(A08) Tree Pittsburgh: Modular and Zero Energy on a Non-profit Budget

Tree Pittsburgh’s mission, to protect and renew the urban forest through conservation, education, and planting is evident in their new 600 SF headquarters, where they grow tens of thousands of trees. The presentation will highlight how the building is used to generate income for their mission of being stewards of Pittsburgh’s urban forest.
Like many non-profits, they faced challenges in building and operating their building sustainably. Site challenges of limited utility access and brownfield conditions were drivers for sustainability. The net-zero energy design and LEED certification helped the team capitalize on donor excitement for first cost while lowering long term maintenance cost.
Speakers will elaborate on funding streams and the development of sustainability goals for the project by describing how the solar array, water collection, soil remediation, finishes, and lighting were funded by various grants and donations. Participants will learn how securing a grant for the solar array led the team to establish a maximum energy usage, ultimately guiding the program size, design, and construction.
Panelists will discuss the charette process and how the decision making was balanced with real time cost analysis. As a public demonstration piece, many of the systems are residential in size and affordable.
Additionally, speakers will describe the building’s helical pier structural support system and modular, off-site construction process and the environmental logic of these selections. The team will also discuss how product disclosure was affected by modular construction.
Speakers will also examine how the rainwater collection system limits ground water infiltration at contaminated zones and helps irrigate the nursery and landscape. With the building occupied for over a year and energy usage documented, speakers will compare analytics of the construction expense ($270/sf) and energy usage (net positive energy) from the Tree Pittsburgh case study against conventional construction cost and energy performance.