Congratulations Diantha Korzun

TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design has promoted Diantha S. Korzun of Cambridge to Associate. She is the daughter of Grace and Leonard Korzun of Shrewsbury, Vermont. 

Diantha Korzun, AIA, LEED, AP

Korzun is the President of The American Institute of Architecture of Vermont and the newly elected Secretary/Treasurer for the American Institute of Architects of New England, She successfully orchestrated a three-day AIANE conference in Burlington, Vermont. 

She received a Master in Architecture from the University of Washington and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, with a minor in European Studies. Korzun is a registered licensed architect in the State of Vermont, the State of Wyoming and the State of Washington. She is a LEED accredited professional and she holds her NCARB Certificate.

For the past five years, Korzun has been the Project Architect and Manager in TruexCullins’ Education and Workplace Studio. As Project Architect she was responsible for overseeing the design of the recently completed King Arthur Flour Headquarters expansion project and  Anglo American School of Sofia Project in Bulgaria, anticipated to receive LEED Gold.  She was the LEED Team Administrator of the Heritage Flight building, which was awarded LEED Gold Certification and won the Efficiency Vermont Award and Governor’s Efficiently Award. She was also the LEED Team Administrator for the Currier Project in Hanover, NH.

King Arthur Flour's Headquarters in Norwich, Vermont

Current projects she is managing include the St. John International School in Belgium and the American International School in Bucharest. She is part of the team that is participating in the American School of Paris Competition.

Heritage Flight in 360 Degrees

As beautiful as a photo can be, it can only capture one view.  To fully experience an architectural space, you have to BE there. 

Until now.

New Spin 360 is a young start-up company with Vermont roots that has quickly grown to serve clients nationwide.  They produce interactive 360 degree photos of interior and exterior spaces that are the closest thing to being there.  These are actually more than 360 degree photos, because the view extends in all directions: not only can you pan from left to right, but you can look completely up and down, and … well ... all around. The effect is that you can see everything possible as if you were standing in the space.

The concept is simple, and the interface is simple, but it opens up a whole new way to show off the spaces we design.  So we were very excited to see that Heritage Aviation was recently photographed by the folks at New Spin 360.

Heritage Aviation is, of course, the recently completed LEED-Gold private aviation facility at Burlington International Airport.  If you haven’t been there in person, you can now see what it is like to stand in the middle of the hangar, with a fleet of private jets surrounding you.  Be sure to look up to see all the skylights that flood the space with natural light, sitting above the open steel webs of the original structure, all painted white to maximize reflectance and minimize the need for electric lighting.

Other views are available as well.  You can take a look from out on the runway, looking back toward the hangar doors.  Or step up to the rooftop patio and look out across the runway.  Pan to the right and you’ll see the green roof with its colorful vegetation.  Now look up over the top of the hangar and you’ll see the white roof used for maximum solar reflectance, with the top of the wind turbine visible from the other side of the site.

Another one of our projects that has been captured by New Spin 360 is the Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak.  Jay commissioned a big photo shoot that included all of their new buildings, including these guestrooms that we had the pleasure of working on last year. To step inside, go to this site and click on “Lodging & Spa”.

Want to see more?  Check out InsideChurchStMarketplace.com for a New Spin on the summer action at the Church Street Marketplace in downtown Burlington.

VBSR Spring Conference

Coming up this Thursday, May 12th, TruexCullins will be participating in the VBSR Spring Conference. This is the 21st annual spring gathering for the VBSR: Vermont's non-profit business organization, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.  The topic for this year’s conference is: Building on Our Strengths: What Makes a Great Place to do Business? It is an all-day event with workshops, panel discussions, and exhibits, held at the UVM Davis Center.

One such workshop will be led by Diantha Korzun, AIA, an architect with TruexCullins.  Diantha was the LEED Coordinator for the Heritage Flight Aviation project and is currently the project manager for the King Arthur Flour expansion project.  Diantha will be joined by some of our clients and fellow team members from these 2 projects to discuss how those sustainable design strategies came to be:

Pre-Construction Services: The Path to a Sustainable Construction Project

John Caulo, King Arthur Flour Company
Diantha Korzun, TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design
Chris Hill, Heritage Aviation
Chris Yandow, Engelberth Construction

The path to a socially responsible construction project can seem challenging at best. Building “green” requires an understanding of building science and the techniques, materials and systems that can deliver a high performance building. It can also require additional upfront costs. Many wonder where they should start, or better yet, how do they decide what sustainable construction features are a good match for their project. In this session, you'll learn how the pre-construction process can be used to explore which environmental options are most appropriate and cost effective for your building program, including the main elements of green building--energy, water, materials and waste. Panelists will share a variety of specific examples from their own sustainable construction practices.

