Architecture Firm:
SRG Partnership, Inc.
Completion Date:
2006
Project Format (not yet built / built):
Built
Project Size (sf / site acreage):
21,600sf / 3.5acres
Project Location:
St. Benedict, Oregon
Budget ($/sq Ft, optional):
$288/sf
Interior Designer:
SRG Partnership, Inc.
General Contractor:
Emerick Construction
Landscape Designer:
Mitchell Nelson Group
Lighting Consultant:
Benya Lighting Design
Structural Engineer:
KPFF Consulting Engineers
Mechanical Engineer:
SOLARC Architecture & Engineering
Electrical Engineer:
James D. Graham & Associates
Commissioning Agent:
N/A
Air Quality Consultant:
N/A
Civil Engineer:
WDY Structural and Civil Engineers
Other:
University of Oregon Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory
Owner:
Mount Angel Abbey
Sustainable Sites:
The Mount Angel Abbey Annunciation Academic Center is the first new building to be built on the site’s hilltop since the Alvar Aalto library was constructed in 1970. Overall site planning was conducted prior to design of the building with the intention of upholding the Benedictine value of environmental stewardship.
Annunciation, dramatically positioned along the hilltop’s periphery, replaced parking and hardscape to create an enclosed, landscaped courtyard that benefits the Abbey with a cloistered, reflective sense of space. We relocated the parking lot at the base of the hill, which not only preserves a sense of community and greenspace on the hilltop but also curbs storm water run-off. Storm water is now retained and treated on site, and walking paths with permeable pavers allow rainwater to easily absorb back into the soil. Pathway and circulation strategies around Annunciation are designed to strengthen the entrance of the Abbey.
Toward Zero Energy:
In monastic tradition, there is an important interplay between the material and the spiritual. That interplay was a consistent theme through the design process and found expression in the innovative natural ventilation and daylighting solutions, supporting both the spiritual vision of the monks and energy efficiency. Completed in 2006, Annunciation is expected to be 60% more energy efficient than the Oregon Energy Code.
Natural ventilation allows the building to remain comfortable during the warmer months. Thermal comfort is provided for occupants by natural ventilation air drawn through louvers surrounding the building’s windows. Air circulates through the room, past the building occupants and thermal mass to vent by stack effect through turbine ventilators at the roof. The highly efficient heat recovery system pre-warms incoming ventilation air in winter months and pre-cools it in summer months. The combination of the thermal mass of the concrete floor and ceiling structure along with air movement from ceiling fans serves to expand the comfort range of building occupants by five degrees, allowing the building to remain comfortable with only a modest radiant heating system and no mechanical cooling system. A night flush cycle combined with thermal mass and ceiling fans cools the building, while sunshades, light shelves and operable windows help keep the building comfortable. Exterior louvers on each classroom’s skylight have dampers and heating coils to regulate the temperature and flow of ventilation air. Quarry tile floors, plus linoleum floors in lieu of carpet, facilitate thermal transfer between ventilation and night flush air and the thermal mass of the building.
The daylighting approach employed in the building’s classrooms, tested in a full-sized mock-up prior to construction of the building, is the first of its kind. During daytime hours, the classrooms require no electric lighting 95% of the time they are occupied. Each classroom is instead naturally lit from a single 10-foot-square skylight that combines integral louvers and custom reflectors to evenly distribute daylight throughout the room, eliminating dark areas or striated ceiling reflections. The reflectors are made of extruded triangular aluminum tubes arranged under each skylight in concentric layers of diminishing density; the louvers rotate automatically to regulate the level of daylight entering the classroom. Electric lights are modulated by continuous dimming ballasts controlled by occupancy sensors, and are used only when natural daylight is inadequate.
Local and Sustainable Materials:
Design made use of recycled-content brick as well as quarry tile pavers whose materials were extracted and fabricated within 500 miles of the site. Quarry tile and linoleum floors, made of linseed oil, facilitate thermal transfer between ventilation and night flush air and the thermal mass of the building.
Sustainable Water:
The design of Annunciation sought to incorporate water conservation measures wherever possible. For example, the building features low-flow urinals at 0.5 gpf. Water quality is also preserved through the retention and treatment of storm water on site and the elimination of run-off water that had previously occurred from the paved parking which once existed on the hilltop.
IEQ and Comfort:
The monks at Mount Angel Abbey challenged us to design a building that was more than just a generic classroom facility. They sought a building that would complement the existing contemplative setting of the Abbey and demonstrate the Benedictine values of stewardship of the environment, hospitality, craftsmanship, beauty and the love of prayer.
Coupling the belief that natural light provides a better work and study environment for students than artificial light with the desire of the monks to create an environmentally responsible facility, we tested and employed a daylighting approach in the building’s classrooms that is the first of its kind. Each classroom is naturally lit from a skylight that uses integral louvers and custom reflectors to evenly distribute daylight throughout the room, automatically adjusting to maintain ideal natural light levels throughout the day. As a result, during daytime hours classrooms require no electric lighting 95% of the time they are occupied.
Daylighting also combines with visual elements within Annunciation to enhance users’ experience and interaction with the building, as well as to further the academic center’s spiritual, reflective environment. For example, an interior cloister hallway extending the entire length of the building is defined by arches which create a rhythm that enhances the idea of contemplation and reflection central to the monastery. A series of slatted wooden benches along this corridor are located adjacent to artwork and encourage people to pause for active conversations or quiet reflection throughout the seasons; each bench has a skylight above to allow in the serenity of natural light, and dense radiant heating coils in the floor to foster an environment of warmth and intimacy. Glass doors on both ends of the corridor open to the hilltop, entreating occupants to view and experience the natural environment beyond the building.
The absence of the mechanical systems found in typical classroom buildings contributes to a sense of peace and tranquility throughout Annunciation. Rather than the sound of air blowing through ductwork, sounds of nature and fresh air to pour into the building through operable windows. Classrooms feature sloped ceilings shaped to reflect daylight and provide optimal acoustical quality. The sustainable measures taken with the building have thus served to enhance the spirit of reverence and calm that the monks sought to achieve.
Collective Wisdom and Feedback:
Our early collaboration with G.Z. Charlie Brown, FAIA, of the University of Oregon’s Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory (ESBL), and Mike Hatten, principal of SOLARC Architecture and Engineering, was critical to this project’s success, causing the push toward a natural daylighting solution based upon an innovative model that had never before been implemented. In order to ensure that our classroom design would work optimally in the absence of electric lights, heating or air conditioning during the day, our integrated design team built a full-sized mock-up to test its daylighting strategies prior to actual construction. This mock-up was coupled with extensive computer modeling on the natural ventilation scheme and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling to ensure that the air flow natural ventilation would provide on the hottest days of the year would be sufficient.
Since Annunciation’s occupancy, we have extensively monitored heating use throughout the last two winters through a DDC (direct digital controls) Web interface. We have also performed post-occupancy comfort evaluations to monitor Annunciation’s performance, working closely with the Abbey to ensure that the building’s sustainable strategies are producing optimal results for the users.
Regional/Community Design:
The Abbey features a retreat center, library and church that welcomes the greater community and serves as an anchor for the city of St. Benedict. As this community experiences Annunciation in its simplistic beauty and environmental efficiency, it will come to discover not only the values that represent the way of life of the monks, but also a model of sustainable possibilities for the future that can be implemented in a broad variety of settings. For example, as a result of their tour of Annunciation, the Portland Public School system and the Oregon Department of Energy are currently building a similar model classroom as a new prototype for the school district which they hope will be implemented statewide in additional districts.
