12/19/19
Sewickley Architect Puts Pittsburgh On Map for Best Indoor Air-Quality

In a region that consistently ranks at the bottom of the list for outdoor air quality, Allegheny County is about to welcome a restaurant equipped to achieve the world’s best indoor air quality. Studio St.Germain, a Sewickley-based architecture firm specializing in high-performance sustainable building, announced today that construction is nearing completion on the new Sewickley Tavern. It will be the first restaurant in the United States -- and in the world -- to achieve RESET Air certification, the highest internationally-recognized standard for indoor air quality.

RESET Air certification is the keystone of an ultra-sustainable renovation of this historic Sewickley building through Studio St.Germain’s High Performance Program. The firm developed the program over the last two years to help owners identify and achieve building environment goals that align with their sustainability values, particularly ones that impact human health. “We spend 95% of our time indoors, and indoor air quality impacts our health, comfort, and productivity. We wanted to help owners match up their goals with the latest building science available to get the outcomes they want. Because sustainability is not only about taking care of our planet’s natural resources, it’s also about taking care of us,” says Nathan St.Germain, the firm’s founder.

Sewickley Tavern owner Courtney Yates says the High Performance Program helped her see what was possible: “We were committed to the idea of creating an environment that would be healthy and comfortable for our customers in the dining area and also for our staff in the kitchen area. The High Performance Program gave us the knowledge and the tools to create a space that is as free of indoor air pollution as a restaurant can be, and also to make it sustainable in a number of ways.”

RESET Air is a performance-based indoor air quality standard which sets limits on levels of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, temperature, and relative humidity. Sensors placed throughout the building collect data continuously and results are streamed to the cloud. That allows the air quality to be monitored in real time and adjustments made as needed to optimize the building environment for long-term health.

The RESET Air Standard offers two certification types: Commercial Interiors and Core & Shell. Sewickley Tavern will be applying for certification in both. Final certification is expected to be received in Spring 2020 when international RESET officers will visit the restaurant to certify sensor data and verify that standards are being met once the building is in operation. At that point, Sewickley Tavern expects to be certified as the first restaurant in the world to achieve the RESET Air standard. It will also be the first building of any kind to achieve both of the two types of RESET certifications.

In addition to RESET Air, the new Sewickley Tavern will showcase several high-performance building features to help provide a more sustainable and healthy environment for the restaurants’ staff and guests, including:

Photovoltaic System - Solar panels on the roof will generate power to offset any electrical energy the restaurant pulls from the grid. With a connected net metering system, any surplus energy generated will be fed back to the grid.

Acoustics - An acoustical plaster ceiling system developed in the Netherlands by Sonacoustic will provide high-performance sound absorption. This reduces indoor noise levels in the dining environment which are the leading complaint among restaurant customers according to industry research. The Armstrong Metalworks Microperforated Tin Ceiling provides additional sound absorption, and CESVA noise-measuring sensors in the dining and kitchen areas monitor the decibel levels for both diners and staff.

Restrooms - Stall partitions are made from HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic, which is made from recycled materials and is impenetrable to mold or mildew and resistant to common bacteria often found in public restrooms, including MRSA. This particular type of plastic is known as a "cradle-to-cradle" material, meaning that it can be recycled again at the end of its useful life and therefore is a more sustainable choice than products that merely contain recycled content.

Smart Building Infrastructure for Energy & Environmental Intelligence - All sensor and meter data (air quality, acoustic, utilities) will be managed using the AUROS 360™ platform. Developed by Carnegie-based AUROS Group, the platform provides analytics on energy use and environmental quality. A dynamic cloud-based dashboard displays real-time building data measurements and compares them with goal-driven simulations, so owners can monitor their energy consumption and environmental quality measurements. This allows for real-time performance evaluation and optimization of utility consumption, air quality, indoor sound, and solar energy production.

Sewickley Tavern also expects to achieve the platinum level of Sustainable Restaurants Pittsburgh.

Massaro Corporation will complete construction on the building this month. They have been supported on the project by a team of specialist engineers and consultants engaged by Studio St.Germain which includes Michael Baker International, Carlins Consulting, Keystone Structural Solutions, Food Facilities Concepts, vizzAcoustics, AUROS Group, Dobil Laboratories, and EIS Solar. The restaurant will open in early 2020.

St. Germain concluded, “On behalf of the owner, the studio, and the entire project team, I am delighted and proud to put Pittsburgh on the map and to show that even small companies can be leaders in protecting consumer health. In a region that consistently gets ‘F’ ratings for outdoor air quality, we are setting a new standard as best in the nation—and the world—with an A+ for performance-based, health-driven sustainable building.”