California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA
Situation:
The Capitol Area East End Complex, Block 225, is one of the first projects designed to comply with California Governor Gray Davis' recent executive order that addresses indoor environmental quality in California. Located in downtown Sacramento, the building serves as the new home for the California State Department of Education. The Capitol Area East End Complex adhered to "green" design principles that include both improving resource efficiency through the selection of materials and systems that incorporate post-consumer recycled content as well as avoiding potential negative impacts on the building's indoor air quality.
"We developed cutting edge ‘green building' specifications that were initiated solely to ensure building performance," stated Marian Keeler, with the Green Consulting Division of the San Francisco architectural firm, Simon, Martin- Vegue, Winklestein, Morris (SMWM).
"We took a three pronged approach, addressing three separate but integrated performance requirements—resource efficiency, energy efficiency and concern over indoor air quality."
Solution:
Conservation and sustainable design factored heavily into the selection of all building materials for the project. Therefore, Arcade Insulation of Northern California responded to the State's request for proposals with a plan that specified formaldehyde-free building insulation in Block 225. Johns Manville Formaldehyde-free™ fiber glass insulation was the product selected to meet SMWM "green" building performance specifications. Johns Manville is the only manufacturer of a complete line of formaldehyde-free fiber glass products, having recently switched all building insulation to utilize an innovative new acrylic binder. This is consistent with "green" design principles in that the insulation reduces concerns about air quality by both removing insulation as a potential source of formaldehyde in the indoor environment and eliminating formaldehyde emissions during manufacturing. In addition, initial users report that installers find the product friendlier to handle than traditional fiber glass insulation products. Johns Manville Formaldehyde-free fiber glass insulation further contributes to overall resource efficiency as it contains a minimum 25 percent recycled material (North American average) and 30 percent recycled material if produced in California. The insulation also provides an energy efficient thermal and acoustical barrier that results in increased energy efficiency, which can lead ultimately to energy conservation.
Results:
Johns Manville Formaldehyde-free fiber glass insulation was specified in more than 350,000 square feet of the 479,000 square-foot Block 225 building. The building demonstrates the practicality and feasibility of implementing "green building" strategies on a large public project, and a Building and Indoor Air Quality Commission has been established to evaluate the performance of the building through a sequential method of checking and testing the building and its systems.
The new home for the California State Department of Education has set a higher standard for responsible "green" building. Johns Manville Formaldehyde-free fiber glass insulation exemplifies the kind of innovative building products now available to meet the sustainable design and indoor air quality requirements demanded by projects such as the Capitol Area East End Complex.
