Build Company
KAL Construction, Inc.
Building Green
Green Building Design & Construction
Green Construction is the fastest growing sector & most profitable of all aspects of the green economy with the Northern California market staking claim to the largest "green" market in the United States. Our own retail/professional park in San Jose illustrates how environmentally conscious design & construction can have a positive, long-term impact on both the environment & business. The KAL team can assist you in identifying & providing opportunities for building "green" high-performance facilities that offer a higher quality indoor environment & increased savings through energy and operational efficiency. The rewards of green building construction are really just beginning to emerge.
CareMore Plaza: Overall Green Project Narrative
CareMore Plaza is a commercial pedestrian development project from RUMI Group LLC, with approximately 22,780 square feet of medical, retail and office space. Located on the former site of the ponzini house & apricot orchard in San Jose's flourishing east side neighborhood, CareMore Plaza is considered the first Green retail office building in the City of San Jose.
KAL Design & Construction design managed & built the structure with planning assistance from the City of San Jose's Green Building Coordinator, Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Green Building Studio, Inc. (whose engineering analysis and software tools assisted in the design).
CareMore Plaza used the preferred method of Whole Building in the Savings By Design Incentive program. This approach enabled the design team to consider integrated, optimized energy efficiency solutions, which lead to more informed design decisions based on comprehensive information.
Project Highlights
- Tubular skylights
- Solar control awnings
- Cool roof installation
- High Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) HVAC equipment
- Low-E clear windows (a.k.a. solar control glass)
- Interior light shelves
- Lighting control panel with daylighting photosensors
- Tubular skylights
- Efficiently provide pure natural light while effectively minimizing heat gain & heat loss since it is a sealed system
- Plants will thrive more
- Studies show children learn faster in natural light & employees are more productive
- Are better than traditional skylights because traditional skylights are a source of energy loss and can cause UV damage to carpets and furniture.
- Solar control awnings
- Less high cooling energy consumption
- Improve the natural lighting quality of building interiors
- Improve user visual comfort by controlling glare and reducing contrast ratios
- Cool roof installation
- Reflect solar radiation
- Reduce heat transfer to the interior
- Saves on summertime air conditioning
- These properties can extend the life span of a roof
- The Monitoring of over 10 buildings in California & Florida demonstrates that cool roofs save residents & building owners 20-70% in annual cooling energy use
- High Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) HVAC equipment
- Saves energy
- Accomplishes more in reducing fossil fuel consumption
- Helps limit air pollution
- Saves money on monthly utility bills
- Low-E clear windows (a.k.a. solar control glass)
- Improves insulating ability of windows
- Limits solar heat gain by blocking passage of infrared & some ultraviolet rays
- Allows a higher level of visible light to pass through a window with less solar heat gain reduction than tinted window coatings
- Creates warmer interior glass surfaces, reducing frost & condensation.
- Interior light shelves
- Provides shade from the direct light & reduces glare on computer monitors while reflecting the sunlight up to bounce off of the ceiling & diffuse throughout the room
- Diffused light reduces the need for artificial light which conserves electricity & removes more sources of heat.
- Lighting control panel with daylighting photosensors
- Lowers building operating costs
- Improves the ability to utilize the other Green aspects in order to bring daylight deeper into the building
- Commercial
- Residential
- Design