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Architects and University Team up for the Big Play: LEED Platinum Stadium

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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HKS Architects Inc. and the University of North Texas went for the big play—and scored—in winning LEED Platinum certification for the university’s new Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas.

Photos: Daryl Shields, HKS Architects Inc.

Aerial view of the University of North Texas Apogee Stadium, Denton, Texas.

The stadium is the first newly constructed collegiate football stadium in the nation to go LEED Platinum—the highest level of LEED certification—reports Dallas-based HKS.

The stadium and site feature an array of sustainable design and development approaches, including extensive native-species landscaping; measures to reduce stormwater runoff and urban heat-island effect; energy savings and renewable energy; reduced water consumption; use of recycled and renewable materials in construction; and use of low-VOC paint, coatings and other products to enhance indoor air quality.

Notable design features also include the use of permeable, solar-reflective paver materials for parking, roadway and walkway areas.

Team Effort

Design plans for the 31,000-seat stadium got under way in 2009, and sustainability figured prominently in the game plan. HKS’ Sports & Entertainment Group and the rest of the project team huddled for a sustainability and LEED charrette, and an initial LEED scorecard was created to guide project design and execution.

The 31,000-seat stadium with football action under way. The stadium and site include an array of sustainable-design features.

The project team set its sights on a lengthy list of LEED credits in various categories, including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process.

Managing the LEED process throughout design and construction of the stadium was Chris Mundell, LEED AP, sustainable design coordinator with HKS DesignGreen.

The Xs and Os

The site: Open green space and minimal surface parking ranked as top priorities, as the design team sought to reduce the environmental impact of site development. Approaches adopted included retention ponds and permeable pavers to reduce stormwater runoff; landscaping that emphasized native and adaptive planting; and an efficient irrigation system.

With a location on the university campus, site design encourages alternative transportation such as shuttles, car pooling, bicycles, and fuel-efficient vehicles.

A highlight is the installation of three wind turbines oriented to maximize the prevailing southerly winds. The turbines are expected to provide approximately half a million kilowatt hours per year for the university’s Eagle Point power grid, effectively eliminating 323 metric tons of CO2.

Sustainable Sites LEED credits were also earned for cool-roof and cool-pavement materials. Roofing included Firestone’s UltraPly TPO, in solar-reflective white finish.

Water efficiency: In addition to the irrigation-conserving and stormwater-controlling site design, the project employs low-flow plumbing that will cut potable-water use by half, compared to the conventional-design baseline.

Energy conservation: A preliminary energy model was devised to assist the architects with design of the building envelope. Measures also include advanced lighting controls; mechanical shades controlled by the Building Automatic System (BAS); and sequencing of operations and temperature set points to reduce mechanical systems use during periods of reduced facility use. The project’s energy use is estimated at 26% less than a baseline model per ASHRAE 90.1-2004.

Materials: The contractor achieved an 80% reduction in construction waste. Construction also managed a 20% recycled-content level, 45% regionally sourced materials, and more than 50% sustainable-certified wood. The use of fly ash was maximized in the project’s massive amount of concrete.

Indoor environmental quality: Paint, coatings and other interior building materials with low or no VOC content were used. Indoor air quality was tested prior to building use, and more than 90% of all required occupied spaces have access to daylight and views to the outside.

Paint and coatings products included the following from The Sherwin-Williams Company:

• Solo Semi-Gloss Low-VOC 100% Acrylic

• PrepRite 200 Interior Latex Primer

• ProGreen 200 Low VOC Interior Latex Egg-Shell

• Pre-Catlyzed Water Base Epoxy

• PrepRite Bloc

• ProGreen 200 Low VOC Interior Latex Flat

• Pro Industrial Procrylic Universal Primer

Coatings for steel were Sherwin-Williams’ Zinc Clad III HS, an epoxy zinc-rich coating, with finish coat of Polysiloxane XLE-80, a high-solids epoxy silicone coating.

Also used was BASF Sonneborn’s Hyrocide 700B, a fiber-reinforced emulsified-asphalt dampproofing and vapor-retardant coating.

Other interior finishes included Crossfield Products Corp.’s Dex-O-Tex resinous flooring. Epoxy terrazzo countertops with recycled-glass content were supplied by Terroxy Resin Systems.

The Team

The project team included the following.

• Owner—University of North Texas

• Architect and interiors: HKS Inc.

• LEED consultant—HKS DesignGreen

• Structural Engineers—Rogers Moore/Walter P. Moore Engineers

• M&P Engineers—Smith Seckman Reid Inc.

• Electrical Engineers—Aguirre Roden

• Civil Engineer—Jaster-Quintanilla Dallas LLP

• Landscape architect—Caye Cook & Associates

• Commissioning agent—Henneman Engineering Inc.

• Contractor—Manhattan Construction Company

Comment from Tom Schwerdt, (11/16/2011, 8:30 AM)

The porous pavers are great for reducing runoff (and Texas needs to conserve all the water we can!) - you can also do the same thing with a porous concrete mix design for your parking lot/sidewalk/driveway to minimize impermeable cover.