 |
| Energy Efficiency Features |
- Under floor
ventilation achieved by high efficiency Roof Top
Units equipped with an outside air economizer
- Building
perimeter conditioned with chilled beams and
radiant heaters
- Hot water
supplied from high efficiency boilers
- Chilled water
supplied from evaporative cooled condensing
chilled water units on roof with variable volume
pumping distribution
- Lighting
controlled by occupancy sensors, dimmable
switches, and photo sensors
With the combination of all of these features, the
office building will reduce its total annual usage
by 37.3%. Additionally, the building will save 32.8%
in annual energy costs which equates to 7 out of the
10 possible LEED points for Optimizing Energy
Performance. |
Signature Centre
at Denver West
14143 Denver West Parkway
Golden, Colorado 80401
Participants:
Aardex Corporation (owner)
ambient energy (sustainability consultants)
MKK Consulting Engineers Inc.
Carroll and Lange, Inc (civil engineers),
Donald Godi & Associates (landscape architects)
Engineering Economics, Inc (commissioning agents)
Aardex LLC’s primary goal was to incorporate
sustainability into every element of the new
185,906 sf Signature Centre building. With this achieved,
tenants and Aardex employees would enjoy increased
productivity in an enhanced workspace.
The design team met regularly throughout the
design and construction process to identify and select
sustainable design goals that will be incorporated into the
building. To measure the success of the sustainable design
process, the US Green Building Council’s LEED™ for Core
and Shell Pilot rating system was implemented. The
design team pursued and obtained an LEED-CS Platinum rating
for this building.
As daylighting and views have been proven
to play a significant role in the productivity of employees,
one of the major goals of the project is to create a wealth
of daylighting. To meet this goal, the project undertook the
objective to achieve a minimum glazing factor of 2% in a
minimum of 75% of regularly occupied areas and views to at
least 90% of the same spaces. This was accomplished by
utilizing glazed partition walls, open floor plans, high
ceilings and light shelves. This project has exceeded both
of these goals; 92.78% of spaces are provided with views and
92.48% of spaces are provided with daylighting.
Another goal for the project is to reduce
energy consumption in terms of annual cost by at least 28%
from the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 (2004). During schematic
design, eQuest (DOE2.2) energy modeling tool was used to
analyze the effect of different architectural and mechanical
systems to achieve this goal. First, the building was
modeled according to the aforementioned energy standard to
set up the base case building for comparison. Then,
different energy features were analyzed to determine optimal
systems to include in the design.
Sustainability Features |
|
Sustainability Features
for the Signature Center at Denver West Project
|
Sustainability Goal |
Signature
Center, at Denver West Objectives |
|
Minimize Site Impact |
|
|
Minimize Effects of Transportation |
-
Bicycle racks and onsite shower facility
-
Access
to public transportation
-
Preferred parking for low-emitting and
fuel-efficient vehicles
|
|
Minimize Energy Usage from Conventional Sources |
-
No CFC or halons usage
-
Fundamental and enhanced building
commissioning
-
Reduced annual energy cost by 33%
-
Created a measurement and verification
plan for base building as well as tenant
sub-metering
-
Purchased 100% wind based Green Power
|
|
Select Environmentally Responsible Materials |
-
More than 20% recycled content materials
-
More than 75% recycled construction waste
-
More than 20% local materials used
-
Storage and collection of recyclables
-
More than 50% FSC certified wood
-
Provide guidelines for tenant design and
construction
|
|
Provide Good Indoor Air Quality |
-
Minimum indoor air quality requirement
-
Environmental tobacco smoke control
policy
-
Mechanically ventilated outdoor air
delivery monitoring system
-
Increased ventilation by a minimum of 30%
-
Implemented an indoor air quality
management plan during construction
-
Low VOC materials (adhesives, sealants,
paints, carpet, composite wood)
-
Provide indoor chemical and pollutant
source control
|
|
Provide Comfortable Buildings for Occupants |
-
Designed for thermal comfort and provided
for controllability
-
Provided daylighting for over 90% of
occupants
-
Provided views for over 90% occupants
|
|
Minimize Water Usage |
|
|
Education |
|
|
