Green building growing
in the Golden Crescent
By Kevin Daniels Jr.
Lauren Furcht heard from Cornelius-area residents when construction began on the Aquesta Bank headquarters building last year.
"When the framework was going up, people wondered, 'What in the world?'" said Furcht, the bank's marketing director.
Roger Layman remembers it in a slightly different way.
"It was kind of controversial for a while," said Layman, the building's architect. "There were some people who were concerned about it."
Aquesta Bank's new building was built to reflect its community, says bank officials. But it also was designed as an environmentally friendly structure-an example of "green" architecture.
Architects and builders in the Golden Crescent say they are designing more buildings that reduce the carbon footprint, and they are willing to do even more.
However, they add, a series of obstacles-some real, some perceptions-stand in the way of more wholesale "green" development.
And some of the really innovative "green" architecture goes unnoticed, some architects say.
Perhaps the best-known local example of an environmentally friendly building is Aquesta's bank.
Layman, based in Davidson, worked with Aquesta officials on a building that would save on energy consumption, make maximum use of space, and… well, be noticeable.
The three-story, 20,000-square-foot building features solar panels, and the interior is designed in a way to trim heating and cooling costs.
But the building almost didn't happen. It barely won the approval of Cornelius' planning board and town commissioners, whose concerns reflected a general anxiety in the community about building something so different along a major thoroughfare in the town.
"The planning people originally were against it," Layman said. "Then it went to the planning board, where it was approved by a 3-2 vote-but only after a lot of debate. It was also a 3-2 vote with the town commissioners."
Since the bank's headquarters building on Jetton Road opened in mid-February, the feedback has been nearly universally positive.
"People tell us they really like," Furcht says.
"I've heard a lot of positives," Layman adds.
For those of you who haven't seen it, the Aquesta building features blue-green window panes and a wavy roofline.
"When this bank was put together, we wanted it to be a part of the community," Aquesta's Furcht said. "We wanted something with the water theme, with Cornelius being along the lake."
"That was the theme that drove the initial metaphor," Layman says. "It was a sailing motif.
"The inspiration I got came from some wonderful photographs of sailing ships."
Layman says he got the idea of the building's tower and curved roof by looking at the rigging in ships.
"Even the color of the glass- aqua-reflects the water motif," he says. "We didn't want to go over the top."
Layman says he considered more than the nautical motif when designing the Aquesta building.
"This is a bank that wants to be a part of the town," he says. "So with the entrances, we worked on a way to make them user-friendly. The interior's colors are neutral, a kind of relaxed palette. It has a real casual, comfortable atmosphere."
"The building has done everything we had hoped for," Furcht says. "We even have a community room that we allow groups to use at no charge."
Aquesta fills most of the lower two floors of the building and plans to lease office space on the top floor.
More "green" plans
Layman is not alone in looking for environmentally friendly themes for buildings in Cabarrus County and the Lake Norman area.
Kathleen Rose, of Rose & Associates in Davidson, is working on a number of "green" building designs.
Lorenz Architecture in Concord is using energy-saving concepts in the construction of its own new headquarters on Cabarrus Avenue.
BJW Architecture in Concord also has several "green" buildings finished or planned.
Architects say that in some ways, the time is right for environmentally friendly designs. But they acknowledge some potential bumps in the road.
"People are more conscious of environmentalism… for a number of reasons," Rose says. "It has become more a part of the mainstream concept."
"This is not only the case in construction, but in the general culture," adds Jim Fulton, of Lorenz Architecture. "There's a fundamental shift of thinking on all levels."
Fulton says some recent developments are responsible.
"Certainly, the spike in the price of energy has made it more attractive to use environmentally friendly design elements," he says.
Rose says some of the interest is being driven by governmental agencies and the education community.
"We are seeing more 'green' government buildings, and a lot of that also is happening at colleges and universities," she says.
And "green" design is a growing trend at the family level.
