Portfolio
Following are some select projects that represent the broad range of services that In Posse provides.  Each of these projects was produced under the auspices of the AKF Group by In Posse team members, led by Robert Diemer as Principal in Charge.

Friends Center
Philadelphia, PA
The Friend’s Center project includes the renovation of the 58,000 sf office building and adjacent 26,000 sf historic meeting house for The Friends Center Corporation.  A major goal of the Quakers for the project was to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of their facility.  The building was designed to limit potable water use, use zero fossil fuels and prevent storm water from leaving the site for all storms up to the 2-year storm event.  Rainwater is harvested from the meeting house roof and utilized for flushing plumbing fixtures.  On-site potable water use is limited to drinking water.  In order to eliminate use of fossil fuels, the project utilizes standing column geothermal wells to provide heating and cooling.  All electricity used on the site is purchased wind energy and is supplemented by a 10 kW rooftop photovoltaic array.  The project, which was completed in July 2009, has achieved LEED® Platinum Certification (under LEED® for New Construction) and is the highest scoring LEED project in Pennsylvania so far. The following sustainable features have been incorporated into the project:

Standing Column Geothermal Heat Pumps with Variable Speed Drives Rainwater Harvesting System Green Roof Roof Mounted Photovoltaic Array Efficient Indirect/Direct Fluorescent Lighting Systems Daylight Harvesting with Automatic Light Dimming Reduced Plug Load Usage Energy Star Appliances and Office Equipment Ventilation Heat Recovery

Camden Freinds
Meeting House & Annex, Camden, DE
The Camden Friends Meeting House was constructed in 1805 and includes two levels of meeting space. The Camden Friends decided to renovate the Meeting House and replace an existing outdated Annex Building with a new 3,000 sq. ft. annex building containing a full kitchen, large group assembly and office / archive space. The project served as a demonstration project for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and historic re-use.

The installation includes a grid-tied 12 kW Photovoltaic array and a rainwater harvesting system to recover rain for flushing toilets. Advanced lighting controls were installed, including time-of-day scheduling, daylight dimming, occupancy sensing and multi-scene lighting control. High clerestory windows were provided with motorized window operators to extend the seasons when the building stays comfortable using natural ventilation.

The mechanical systems include ground-coupled heat pumps tied to a 12-bore closed loop ground- source heat exchanger. Ventilation air is provided through an energy recovery system featuring 70% recovery efficiency and variable speed fans for demand control ventilation. The large group assembly space in the Annex has dedicated humidity controls to make sure the space stays within the ASHRAE 62.1 humidity limits even on moist days.

The building has been in operation since May 2009; to date, the photovoltaic system has produced more energy than the building has consumed (net-zero energy). The LEED® Energy model showed a 40.3% energy reduction compared to comparable ASHRAE 90.1-2004 compliant buildings even without the contribution of the photovoltaics. The project is LEED® Registered and is targeting LEED® Gold certification.

Aerzen USA
Headquarters, Coatsville, PA
Aerzen USA is the US headquarters of a German manufacturer of high-pressure blowers and compressors used in the food and transportation industries.  The facility has achieved a Gold level of certification under the US Green Building Council’s LEED® Green Building Rating System for New Construction.  The 40,000 square foot facility, which was completed in March 2007,  consists of front office, assembly and repair, and warehouse spaces.  One of the key owner requirements was that the assembly and repair space provide superior comfort at all times of the year without the use of air conditioning. Low energy strategies were developed to meet the energy goals of the project while providing superior comfort.  Strategies include:

• Vertical Closed Loop Geothermal Heat Pump System
• Earth Tubes
• Radiant Heat
• High Volume / Velocity Fans
• Daylight Harvesting
  

Hard Bargain Farm
Environmental Education Center, Accokeek, MD
The Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Education Center, a project of The Alice Ferguson Foundation, will serve school children throughout Maryland.  The project consists of a total of 20,000 square feet of space including a 3,400 square foot day use building, a 14,000 square foot educational building with overnight sleeping facilities and two overnight cabins.  The project is presently in design.

