Green Design & Sustainability

"We have not inherited the world from our fathers -- we have borrowed it from our children."	Kashmiri proverb

Sustainability and eco-design aren’t new concepts, but they are becoming more important for a number of reasons. Sustainable design helps reduce the depletion of our natural resources, helps to offset the effect of continually rising energy prices, and improves the quality of life in communities and workplaces.Building green involves carefully analyzing a variety of interconnected issues in order to develop an integrated design. Some issues to consider are energy and water efficiency, lighting and mechanical design, waste management, use of the natural site, building materials, and resource-efficient construction. By evaluating a project in a holistic manner, it is possible to meet environmental goals and project budgets. The truth is building green is not only the right thing to do, but also good business.

Committment to Solar Energy

MSP is pleased to be a consultant to Sol Ventus Partners LLC
(SVP). SVP is a for-profit Independent Power Producer (IPP) whose focus is to partner with governmental and non-profit agencies in order to help them reap the energy cost savings and goodwill widely associated with solar alternative energy.

We’re committed to providing our clients with sustainable design solutions where possible. Some of our recent projects using sustainable principals have also been some of our most creative and successful.

• The award-winning new campus for the Art Academy of Cincinnati involved an innovative renovation of a historic downtown building, and has achieved LEED® certification. While designing the new campus, many alternate design components were created to allow the Design-Build Team to effectively analyze the functional, economic and sustainable impact they would have on the project. Some of the key elements that were considered included a Roof Top Garden & Terrace, Light Monitors to bring natural light into the interior spaces, Operable windows, Interior Finishes, Reused/salvaged material, Mechanical Systems and Transportation options (bike racks, shared parking arrangements, etc.)
  
  

• The College of Mount St. Joseph recently became the first local college to have a green roof on a major building. Containing about 8,880 plants, the green roof (designed by MSP) on the school’s Archbishop Alter Library will reduce heating and cooling costs, extend the lifespan of the roof membrane, and decrease storm water runoff and pollutants into storm sewers. The roof utilizes a GreenGrid® modular system that consists of 4,440 square feet of modules (made of 100% recycled post industrial polyethylene plastic), each of which contain approximately 8 locally-grown plants.
  
  

• Early in the design process, the owners of The Savannah Center at Chappell Crossing expressed an interest in using a geothermal system to heat and cool the 40,000 SF banquet facility. A geothermal heat pump system consists of heat pumps that use ground temperature rather than air temperature to heat a building. The system consists of pipes that circulate refrigerant either through wells drilled down to an aquifer or through a body of water. An existing retention pond was present on the Savannah Center site, which was viewed to be an excellent source of heating and cooling for the system. In the winter, the refrigerant is warmed by the heat of the earth, then pressurized to become superheated. This heat is then used to heat the building. In the summer, the process is reversed. The refrigerant is cooled to the ground or water temperature, then brought directly into the building where the refrigerant extracts heat from the air of the building. As the majority of the heating and cooling being done is provided by the temperature of the earth, much less energy is required for a geothermal system as compared to a conventional system. The result is that the owner saves money in utility costs and less fossil fuels are used.
  
  

• The West Chester Muhlhauser Barn Project incorporates sustainable design principles through its re-use of the original barn structure (which dates back to 1881). This not only maintains the historical heritage of the original structure, but also helps to not further disturb the natural features of the site. The barn serves as an anchor to the existing trails, woods and lakes nearby, allowing the community to enjoy the open, green space.
  
  

• MSP designed the parking lot for Two Waterstone Place (Miller-Valentine Group Cincinnati offices) to utilize Bio-swale, or rain gardens; a sustainable design feature that helps reduce pollution and beautifies the environment. High volumes of stormwater runoff increase the risk of flooding in an area, as well as carry pollution into our waterways. Rain gardens help keep our streams and rivers clean by capturing and filtering stormwater runoff, absorbing the water and infiltrating it into the ground. This recharges the local groundwater supply and also improves water quality by filtering out pollutants. Rain gardens also beautify the environment with attractive landscapes using native plants.
  
  

• Emphasizing an interaction with neighbors and nature, the design of the SugarCreek Active Adult Housing project is that of a "Cluster Community", which positions housing close together in order to both create a greater sense of community and make the most of the natural open space. The property features 100 home sites as well as a Community Center. A generous 40% of the property is relegated to shared community green space. The design minimizes disturbance to the site's natural elements (paying particular attention to the creek that bisects the property) as well as takes advantage of them by blending the homes and Community Center into the existing environment.