The Suburban Wellness Community Center is a two story 58,200 square foot building which contains
a variety of spaces. On the first level is a fitness center and on the second level are conference rooms,
offices and private practicing doctor’s offices. In the northwest corner of the first floor is the
swimming pool area which consists of a large four lane lap pool, a therapy pool, public spa as well as
a sauna and steam room. South of this room is the basketball court and racquetball courts which are
two stories in height. In the center of the building are the men’s and women’s lockers rooms and a
two story tall atrium with cardiovascular machines and the registration desk. The east side of the first
floor holds the free weight rooms in the north and studio spaces for group exercise classes in the
south. On the second story in the center of the north part of the building are restrooms and
conference rooms. The southeast corner of the second story includes an imaging office which can
perform X-Rays, MRIs and ultrasounds. The rest of the space on the second floor has yet to be leased
out.
The focus of this report is to analyze sustainable design practices that could be used to save energy
and provide superior indoor air quality to the patrons. Then the impacts these changes have on
other disciplines will be discussed followed by a cost analysis of the proposed design.
The results suggest that a GreenGrid green roofing system may be applied to the roof of the
Suburban Wellness Center. The green roof provides a significant drop in stormwater runoff reduces
the mechanical loads on the building and cuts down on heat island effect. The addition of the
GreenGrid green roofing system trays would not require a roof structural system redesign.
Indoor air quality is a very important issue in fitness centers and several measures were taken to
improve the IAQ of the Suburban Wellness Center. 30% more ventilation, zero VOC paints and
coatings, and a full system flush-out all contributed to provide the cleanest air possible. The changes
to the indoor air quality consumed a lot of energy; however if the air that is being conditioned is not
clean then there is no use conditioning it.
When comparing the existing and proposed system to a baseline building specified by ASHRAE
Standard 90.1-2004 Appendix G, both systems failed to conserve any energy. The 30% increase in
ventilation and inefficient rooftop units proved to have difficulty when being compared against a
system with an electric heat pump. With the points earned in this report and a few more points
gained in other categories of the LEED Checklist, a building that was once just suppose to be rented
out as offices could become a building that helps the environment.
