Dagher Engineering wins Diamond Award for net-zero museum design

Dagher Engineering PLLC was recognized with an Engineering Excellence Diamond Award, for a net-zero carbon and net-zero energy design for the Housatonic River Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. The award was presented at the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York reception held at the Waldorf Astoria. With a mission to educate the public about the role rivers play in people's lives and how their actions impact rivers and watersheds, the Housatonic River Museum sought to locate its building on a site adjacent to the river. "Our goal was to take maximum advantage of educational opportunities afforded by the location, while simultaneously minimizing impact on the river and its environment," said Jenny Hersch, the museum's founder. To support and surpass that goal, Dagher Engineering provided the museum with a design that resulted in both a net-zero energy and net-zero carbon building. One of the major challenges facing the engineering firm was the small size of the site. While many net-zero buildings today have ample land area to install large numbers of solar panels to provide their energy needs, the Housatonic River Museum was limited to a 12,000 s/f building with a small lot. Additionally, the museum, which is to be located on the banks of the river, did not want to install solar panels in the floodplains. Dagher incorporated efficient MEP systems into the envelope and structure of the building, collaborating with architect, FX Fowle. Dagher worked with the entire design team on all aspects of the building. Compared with a conventional system, the proposed MEP systems are economical and cost-effective, having an estimated payback period of eight years. The museum's expectations were exceeded in terms of the final proposed cost of $2.3 million, including the installation of the photovoltaics and the lighting schemes. This cost was only slightly more than the $2 million originally budgeted for the MEP systems. "Through careful planning and the integration of architectural and engineering systems, this project demonstrates that a net-zero building can be achieved using common technologies at a reasonable price," says Elias Dagher, firm founder. "Because the capital costs are comparable to conventional systems, and the payback period is relatively short, this study could have wide ranging implications for net-zero buildings throughout the United States, making net-zero more attainable than previously thought."