartman, design partner of SOM’s San Francisco office, explained: ‘In designing this symbol of spiritual and civic renewal, we sought to celebrate the liturgical traditions of the Catholic faith, yet embrace this particular moment in history when the global community—so beautifully reflected in Oakland’s multicultural spirit—and the challenges we face together are ever more present in our consciousness. The new cathedral employs the most elemental qualities of light, material, and form to create a sacred space that conveys a statement of welcome and inclusiveness within an ethos of sustainability.’

The Cathedral honors the devotion and craftsmanship that unifies the world’s great religious landmarks, using advanced technologies to achieve a luminous and evocative architecture with modest materials while minimizing the building’s ecological footprint. The thermal mass of the cathedral’s base—made of resource-conserving slag and fly-ash concrete—helps to efficiently heat and cool the occupied, lower strata of the interior volume. Rising above, sustainably harvested Douglas fir ribs and louvers add warmth while providing protective structural elasticity. An enclosure of frit-coated, translucent, and clear low-E glass modulates daylight and heat gain within and captures the natural shifting of light throughout the day. (Artificial lighting is only needed at night.) Finally, an advanced structural system, which includes base isolation, is designed to withstand a 1,000-year earthquake, preserving the cathedral for centuries.

Behind the altar, the Omega Window incorporates one of the cathedral’s most dramatic elements: a reinterpretation of a 12th-century depiction of Christ rendered in anodized aluminum panels and 94,000 pixel-like perforations using a custom-programmed digital process. In keeping with the cathedral’s elemental nature, the striking presence of the 58-foot-tall image relies simply on the play of light penetrating through the different sized perforations.

In addition to serving as the design architect and structural engineer of record, SOM’s multidisciplinary design work encompassed urban design, interior design, environmental graphic design, and product design for the Cathedral Center. Other lead team members include Peter Walker and Partners, landscape architects, Berkeley, California; Kendall/Heaton Associates, architect of record, Houston; Taylor Engineering, MEP engineers, Alameda, California; Claude R. Engle, lighting consultant, Chevy Chase, Maryland; Conversion Management Associates, project management, San Francisco; and Webcor Builders, general contractor, San Mateo, California.

Project Frog Embarks On First Energy-Neutral Solution In New England

Last November, Project FROG demonstrated their FROG Zero classroom at Greenbuild 2008, and it was quite impressive.

Now, the company just broke ground on a new Center for Science and Global Citizenship at the Watkinson School in Hartford, Connecticut. The 4,000 square-foot science center will generate more energy within its footprint than is required to operate the systems. To do so, it will rely on some of the following active and passive strategies:* A living roof;* Photovoltaic array;* Design to reduce energy-demand by 75 percent; and* Windows (with glare control) that allow abundant natural light.

The building will be the first of its kind in New England, and marks the company’s first zero-net energy solution built in a cold climate.

The school will feature three, flexible classrooms that can morph into lecture, seminar, or lab instruction spaces. But no matter what the activity, the baseline LEED Silver design will serve as a springboard for students and faculty to discuss sustainable design, energy efficiency, and green construction.

John Bracker, Watkinson’s head of school, announced, ‘The Center for Science and Global Citizenship represents an important step in our efforts to challenge the traditional orthodoxy of how a building comes together, the role it can play in teaching about sustainability and the curriculum material at hand. Just imagine what’s possible when a building is as smart and dynamic as the students and faculty who live in it.’

The Watkinson project demonstrates the possibilities for energy-efficient, technologically enhanced classrooms of the future, today. Incorporating the ideal learning environment into the greenest, most sustainable commercial building solution available, the 4,000 square foot state-of-the-art science center will feature 75 percent energy-demand reduction, abundant natural light and glare control, superior air quality, fungible user technology, microclimate customization and advanced climate controls in an easy to configure package. Constructed of mainly of recyclable materials, the Center will generate more energy within its footprint than is required to operate its systems. To support the linked but diverse curricula, the three Center for Science and Global Citizenship classrooms will be adaptable to lecture, seminars, and lab-style instruction.

Every aspect of this new Center for Science and Global Citizenship will be a teaching tool. With design features that include a living roof, photovoltaic panels, and advanced sensors, the Center will provide extraordinary teaching and learning opportunities for members of Watkinson’s community, and establish a new criterion for smart, environmentally responsible learning environments.

