Hensel Phelps
The design-build project with Fentress Architects showcases a new airwave roof extending from the terminal garage to the …
Market: Interiors
Contra Costa County Administration Building
Norfolk Courts Complex
Case Study: Renovation of the Miami Beach Convention Center
Today, Miami Beach Convention Center is both a global hub for arts, culture and technology and a healthy, resilient amenity for the community.
Miami Beach’s rich history of arts and culture has strengthened the city’s quality of life and economy. Built in the 1950’s, the original Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) was a generic structure. Its ‘big box’ aesthetic had no discernible main entrance. Its location amid small city blocks created vehicular congestion for area residents, workers, and visitors alike. All in, the City of Miami Beach had five objectives to achieve with the transformation of its convention center:
- increase capacity;
- create a clear and lively entrance;
- add exterior and interior elements reflective of the region’s natural character;
- attract international economic, cultural, environmental, and technical events;
- and invite pedestrian engagement as well as reduce vehicular traffic.
Biophilic, Sustainable Design
One of the greatest challenges for the design team was harmonizing the program’s monumental size with convention-goers’ need for human-scaled, intuitive spaces and operators’ need for a versatile, resilient building. Exterior façade “fins” made of angled, aluminum linear forms help achieve this harmony and dapple lobbies and pre-function areas with daylight. In doing so, they provide a graduated transition between indoor and outdoor environments. The design team’s study of how light enters water and how underwater divers experience natural light informed this lighting strategy.
Sustainable Design
In hot, humid Miami Beach, the old facility’s ambient lighting and space cooling accounted for more than 50-percent of total annual energy use. Wrapping the exhibit hall and meeting rooms with perimeter transition spaces such as pre-function circulation and service corridors significantly improved the building’s passive thermal properties. Sun-shading provided by the “fins” and upgrading the building envelope was also helpful. Additional solutions include:
- a new, light-colored roof,
- high-efficiency chillers,
- a Building Management System with occupancy set-points based on actual planned programs, and
- high efficiency lighting.
These measures are projected to save 18-percent, or $300,000, annually. It is worth noting that the new design’s calculated Energy Use Intensity (EUI) is 40.9 kBtu/sf, which surpasses the EPA’s median of 45.4 kBtu/sf. All combined, the sustainable design and construction solutions employed helped MBCC achieve LEED Silver certification from USGBC.
Resilient Design
Miami Beach is also a hurricane-prone and severe weather event community that necessitates resilient structures. The MBCC’s new LEED Silver design provides safe shelter for area residents by helping the Convention Center District to meet the City’s resiliency plan.
A pre-existing, six-acre asphalt parking lot was converted into a park replete with gardens, lawns, art installations, and shaded areas. In fact, more than 12 acres of greenspace and over 1,300 new trees were added. Approximately 100 existing trees were preserved.
We restored mangrove habitats and native vegetation to provide environmental stabilization. We also reinforced the primary drainage waterway in Collins Canal Park, which lies north of the site. Pervious acreage on the 25-acre campus increased by 245-percent. This significantly improves MBCC’s ability to manage storm runoff on-site and reduce heat island effect.
Finally, we implemented both wet and dry flood-proofing measures. Measures include raising the base floor elevation by 12 inches and relocating all critical building systems to the second floor, which allows the center to remain operational as an emergency response and community shelter during hurricanes and other climatic-disruptive events.
Fentress Architects: Pioneering Sustainable Architecture Since the Early 1990s
Fentress Architects was founded in 1980 on the heels of two significant energy crises. First was the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 and second was the Iranian Revolution of 1978. Among the many innovations and movements precipitated by these events is the modern sustainable architecture and green building movement. In fact, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Energy Committee was founded in 1973 and AIA Committee on the Environment in 1990.
Sustainability Pioneers
Within 10 years of its founding, Fentress had won several prominent commissions. The following contributed substantively to the sustainable architecture movement:
- Denver International Airport’s Passenger Terminal Complex. The imaginative roof pays visual homage to the majestic Rocky Mountains. It also utilizes the site’s more than 3,000 annual hours of sunshine to provide exceptional energy savings. The sunshine is also a biophilic benefit for travelers and staff alike.
- Natural Resources Building for the State of Washington. The Natural Resource Building was a forerunner in the development of indoor air quality standards. Likewise, it contributed to the foundation of the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED program. “The facilities will provide the public and employees an enjoyable, energy efficient and healthy work environment using new air quality design requirements, which will lead the way for future standards in our nation.” — K. Wendy Holden, Former Director, State of Washington Department of GSA
- National Wildlife Art Museum. Irregular lines and the use of native stone allow the museum to embody the spirit of its delicate site and essence of the Jackson community. The building also set new standards in quality and architectural design sensitivity for the area. The warm, humanistic design expertly responds to important challenges. These challenges include developmental pressures and their impact on the natural environment and plant and animal communities.
LEED Firsts
Since the launch of USGBC’s LEED Program in 1998, Fentress Architects has designed over 50 LEED-certified buildings that comprise nearly 10 million square feet, including:
- California Department of Education Headquarters. In 2006, three years after achieving LEED Gold, the California DOE Headquarters became the first building in California, and second largest building in the world, to be awarded LEED EB Platinum certification.
- Green Square Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina. With a 10,000-square-foot green roof, a system that eliminates stormwater runoff—North Carolina’s number one cause of water pollution—and so much more, Green Square Complex became North Carolina’s first LEED Platinum facility.
- Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC). Terminal B was the first entirely new passenger terminal west of the Mississippi River to become LEED Silver Certified. Terminal A is “self-certified.” The rental car facility, or ConRAC, follwed “best practices” for green building, including a roof-mounted 3.4-acre, 1.1-megawatt solar array.
- Terminal C at Orlando International Airport (MCO). Terminal C is on target to become the first new LEED v4.1 certified passenger terminal in America.
Looking Ahead
At Fentress Architects, we believe we have a responsibility to future generations to effect positive change on our natural environment. So, in addition to being seasoned LEED-certification experts, Fentress team members are also highly skilled and knowledge in the burgeoning areas of:
- Net Zero Architecture: including net zero energy, net zero carbon.
- Regenerative Design: including ILFI’s Living Building Challenge
- Sustainable Landscape Practices: including Green Business Certification Inc.’s Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES)
