Schuster Presents at Advancing Construction Decarbonization Summit in Denver
On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, Andrew Schuster, Principal, presented “From the Design Phase to Construction of a Net Zero Building: How We Built the Sustainable Energy Fund Office Building” at the Advancing Construction Decarbonization Summit in Denver, Colorado. He co-presented with John Costlow, Chief Executive Officer, of The Sustainable Energy Fund. The summit ran from July 31-August 2 and “united over 100 sustainability and project leaders from contracting firms across North America to solve and advance carbon reduction developments.”
The new net zero energy office building was designed and built to demonstrate that a net zero energy approach can be used for a leasable office building for a similar development cost to comparable office buildings. The 15,000-square-foot building will consume about 75% less operating energy than comparable structures.
The project has been recognized by Fast Company in the 2021 World Changing Ideas as a honorable mention in architecture. It has also been featured by Green Building & Design for “5 Net Zero Energy Building Examples Worth Emulating” and “This Net Zero Office Design Sets a New Standard.”
The presentation covered three main topics about the Sustainable Energy Fund Office Net Zero Energy project and looked at everything from the project’s conception all the way to the finished product.
The three key points were:
Discussing how embodied carbon was measured from bid to project completion to ensure that any and all carbon was accounted for.
Uncovering challenges faced and lessons learned to ensure you are prepared to tackle them if they present in your own projects.
Assessing what extra steps were taken throughout the process to keep the building on track to reaching its net-zero goal.