A major goal of the project is that it be designed to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge guidelines developed by the Cascadia Chapter of the US Green Building Council.  The buildings will be net zero energy buildings on an annual basis.  100% of the energy used will be harvested on site using photovoltaic panels.  In addition, 100% of water needs for the building occupants will be met by harvested rainwater.  The buildings will utilize composting toilets, waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures to limit water use and waste generation.  All waste water will be treated on site utilizing constructed wetlands.  In addition to the Living Building Challenge, the project is expected to achieve a LEED® Platinum certification.

Tasty Baking Company
Baking & Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
This 345,000 square foot industrial baking facility was developed for the makers of Tastykakes®.  The building is located on 25 acres at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard and is on target to achieve Silver certification under the US Green Building Council’s LEED® Green Building Rating System for New Construction.  The facility houses Tasty Baking Company’s Philadelphia operations including baking, packaging and distribution operations as well as supporting office functions.  A feature of the building is the elevated gallery space that allows vantage points of the baking operation for self-guided tours.  In support of LEED® Certification, we developed an energy model to establish the achievable points for energy optimization.  Due to the large amount of energy utilized for baking and industrial purposes, process loads make up significantly more than 50% of the annual energy utilization at the site and it was critical to calculate the energy savings achieved with the installed baking equipment.  We worked with Tasty Baking’s consultants to develop a baseline for process loads and to document energy savings attributed to the actual baking equipment.

The Schuylkill Center
Environmental Education Center & Charter School, Philadelphia, PA
AKF provided Energy Modeling and Auditing services for The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. The project consists of 22,600 square feet of space thathouses the staff offices, classrooms, laboratories, a bookstore, interactive children’s exhibits, and an auditorium. The building also houses the Green Woods Charter School, a K-8th grade school that fosters an understanding of the interrelatedness and interdependence of the local and global environment.

AKF created a calibrated building energy model to reflect current utility usage and utilized this model to estimate the impact and cost effectiveness of various energy conservation measures on the building including a new boiler system, increased Solar Array capacity, envelope upgrades, solar hot water heating, and a daylighting analysis.

The Schuylkill Center is a local leader in teaching Sustainability from within. Founded in 1965, it was one of the first urban environmental education centers in the country, and is visited by thousands of people each year.

Three Crescent Drive
Philadelphia Naval Yard, Philadelphia, PA
Three Crescent Drive is the second office building to be built in the planned commercial development area of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard.  The 97,700 sf building features a curved glass curtain wall facing the Crescent Park, a four-story lobby atrium and a unique rain screen façade.  We provided full mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection engineering services for the core & shell office building as well as LEED energy modeling services and commissioning of the atrium smoke exhaust system.  The systems were designed to accommodate future tenant fit-out while being energy efficient and cost effective.  Although the owner ultimately elected not to pursue credit, we developed a Measurement & Verification plan and designed all the necessary metering and control capability to achieve the LEED® M & V credit.  The LEED® Energy model showed a 20.5% energy reduction compared to comparable ASHRAE 90.1-2004 compliant buildings. The project, which was completd in March 2009, is targeting LEED® Gold certification under LEED® for core and shell.

PECO Main Ofice Building And Service Centers
Philadelphia, PA and surrounding areas
We have been assisiting PECO in their efforts to achieve LEED® for Existing Buildings certification for ten of their buildings as a component of the larger corporate initiative; Exelon 2020: A Low-Carbon Roadmap, that sets a goal of reducing, offsetting or displacing more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020.  We have provided LEED feasibility studies, energy modeling, energy audits and retro-commissioning in order to identify the opportunities for energy savings across the ten buildings in the initiative and to develop a comprehensive plan for building energy upgrades. In conjunction with AKF Group we are currently completing  engineering designs for energy related building upgrades including light fixture and control retrofits, building automation system retrofits and building mechanical system retrofits. In addition to the 970,000 square foot Corporate Headquarters Building, the nine regional service buildings range in size from 6,000 sq. ft. to 100,000 sq. ft. for a total project size of 1,481,00 sf.

