If you picked up the Labor Day issue of the Salt Lake Tribune, you may have found a comprehensive look into Utah’s greenest regenerative design. Arch Nexus SLC is the first commercial building in the Intermountain West aiming to achieve Living Building Certification. With the piece See inside Utah’s first ‘living building’ — Can this approach help save the world?, Tony Semerad paints an incredible overview of why this matters and how it can be achieved, offering a “beam of hope” amid the worsening climate crisis.

Ornately designed solar panels installed on the rooftop and parking lot gather all the energy that Arch Nexus office dwellers inside need — and more. The same goes for water, which is collected as rainfall then used, recycled and treated on-site with appealing indoor wetlands known as living walls. The building seems to breathe through open doors, windows and sumptuous courtyards, digitally adjusting to its surroundings and connecting inhabitants with natural daylight, fresh air, copious greenery and vibrant art.

More fundamentally, the 30,909-square-foot, two-story edifice, built as a warehouse in the 1950s, now functions completely free of carbon emissions, at a time when buildings represent roughly 45% of global greenhouse gases.

Learn more about the Living Building Challenge and Arch Nexus SLC, click here.

Commissioning on the Arch Nexus SLC Living Building Challenge pursuant project is complete and the first month of energy data shows the the project is off to a very good start. The predictions for energy usage and energy production are very close to the actual use and production. The predicted results for July 2021 were 34,672 kWh for energy production and 22,016 kWh for energy use. Actual results were 37,708 kWh for energy production and 21,068 kWh for energy use. A lot of hard work went into modeling energy behavior for the renovated office and it is rewarding to see that those efforts have created a reliable prediction for net positive energy use.

Architectural Nexus congratulates Cheryl McMurtry for her recent recognition by SMPS Sacramento. The goal of the committee is to connect the A/E/C industry to what is happening in their relevant client markets. Cheryl has served as the chair for SMPS Sacramento over the last year and just received a “President’s Award” based on her service.

Cheryl excelled in raising revenue through sponsorships, increasing participation and improving content; an especially difficult task during a time when nearly all events were suddenly virtual. At the SMPS Sacramento annual meeting, chapter president, Cameron D. Hagans, stated

There is one particular Chapter member that I would like to recognize with the President’s Award, which is chosen at the chapter president’s discretion. We get to choose a member who has provided the support, effort, expertise, energy and enthusiasm in service to the chapter.
As it says on the award “In recognition of your extraordinary service to the Sacramento SMPS Chapter and Members”. One of the long-standing goals for our Chapter was how to expand our membership to expand beyond transportation and public works services firms. How do we provide value and market insights for architecture, planning, environmental, and construction firms. The key ultimately depended on providing diverse industry programs to reach outside of our normal clients and panelists and broaden our perspective of the Sacramento regional market.

Arch Nexus President, Kenner Kingston, also understands the value that Cheryl brings to any team she’s a part of. Whether she is mentoring younger professionals to understand that marketing is a way for them to take control of their career, or developing long-term strategy within firm leadership, she is a trusted advisor by all. I am grateful for all she does for both our firm and for our professional community.

Arch Nexus is vying for a place in the SXSW Edu 2022 lineup, to share inside information on regenerative design principals, workplace applications and practical solutions for climate change. These ideas have been stress-tested in a post-pandemic hybrid office, located in a vulnerable climate. This presentation will take the form of a case study of that regenerated office environment.

PanelPicker voting is now live! This gives the online community an opportunity to vote (and comment) on the ideas they believe are the most creative, innovative, and relevant for the 2022 event. Promote regenerative design by upvoting POST-SUSTAINABILITY: THE REGENERATIVE WORKPLACE to be a session at SXSW 2022.

Voting closes August 26^th and selections will be announced mid October.

Officials from the City of Sacramento recently gathered at Arch Nexus SAC, to announce an ordinance requiring new homes, low-rise apartment buildings and commercial structures to run entirely on electricity starting in 2023. The City Council approved the ordinance, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

“We are talking about setting the new standard for building construction in Sacramento,“ said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. The setting of the announcement was fitting, as the Arch Nexus SAC office is powered entirely by solar-generated electricity.

For complete details on Sacramento’s plan, visit the City’s new building electrification ordinance webpage. Interested parties can also learn more about electrification efforts nationwide, in this 2020 article from The Sierra Club.

