Judging Home |
Corporate HQ Renovation for Multiple Lifecycles (#36) |
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| Type of building: | Office |
Entry Description | |
| XYZ, Inc. renovated its U.S. headquarters by stripping the building to its metal skeleton and concrete structure. More than 98% of deconstruction materials were reused, down-cycled or donated. Modular building materials replaced conventional construction materials (drywall, ceiling ductwork). Movable walls, raised access flooring and modular systems office furniture combine to reconfigure and adapt as necessary, minimizing future waste and extending the building through multiple lifecycles. | |
| A discussion of design for adaptability and disassembly techniques incorporated: XYZ, Inc. employs movable walls, raised access flooring and modular office systems of its own design to define and shape its new headquarters building. This reflects XYZ’s belief that the built environment should adapt in real time to what people need to get their jobs done, to foster collaboration and creativity, and to support individual and team initiative. XYZ HQ is divided primarily into open, public spaces highlighted by a three-story, 1,000-foot glass atrium; “dynamic zones” of work stations and collaborative areas that can be reconfigured relatively quickly and easily – within a few hours, in an evening or over a weekend – with minimal interruption to work flow; and “temporal zones” of enclosed meeting rooms, touchdown spaces and other somewhat more “permanent” structures. Should it become necessary to change an area’s workspace layout, walls can be moved, workstations can be reconfigured, even air diffusers in the raised access flooring can be repositioned in short order. By employing its modular approach in place of more conventional construction techniques, disassembly and reconstruction at XYZ HQ generates little or no waste, emissions or other physical or environmental disruptions or hazards. | |
| Environmental implications of entry: Inside the building and out, from top to bottom, XYZ’s new headquarters seeks to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. A 45,000 sq.ft. green roof tops the building atrium, and absorbs up to 78% of a 1 in. rainfall. The remaining run-off flows into the property raingarden, which further reduces any remaining run-off that will enter the municipal sewer system. Additionally, the sedum roof provides habitat for birds and insects. Inside the building, more than 90% of occupants have daylight views, and more direct control of heating and cooling in their work areas. Printers, copy machines, etc., have been moved to enclosed rooms to control related emissions in work areas. Green cleaning methods utilizing non-toxic materials, as well the elementary landscape maintenance procedures employed, further reduce occupant exposure to potentially harmful materials. XYZ’s attention to these details and many others supports its long-term goal to manage all company sites sustainably. | |
| Economic or policy implications of entry: The entire building’s energy usage will decrease by 15% even though the square footage has increased by 15%. Consequently, the organization will enjoy a more efficient space to accommodate expansion, and reduced operating costs at the same time. The under-floor air system reduces heating and cooling costs by down-sizing the building’s chiller system. Motion sensors in meeting and touch-down areas assure lights are on only as necessary. Should renovation or repositioning of work areas within the building become necessary at any time, walls, floors and workstations can be reconfigured relatively quickly, easily, and with minimal waste and disruption. In addition to reduced energy and renovation costs, the building’s open and light environment, and a business protocol that supports employees working throughout the space, is expected to result in fewer absences and a reduction in the personal discomforts often associated with the modern workplace. | |
| Explain how the entry advances lifecycle building education: One of the primary goals of the entire building is to function as a living learning laboratory to share modular, integrated, organic interior design principles as well as to inspire designers and guests visiting the facility. There are several AIA sanctioned CEU courses that utilize the building to teach sustainable design and construction. The inspirational and thoughtful implementation of the teaching aspect of the building convinced a third-party independent material research company to locate a satellite space within the atrium to display various materials, processes, and research findings which further inspire visitors to think outside the box and to reach further. The building also features a Sustainability Lab, where XYZ Inc. compares and contrasts modular vs. conventional construction methods. The lab includes cutaway models of raised access flooring to illustrate the benefits of under-floor air and cabling. Other signage strategically located throughout the building provides details on XYZ’S efforts to apply sustainable design principles to the facility. XYZ Inc. conducts tours for customers, dealers, architects, designers, school groups and other public and private concerns almost every business day, providing the opportunity to educate a wide variety of people about the value of an integrated and adaptable work environment. | |
