HIGH PERFORMANCE CASE STUDIES: 300-level
SESSION 25
DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:
Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 9 am – Metro 2C
ABSTRACT:
A discussion of how energy-efficient systems were selected and integrated into two suburban office buildings designed to achieve LEED Platinum Certification. The SAP Americas project team will focus on the building’s high-performance triple-glazed curtain wall enclosure; the Biogen-Idec project team will discuss the building’s integration of a quarry water cooling system and solar array.
SPEAKERS:
Biogen-Idec Project Team:
Robert Evans, Principal, Evans Heintges Architects
Marie Nolan, Project Manager, The Green Engineer, LLP
Kevin Sheehan, Project Manager – Development, Boston Properties
Sap Americas Project Team:
Isidro Gonzalez, Architectural Design Department Manager, Aluminum Division, Schuco USA
Dan Nall, Director of Sustainability, WSP Flack + Kurtz
Gustavo Rodriquez, Senior Designer, FXFOWLE Architects
DESCRIPTION:
How can two suburban office buildings exceed many sustainable thresholds for energy, siting, water and air quality while still meet the needs and demands of the competitive commercial office market? This panel will present the integrated processes and building systems for two state-of-the-art office headquarters, one located outside of Boston and the other near Philadelphia.
Set on a picturesque site with extraordinary water features, wooded jogging trails and open spaces, Weston Corporate Center is a Class A office building in Weston, Massachusetts that serves as the corporate headquarters of Biogen Idec Inc. Originally committed to a LEED Silver Rating, the project team led by Boston Properties and Evans Heintges went above and beyond to eclipse the Platinum threshold with their construction submission, while avoiding any significant added costs. Beyond the standard LEED criteria, several unique features of the project include an onsite wastewater treatment plant, a state-of-the-art quarry cooling system, and Massachusetts’ largest privately owned ground-mounted solar array that exports 80,000 kwh to the grid annually.
A building’s skin represents a fundamental component of energy efficient design, occupant comfort and biophilia. The desire for a greater connection to the natural environment has resulted in high percentages of clear glazing in buildings, creating a challenge for designers and manufacturers in meeting energy codes and ambitious energy reduction goals set forth in LEED and other metrics. In the design of the SAP Americas headquarters expansion in Newtown Square, PA, the design team confronted and worked to resolve several opposing objectives – How does one design a building enclosure with continuous glazing that maximizes daylight and views, while remaining energy efficient and pursuing LEED Platinum Certification? In this portion of the session, members of the design team – FXFOWLE, WSP Flack+Kurtz, and Schuco USA will discuss the critical role of an integrated team in helping to attain the performance goals for the SAP Americas curtain wall and the overall building. Unlike a traditional enclosure design methodology, the architect, mechanical engineer and curtain wall manufacturer collaborated closely in a design assist process to achieve both aesthetic and performance requirements.