The Sacramento City Council is poised to take a major step toward meeting its climate change goals when it votes Tuesday on an ordinance requiring new homes, low-rise apartment buildings and commercial structures to run entirely on electricity starting in 2023.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg will join the leaders of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District to highlight the benefits of the ordinance. Speakers will also include a representative from the environmental community and an infill developer. The press conference will be held at the Sacramento headquarters of architectural firm Architectural Nexus (Archnexus), the first certified living building in California and one powered entirely by solar-generated electricity. Read more here. Archnexus will offer media tours after the program. Attached to this advisory is a summary of the ordinance and frequently asked questions.

• What: Press conference on electrification ordinance coming to City Council on June 1
• When: 11:30 a.m., Thursday, May 27
• Where: Archnexus building, 930 R St. (in back parking lot, under solar panels)
• Who:

Mayor Darrell Steinberg

Paul Lau, CEO and General Manager, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Alberto Ayala, Executive Director, Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District

Kendra Macias Reed, Sacramento City Planning Commissioner and infill developer

Kate Wilkins, environmental scientist and board member of 350 Sac, a local group working to fight climate change

Cheryl McMurtry, Associate, Arch Nexus

Summary of electrification ordinance

Sacramento has some of the worst air quality in the nation. Burning gas in our cars or in our homes not only contributes to dirtier air and ozone, but it exacerbates risk for respiratory disease. Burning gas also creates greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. When new buildings use electricity rather than natural gas, these buildings are not just better for the environment and the health of those living in them, but they are also cheaper in almost every development type. Studies show that residents in these new electric buildings will also save hundreds of dollars in electricity costs. Constructing new buildings to be all-electric takes advantage of the clean power that SMUD produces, maximizing the benefit of SMUD’s commitment to zero-carbon electricity by 2030.

Shifting new buildings to electricity ensures they are clean, affordable, and resilient. This is why building electrification is a key principal for the 2040 General Plan, as committed by the City Council.

By constructing new buildings to use only electric appliances, Sacramento can realize cost reductions and benefits in health and air quality improvements.

The New Building Electrification Ordinance takes a balanced, phased approach. With delayed effectiveness that varies based on development size and type, the City is ensuring that developers have time to adequately plan and prepare for implementation. The ordinance includes limited exemptions and an infeasibility process, to accommodate technical challenges and ensure that the ordinance is not a barrier to construction.

Key points:

• What is the ordinance? The ordinance requires that new buildings be all-electric, with no gas or propane infrastructure. The ordinance slowly ramps in by development type and size, from 2023 to 2026, starting with residential and commercial buildings of three stories or less.
• What does the ordinance apply to?
  • Only to new buildings, with limited exemptions and a process to accommodate infeasibility.
  • The ordinance does not apply to existing buildings, remodels of existing buildings, tenant improvements, or expansions.
• Who will this affect? Only those developing new buildings. The ordinance doesn’t apply to existing construction.
• Why is the City doing this?
  • Electrifying new buildings is a key strategy to ensure new buildings are efficient, clean, and resilient. In August 2020, City Council prioritized the ordinance as a critical near-term action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve climate goals. The ordinance advances a key recommendation of the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change.
  • When you use gas in your home, such as a gas stove for cooking food, the combustion creates air pollutants – not only does this pollution create dirtier air and contribute to ozone, but studies have shown that using a gas stove increases the likelihood of asthma in children by 42%.
  • Long-term, electric buildings are more resilient and can use the renewable power that SMUD generates. SMUD has committed to 100% clean power by 2030.
  • Electric buildings will save residents money over time. One study estimated that over a 30-year period, residents in new electric construction would pay less in energy bills by approximately $5,349 in single family housing and $2,337 in low-rise multi-family.^[1] SMUD also has the lowest electricity rates in the state, meaning that going all-electric in Sacramento will yield the biggest ratepayer benefits.