"The National Homebuilders Association is involved in this," Rose says. "We're seeing it down to the individual level."
A number of homebuilders in the area are incorporating energy-efficient strategies into new homes. The most commonly seen ideas, say local architects, are more efficient use of interior space; more detail being paid to making sure houses are not built facing the summer afternoon sun; and "green" building materials. But some homeowners are opting for solar panels and other more exotic environmentally friendly concepts.
Lorenz Architecture's new headquarters will feature mostly recycled materials. It also will have a cistern system to recycle water.
Some of the "green" design is not in the buildings themselves. Local governments are requiring that construction not threaten ground water quality, for example. Water retention basins often are required on larger buildings, and government planners are forcing developers to trim the amount of concrete used in parking lots and sidewalks.
"The amount of concrete has a tremendous impact on water runoff," says Pat Moore, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C. "We have seen a marked increase in the amount of urban flooding in recent years, as cities in the Carolinas grow, and development takes place."
Architects say science is helping them develop "green" buildings.
"The growth of three-dimensional modeling, which has emerged in the last 10 years, has made it much easier to integrate this concept into the college curriculum," says Lorenz Architecture's Jim Fulton.
Fulton says the way architecture is taught in college is far different than it was 25 years ago, when was in school in New York.
"We talked about these concepts then, but now, with advances in technology, we can produce models to show how it can work," he says.
But the problems
Universally, architects agree on the problem that is holding back the spread of environmentally friendly construction.
"It's the cost," says Barbara Walker, of BJW Architecture.
In a nutshell, it costs more to construct a "green" building-whether it's the cost of a water retention basin, a cistern, or installation of solar panels.
"From a development concept, it might be a bit more expensive on the front end, but it has long-term advantages," Rose says.
"The general public needs to know that there's a higher cost to 'green' buildings," Walker adds. "Those costs come up front."
However, designers add, the long-term costs are lower. Those who own or lease environmentally friendly buildings pay less to heat and cool them. Adhering to government-instituted water drainage concerns vastly lessens the chance of a building's owner being liable for flood-related problems.
Fulton says he believes the public-both business owners and prospective home owners-are more willing now to absorb those up-front costs.
Because there's a greater awareness of the need to be environmentally friendly, it's easier to sell the concept of the life-cycle costs," he says. "I think people are more aware that while they spend more money initially, they gain savings in the long haul."
But the area's architects don't totally agree on whether the government should serve as a promoter of "green" construction by offering financial support.
"I like the idea of tax breaks as incentives," Fulton says. "And it's really important to get private-public partnerships."
Fulton says he hopes the current tax incentives for "green" construction, which are scheduled to expire in January, will be extended. Both of the main presidential candidates favor the idea that the government provide tax breaks for ideas that cut energy consumption, although they have not taken a position on extending the current program.
Walker, of BJW Architecture, doesn't entirely agree.
"We can't always rely on the government to do the things that we need to be doing," she says.
"This is something we should be taking on ourselves," she adds, referring to business interests and home owners.
Architects and designers agree that programs such as Duke Energy's pilot project to install solar panel packs on roofs of new buildings might be a better for of incentive than expecting the government to offer the help.
"There also is a lot of talk about the idea of being able to sell energy back to energy companies," Fulton says. "If you don't use the energy, you can sell it back."
What's really "green"?
Fulton and Walker both express concerns about the way "green" design is being marketed, saying some of the best concepts are being ignored, while other ideas that save less energy are trumpeted as major breakthroughs.
"As an industry, we're really putting ourselves into fast-forward in this concept," Walker says. "But some of what consumers are getting is a marketing blitz.
Fulton adds, "In our culture, people always want to advertise what they're about. Some people would rather drive a Prius (hybrid) than car-pool, even though car-pooling might actually save more energy.
"I think there's some of that in the construction business. From a marketing standpoint, it sounds good. But some of the really good ideas go unnoticed. Some people are doing some good things and not getting any credit for it."
