Industry gets wake-up call on protecting environment.

Here is part two of the Irish American Building Society (AIBS) roundtable comprising NYC Councilman Jim Gennaro; Meg Carey, President of MCEnergy, Inc.; Timothy Clancy, COO The Durst Organization; and Eugene Walsh, building manager for 4 Times Square.

Chairing the roundtable was Gerard McCabe, President of the IABS, a practicing attorney and head of KPC Gemb Energy.

McCabe: Let's turn to 4 Times Square, New York's pioneering green building. Are there any differences in how you conduct operations?

Walsh: Not really--much of what we do is no different than we have done before. Purchasing supplies is done in the same way, and at no additional cost. Manufacturers have come so far that it is easy and cost-efficient to purchase environmentally-friendly products.

Even our photovoltaic panels, which are unique in New York, are no different than operating a new piece of equipment. The panels supply up to about 15kW to supplement our overall needs, and require little work beyond performance monitoring. The two fuel cells provide 400 KW and the panels and cells are maintained by the manufacturer. We also monitor them and store the nitrogen the manufacturers need for maintenance; that's basically it.

It's important to say that in this profession, if you don't stay in step with technology you don't succeed. There's always change and there's always learning with any building as technology moves forward.

McCabe: What are the benefits of managing a green building?

Walsh: For me, 4 Times Square is a special place. Not just because it is Durst's flagship, but because the company took a step into the unknown at the time to make a positive contribution to the environment that we leave to our children and grandchildren.

There's an important benefit to the tenants--productivity. We turn over outside air more often than any other building in the City and that intake of fresh air means there's no mid-afternoon slump. The tenants are proud to be in a high-performance building; they are in professions that work long hours and so the building "works" for them.

McCabe: In building One Bryant Park, Durst is taking lessons learned at 4 Times Square to a much higher level. Can you fill us in?

Clancy: We're aiming for Platinum LEED Standards this time, and new technology is allowing us to do some exciting things, such as using computer simulations more extensively to help us understand the impact of certain energy efficiency choices. We're also doing a 5.2 MW co-generation plant which will supply a substantial amount of the building's power and improve reliability and availability. At least 50% of energy is wasted during its generation and transmission, so it is much efficient to generate on site.

We're also doing much more with gray water, and are planning on using waterless urinals once approved by the appropriate New York City authorities.

And while it may seem obvious, we strongly recommend integrating architectural and design teams from the start. Together they can turn unsolvable problems into working solutions, as happened with our photovoltaic panels at 4 Times Square. The architectural original design was high-performance--a rooftop PV farm in full sun--but too costly.

The team ultimately incorporated the photovoltaics into the required facade spandrels, which was not only a creative solution but one that made economic sense as well. When replaced in the future, technology will have developed more sophisticated panels to generate a higher percentage of the building's power.

McCabe: I'm m sure the City is looking forward to the completion of One Bryant Park! Thanks to the panel, and for those who want to get started, or those who have renovated and are probably further into a green agenda than realized, more information on green building standards can be found at www.usgbc.org. (LEED standards will soon to apply to interior spaces.)

Or try www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ highperformance