| Additional information: | |
Entry Metrics | |
| Estimated building square footage: 308,000 square feet | |
| Tons of concrete reduced/conserved in your entry: 6119 tons | |
| Explanation: Concrete was recycled, down-cycled, and otherwise diverted from landfill. | |
| Tons of wood reduced/conserved in your entry: 140 | |
| Explanation: Wood was recycled, down-cycled and otherwise diverted from landfill. | |
| Tons of steel reduced/conserved in your entry: 432 | |
| Explanation: Steel was recycled and otherwise diverted from landfill. | |
| Tons of aluminum reduced/conserved in your entry: 1340 | |
| Explanation: Aluminum was recycled and otherwise diverted from landfill. | |
| Tons of carpet reduced/conserved in your entry: 200 | |
| Explanation: Carpet was recycled, down-cycled, donated to area schools and otherwise diverted from landfill. | |
| Other material: Misc. | |
| Tons of other material reduced/conserved in your entry: 3395 | |
| Explanation: Miscellaneous materials were reused, recycled, down-cycled and otherwise diverted from landfill. | |
| Tons of Green House Gasses Reduced: 3304 | |
| Discussion of Green House Gas reduction implications of your entry: The WARM model measures the GHG and energy impacts of landfilling, recycling, incineration, composting, and source reduction. WARM calculates the benefits of alternative end-of-life waste management decisions and measures the benefit of generating recycled raw materials as opposed to consuming virgin or environment sourced materials. XYZ’s use of the model assumed very conservative inputs such as default distances to the landfills and recyclers, present national mix of recycled content for displaced raw or virgin materials as opposed to selecting 100% virgin materials. The team applied added efforts to recycle materials that were not currently acceptable to common stream recyclers. Older generation carpeting that could not have the nap separated from the backing was “rejuvenated” and donated to area non-profit organizations to avoid landfill. Tempered glass which is not typically recycled was used as filler in the concrete blocks for the foundations of the building creating a block with 53% recycled content from the original building and closing the material loop. Lock cores were removed from the doors and reused in the new building. Fixtures and finishings were donated to area non-profits as whole assemblies providing a one to one source reduction for such things as lighting, handrails and other fixture materials. Through these and other alternative-use choices made, XYZ has attempted to dramatically reduce the GHG implications related to poor waste management choices so often associated with building demolition and construction. | |
| Measurement tool used to calculate GHG reduction: U.S. EPA Waste Reduction Model (WARM) | |
| Website of GHG measurement tool used: http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculators/warm_home.html | |
| Other energy conservation features of your entry: Energy conservation targets were achieved by employing a three-step approach: 1. Efficient envelope design 2. Use of under-floor air distribution 3. Use of advanced heating and cooling strategies and building controls. Under-floor air is more efficient due to the lower pressure and thus lower fan speeds and reduced discharge temperatures. There is also less leakage. The under-floor system delivers cooled air at 65 degrees, versus the 55-degree air of an overhead system. The under-floor distribution cools the occupied zone near the floor first and creates a radiant effect as well. During colder seasons the under-floor system operates more efficiently since heated air rises. The building’s chiller and boiler deliver warmed or cooled water to the under-floor system efficiently. The chiller’s efficiency rating of .52 kW/tn is best-in-class. The chiller system leverages variable pumping strategies with a water-sourced condenser and drift eliminators to conserve water. The water is treated with a high-frequency, low-energy electromagnetic system the substantially reduces chemical treatment. All XYZ building systems communicate with each other. When a lighting sensor indicates a space is empty, it tells the hvac system to shut down in the area as well. Occupied zones near windows employ daylight sensors, and exterior lighting turns off in response to available natural light. Triple-pane, gas-filled glass selected for the building atrium has a U-value of .19, which is in the top 20% of the energy-efficient glass products available, yet still provides a very clear view. All of the above factors result in a reduction of energy usage to 30% below the energy code baseline efficient rating. | |