Sustainability governed the design of a new retail pavilion on Liberty Island, a National Parks Service structure that restores the processional to the Statue of Liberty.

New York, NY – Finishing touches are being applied to a new retail pavilion on Liberty Island, now open to the public.
• This is the first new construction on the island since it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, along with Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
• Evelyn Hill (EH), concessionaire since 1931, competed to win the new 10-year lease from the National Park Service (NPS). EH was required to build a structure to consolidate retail operations.
• EH made the additional investment in a structure that could be constructed, and deconstructed, sustainably and that could earn a LEED Platinum rating (a goal endorsed by the design team).
• The team achieved notably high sustainability benchmarks for a building of this size (35% savings in energy, 90% reduction in potable water use, 95% reduction in construction waste, etc.).
• The National Parks Service has built three LEED Platinum structures, but none on the East Coast.
• A major goal was to restore the grand processional to the Statue by removing the retail tent at its base.
• The logistics of construction on Liberty Island affected the design.
• It is uncommon for the structural engineer to serve simultaneously as the LEED consultant.

Structures that can be removed are preferred at historic sites by the National Park Service, the island’s administrator. Weidlinger Associates led the effort, as LEED consultant, to maximize the sustainability of the structure’s construction and deconstruction, so that the impact of construction on the historic site was minimal, disassembly would be relatively easy, and materials could be recycled or reused. This is not yet current best practice, nor is LEED currently rewarding points for sustainable constructability and deconstructability. Weidlinger has engineered dozens of LEED certified and LEED equivalent projects, but this is their first as both engineer and LEED consultant. The team urged the owner to pursue LEED Platinum rather than LEED Gold, as first intended.

In addition to actively participating in the sustainability program, architect Acheson Doyle Partners Architects (www.adparchitects.com) ensured that the design respected (and didn’t compete with) the Statue by studying the approach by boat and scaling the building to the existing facility, which remains intact. The final structure was less modular than originally intended, because a special on-site crane would have been required to lift the larger preassembled components. Despite major modifications of the structure to ease construction and deconstruction, the linked cubes, flat roof punctuated with skylights, and uniform copper-accented cladding of the original design are still in evidence. Being deconstructable did not preclude being code compliant, handicapped accessible, and able to withstand the effects of the island’s severe weather and 2.5 million visitors per year. The retail design consultant was JGA (www.jga.com).

Concessionaire Evelyn Hill, Inc., (www.thestatueofliberty.com/evelyn_hill.html) demonstrated a rare genuine commitment to sustainability. Brad Hill, the grandson of Liberty Island’s original concessionaire, has been exploring geothermal energy solutions since 2001, and has received five awards from the EPA and Department of the Interior for green improvements to the existing Concession’s Building, including on-site waste recycling. For this project, he contracted with the 3Degrees Group, Inc., to offset 100% of the pavilion’s electrical demand with wind Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s), promoting the market for renewable energy generation.

With substantial client input, M/E/P consultant P.A. Collins (www.pacollinspe.com), an early leader of the sustainability movement, optimized energy efficiency. P.A. Collins and Weidlinger had collaborated previously on the LEED-Platinum Queens Botanical Garden Visitors Center. An electric generator that reclaims the 50 gallons of cooking oil waste produced per week will offset 9% of the pavilion’s energy consumption. A geothermal well is being used for ground source heating and cooling. This eliminated the need for large exterior units, reducing the building’s volume and easing deconstruction. (Exposing utilities in the ceiling also simplified construction and deconstruction.) Highly efficient geothermal heat pumps use temperature-stable well water 1,500 feet below the surface, to heat and cool the pavilion. The HVAC system automatically switches over to outdoor air/free cooling whenever climate permits. Other green features include a high-performance envelope, low-E insulating windows and glass, and a reflective (high albedo) roof surface for cooling that Acheson Doyle Partners Architects incorporated into the structure’s design. Additional energy savings will come from 100% LED lighting, entryway air curtains, rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, occupancy sensors, cold water lavatories, waterless urinals, and low-flow faucets and toilets.

As it would have been too costly to pour concrete on the island, Weidlinger designed an elevated plywood floor structure that sits on light-gauge metal studs and is supported by a steel-braced frame on steel piles. Construction materials had to be transported by barge in small enough batches that trucks could maneuver the tight turning radius and their weight would not adversely affect the pier. In addition, tide levels had to be propitious.