A 12-story office building planned for 310 N. Sangamon in Chicago’s West Loop will become the largest office building in the U.S. to achieve Passive House certification (and only the second building overall) if plans recently unveiled by Mark Goodman & Associates, Inc. pan out. The building will offer 268,000 sf of office space and 7,800 sf of ground-floor retail.
See Also: New Arizona State University building will reach triple net-zero performance
The SCB-designed building will feature a dedicated ventilation system that will provide filtered, tempered, and 100% outdoor air to help keep employees more comfortable, alert, and productive. The interior spaces will use low VOC finishes and furniture to avoid out-gassing, which lowers air quality and presents both short- and long-term health effects.
The entrance at 310 N. Sangamon is pedestrian- and bike-friendly to welcome both office tenants and visitors to its 268,000 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. Courtesy SCB.
Office space will be dedicated to floors three through 12, while the second floor will feature an indoor parking garage with space for 47 cars. A fitness room, outdoor terrace, and bike storage room will be available to tenants.
310 N. Sangamon still needs zoning approval, but if completed it is expected to use about 86% less heating energy and 46% less cooling energy that traditional buildings.
Related Stories
| Apr 19, 2011
Philadelphia opens massive, LEED-Silver recycling center
The 60,000-square-foot single-stream material recovery facility (MRF) in Philadelphia will process around 20,000 tons of newspaper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, and plastic every month, and will simplify the collection of recyclable materials and increase recycling rates by 50%.
| Apr 19, 2011
AIA announces top 10 green Projects for 2011
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment announced its Top 10 Green Projects for 2011. Among the winners: Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., and the Vancouver Convention Centre West in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Apr 19, 2011
BMW dealers driving up sustainable construction in NYC
BMW North America will invest $60 million in two green dealerships in Manhattan. The new stores, which are being designed to cut energy use by 25%, reflect the auto company’s effort to reposition itself as environmentally conscious.
| Apr 19, 2011
15 mind-blowing skyscrapers
Our friends at Inhabitat have rounded up 15 incredible buildings—from underground cities to vertical farms to bio-fuel power plants and skyscrapers.
| Apr 19, 2011
Help the editors choose the next BD+C White Paper topic
The editors of Building Design+Construction want your input on the topic (or topics) we should tackle for our 2012 green building White Paper. Send us your ideas today.
| Apr 14, 2011
U.S. embassies on a mission to green the world's buildings
The U.S. is putting greater emphasis on greening its worldwide portfolio of embassies. The U.S. State Department-affiliated League of Green Embassies already has 70 U.S. embassies undergoing efforts to reduce their environmental impact, and the organization plans to increase that number to more than 100 by the end of the year.
| Apr 14, 2011
USGBC debuts LEED for Healthcare
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduces its latest green building rating system, LEED for Healthcare. The rating system guides the design and construction of both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings, and can be applied to inpatient, outpatient and licensed long-term care facilities, medical offices, assisted living facilities and medical education and research centers.
| Apr 13, 2011
Danfoss Chairman of the Board Joins Clinton Global Initiative
Danfoss, a leading manufacturer of high-efficiency electronic and mechanical components and controls for air-conditioning, heating, refrigeration and motion systems, today announced that Jorgen M. Clausen, Chairman of the Board, has received and accepted a membership from former President Bill Clinton to join the Clinton Global Initiative.
| Apr 13, 2011
Southern Illinois park pavilion earns LEED Platinum
Erin’s Pavilion, a welcome and visitors center at the 80-acre Edwin Watts Southwind Park in Springfield, Ill., earned LEED Platinum. The new 16,000-sf facility, a joint project between local firm Walton and Associates Architects and the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in St. Louis, serves as a community center and special needs education center, and is named for Erin Elzea, who struggled with disabilities during her life.
| Apr 13, 2011
Virginia hospital’s prescription for green construction: LEED Gold
Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va., is the commonwealth’s first inpatient healthcare facility to earn LEED Gold. The 630,000-sf facility was designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with commissioning consultant SSRCx, both of Nashville.
