WORKING FOR THE GREEN - Mass Audubon · Photo: Keith Ringland. Tape decals (Window Alert shown here) placed following the 2 x 4 rule can be effective Photo: Christine Sheppard ABC

Stephanie Elson Mass Audubon

and

Richard Moore AIA LEED

Workshop 7

Birds & Buildings: New LEED

Standards for Bird-Friendly Design &

State of the Birds of Massachusetts

WORKING FOR THE GREEN Devens Common Center October 18, 2012

2

Learning Objectives

Causes of current change in MA bird

population

Why we should care about declines in

bird populations

Why birds don’t see glass

Lights Out Programs

LEED requirements for Bird Collision

Deterrence

3

Why Birds Don’t See Glass

Bahrain World Trade Center - Integrated Wind Turbines

4

Causes of Collisions

#1 Reflection- Mirror Effect

5


#2 Transparency- Fly Through Effect

6


#3 Illumination- Beacon Effect

7

Lights Out Programs

Across US

It is estimated that 100 million birds are

killed every year in the United States

alone through collisions with buildings

- NY Audubon

8 Downtown Houston during Lights Out

9

CONDITIONS AFFECTING BIRD COLLISIONS

Building Height

10

CONDITIONS AFFECTING BIRD COLLISIONS

Red Spectrum Light

Steady-burning red and white

lights are most dangerous to

birds. Photo: Mike Parr

Birds are strongly attracted to red

& white light and cause them

disorientation, especially under

overcast skies. Green & blue light

are less attractive and minimally

disorienting to birds.

11

FLAP Toronto 1993 Fatal Light Awareness Program

FLAP is the first organization in the world to address the issue of birds in collisions

with buildings. Since 1993, volunteers have picked up over 50,000 injured or dead

birds from 164 species in the Toronto region. 40% of the injured birds, rescued by

FLAP, survived to be released back into the wild.

12

Lights Out Chicago 1999

Two photos of the Chicago skyline taken before and after 11 pm on the same fall

night in 2003. Photo: Eric Fogleman

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Sample

Chicago

Bldg –

141

species

killed

14

Lights Out New York 2005

Growing awareness of light’s fatal attraction to birds has led to action: NYC Audubon inaugurated Lights Out New York in 2005. A number of the city’s iconic buildings such as the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, 501 Lexington Avenue, Silverstein Properties, The Time Warner Center and the Worldwide Plaza will turn off their lights from midnight to dawn during peak migration season from Sep 1 to Nov 1.

In 1997, NYC Audubon’s Project Safe Flight was

founded to monitor bird collisions with NYC

buildings during migratory periods. To date,

over 5,000 dead and injured birds representing

more than 100 species, mostly migrating

songbirds, have been recorded.

15

Lights Out Boston 2008

46 participating buildings to date including Boston

landmarks John Hancock Tower, the Prudential

Tower, the World Trade Center, and International

Place.

Dim or extinguish internal lighting & extinguish

decorative architectural lighting between 11pm

and 5am.

Saves birds, especially during spring (March 1 – June

1) and fall (August 15 - October 31) migration periods.

Saves energy and reduce the heat-trapping gases that

contribute to climate change.

Saves money on electricity costs- the bottom line.

16

Distribution of Lights Out

Programs in North America

Red: state ordinance Yellow: cities in state-wide programs

Blue: local program Turquoise: program in development

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Nighttime & Daytime Collisions

Birds trapped in the "Tribute in

Light" spots at the Ground Zero

Memorial on September 11, 2004.

Photo: Jay Smooth

Lighting Glass

Mirror & Fly Through Effects: reflectivity

confound this Red-Tailed Hawk

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LEED Pilot Credit 55:

Bird Collision Deterrence 2011 Intent:

Reduce bird injury and mortality from in-flight collisions with buildings.

USGBC’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design program offers

points for bird-friendly design for all major building types including :

New Construction

Core & Shell

Schools

Retail: New Construction

Healthcare

Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance

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Bird Collision Deterrence

New Construction (NC)

Visual explanation of the credit

requirements

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Bird Collision Deterrence- NC

1 Building Façade Requirements

All bird friendly glass:

If all materials on the building façade have a Threat Factor of 15 or

below, the project is exempt from the building façade requirements.

Opaque Material = 0

Plexiglass w/black filament = 9

Protective slats that obscure 85% of glass = 15

Bird collision threat rating:

If any material on the building façade has a Threat Factor above 15,

then the Bird Collision Threat Rating calculations are required.

Glass w/White ceramic frit 40% coverage = 24

Coated glass w/UV reflective lines in irregular pattern = 34

Glass w/White ceramic frit 20% coverage = 41

Clear Glass = 100

21

Bird Collision Deterrence- NC Plexiglass w/black filament:

EVONIK PARAGLAS SOUNDSTOP®

Bird Guard noise barrier sheet

• effective bird life protection

• compliant with NYC Audubon

and City of Toronto Bird Friendly

Design Guidelines

• extremely resistant against

weathering and aging

• UV-absorbing

• easy to form and fabricate

• light weight

• available in clear and seven

transparent colors

• can be returned to us and

recycled

• complement LEED green

building rating system

• graffiti removal procedures do

not remove bird deterrent stripes

Threat Factor (TF) = 9

22

Bird Collision Deterrence- NC Silk screen

white ceramic

frit:

Viracon

patterns

TF = 41 TF = 24

23


Coated glass w/UV

reflective lines in irregular

pattern: Ornilux Mikado

Ornilux Mikado TF = 34 New “Bio-mimetic” Solution

24


Coated glass

w/UV Bird-

legible pattern:

Ornilux

Ornilux Glass: Bird-Legible Pattern TF = 34

25

Bird Collision Threat Rating

Sample- Hancock Tower

Bird Collision Threat Rating (BCTR) Calculation Spreadsheet

26

Bird Collision Threat Rating

Sample- Prudential Tower

Bird Collision Threat Rating (BCTR) Calculation Spreadsheet

27

Design Bird Traps

Machado & Silvetti’s Allston Library

open courtyard with serviceberry trees

Green roofs and setbacks

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Alternative Designs- Bldg Facades

Studio Gang's Aqua Tower:

fritted glass and balconies Holl's dormitory MIT:

deeply recessed windows

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Alternative Designs- Bldg Facades

Piano's Gardner Museum Extension:

reduced glass area and no vegetation Gehry’s IAC Headquarters:

dense fritted glass

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2 Interior Lighting Requirements

Option 1. Nighttime Personnel Include a requirement in any building operations guidelines stating that all interior lighting must be turned off by the appropriate nighttime personnel after hours when the space is unoccupied, or at a minimum from midnight until 6 a.m.

Option 2. Automatic Shutoff The lighting shall be controlled such that all lighting in the space will be automatically shut off after being vacant for a period of no longer than 30 minutes.

31


3 Exterior Lighting Requirements

OPTION 1. Fixture Shielding and Automatic Shutoff Shield all exterior fixtures such that the installed fixture does not directly emit any light at a vertical angle more than 90 degrees from straight down. Exterior building fixtures that are not necessary for safety, building entrances, and circulation shall be automatically shut off from midnight until 6 a.m.

OPTION 2. New Construction SS Credit, Light Pollution Reduction Demonstrate that the project complies with the exterior lighting requirements of the latest published LEED for New Construction SS Credit, Light Pollution Reduction.

32


Fixture Shielding

3 Exterior

Lighting

Requirements

Full cut-off light poles- FMG Norwood

WHOI Woods Hole

Full cut-off wall sconce

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Bird Collision Deterrence-NC

4 Post-Construction Monitoring Plan Requirements

Implement the façade monitoring plan for a period of

three years. If results of the monitoring plan indicate

that areas of the building receive multiple collisions,

consider implementing temporary and/or permanent

retrofits to the building façade.

34

Bird Collision Deterrence

Existing Buildings (EB)

Visual explanation of the

credit requirements

35

Bird Collision Deterrence- EB

1 Façade Monitoring Plan Requirements

Develop a three-year building facade monitoring

plan to routinely monitor the effectiveness of the

building design in preventing bird collisions. The

plan should also provide a process for corrective

action. Use the monitoring plan as the baseline for

the measures implemented during the performance

period.

36

Bird Collision Deterrence- EB Adhesive Films for Glass Retrofit

For professional use:

Scotchcal products by 3M

are long-lasting and

available in different

colors TF = 34.

For home use: Vertical

strips of insulating tape

and non-reflective

adhesive tape (e.g. Scotch

Magic 810) offer good

protection but do not last

very long. TF = 34

Only partly suitable:

Colored raptor silhouettes

offer some protection.

TF = 10 (2” x 4” rule)

37

Bird Collision Deterrence- EB

This Barn Swallow flying

sideways through a barn door

perfectly illustrates the 2x4 rule.

Photo: Keith Ringland.

Tape decals (Window Alert

shown here) placed following

the 2 x 4 rule can be effective

at deterring collisions.

Photo: Christine Sheppard

ABC BirdTape makes

home windows safer for birds.

This easy-to-apply tape lets

birds see glass while letting you

see out, is easily applied, and

Lasts up to four years.

Photo : Dariusz Zdziebkowski

38

Bird Collision Deterrence-EB

2 Interior Lighting Requirements

Option 1. Nighttime Personnel Include a requirement in any building operations guidelines stating that all interior lighting must be turned off by the appropriate nighttime personnel after hours when the space is unoccupied, or at a minimum from midnight until 6 a.m.

Option 2. Automatic Shutoff The lighting shall be controlled such that all lighting in the space will be automatically shut off after being vacant for a period of no longer than 30 minutes.

39

Bird Collision Deterrence-EB

3 Exterior Lighting Requirements

OPTION 1. Fixture Shielding and Automatic Shutoff Shield all exterior fixtures such that the installed fixture does not directly emit any light at a vertical angle more than 90 degrees from straight down. Exterior building fixtures that are not necessary for safety, building entrances, and circulation shall be automatically shut off from midnight until 6 a.m.

OPTION 2. New Construction SS Credit, Light Pollution Reduction Demonstrate that the project complies with the exterior lighting requirements of the latest published LEED for New Construction SS Credit, Light Pollution Reduction.

40

Learning Objectives

Causes of current change in MA bird

population

Why we should care about declines in

bird populations

Why birds don’t see glass

Lights Out Programs

LEED requirements for Bird Collision

Deterrence

41

Resources

• http://www.nycaudubon.org/lights-out-new-york

• http://www.flap.org/

• http://lightsout.audubon.org/

• http://www.cityofboston.gov/environmentalandenergy/conservation/lightsoutboston.asp

• http://www.metrofieldguide.com/bird-safe-building-guidelines/

• http://birdsandbuildings.org/documents/BirdFriendlyBuildingDesign.pdf

• https://new.usgbc.org/leed/developing-leed/pilot-credits

42

This concludes this workshop

Thank you.

QUESTIONS?

RICHARD MOORE

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING □ ■ ■ ■ ■

Richard Moore [email protected]

Stephanie Elson [email protected]

Documents

WORKING FOR THE GREEN - Mass Audubon · Photo: Keith Ringland. Tape decals (Window Alert shown here) placed following the 2 x 4 rule can be effective Photo: Christine Sheppard ABC