As a company, DPR Construction has a deep-seated commitment to sustainability, its employees, and the communities it serves. A couple of years ago, when the lease for its Phoenix office came up, the firm seized the opportunity to create an ultra-green environment for its 101-person Phoenix office and field staff.
Working with A/E firm SmithGroupJJR, DPR converted a vacant 16,533-sf one-time “adult-themed boutique” in the city’s reemerging Discovery Triangle into a LEED-NC Platinum office, one that is on target to be the first net-zero commercial office building in Arizona.
The Building Team—including sustainability consultant DNV KEMA and consulting structural engineer PK Associates—forged numerous paths to energy reduction. They used an 87-foot zinc-clad solar chimney to create a convection current that draws air into the building through four evaporative cooling “shower towers” equipped with internal misters and showerheads. The pre-cooled air then flows through the open office space, and hot air exhausts back through the chimney.
PROJECT SUMMARY
DPR CONSTRUCTION, PHOENIX REGIONAL OFFICE
Phoenix, Ariz.Building Team
Submitting firm: SmithGroupJJR (architect/MEP engineer), in conjunction with DPR Construction (owner/developer/GC)
Structural engineer: PK Associates Consulting Structural Engineers
Sustainability consultant: DNV KEMA Energy & SustainabilityGeneral Information
Size: 16,533 sf
Construction cost: $3,762,000
Construction time: February 2011 to October 2011
Delivery method: Design-build
Twelve eight-foot-diameter fans, three oversized roll-up doors, and 87 operable windows installed along the east and north façades further support the building’s passive cooling system. Eighty-two solar optical tubes bring additional daylight into the workspace, helping to cut artificial lighting by 70%.
LEDs provide exterior site lighting, but the team decided against using LEDs on the interior because they did not meet the project goal of a maximum 10-year return on investment. A phantom-load reduction “vampire” switch cuts off 90% of plug loads at night.
The tally: Net energy use intensity was cut to 28.85 kBtu/sf/year; lighting power density was reduced to 0.96 watts/sf. Net-zero energy was achieved through the installation of a 79.6 kW PV-covered canopy over half the parking lot.
To further its commitment to the community, DPR has opened its building to host meetings for local business groups, students, and nonprofit organizations. +
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
Product of the Week: Zinc cladding helps border crossing blend in with surroundings
Zinc panels provide natural-looking, durable cladding for an administrative building and toll canopies at the newly expanded Queenstown Plaza U.S.-Canada border crossing at the Niagara Gorge. Toronto’s Moriyama & Teshima Architects chose the zinc alloy panels for their ability to blend with the structures’ scenic surroundings, as well as for their low maintenance and sustainable qualities. The structures incorporate 14,000 sf of Rheinzink’s branded Angled Standing Seam and Reveal Panels in graphite gray.
| Jan 4, 2011
6 green building trends to watch in 2011
According to a report by New York-based JWT Intelligence, there are six key green building trends to watch in 2011, including: 3D printing, biomimicry, and more transparent and accurate green claims.
| Jan 4, 2011
LEED standards under fire in NYC
This year, for the first time, owners of 25,000 commercial properties in New York must report their buildings’ energy use to the city. However, LEED doesn’t measure energy use and costs, something a growing number of engineers, architects, and landlords insist must be done. Their concerns and a general blossoming of environmental awareness have spawned a host of rating systems that could test LEED’s dominance.
| Jan 4, 2011
LEED 2012: 10 changes you should know about
The USGBC is beginning its review and planning for the next version of LEED—LEED 2012. The draft version of LEED 2012 is currently in the first of at least two public comment periods, and it’s important to take a look at proposed changes to see the direction USGBC is taking, the plans they have for LEED, and—most importantly—how they affect you.
| Jan 4, 2011
California buildings: now even more efficient
New buildings in California must now be more sustainable under the state’s Green Building Standards Code, which took effect with the new year. CALGreen, the first statewide green building code in the country, requires new buildings to be more energy efficient, use less water, and emit fewer pollutants, among many other requirements. And they have the potential to affect LEED ratings.
| Jan 4, 2011
New Years resolutions for architects, urban planners, and real estate developers
Roger K. Lewis, an architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, writes in the Washington Post about New Years resolutions he proposes for anyone involved in influencing buildings and cities. Among his proposals: recycle and reuse aging or obsolete buildings instead of demolishing them; amend or eliminate out-of-date, obstructive, and overly complex zoning ordinances; and make all city and suburban streets safe for cyclists and pedestrians.
| Jan 4, 2011
An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
| Jan 4, 2011
Luxury hotel planned for Palace of Versailles
Want to spend the night at the Palace of Versailles? The Hotel du Grand Controle, a 1680s mansion built on palace grounds for the king's treasurer and vacant since the French Revolution, will soon be turned into a luxury hotel. Versailles is partnering with Belgian hotel company Ivy International to restore the dilapidated estate into a 23-room luxury hotel. Guests can live like a king or queen for a while—and keep their heads.
| Jan 4, 2011
Grubb & Ellis predicts commercial real estate recovery
Grubb & Ellis Company, a leading real estate services and investment firm, released its 2011 Real Estate Forecast, which foresees the start of a slow recovery in the leasing market for all property types in the coming year.
| Jan 4, 2011
Furniture Sustainability Standard - Approved by ANSI and Released for Distribution
BIFMA International recently announced formal American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and release of the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology to evaluate the "sustainable" attributes of furniture products and constitutes the technical criteria of the level product certification program.
