Affordable and Scalable Net Zero Buildings

The Tale of Two Elementary Schools

Martine Dion, FAIA, LEED APBD+C,
Principal, Director of Sustainable Design, SMMA

Scalable and affordable Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings have long carried the challenges of scalability and affordability. A combination of both stringent State and Municipal regulations for climate change preparedness, including a new and more stringent State Stretch Code (2020) renders the effort to NZE a step stone away. This session will showcase 2 Net Zero Energy public school projects currently in design at SMMA. Net Zero Energy public school facilities offer resilient facilities that may also be considered for emergency shelters. An overview of basic Net Zero Energy design concepts, strategies and best practices that go beyond the Massachusetts Stretch Code design will demonstrate the feasibility of achieving a Net Zero Ready Energy Facility and will address the challenges of site based renewable energy on tight existing MA school facility sites. A costs analysis will share NZE incremental costs both on a system based cost and overall project costs & energy savings.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand Net Zero Energy Buildings design concepts and design criteria
• Compare Net Zero Energy school facility design related to the new MA Stretch Code (2020), with resulting energy savings, energy costs savings, incremental costs and paybacks
• Understand the challenges of designing and operating Net Zero Energy public schools, including the public procurements for materials and systems
• Understand a school’s facility day to day educational program practices driving users behavioral demands and impacting ultra-low energy use practices in achieving a Net Zero Energy Facility.

Speaker:
Martine Dion, FAIA, LEED APBD+C,
Principal, Director of Sustainable Design, SMMA

Speaker’s Bio:

Martine Dion, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, is Principal and Director of Sustainable Design at SMMA with twenty-seven years of experience. She is the sustainable expert within the firm, providing sustainable design and LEED consulting services to clients. Ms. Dion has been in charge of the implementation and coordination of sustainable design practices for the firm for the past twenty years and has largely contributed to its consolidation across the firm’s A&E disciplines. She has completed LEED projects and multiple school projects under the LEED for Schools, MA-CHPS and NE-CHPS certification. She is the chairperson of SMMA’s Sustainable Design and Energy Efficiency Services. She has contributed to the AIA’s National Committee on the Environment, to the Massachusetts State’s Roundtable Action Plan for Green Buildings, the Massachusetts Governor Patrick’s Zero Net Energy Task Force and current MA Zero Net Energy Advisory Council, the RI ZNE Task Force, as well as the Federal DOE Zero Net Energy Task Force. She is also a contributor to the Health Product Declaration Initiative and trained under the Living Building Challenge program.

Ms. Dion has made several presentations on sustainable design, Net Zero Energy strategies and LEED projects in the US, Canada, and Asia. She is a frequent speaker to client groups, facilities managers, community officials, and planning committees on sustainable design and energy efficiency. She has been a guest lecturer on sustainable design, sustainable materials, energy efficiency and renewable energy at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Wentworth Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and University of Massachusetts (UMASS). She has contributed to numerous articles on the topic.

Martine is a former Director on the NESEA Board of Directors (2012-18). She is a founding Director of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter (2006-2012) and currently on the Women in Green Chapter’s steering committee.