My first Publication Arup_BuildingDesign2020_v2 | Page 38

Whole Building Retrofit is an integrated and
systemic approach to building modification
focused on driving greater building efficiency
and larger financial returns. Applied to New
York City’s iconic 2.1m sqft Empire State
Building, a whole building retrofit programme
achieved 38% energy savings, well above the
Case Study: Existing Building Performance Legislation
15-20% possible using traditional, system-by-
system methodologies.
Integrated, systemic planning for building
modification can result in significant cost and
schedule savings over piecemeal approaches
to such projects. In the case of the Empire
State Building retrofit, the project included
window replacement, chiller plant retrofit,
more efficient lighting, a radiative barrier,
variable air volume handling units, and tenant
demand-controlled ventilation among other
improvements. These modifications are
credited with lowering annual utility costs per
square foot from $4.00 to $2.50, a dramatic
reduction.
Location / Business: New York, NY.
Anthony Malkin for ESBC.
Existing buildings
While New York’s efforts to post building
performance data on an annual basis are
laudable, the utility of such frameworks are
compromised by a reluctance to match
performance legislation of this sort with policy
efforts designed to facilitate retrofit financing.
Building owners lack access to the capital
required for large retrofit projects, causing
ongoing constraint in the retrofit market.
Location / Business: New York, NY.
City of New York for public use.
New York City’s Local Laws 84 and 87
specifically target existing buildings for
Energy Star performance reporting, requiring
disclosure of annual energy use, water use
and building information; this data represents
a considerable retrofit market, currently
constrained due
underwriting. Governments can assist by establishing third-
party institutions that provide loan guarantees, discounted
loans or credit enhancements to minimise risk and establish
a track record of financial viability. They can incentivise
participation through tax structure, establish industry-specific
targets to increase resource efficiency, and establish a cap
and trade scheme for trading energy efficiency obligations.
Changing procurement and project finance structures in favor
of private funding will enable larger up-front investments
in certain contexts. Scaling
 up energy efficiency building
retrofits will require leadership from government and
close collaboration between designers and professionals in
the planning and finance sectors. This integration has the
capability
to catalyze action through policy and new
financing mechanism.
Any conversation on urban growth, sustainability, and
carbon reduction necessarily involves the potential benefits of
retrofitting existing buildings. Given that achievable energy
savings in the world’s existing buildings stock are estimated
between 20% and 40%, national, regional and municipal
energy resilience and carbon reduction initiatives must
include retrofit as a
core concern.
While there are several examples
 of extensive building
retrofits that have drastically improved energy performance,
the World Economic Forum has identified the following
financial barriers preventing such retrofits in commercial
real estate. Firstly, capital costs influence the feasibility
of obtaining funding for retrofit projects, as financing
mechanisms do not account for reduced operational cost.
Since financial institutions may lack the information to
determine if an energy efficient retrofit can pay for itself,
they either do not participate
or are conservative when
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Case Study: Whole-Building Retrofit
Building Design 2020
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