Light, landscaping and building materials help keep buildings cost- and energy-efficient

The new justice center and library will be "green," but not certified "green."

City officials want to construct the buildings so they are as environmentally-friendly and energy efficient as possible, but do not aim to go through the certification of constructing a "green" building. The architects of the buildings is Portland-based Fletcher, Farr, and Ayotte PC.

"The goal of these buildings is to do as many green things as possible, without significantly increasing the cost of the building," said Tom Oliver, city information technology director.

To officially have a green building, the project would have to be registered with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which would judge how environmentally friendly the buildings were.

The USGBC has set standards to substantiate what exactly a "green" building is. As a general rule, city officials are aiming for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Standard.

"That's actually pretty commonly done with good design. Pretty much any building such as this designed today is typically designed to the silver standard," Oliver said.

LEED standards are based on a point system judging six categories: Sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design. There are four levels of certification available including certified, silver, gold and platinum.

Both buildings are planned to have green characteristics, said Troy Ainsworth of Fletcher, Farr, And Ayotte. Ainsworth is the principal architect for the buildings and oversees the architectural design of the entire project.

Green features include:

€ Direction of the library - The library will be oriented east to west to take advantages of natural light as much as possible.

€ Using recycled materials - Carpets, cabinets, and countertop material are planned to be made out of recycled material, or at least partially recycled.

"The products they [architects] put into the building - the carpets, materials for cabinets and countertops - all of those choices are made with the green aspect in mind," said Denice Lee, Lebanon Public Library director. "The materials they choose are all brand new, but some of them are made with recycled materials and some of them are manufactured so they are 100 percent recyclable - like the carpet and tiles they are going to use in the justice center and library. They are completely recyclable."

Ainsworth said wood flooring out of the old middle school gyms may be used for finishes in one or both buildings. Additionally, the structural steel used to build both buildings may be recycled, and possibly the sheetrock, too.

€ Several windows and skylights throughout the buildings - "Bringing in the natural light keeps down energy bills and reduces the amount of artificial light you have to bring in," Ainsworth said.

Many windows are planned in the library. The justice center has windows planned in office and central areas as well.

€ Landscaping with native area plants - Using native species to landscape the buildings will help lower the amount of extra water needed for those plants.

€ Filtering run-off parking lot water - Typically, excess water from the parking lot, which may contain oil, gasoline, or other chemicals from leaky vehicles, may find its way into the city's storm water system. However, the excess water in the new city lots are planned to first be filtered through a bioswell, or layers of sand and stone.

"When you keep adding up the oils and impurities that come off of cars and keep putting them into the storm water system, it continues to add up," Ainsworth said.

€ Other aspects - Architects have planned to use paint and glue with low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and try to draw building material from nearby areas to reduce transportation costs.

Ainsworth emphasized that these green aspects are planned for the buildings, but architects and city officials are about six months away from finalizing plans and they may change or be altered.

"It becomes the right way to design buildings. Particularly buildings like these that are intended to last 50 to 100 years. You can't build cheaply. You have to design systems so they are as efficient as possible," he said.

Ainsworth described the review process for achieving LEED standards as lengthy and can significantly increase the cost of the project.

"Sometimes things are required to go into a building's design that otherwise wouldn't be required that could cost more money," he said.

Ainsworth used the library as an example, explaining that a control system that automatically controls artificial light may be required, instead of basic light switches.

"We are designing as green as possible, within the budget we have to work with," he added.

The general contractor for the buildings is Howard S. Wright Construction Co. The company has an office in Portland, as well as in other major cities across the U.S.

Construction on both buildings will start in the late spring or early summer next year. Three gyms have to be demolished before construction can begin.

"It's more efficient to build them both [at the same time]. Another advantage is the job will get done more quickly," Oliver said. If the buildings are constructed quickly, prices budgeted for materials will have little time to escalate during the course of construction, which could led to a budget gap.