The PMRA Clinic Receives "Architecture + Energy Design Award"
 | | This was the second year for this special design awards program. What is unique about it is the attempt toward not just quantitative energy efficiency in buildings, and not just the design of beautiful structures, but the successful realization of architectural solutions that contribute greatly to energy use reduction and conservation. As one attendee at the review of the awards program stated, "If I learned one thing from this awards program, it is that if a project is to be truly energy efficient, one must begin the very design of a project with energy conservation in mind and keep at it throughout the project." Only through an integrative process can one achieve a truly energy efficient building. Norman Kurtz of the firm of Flack and Kurtz articulated this concept most vividly, when he compared the elegant design solution of an energy efficient building to the design of a sailboat. For due to the sailboat's efficient design, it requires only the smallest of motors to move it along. This awards program hopes to find the "sailboats" of the built environment. The Medford Clinic and Physical Therapy Suite in Medford, Oregon, completed in 1988, represents a very innovative attempt at integration of building and technological solutions. Its designers certainly considered the integration of energy conservation and architectural design. The designer was concerned that all patients experience the beneficial effects of day-lit spaces, thus two large skylights were placed in the clinic waiting room and physical therapy. The skylight decreased the amount of energy use and also created a very pleasant atmosphere for the patients. However, the designers were sensitive to the need to mitigate and control the negative effects of the skylights through the use of a mechanical shading device operated by photocells and micro-processor controls. A "scavenger" duct was also placed in each skylight to exhaust the heat build up in summer and recirculate it in winter. The area of the building envelope was maximized to allow many opportunities for light penetration. However, the selected materials exceeded code requirements for u-value by a factor of three, thus reducing the heart loss that buildings experience from large areas of perimeter walls. Windows were triple glazed and deciduous trees were planted to screen sunlight in the summer months, allowing the sun to penetrate in winter. The scale of the building was minimized to fit in with the neighborhood. The project shows concern for balancing the effects of each decision regarding energy efficiency. Its holistic approach to problem solving is exemplary. | Design Award for the Integration of Architecture + Energy
 | | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Associates Clinic
Medford, OR
Architect/Firm
Bruce Richey, Architect, AIA of Medford, OR
Engineer
Marquess & Associates of Medford, OR
Contractor
Paul Hartsook Construction Company
Owner
Rogue Valley Health Services
Photographer
Robbery Jaffe & Brian C. Prechtel |
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