close

Phipps chief shares story behind Center for Sustainable Landscapes

4 min read
article image -

Human and environmental health are connected. That thought was a guiding force in the development of the Center for Sustainable Landscapes of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh.

The story of that development was shared Wednesday by Richard Piacentini, president and CEO of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens during a webinar hosted by Washington & Jefferson College’s Center for Energy Policy and Management titled, “Green Building for Sustainability and Health.”

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL), Phipps’ education, research and administration facility, is known as one of the greenest buildings in the world.

It is the only building to meet six of the highest green certifications, including the Living Building Challenge (the world’s most rigorous green building standard), LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum and WELL Building Platinum for energy efficiency and occupant health.

The CSL is an integral part of the Phipps visitor experience as a “living museum,” focusing attention on the intersection between built and natural environments.

“A lot of strategy went into making this building energy-efficient. We wanted to make sure that everything we did went into us having the healthiest building we could have for not only people who are visiting the building, but people who are working in the building,” Piacentini said. “We spend over 90% of our lives in buildings. What happens in these buildings really has an impact on our health. We really tried to maximize our understanding of how buildings affect the planet and people with this building.”

The CSL is a net-zero building, meaning it produces more energy than it consumes. To adhere to the Living Building Challenge, a building must be 100% renewable energy.

In addition to generating power with a wind turbine and photovoltaic solar panels, the CSL also employs geothermal wells, and passive cooling, heating and lighting methods to operate more efficiently.

“We adopted a lot of really important passive strategies right from day one,” Piacentini said. “The building is long and narrow, and the wide side faces south to take advantage of natural daylight. You don’t have to turn the lights on most of the time. We also focused on natural ventilation. We use the constant temperature of the earth to help heat and cool the building.”

All building materials used are in compliance with the Living Building Challenge’s Red List, which identifies the toxic chemicals most commonly used by manufacturers.

“A building can still be green and have a negative impact on your health if you’re not aware of some of the chemicals used in the facade and the structure of that building,” Piacentini said. “When we were selecting our carpet, there was only one carpet available in the United States that (met the requirements). “

The building also captures and treats the water that falls on its project site through a lagoon, constructed wetlands, rain gardens, pervious asphalt and a green roof. There’s also 80,000 gallons of rain tank storage to capture any excess water and use it for future irrigation.

“Not a single drop of rainwater has left this site,” Piacentini said. “It’s really critical for a city like Pittsburgh, which has a combined sewer program, to keep as much of the water out of the sewer system as possible.”

The Living Building Challenge also requires all sanitary water to be treated on site.

“All the water in the toilets goes around in a circle,” Piacentini explained. “It’s cleaned and reused on a regular basis.”

Piacentini has been the driving force behind the green transformation for Phipps since 1994, spearheading sustainability efforts based on recognizing the connections between people, plants, health and the planet.

“We need to really start thinking about the way we do things,” Piacentini said. “We need to realize that human and environmental health are totally interconnected. We need to find ways of doing things that are good for people and good for the planet.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today