Client: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Green Communities is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) approach to helping all communities become cleaner, greener, and economically sustainable. Gannett Fleming assisted the U.S. EPA in developing an Internet-based assistance kit, user manual, training modules, and testing program in several selected communities. The assistance kit provides a framework for environmental planning at the community level, whether the community is in an urban, rural, or suburban setting. The Internet-based assistance kit is accessible at www.epa.gov/greenkit/.

Client: Lebanon County Planning Department
Location: Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

In the path of growth from multiple directions, Lebanon County undertook three coordinated county plans — comprehensive, transportation, and open space — to balance growth pressures and conservation interests. During the course of the plan’s development, the price of gasoline rose dramatically, thrusting additional citizen interest toward the research and policies of the energy conservation element.

Research focused on sources of home heating fuels, energy efficiency of homes based on age, land use patterns and transportation alternatives suitable for such patterns, and municipal regulations related to energy-efficient site design and on-site energy production.

Recommendations addressed county and local regulations and incentives for efficiency from design and construction through maintenance and operation of individual facilities in the private sector, “green design” as a new standard for public facilities projects, bicycle/pedestrian and transit infrastructure integrated with land use patterns, guidance for the development of new production facilities, and the development of hybrid or alternative vehicle fleets. Each of the 23 action items was accompanied by a timeframe, lead and support partners, and funding sources to aid steady implementation.

Client: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location: Various locations in Pennsylvania

Our firm provided on-call architecture and engineering design-bid and construction services for several Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) comfort stations and building improvements for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), a client that requires evaluation of sustainable design practices. The green design techniques ranged from the use of sustainable materials, such as wood framing and siding, to energy conservation measures, such as the implementation of motion detection control switches to reduce energy of both lighting and equipment.

Moraine State Park – New 528 Boat Launch Area Comfort Station

• Motion detection controls for lights and flush valves
• Skylights and transom height windows for natural daylighting
• Wood framing and fiber cement siding
• Automatic flush valves for water efficiency

Memorial State Park – Comfort Station Addition and Dam Rehabilitation and Improvements

• Motion detection devices to reduce energy consumption of ventilation equipment and lighting
• Pedestrian bridge replacement design using as a one-piece modular replacement over the dam spillway
• A self-oxidizing steel truss system and wood decking reduce both construction time and waste

French Creek State Park – ADA Building Improvements New Comfort Station Addition and Gatehouse

• Wood timber framing and siding
• Motion controls in all three comfort station areas provide greater accessibility and reduce lighting energy costs
• Toilet partitions for recycled content and life cycle costing
• Flush valves for water efficiency

Little Buffalo State Park – Comfort Station Additions

• Motion detection devices to reduce energy consumption of ventilation equipment and lighting
• Wood exterior siding and trim meet sustainable design requirements
• Translucent panels for diffused natural daylighting and reduced lighting level requirements
• Toilet partitions made of recycled content

Client: Anne Arundel County, Department of Public Works
Location: Anne Arundel County, Edgewater, Maryland

Our firm provided complete design services for this 14,500-square-foot facility on a 6.5-acre site. The building and site were designed to be environmentally sensitive with a “green architecture” approach. The design retained an existing wooded area on the rear third of the site, as well as a wetlands area. Portions of the existing wooded perimeter were retained for screening purposes at the detectives’ parking area. The sloped roof was designed with a recycled rubber shingle to complement the adjacent shingled residential roofs. The building was also designed with a vegetative green roof over a major portion of the building above the holding cell area.

Additional Sustainable Design Features:

• Building HVAC system designed to meet ASHRAE 90.1-1999 energy standard
• Air conditioning chiller uses non-CFC refrigerant
• HVAC system designed to meet ASHRAE 62-1999 ventilation standard
• Carbon dioxide monitoring provided for occupant health and comfort, as well as to control ventilation air in meeting room
• Variable air volume system provides high degree of individual occupant control of thermal environment
• Plumbing fixtures specified to meet water conservation requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 1992
• Building automation system allows remote monitoring and control of HVAC systems and equipment
• Vegetative green roof located over the holding cell area
• Site bio-retention basins for site and roof drainage composed of landscaped planting beds featuring perennials, shrubs, and trees

Client: Downtown West Newton, Inc.
Location: Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Our firm developed conceptual redevelopment schemes for two key waterfront properties along the Youghiogheny River in West Newton, Pa. The project involved developing site layouts, designing roadway and intersection improvements, creating a new river promenade, redeveloping an abandoned gas station into a new town square and amphitheatre, and relocating the existing Great Allegheny Passage Bicycle Trail to a more desirable location along the river’s edge.

The project also included conceptual development of gateway treatments, interpretative signing, and sidewalk improvements, as well as a lighting scheme for the historic Main Street Bridge. Construction of the bridge enhancements, including a renovated railing and deck, is planned for late 2010.

Client: City of Ranson
Location: Charles Town and Ranson, Jefferson County, W.V.

Our firm assisted the cities of Ranson and Charles Town, W.V., with their Commerce Corridor Brownfields Revitalization Project. The long-term objective was to redevelop the transportation corridor into a commerce corridor that supports walking trails, a recreational area for the Boys and Girls Club of Jefferson County, professional office space, a business/technology park, community center, and light industry.

A key component in the project’s sustainable design included earth-friendly techniques involving sustainable site selection/development. Throughout the project, public space and recreation opportunities are intended to enhance community character, providing a green thread in the new weave of land uses.