‘Watkinson’s vision and commitment to sustainability is inspiring,’ said Mark Miller, AIA, LEED AP, Founder and CEO of Project FROG. ‘We’re very excited that New England’s first Project FROG solution is for such a prescient and dynamic academic partner. Having tackled energy performance in a range of tropical and western US climates, we are pleased to demonstrate Project FROG’s versatility and performance in the cold and snow as well as the heat and humidity of this region.’

About Project FROGBetter, Greener, Faster. Smart. Project FROG makes the most technologically advanced, energy-efficientbuilding systems on the planet. Employing novel clean technology across the construction spectrum, Project FROG aims to revolutionize an industry rife for innovation by creating new standards for healthy buildings that significantly reduce energy consumption and construction waste. An initial $8M in venture funding from Rockport Capital facilitated entrance into the education market in California, New England and Hawaii. Near-term plans include expansion along the West Coast and Atlantic Corridor, as well as into government, retail and healthcare sectors. Project FROG’s smart building systems are baseline LEED Sliver, and frequent recipients of industry awards for their design and performance.

About Watkinson SchoolWatkinson School, founded in 1881, is Hartford’s only independent school. Watkinson serves 285 students from over forty Connecticut towns in grades six through twelve. Watkinson’s mission is to develop in our students the power to shape their own lives and the world around them.

A transparent thin film barrier used to protect flat panel TVs from moisture could become the basis for flexible solar panels that would be installed on roofs like shingles.

The flexible rooftop solar panels – called building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPVs – could replace today’s boxy solar panels that are made with rigid glass or silicon and mounted on thick metal frames. The flexible solar shingles would be less expensive to install than current panels and made to last 25 years.

‘There’s a lot of wasted space on rooftops that could actually be used to generate power,’ said Mark Gross, a senior scientist at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. ‘Flexible solar panels could easily become integrated into the architecture of commercial buildings and homes. Solar panels have had limited success because they’ve been difficult and expensive to install.’

Researchers at PNNL will create these flexible panels by adapting a film encapsulation process currently used to coat flat panel displays that use organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. The work is made possible by a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement recently penned between Vitex Systems and Battelle, which operates PNNL for the federal government.

PNNL researchers developed the thin film technology in the 1990s. At the time, the lab’s team investigated 15 possible applications, including solar power. Vitex licensed the technology from Battelle in 2000 and focused its initial efforts on developing the ultra-barrier films for flat-panel displays. Now PNNL and Vitex are taking a hard second look at solar power.

The encapsulation process and the ultra-barrier film – called Barix™ Encapsulation and Barix™ Barrier Film, respectively – are already proven and effective moisture barriers. But researchers need to find a way to apply the technology to solar panels that are made with copper indium gallium selenide, called CIGS, or cadmium telluride, called CdTe.

Under the agreement, researchers will create low-cost flexible barrier films and evaluate substrate materials for solar panels, which are also called photovoltaics, or PVs. Both the film and substrate must be able to survive harsh ultraviolet rays and natural elements like rain and hail for 25 years.

The agreement also calls for researchers to develop a manufacturing process for the flexible panels that can be readily adapted to large-scale production. If successful, this process will reduce solar panel manufacturing costs to less than $1 per watt of power, which would be competitive with the 10 cents per kilowatt-hour that a utility would charge.

‘Vitex is proud to continue its long, successful relationship with PNNL,’ said Martin Rosenblum, Vitex’s vice president of operations and engineering. ‘Vitex is excited to further its Barix™ technology’s proven barrier performance for photovoltaics toward mass manufacturing. Together, we look forward to creating a product that will help alleviate America’s dependence on foreign oil and increase America’s access to an abundant renewable energy source – the sun.’

Battelle, which is the majority shareholder of Vitex, is optimistic that this research agreement will contribute to a new way of generating solar power. Battelle recently increased its investment in Vitex for new state-of-the-art thin film encapsulation equipment and expanded its intellectual property portfolio.

‘We’re confident that Vitex will be uniquely positioned to help meet the demand for flexible solar panels, OLED displays and lighting that should rise along with the economy,’ said Martin Inglis, Battelle’s chief financial officer.

PNNL’s research efforts will be paid for with up to $350,000 from the DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technology Commercialization Fund. Last year, DOE announced that up to $1.5 million from the fund would be available to PNNL for projects that help commercialize technologies that reduce energy use or tap renewable energy sources. Because the fund requires commercial partners to match funding, Vitex will provide up to $350,900 of in-kind labor, equipment and materials for this project.