Key Information & Diagrams

Key Information → City Hall East (Santa Monica City Services Building)

Key Information

Santa Monica City Services Building

Building Footprint

4650m² / 50,000 ft²

Official LBC certification

Living Certified (LBC v2.1)

LBC Petals

All seven Petals

Energy systems

Net-positive energy

Energy production

Roof panels and converting parking infrastructure into generation capacity

Solar Panel Total Amount

706

Solar Panel Area

1,400m² / 15,000 ft²

Energy Consumption

363,000kWh

Energy Production

411,500kWh

Percentage Surplus Energy

113%

Water systems

Net-positive water

Water Saving per year

1,020,000L / 270,000 Gallons

Water Infrastructure

  • Underground Rain water tank

  • Foam-based Composting Toilets

  • Ground water well (provides drought back-up)

Water Strategies

  • Grey water system treating rain water and ground water

  • Collecting water from roof and canopies

  • Allow storm water to infiltrate ground

  • Courtyard irrigation

Advantages vs Disadvantages

Underground Rainwater Tank

Advantage: Captures and stores rainwater on site, cutting reliance on municipal water and enabling potable reuse.
Disadvantage: Limited 40,000-gallon capacity requires supplementation during Santa Monica's roughly nine dry months a year.

Composting Toilets

Advantage: Cuts building water demand by around 70% while producing reusable biosolids.
Disadvantage: Requires ongoing maintenance plus extra safety infrastructure (odour control, UV, CO2 sensors)

Groundwater Well

Advantage: Provides drought backup by supplementing the cistern when rainwater runs low.
Disadvantage: Draws on a local aquifer that is already depleted from historic drought.

RainWater Storage / Cistern

150,000L / 40,000 Gallons

Annually Collecting


Water Usage


Battery Storage

No, relies on grid interconnection and a diesel generator for essential systems during outages

Annual Rainfall

370mm

Average Temperature (during summer months)

22°C - 24°C

Climate Conditions

Arid and Dry conditions during 9 months of the year

  • (April-December)

Main Strategies Performed Best

  • PV system (Canopy-mounted pv structures & pv on roof)

  • Natural ventilation

  • Exposed, finished concrete floors

  • Phase-change material (PCM)

  • Night purge ventilation

Passive Design

  • Glazed curtain wall with variable frit pattern (blocks glare/heat gain while allowing daylight)

  • Daylighting via narrow floor plates

  • Natural cross-ventilation (operable windows at two heights per floor)

  • Night purge ventilation (draws in cool night air to pre-cool thermal mass)

  • Phase-change material (PCM) → absorbs and releases heat passively

  • Exposed concrete thermal mass (radiant slabs, shearwalls, ceilings)

  • Building orientation/massing relative to the historic City Hall and freeway

  • Courtyard and landscaping for shading, cooling, and insulation

  • Site design for stormwater infiltration

Active Design

  • Rooftop and canopy solar PV arrays

  • Air-source heat pumps (driving radiant slab heating/cooling)

  • VAV air-handling units (supplemental active cooling)

  • VRF system (electrical/server room cooling)

  • LED lighting with occupancy sensors and dimming

  • Building Management System (BMS) → controls automated upper windows, monitors air quality, triggers night purge

  • Rainwater cistern filtration (cartridge + GAC filters), UV and chlorine disinfection

  • Groundwater well pumping (drought backup)

  • Greywater moving-bed membrane bioreactor

  • Composting toilet system (fans, odour control, UV lights, CO2 sensors)

  • Diesel emergency generator

Other Petal → Material

  • eliminating Red List toxic chemicals and responsibly sourcing products

  • minimising finishes and simplifying assemblies such as leaving concrete shearwalls and ceilings exposed

  • Every subcontractor and construction worker received onboarding training on Red List requirements and waste protocols

  • Red List exception secured for Aerocel Aeroflex insulation

  • manufacturer's later commitment to develop a Red List-free product

  • FSC-certified wood used, salvaged formwork, carpet system through Bentley Mills' FULFILL reclamation program

  • 95% diversion of paper/cardboard, 100% of soil, and 80% of combined waste overall.


Diagrams

1. Diagrams (core requirement)

  • General system diagram — how the system works in principle, no building attached

  • Specific/applied diagram — same system overlaid onto your building’s plan or section

  • Repeat for each petal (water, energy, third petal) = minimum 2 diagrams × 3 petals

  • Use a consistent colour code per building/system so it reads instantly

  • Note materials for each system component (check against Red List)

2. Findings/comparison slides

  • One combined graph: annual production vs. usage (energy and/or water) per building

  • Quick summary slide: which strategies performed best and why (passive strategies, building size, orientation, etc.)

  • Cross-reference case studies against each other, not just individually

3. Slide design

  • Strip text off slides — diagrams + photos, speak the explanation live

  • Fast flip-through for general/context slides (“here are our buildings, here’s what’s involved”)

  • Slow down only on findings/conclusions

  • Superimpose diagrams on the actual building drawing where possible, not just abstract schematics

4. Structure flow

  • General analysis → specific findings (findings section is the deeper, group-added layer beyond individual work)

  • Individual sections cover your own petal/precedent in detail

  • Group section ties it together — doesn’t need to re-explain each precedent slide-by-slide



One natural and built solution and what are its advantages and disadvantages

  • which works best for Samoa


Overall systems diagram of your own project as a collage → give to