Historic Districts Made Energy Efficient: A Case Study

From Scope of the Study: "Carnegie-Mellon University's Institute of Building Sciences (CMU) received an $875,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 1980 to make the minority-occupied inner city residences of Manchester more energy efficient. Their major task was to develop energy design guidelines for new and existing structures, and monitor the implementation of these design guidelines. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also provided the Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC) with a self-help grant which enabled this community-based organization to be the developers for several multi-family unit demonstration projects within their neighborhood. Carnegie-Mellon University and the Manchester Citizens Corporation then received the Secretary of the Interior's 1979-1980 Historic Preservation Discretionary Grant to insure that the proposed energy conservation retrofit measures developed in the guidelines conformed to the Secretary's Standards for Rehabilitation. The cooperative effort of these three Federal agencies has resulted in the successful rehabilitation of many historic structures within the Manchester neighborhood. Glance and Associates was the historic preservation consultant for the DOE study in addition to being the primary consultant to the Secretary of the Interior's Grant. This booklet, a somewhat condensed version of the above mentioned studies, specifically addresses a wider audience whose primary concern is to make historic structures energy efficient without destroying their architectural character. The first portion of this report addresses the entire Manchester District as an important historical inner-city neighborhood which, unfortunately, consumes more energy than necessary to heat and cool its buildings. The Sheffield Street was studied in particular because it is the major development thrust for the Manchester Citizens Corporation. This street presents unique design and development problems because several structures were occupied while others were vacant and vandalized. Interspersed among these buildings were several contiguous vacant lots which provided the developer - the Manchester Citizens Corporation in this case - the opportunity to construct new structures. The checklist for new construction, included in the last section of the report, helped guide MCC as they reviewed proposed designs for infill houses on the Sheffield Block. The consultant, Glance and Associates, performed the following tasks related to the previous mentioned studies: 1) researched the historical development and architectural heritage of the Manchester District; 2) identified the predominant architectural styles within the district and highlighted the significant architectural details on the facades of the Sheffield Street buildings; 3) reviewed the Secretary's 'Standards for Rehabilitation' and the accompanying Guidelines and insured that the proposed detailing for energy efficient structures conformed to these regulations; 4) identified potential conflicts which may arise during the design process as one attempts to sensitively integrate energy efficient measures into a historically significant building; and 5) identified important architectural design elements (scale, proportion, etc.) to insure that the new structures would compliment the adjacent historic buildings. Finally, the report recommends specific energy strategies for existing historic structures and new construction. A comparison of the potential energy savings is made between the recommended energy strategies and normal construction practices."

Historic Districts Made Energy Efficient: A Case Study

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