World’s Greenest Building

Our story starts in the 1800s when a group of pioneers decided to migrate from Independence, Missouri to what is today the town of Independence, Oregon. For many cities in America the history lesson stops right there. But this isn’t the case for the town in Oregon and Mr. Steven Ribeiro is making certain of that. For 20 years he’s been conceptualizing this journey and for the last five he’s been hammering out the specifics. You may think of Mr. Ribeiro as the Thomas Edison of the land development world; heck, by the end of this story he may even turn out to be your “green” building superhero (so much for the lawyer), but regardless, Mr. Ribeiro is continuing the history lesson of Independence, Oregon. Destination? Independence Station.

Independence is fitting as Mr. Ribeiro and his Aldeia Development company want to be an example of energy independence. The project will be a full lifestyle, comprehensive example of a renewable energy DC powered micro-grid: the most effective method of achieving energy independence known today.

Ask him if he ever felt over-whelmed or thought it couldn’t happen and Ribeiro will be quick to say, “No. I’m tenacious by nature. Critics never make history. I will pursue my goals relentlessly.”

Getting the “Green” talk out of the way
We’ve had this debate over “green” on Konstructr and you all know how I feel about it, but Ribeiro & Company gets it. “Green” conveys a concept with the public simply to set the context of what we are doing. Ribeiro’s task is to then get specific with the actual verified proof of performance. Just like the word “fast” means something; watching a runner shatter a world record and hence having a time stamp is proof that something amazing just happened. Ribeiro is planning to go the distance; not only will he be green, but he’s planning on making it the greenest and he’s going to have the proof to show us.

And so this title - World’s Greenest Building - is very important. Like it did for me, it will always get attention and start a conversation in the direction of, “Really? Just how is that so?” For Mr. Rebeiro this is fantastic. He enjoys sharing the incomparable comprehensive nature of the project. The development company’s goal is to be a platform that complies with the year 2050 goal of the 2,000 Watt Society. This will represent an 87% reduction in the full lifestyle energy use for the average American. Is that “green” enough for ya?

Details
Let’s start with a quiz shall we? What project do you know of that excels at energy efficiency, energy storage, Smart Grid, DC power, renewable energy, waste water, rainwater re-use, community services outreach, transportation, telecommuting, onsite food production, green job training, energy efficiency monitoring, open source data sharing, green IT, renewable and reused building materials all under one roof?

The building will run primarily on PV. In Oregon, when they have clouds, the weather tends to be cool as well. This is when they are more likely to use waste vegetable oil for co-gen. You get both the propulsion and byproduct of heat from the engine. Currently they have found a few local restaurants as sources for oil donation. These restaurants will get publicity and PR for being part of the World’s Greenest Building. Aldeia currently has other oil sources pending including algae production on-site that will also do carbon capture, oxygen production, local animal feed supplements, and compost feedstock for on-site year-round crop production and tilapia farming in greenhouses utilizing waste heat from the co-gen plant.

Personally, I am curious about odors that residents or people working or visiting the building may experience. Aldeia claims that if any aroma is noticed it will be very pleasant for most and likely confused as that from a restaurant. Fish and chips anyone?

Recently Aldeia partnered with EcoDomo. This is in fact a great example of showcasing sustainable product entrepreneurs. Think of EcoDomo as the nau of tiles. Ribeiro met them at Greenbuild and showed them his project. They have a great story to tell and so an agreement was made to assist them in promotion of their unique tiles and be a highly visible part of the ecotourism program.

As many of you know LEED has switched up to v3.0 and Independence Station is looking at moving to LEED v3.0 from their current application filed under LEED v2.1. A primary purpose of Independence Station is to be a permanent showcase and beta test bed for the latest sustainable equipment, technologies, and methods. Aldiea wants to assure those questioning their dedication that they will always being on the cutting edge. In addition, they also plan to regularly re-certify under LEED-EB (there’s our proof!). To top it all off they are also doing many important things that the current LEED program gives no credit for including on-site food production, green job training, green IT, DC power, carbon capture, energy storage, community outreach, etc. It looks like this building may be able to jump out in front of LEED criteria set. What do you think? Can’t wait to read the comments…

Ribeiro took some time to even share with me what he’s done different from a design-build process. Integrated design sessions are very important early in the process along with design charrettes. A lot of the design ran simultaneously with the construction and actually threw the team some curve balls. A prime example of this is when Ribeiro decided to bring Coolerado into the project. Aldeia had to spend money on design changes to bring them in, but were able to literally eliminate some of the chillers to save capital costs and much operational expense. They went through the tough R&D process so future developers won’t have to. You see, Aldeia is planning on licensing out the plans to other developers. How many developers would envision energy savings resulting from the selection of polished concrete floors? He met with FGS Permashine and they opened Aldeia’s brains and hearts to their full message. The floors are highly reflective. This reduces the required density of our LED lighting fixtures thereby saving capitol costs. The Johnson Controls building controls can then throttle back the lighting as a result of the floor’s reflectivity that allows the natural daylight to penetrate further into the building. As Riberio says, “Synergy, man. Tunnel through the costs…”

So who’s the best fit for the building?
When they start the marketing effort they will be looking for locally owned start-up neighborhood services such as a barber shop, a Slow Food themed restaurant, a sustainably minded bank, etc. The project is still a year from completion so they have not turned the marketing machine on just yet.

A model for the future?
I didn’t say it, but people are and Ribeiro is ready. He plans to license the building plans to save other Developers money and time when future copies of Independence Station are built. The vision here: to build one in California, Arizona, Alaska, Idaho, and Florida making adjustments in the systems to the local climate and site conditions to prove that this can and should be done everywhere. Calling all developers!

Can the social web play a role?
Web 2.0, or the social web, is now an important part of the process. Mr. Ribeiro is looking to do everything possible to broadcast what he and his team have come up with: a breakthrough solution. The project has both a Facebook group and Twitter account. In fact, Ribeiro, who also happens to be on Twitter, was in the White House last week with 150 other sustainable business leaders from around the country. They are clearly looking for solutions that line up precisely with what we are doing here with Independence Station. Facebook and Twitter are ideal to get such teaser quips out to inform and hopefully foster deeper investigation. Many of the developers supplier partners are now on Facebook and Twitter. This is a sea change from less than a year ago. And if Mr. Ribeiro needs some help on this front, Konstructr has his back!

Concluding thoughts
Even with all this going on, Ribeiro is convinced the most complex part of constructing a building today is obtaining the financing. In the construction world success these days is all about getting funded. Currently Aldeia Development has a 400 home LEED-ND approved project in Boise, Idaho that will be a Zero-Net energy community. The homes in this community will eliminate energy bills and gasoline expenses from the typical family budget. They are currently looking for funding.

“Once you get the vision of the 2,000 Watt Society, it will be hard finding any building that can measure up,” says Ribeiro. “Someone, please ‘outgreen’ me. The effort spent will move all of us forward. I welcome it and want to assist. I get calls from folks saying I must be a greenwasher. If they have an open mind and an open heart, I usually can turn them into a fan of the project in a matter of minutes. Most critics have never done anything to change the world for the better. I can’t help those folks. If a legitimate point is made, I love to give credit to the source. I love learning.”

Oh, and remember that 2,000 Watt Society goals? Well, if the project is ever topped, and Ribeiro hopes it will be (and would help too!) he will offer up the World’s Greenest Building domain to the successor along with a to-be commissioned creation of the “Green Cup.”

As for now, these are the facts I know of and I wanted to share with you. If the project can become what it claims it can, then it will be impressive. We will keep an eye out for you, but let’s get to the comments! Can’t wait to participate.