TruexCullins will also have a table at the event, so if you’re a member of VBSR and plan to attend, please stop by and say hello! More information about the conference can be found at VBSR.org.

Heritage Flight Week, Day 5

White and Bright

For the final day of Heritage Flight Week, we take a look inside the main hangar bay, the space that is the heart of the whole operation.

Aviation is an energy-intensive industry, with a heavy carbon footprint.  In fact, the aviation industry as a whole accounts for 3% of all global carbon emissions.  As you’ve seen over these past few days, the Heritage facility has taken extraordinary measures to counteract this impact and promote a sustainable model for the industry.  This is evident in the main hangar bay, where aircraft is stored, repaired and maintained.

The main hangar bay is designed to maximize daylighting and exterior views for the benefit of the maintenance workers.  Twelve overhead skylights and large expanses of glazing on the east and south walls provide abundant natural light and allow for views to the exterior.  Large scale ceiling-mounted circulation fans at the high hangar bay minimize stratification of conditioned air and improve indoor air quality.  Finally, all the interior surfaces in the 32,000 sq.ft. hangar were painted white to maximize the ambient light level and minimize the need for artificial lighting through much of the day.  Many days, the artificial lights aren’t even needed, and further power is conserved by relying solely on natural illumination.

A building energy model was used to compute the projected energy savings from all of these energy and environmental initiatives: the efficiency improvements to the building shell, the mechanical and electrical loads, and the power generated by the on-site renewables.  According to the model, the Heritage Aviation facility is realizing a 38% energy savings over a standard commercial building of the same size.  Actual data from the first year of operation indicates even better energy performance.  The facility has now been in operation since January, 2010, and during this time, the building has seen a savings in gas and electricity consumption of 54% over a conventional office/warehouse building.

Beyond the very real financial savings are a number of intangible longterm benefits, including employee retention and morale.  The end result is a quality facility that benefits the employees, clients, and community.

Heritage Flight Week, Day 4

A Vermont Landscape rendered in carpet

 

Today we look at how the interior furnishings, finishes, and lighting support the environmental mission of the Heritage Aviation facility, while creating a high-quality, contextual experience that is a welcoming respite for travelers stopping in Vermont.

The furniture in the lobby and elsewhere in the building is hand-crafted by Vermont artisans, with local wood and low-VOC finishes.  Custom detailed FSC-certified wood veneers and locally-quarried stone clads the walls for a look that is gorgeous and green.

As you walk through the building, you will notice a unique pattern underfoot.  The main circulation and function spaces are treated with a modular carpet tile by Tandus called Manufactured Landscapes.  These 24” x 24” earth-toned tiles are arranged with a conscious randomness, so that the lines and textures form an abstract representation of an agricultural landscape, as it would appear when viewed from a passenger’s window of a chartered jet flying above.  The modular tile is also an “Environmentally Preferable Product”, with a third-party certified platinum rating.  The carpet and backing contains 48% recycled content, 10% post-consumer.

The interior lighting and mechanical systems are designed to save energy, while providing individual comfort and control.  In fact, those two things go hand in hand.  Individual lighting controls are provided at all workstations, conference rooms and staff rooms with dimmable circuits and daylighting controls that can be overridden locally.  Individual thermostat controls are provided at workstations, as well as at all conference rooms and staff rooms.  We find that providing this level of lighting and thermal comfort control by individual occupants promotes productivity, comfort and well-being.

Heritage Flight Week, Day 3

A Porous Parking Lot with a Monster Tank

We continue with Heritage Flight Week with a look at how this Aviation facility is dealing with storm water management.  For typical buildings, rainwater falls on the roofs, driveways and lawns and is channeled away: a valuable resource that is treated as a waste product.  At Heritage Aviation, 100% of the rainwater that falls on the site is captured, treated, and reused.

The south parking lot at Heritage is not your typical sea of asphalt.  This parking lot has a porous concrete surface that is designed to absorb all of the rain that falls on it,  eliminating the erosion and polluting affects typically caused by excess stormwater runoff.  The surface is capable of absorbing all the rainfall based on a 100 year storm.  At 87,117 sq. ft., this is the largest pervious parking lot in Vermont, and it is one of the largest in New England.

Runoff rainwater from the roof flows into a huge 35,000 gallon underground storage tank.  This includes rainwater from the high hangar roof and anything more than the 1" retained at the lower vegetated roof.  The captured rainwater is then used for landscape irrigation and for washing aircraft.

The last piece of the puzzle is a bioswale (rain garden) stormwater collection area that captures any remaining rainfall, when the underground storage tanks are full.  All of these strategies together fully protect the site from storm water runoff and foreign contaminants.