STUDIO 804 Nominee: IWPA Environmental Excellence.

Transcription

1 CIKEL America STUDIO 804 Nominee: IWPA Environmental Excellence. Cikel America generously donated 6,000 board feet (22,000 lineal feet) of its beautiful exotic Brazilian Cumaru for the home s exterior rainscreen cladding. In addition to the Cumaru/Brazilian Teak for the exterior, Cikel America also donated 1,350 square feet of its real exotic Brazilian Cherry for the hardwood floors on the second level as well as the stair treads and even the ceiling on the first level. Cikel has always been highly motivated by social responsibility, from how they manage their forests and products, to interacting with the communities where they do business. One example, Studio 804 in Kansas, taught young architects the value of sustainable building. By working on smaller scale, local solutions, students become agents of social change and advocates for ecological thinking. Cikel has over 1.2 million acres of privately owned and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) managed forests in Brazil. Cikel s submission for IWPA Environmental Excellence award reflects their vision and commitment to corporate social responsibility. They are dedicated to community education, and have carried out several programs to promote improvements in nearby communities. Cikel supports environmental education programs near their facilities in Brazil and in the USA IWPA Awards for Excellence are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements of members.

2 Architecture 101: Hardly, How About Studio 804 When most people consider United States architectural hot-beds, the name Kansas, anywhere in Kansas, usually doesn t come up. Now Chicago, New York, San Francisco, even Las Vegas, would more likely enter the conversation. No surprises there. And while there are plenty of good reasons for these major metropolitan cities to be at the top of everyone s list, there just happens to be, architecturally-speaking, something special going on in the heartland. Studio 804, the brainchild of J.L. Constant Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University of Kansas, Dan Rockhill, has garnered national and international acclaim for its impact on the green-built environment. Studio 804 is a full-time, one semester, graduate-level design-build program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning. The not-for-profit program is a student led process that creates architecture while thoughtfully responding to global problems of density and sustainability using smaller scale, local solutions. The program inspires Rockhill s students to become agents of social change and advocates for ecological thinking. During the semester every Studio 804 class builds a sustainable home of varying degrees, and the students do all the design work, develop the budget, raise the money, provide the labor, keep the books, and solicit the necessary building product donations. Rockhill s latest Studio 804 project is a modern marvel of sustainability. In fact, upon final audit by the USGBC, what is referred to as the 3716 Springfield House in Kansas City, Kansas, will represent the very first LEED for Homes Platinum-level residence in the history of the state. The project began in January without even a plot of land to build on, and was finished in May of 2009 in the Rosedale section of Kansas City. Not one subcontractor was ever hired. Part of the project relies on the students ability to acquire the necessary materials largely from generous donations from manufacturers or suppliers. And of particular concern for this residence, the students had to be certain that all materials would pass LEED Platinum standards. 1

3 For the most visually appealing piece of the 3716 Springfield House, the exterior rainscreen cladding, the LEED Platinum-compliant product donation came from Cikel America in the form of its exotic Brazilian Cumaru hardwood. For many years, Cikel has partnered with The Master s Craft Flooring Company in the Midwest for distribution. During the design phase, Studio 804 worked with Brian Moore, The Master s Craft vp international division, and he quickly pointed them toward Cikel s exotic Brazilian hardwood. We were working with the KU students in the design phase of this project, said Moore. The major requirement was the project was going for LEED Platinum rating. Cikel is a well-known chain-of-custody supplier so I immediately thought of bringing them onboard. We have been doing business with Cikel for years and we took a few product samples for the students to review. Cumaru is very durable and great for exterior jobs. Plus, Cikel s Cumaru has a real tight grain and a great finished look to it. Cikel America is the U.S.-arm of Cikel in Brazil, one of the largest vertically integrated exotic hardwood flooring manufacturers in the World. Cikel has over 1.2 million acres of privately owned and FSC managed forest to select from in Brazil. Cikel s Cumaru product is stunning visually, but also is naturally weather-resistant and with an off the charts Janka rating of 3,540, one of the top five most durable hardwood products available. Through The Master s Craft, Cikel supplied Studio 804 with 22,000 lineal feet of Cumaru. The exotic hardwood specie, also known as Brazilian Teak, was used for the exterior rain-screen cladding and also to cover the metal roofing system. Cikel s Cumaru rain-screen cladding allows the building to breathe and maintain a healthy indoor environment. In addition, rain water passes behind the Cumaru and into integrated gutters and downspouts that carry the water to an underground rainwater reclamation system to be re-used in the form of grey water. The Cikel Cumaru product is beautiful, said Rockhill, now in his 13 th year directing the Studio 804 program. It s actually flawless. That was a big step for us in the process. It s all FSC lumber and we were certainly happy about that. We got everything that we asked for from Cikel. All the sizes we ordered were made up right and delivered to us promptly. We start this project in January without even a plot of land to build on, and we 2

4 finished the entire project in May. I built this with all students, no subcontractors. Being able to rely on Cikel meant a lot to me. They lived up to their part of the bargain every step of the way. Inside the two-story home, the bottom level is a polished, artistic concrete, but the top level and the staircase consists of another Cikel-donated product, exotic Brazilian Cherry. All totaled, 1,350 square feet of Cikel s Brazilian Cherry was supplied to the project. Making good use of all materials, Studio 804 installed leftover Brazilian Cherry planks for a large portion of the ceiling. The 3716 Springfield House, built with a holistic approach to sustainability, features 2,500 square-feet of living space, four bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. The master bedroom has a private, two-sink bathroom and walk out balcony with views of the 39 th Street corridor of Kansas City. In addition, a loft space can be utilized as an office or third guestroom. Downstairs, the open floor plan visually connects the kitchen, dining and living room. The west end of the property abuts a forest preserve removed of any planned residential or commercial development. A double-height west wall will flood the space with filtered daylight via sunscreens and insulated rolling shades which will help retain this heat overnight. Studio 804 s 3716 Springfield House is capable of routing energy back through the electrical grid. During morning and afternoon hours when energy consumption is in less demand, a 600 square foot rooftop solar array and a residential wind turbine send energy back to the grid, which is subtracted from the home s electrical bill. When the sun sets or the wind subsides, the residence taps into the public utility system like any other home. However, the net electrical usage is in the homeowner s favor and utility charges are minimal. In addition, the ground source heat pump helps to maintain a comfortable interior air temperature by utilizing the stable temperature of the earth. Exterior walls with 2 x 6 stud framing packed with wet-pack blown cellulose insulation gives the assembly and R-20 insulation value. Likewise, the ceiling contains a minimum of 12 inches of blown cellulose yielding an R-38 assembly. A durable and efficient standing seam metal roof protects the roof assembly from moisture, and that is protected by more of Cikel s Cumaru exotic hardwood. This roof system typically carries a 30 to 50 year warranty. 3

5 This is exactly the type of project we like to be involved with, said Gerry Schappell, Cikel America vice president. Cikel has always been highly motivated by social responsibility, from how we manage our forests and products, to interacting with the communities we do business in. Participating in a project like this, where young architects are learning the value of sustainable building, is certainly a positive thing for us. We ve had a great relationship with The Master s Craft for years, and they are quite familiar with our products and how we like to do business. This was one of those win-win opportunities for everyone involved. So maybe Kansas isn t exactly America s home for architecture, but with Rockhill s Studio 804 program it might not be long before some of the futures top architects hail from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning. 4