Case Study: Austin Federal Credit Union
Clark Mente Architects, Inc.

Project Goals
The Austin Federal Credit Union (AFCU)'s two major goals for their new headquarters: to create a space that was bright and healthy for their employees; and to implement energy savings technologies that would lower their energy costs and allow them to pass the savings on to credit union members.

The central design tenant was to incorporate as much daylighting as possible. Daylighting provides a healthy, pleasant environment for employees which allows them to be more productive. Daylighting also reduces the need for artificial light, and lowers energy use. In addition, careful material selection resulted in very low VOC emissions into the indoor environment careful attention to ventilation, humidity, and comfort control coupled with the daylighting has created a healthier, more enjoyable workplace for the employees and the visiting public. Jane Sward, President of AFCU, says, "We love everything about our new location. Employees love having windows and open areas. We are all much happier here."

Project Name/Location	Rating	Completion Date	Cost/ft2 (excludes land)
Austin Federal Credit Union 1900 Woodward Street Austin, TX 78741	2-Star	November 2003	$217

Project Description
The new headquarters of the Austin Federal Credit Union (AFCU), was purposefully designed to be responsive to people and to the environment. After 20 years in a windowless federal building, AFCU's main priorities were to create a healthy and comfortable environment for their employees, and to implement as many energy saving strategies as possible. The credit union's philosophy was that any energy savings gained through good design and sustainability measures would be passed on to credit union members. They believe that the more efficiently the building operates, the greater the return for their members. And they were right, by exceeding the state's energy code requirements by 35%, the credit union's first year energy usage saved them over $5,600 in annual operating costs.

These significant savings were created through smart design, daylighting strategies, and other green technologies. The design uses regional materials and low-maintenance, native landscaping with low water requirements. The building is correctly placed on the site to minimize heat gain from east-west sun exposure. There are no windows on the west side of the building and newly planted trees will eventually shade the walkway and entrance. The design team located the drive-through on the eastern side of the facility which helps shade the building from the morning sun. Windows are shaded by overhangs; however, the inner space is full of light, brought in through north and south facing clerestory windows. This creates a bright and comfortable environment for employees and customers. Bringing in daylight without added heat gain reduces the need for electric lighting and cooling. The daylighting system works especially well in this building because it is equipped with high efficiency fixtures that automatically dim in response to the natural light levels inside the building. This building also has a high efficiency cooling and heating system. The system was correctly sized by a mechanical engineer using a cooling load calculation that accounted for all of the architectural and lighting design features of the building, including the well-insulated shell and high performance windows.

Computer modeling was performed by the Green Building Program to verify that the building would exceed the State Energy Code by more than 30%. This means that many tons of CO2 and many pounds of SO2 and NOx will not be introduced into the city's atmosphere every year for the life of this building. Also, when Austin Energy's power grid is at it's peak load in the middle of the summer and air conditioners across the city are placing large demands on the system, this building will use much less power that would be demanded by a building built only to energy code requirements.

The building features an EnergyStar roof made of a Sarnafil white membrane and standing seam metal. This reflective roof keeps the building cooler and reduces urban heat island issues, including peak energy demands on the utility. Additionally, high performance and recycled materials were used throughout.

Project Features

Site:

• Elongated along east-west axis
• Minimal fenestration on east and west facades
• Xeriscape plantings designed for shading on the east and west sides of the building

Water:

• On demand water heaters
• Low flow aerators

Energy & Atmosphere:

• Daylighting via clerestory windows
• High efficiency glazing
• Minimal east-west windows
• Continuously dimming fluorescent fixtures in response to incoming natural lighting levels
• High efficiency ceiling fans throughout offices and support areas
• 15 SEER HVAC systems

Materials & Resources:

• Recycled content in both general construction materials such as insulation and steel, and finish materials such as carpeting and ceiling tile
• EnergyStar roofing (Sarnafil white membrane and standing seam metal)

Indoor Environmental Quality:

• Natural diffused light created by clerestory fenestration and light shelf
• Low VOC paints

Innovations or Other:

• Lighting dimming system

Testing/General Results:

Utility bills verified that first year energy usage exceeded state energy code requirements by 35%, saving the credit union over $5,600 in annual operating costs.

The Credit Union also received rebates from Austin Energy totalling $2,350 for the high efficiency air conditioning system and lighting.

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