Tony Zedda, "Systematic Approach to Sustainable Design"

Tony Zedda, Architect with Kobayashi + Zedda Architects in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Summary: Mr. Zedda’s presented several examples of construction projects that included sustainable design features, problems encountered, renewable forms of energy used, and the typical design/construction process. As a designer/builder, he discussed the advantages of being able to take a systematic approach and to oversee a project from concept to finish. Mr. Zedda discussed the goals created to guide the process of a sustainable community development his company designed and is building. Mr. Zedda concluded his presentation with a summary of what is needed for sustainable design to become a standard practice.

Mr. Zedda described the Yukon Territory (YT) in Canada with a population around 33,000 as a “big territory with few people.” The YT shares a border with Alaska and has much in common with Alaska in climate and culture. His company, Kobayashi + Zedda Architects does both contracting and architectural design. They were hired to design and build the Tr’ondek Hwech’in Cultural Center in 1998, the Ordish Anderson House and Mayo Replacement K-12 School in 2003, and the Tantalus School in 2007. In these projects they found ways to incorporate simple things that fit the structure without costing too much extra such as:

One thing they learned was you have to have a willing client. Before they did the Mayo school where they were allowed to put clerestory windows into the gymnasium, the Yukon government didn’t allow them because they worried about vandalism risk. After the success of including them at the Mayo school, they had no more problems with the government who now is a proponent of including natural light in every space.

In 2007, they built the Vuntut Visitor Reception and Operations Center on the banks of the Porcupine River in Old Crow, YT. The 4,000 sq. ft. center is built on stilts on permafrost soils. They utilized many of the features listed above as well as a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system and panel shades on all upper windows. They installed the largest solar array in the YT on the south side to provide a total output of 3.825 kW of power using a type of solar panel that didn’t require a battery bank. The building is small and the batteries would have taken a large portion of the space. Excess power is sold to the local utility in the summer and bought back in the winter. The plans called for an air-to-air heat pump but instead they used a forced air furnace tied in with an HRV system because that allowed someone to come in to service the system since the rest of the village had forced air furnaces. If they had installed a heat pump, they village would have to bring in someone from “outside” to service it.

Old Crow is a small village of 220 people without road access – everything must be flown in to the community. Heating oil costs $3.25 a liter and construction costs $780 a square foot. They looked at everything to see what they could do to lower that cost to $500 - $700 per sq. ft. because it’s not just about design, it’s also about being affordable. To minimize the onsite construction labor costs, they used structural insulated panels (SIPs) – 10.25” R37.3 on the roof and 8.25” R30.3 on the walls. The building was designed and built in factory and then disassembled and shipped to the site. A problem was encountered because the building design didn’t account for the SIP joints adding 1/8” per joint to the width of the structure. As there were many SIP joints, the last panel wall extended 6” beyond the foundation. There was also a problem with a 1” gap between the sill plate and the column splice joints. They had to take the walls apart and redo it. Another project, the 2006 Taku River Tlingit Multi-Purpose Building, was built on the banks of Atlin Lake in Atlin B.C. They wanted to make this building completely fossil fuel free. They installed a heat pump using lake water along with an in-stream micro-hydro plant to provide power to the building.

Mr. Zedda discussed the typical process of construction: conception/siting/ marketing/ finance/ legal/ design/ tender/ construction/ warranty. Usually architects aren’t also builders nor involved from beginning to end. As an architect/builder, he feels he is living the “dream job”:

Mr. Zedda then discussed sustainable design in urban structures. They incorporated many of the features listed above in the design of the Latitude 60 Loft Condos and the New Cambodia Projects; two-stories with condo/loft residences on the top floor and commercial/retail units on the ground floor on a 70’ x 50’ lot. He proposed that density equals sustainability. Dense environments bring people together and save resources and energy. They like to use materials that don’t require a lot of maintenance such as corrugated metal siding and hardy-plank. Wood is hard to maintain and is only used in areas where it is protected from sunlight and moisture such as under the eaves.

They don’t like to build higher than four stories to avoid shadowing adjacent buildings. Another project was the Bling Urban Dwellings, sixteen residences and two commercial on 150’ x 100’ lot space. The structure was designed so that all units had a view of the mountains. The project was located in a neighborhood with condemned dilapidated structures that were moved to a new location and renovated. Another project, the “Judy Project,” still in the planning phase, will incorporate a super insulated building envelope with R40 walls, R-60 roof and will be totally electric (due to local hydro available in Whitehorse.) They hope to negotiate a deal with the utility to purchase power during non peak hours of 10:00pm and 7:00 am when it isn’t being used at a reduced rate of +/-$.06/kW. Normally electricity costs $0.11/kW.

Next, Mr. Zedda discussed his involvement with the Takhini North Sustainable Community Initiative, a community planning project that will add 152 housing units in an urban area with 82 existing duplex units. After several design charettes, the following goals were created for this Initiative:

Northern housing has in the past, paid little regard to orientation (to maximize solar gain, natural light and view). Heating fuel has been relatively inexpensive, water plentiful and the civil infrastructure largely subsidized to facilitate a boom and bust population. In keeping with the goal of reducing our ecological footprint, creating vibrant pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and reducing GHG emissions, ecologically responsible urban planning attempts to achieve the following general goals:

Mr. Zedda concluded with a summary of what he feels is needed to make sustainable development a norm in the building industry and in community development:

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