• What about costs to build new construction? Building without gas is cheaper  in almost all circumstances, and SMUD incentives are available to further reduce costs.
  • Accounting for both the City’s EV standards and all-electric requirements for residential buildings, data suggests that construction savings ranges from over $6,000 (for a mid-rise, ~88-unit development) to over $60,000 (for a low-rise multi-family project with 8 dwelling units), based on cost-effectiveness studies for SMUD territory.^[2]
  • Construction costs for all-electric high-rise multi-family vary depending on project design and how hot water heating is addressed, but are offset by SMUD incentive. While the cost increase for all-electric mid- to high-rise unit can range from a savings of $228 per unit to a cost increase of $557 per dwelling unit, SMUD electric incentives range from $1,750 – $5,000 unit, offsetting the cost.
  • Also, gas rates are forecasted to increase because gas infrastructure is costly to maintain and keep safe. Residential gas costs are forecasted to increase from just about $1.3 per residential therm today to an estimated $18 per therm in 2050^[3]  (the average home in Sacramento uses about 300 therms per year; without a managed transition, annual average home gas costs in Sacramento would increase from approximately $400/year today to over $5,400/year in 2050).
• Why is the City doing this now in the midst of COVID19? New development often takes years to plan. By passing the ordinance now, Council is sending a strong signal to inform financial decisions and infrastructure planning, so that developers are ready for implementation when the ordinance goes into effect in 2023.
• How will this impact new business and housing construction?
  • The ordinance includes limited exemptions and infeasibility process, to ensure it does not place a barrier on business or housing development. This means that new restaurants can build with a gas stove, or a new manufacturing facility could include gas equipment for high-intensity process loads where technology may not be widely available. Hot water heating in regulated affordable housing is also exempt from the ordinance until 12/31/25.
  • Stakeholders will be invited to advise staff to develop infeasibility criteria, to ensure that the process is clear and transparent for applicants, and to identify technologies that may not be market ready, or project-specific conditions that may make all-electric infeasible. A range of representatives will be involved including those representing manufacturing, business, development, restaurants, equity and environmental justice perspectives, cultural perspectives, technical and engineering expertise, and labor.
  • The City will work closely with SMUD to ensure availability of educational materials and resources to assist developers with the transition to all-electric construction.
• What other cities have done this? 44 other cities in California have adopted electrification ordinances that are in effect already or go into effect before 2023, including San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
• What about existing buildings?
  • The ordinance does not regulate existing buildings, and there’s no proposed requirements to retrofit or replace of appliances in existing buildings.
  • On June 1^st, staff are also recommending a framework to City Council for an 18-month planning process to evaluate options and develop a strategy to decarbonize existing buildings over the next twenty-five years. To develop this strategy, the City will conduct a technical analysis and lead extensive stakeholder engagement. The proposed framework does not include new retrofit mandates, but outlines a planning process to develop recommendations for City Council.

Architectural Nexus President, Kenner Kingston, was recently interviewed for the Wasatch Gazette that airs on Cumulus radio stations B98.7, KBER, KKAT, K-BULL and Power 94.9. Check out their conversation regarding the new Arch Nexus SLC building, right here.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, commonly known as LEED, is an official recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council. It verifies that a project complies with the requirements prescribed within the LEED rating systems. Becoming LEED certified allows a building to prove its sustainability through measurable criteria in a variety of areas.

The Nexus designed Kearns Library has achieved the status of LEED Gold Certification, meaning that it has met stringent benchmarks of quality and environmentally sustainable infrastructure. Areas where the Kearns Library design scored the highest, include:

Energy and Atmosphere. With optimal energy performance, advanced energy metering, renewable energy production and Green Power and Carbon Offsets, Energy and Atmosphere is where the Kearns Library ranks highest.

Innovation. Arch Nexus demonstrated innovation starting with social equity within the Project team. At least 40 weighted products within the design have Environmental Product Declarations provided. Additionally, the Kearns library not only meets the requirement for exemplary performance of 54%, it far exceed that measurement at 78.3%.

Regional Priority Credits. Regional Priority Credits are unique to the projects location. They address geographically specific environmental, social equity, and public health priorities. The Kearns Library scored well for its bicycle facilities, optimizing energy performance and its renewable energy production.

We love the latest cover story of Utah Construction and Design Magazine: Community Embodied A Library Grows In Kearns. Of the 35,00 square foot facility that was completed in 2020, UC&D Editor, Taylor Larsen writes;

The Kearns Library is unlike any library I’ve ever seen, while all at once being everything one can be and more. At every corner and description, I don’t think I’ve seen a more impressive building given what it stands for and achieves. It’s a community space, it’s a refuge, it’s a treasure trove of knowledge, and ultimately, it’s a library. Getting from a community-centric idea all began with a little bit of outreach from designers at Arch Nexus to see what Kearns and its residents would want out of their new library. The final product centers around sustainability, accessibility, and community.

Download the full issue to learn all about how architects engaged with the community, worked to preserve the past and the many ways in which the design taps into nature.

Gone are the days of the shushing librarian. In their place comes one well-versed in all of the resources this building and its programming have to offer… With a library that perfectly encapsulates the community, it’s evident: this is their space.

Architectural Nexus President, Kenner Kingston, is slated to appear on the ABC4/CW30 program IN FOCUS, at 7PM MST, Thursday, April 29th. Innovative Architecture is the topic of this episode. Kenner will discuss the Arch Nexus SLC Living Building project, which aims to be the first commercial living building in Utah. Check back for a link to the segment after it airs.