Kingman Island
Environmental Education Center, Washington, DC
We provided engineering services through the completion of the Design Development phase for this innovative, 15,360 sf Environmental Education Center to be located on Kingman Island in the Anacostia River in Washington, DC.  For the project, which is currently on hold waiting for funding, we worked with the architect to develop integrated approaches to the passive and active MEP systems.  Systems proposed include geothermal heating and cooling system, displacement ventilation, radiant floor heating and cooling and daylight harvesting.  A greenhouse proposed for the roof of the building will be utilized as a solar chimney to help enhance passive ventilation in the multi-purpose room below. The building design also features a south facing double façade.

We utilized computational fluid dynamics software to model the performance of both the solar chimney and double façade.  We used an energy model to test different design options as well as to help size the PV array needed to offset annual energy use.  Daylighting performance was also modeled to understand the impact of shading, window size and orientation.

A major goal of the project is that it be designed as a net zero energy building on an annual basis by harvesting 100% of the annual energy needs with on-site photovoltaic panels.  In addition, 100% of water needs for the building occupants will be met by harvested rainwater.  The buildings will utilize waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures to limit water use and waste generation.  All waste water will be treated on site, utilizing constructed wetlands. The project is targeting a LEED® ; Platinum certfication.

Confidential Client
Employment & Information Center, Republic of Guinea, West Africa
This complex will serve as office space, an employment center and information center for a major international resource and commodities corporation. The design architect asked us to analyze the feasibility of using solar chimneys to enhance passive ventilation for the main public portions of the building. Through the use of computational fluid dynamics modeling (CFD) we were able to model the performance of the proposed solar chimneys and provide guidance on the design of the chimneys, building section modifications and window opening size and locations to enhance performance. In addition, we have been retained to assist in calculating the greenhouse gas emissions reductions due to constructing the building out of locally sourced raw materials using local, semi-skilled labor as compared to the more common practice of importing materials over great distances.

Apogee Condominiums
High-rise Condominium Residence, Miami Beach, FL
The Apogee is a high-rise luxury condominium located in the South Beach area of Miami Beach, FL.  The 23-story building, which was completed in July 2009, includes 67 units totaling 300,000 sf plus a 130,000 sf garage. The condominium association retained us to perform an energy audit of their facility as a means of reducing energy use and the condominium fees associated with common area energy costs.  We worked with the Condominium Board, management and facilities staff to identify energy conservation reduction opportunities.  An energy model was developed to test the impact of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) on building energy use.  Based on the final Energy Audit report, the board elected to proceed with the implementation of key ECMs including exterior lighting retrofits and the addition of lighting controls to key common area lighting systems.  We then provided more detailed scope descriptions and guidance to the board for their use in implementing the selected ECMs.

Dansko Headquarters
Corporate Headquarters Building, West Grove, PA
Dansko’s 81,000 square foot corporate headquarters building, completed in March 2009, is a leading example of sustainable design.  The building has been awarded LEED®-NC Gold certification and incorporates many unique features including underfloor air supply, a green roof, a living wall and radiant floor heating.  We prepared the LEED® energy model to document energy optimization for the project and also provided fundamental commissioning® under the LEED® Green Building Rating System.  We calculated energy cost savings of greater than 33% when compared to the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Appendix G baseline resulting in 7 points being awarded under the LEED® Energy & Atmosphere credit 1 for Optimized Energy Performance.  Building systems commissioned included underfloor air supply system, daylight responsive lighting controls, radiant floor heating and a sophisticated direct digital controls system.  Our team played a key role in making sure the complex building systems worked in an integrated manner.

Keystone Foods
Distribution Center, Coatesville, PA
We were the LEED® Commissioning Agent for Keystone Food’s 138,500 square foot distribution center in Coatesville, PA.  The project included 22,000 square feet of refrigerated storage and 15,000 square feet of frozen food strorage.  We commissioned building HVAC systems as well as the process refrigeration systems.  The building, which was completed in August 2009, is targeting LEED®-NC Silver certification.  Building systems commissioned included rooftop packaged air conditioning units, process refrigeration systems, miscellaneous heating and ventilation systems and a direct digital control BAS system.  Our team was an integral part of the owner’s initiative to achieve LEED certification.