The impending demolition of a former retail building in New York City will set the stage for the planned construction of a 240,000-ft, 20-story office building whose design and systems will be flexible enough to support and accommodate this metro’s growing tech and innovation sectors, which are expected to create 100,000 new jobs over the next decade.
The building, known as 14th@Irving, could break ground in early 2019, and be completed in two years. The building is expected to become a center for training and collaboration for the innovation economy. Its largest tenant will be Civic Hall, a community based organization with 1,000 individual and 150 business members. Civic Hall will lease three of the building’s stories for its own use, and program three other floors that will include a digital skills training center.
Five floors in the building are being earmarked for startup tenants that are looking for smaller spaces and shorter-term leases. These companies, the thinking goes, could eventually become large enough to want to take leases in the building’s seven floors of Class A office space.
“This center will be a great place to start and grow new tech businesses within a community of like-minded innovators,” says Keith Amann, Senior Associate with WSP Built Ecology. WSP is this project’s MEP and FP engineer, lighting designer, and is overseeing commissioning, sustainability, and building technology. He notes that the building will be set up to encourage tenant-to-tenant sharing and collaboration.
The building’s ground floor will include a food hall and leased space that features an Urbanspace market, and be limited to vendors with fewer than five locations in Manhattan and no space within a half-mile of the building.
The building's ground floor will include retailers that don't already have a big presence in Manhattan. Image: Davis Brody Bond
RAL Development Services, which specializes in luxury multifamily and resort communities, is developing the building with New York City’s Economic Development Corporation. The building’s architect is Davis Brody Bond Architects + Planners, and its GC is Suffolk Construction.
Flexibility and sustainability have been driving factors in 14th@Irving’s design, says Narada Golden, a Vice President with WSP Built Ecology. “We want to make sure that the building stays relevant for a long time, as technology evolves and tenants change.”
The building is targeting LEED Gold certification at a minimum, and Amann expects this building to be 30% more efficient than what New York City’s energy codes mandate.
An energy analysis came up with a plan that will result in lower energy costs for the building by using an air-cooled variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system. An efficient HVAC system won’t require a cooling tower and condenser water system for heat rejection, which will free up space on the roof as well as shaft space on each floor.
3D technology provided daylighting analysis that showed where heat gain on the facade might be more prevalent. Image: WSP USA
WSP also used 3D modeling to illustrate its daylight analysis of the building and develop an energy efficient design approach. There will be a solar-panel array on the roofdeck, rainwater harvesting for plant irrigation, and low-flow plumbing fixtures installed throughout.
The building is also shooting for Wired Platinum certification, which gauges digital connectivity. The building’s lobby will include a large interactive display to inform occupants about the building’s performance in terms of energy and water consumption. The property’s management will also communicate with tenants via mobile apps.
WSP’s BOLD&R Initiative in Colorado, which tests smart technologies, has been working with RAL on this project to determine whether to install smart sensors that would provide building management with information related to how tenants are using the building, monitoring occupants’ patterns, indoor air quality, and so forth, and adjust to operate its systems more efficiently.
“They will be able to see where people are moving through the spaces to improve mobility, and see what is being over- or underutilized,” Amann says. “It will become a dynamic building through ongoing data collection.” Golden adds that, instead of viewing sustainability, smart technology, and wellness as separate strategies, this building is taking a holistic approach where “we’re finding that ‘smart’ actually facilitates sustainability.”
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
Second Time Around
A Building Team preserves the historic facade of a Broadway theater en route to creating the first green playhouse on the Great White Way.
| Sep 13, 2010
World's busiest land port also to be its greenest
A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.
| Sep 13, 2010
Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ
With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.
| Sep 13, 2010
Stadium Scores Big with Cowboys' Fans
Jerry Jones, controversial billionaire owner of the Dallas Cowboys, wanted the team's new stadium in Arlington, Texas, to really amp up the fan experience. The organization spent $1.2 billion building a massive three-million-sf arena that seats 80,000 (with room for another 20,000) and has more than 300 private suites, some at field level-a first for an NFL stadium.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Sep 13, 2010
3D Prototyping Goes Low-cost
Today’s less costly 3D color printers are attracting the attention of AEC firms looking to rapidly prototype designs and communicate design intent to clients.
| Aug 11, 2010
Mark McCracken named chair-elect of USGBC Board of Directors
Mark MacCracken, CEO of CALMAC, Inc., a producer of cold storage energy solutions, has been selected as Chair-elect of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Board of Directors for the 2010 calendar year. The USGBC Board of Directors is responsible for articulating and upholding the vision, values and mission of USGBC. In 2009, MacCracken was elected to serve a second 3-year term as Director in the Energy Services Seat.
| Aug 11, 2010
Underwriters Laboratories, ICC Evaluation Service announce dual evaluation and certification program for building products
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the leading product safety testing organization, and ICC Evaluation Service, Inc (ICC-ES), the United States' leader in evaluating building products for compliance with code, today announced a partnership that will provide the building materials industry with a Dual Evaluation and Certification Program for building products.