The Willis Tower is currently undergoing a more than $500 million renovation that will transition it from an office building into a neighborhood that delivers life and work experiences.
As part of this evolution, Willis Tower, under LEED’s latest v4.1 rating system, has become the largest building in the United States to earn LEED Platinum certification.
In partnership with Rivion, a Wisconsin-based energy consulting firm, EQ, a U.S. office portfolio company wholly owned by Blackstone's real estate funds, improved the building's environmental quality through a number of building enhancements, including:
— Revamping the heating and cooling (HVAC) system through the installation of state-of-the-art technologies, allowing the Tower to heat and cool more efficiently, which is expected to reduce energy consumption by up to 20 percent.
— Reducing heating water energy consumption by replacing electric hot-water generators with natural gas hot-water boilers.
— Upgrading the building's lighting control system and installing energy-efficient LED lights.
— Installing low-flow high-efficiency sink faucets, toilets and urinals, which is expected to cut approximately 30 percent of the building's water consumption (11 million gallons annually).
The driving force behind the Tower's transformation is Blackstone and EQ's mission to create sustainable experiences and make smart choices that improve the space and environment around its properties.
These values are noticeable in the Tower's new 125,000 square feet of tenant-exclusive amenities, as well as the addition of Catalog, the 300,000 square foot retail, dining and entertainment experience at the base of Willis Tower and the soon-to-open 30,000 square foot outdoor deck and garden.
Related Stories
| Mar 21, 2011
Environmental Protection Agency says D.C. is No. 1 in green
Less than a month after the U.S. Green Building Council gave D.C. top honors for green building, the Environmental Protection Agency has named the District the top green city. The EPA names the District the nation's
| Mar 18, 2011
ESD announces senior management changes
Environmental Systems Design, Inc., an international leader in the design of high performance building systems, announced senior management changes that include Raj Gupta (a member of BD+C's editorial advisory board) becoming the firm’s chief executive officer, replacing Hem Gupta, who remains chairman, and Kurt Karnatz being named president.
| Mar 17, 2011
USGBC collaborates to develop LEED Demand Response Credit
Skipping Stone, Schneider Electric and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced today the formation of a committee tasked with enhancing the current Demand Response LEED Pilot Credit. The team will collaborate on enhancing the credit to enable commercial building owners and LEED green building projects to earn credits in LEED for enrolling in utility or wholesale market demand response programs.
| Mar 17, 2011
Carbon footprint of public sector buildings in England and Wales to be released
The energy usage of 40,146 public buildings—including schools, hospitals, and offices—in England and Wales is being released to the public.
| Mar 16, 2011
Foster + Partners to design carbon-neutral urban park for West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong
Foster + Partners has been selected by the board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to design a massive 56-acre urban park on a reclaimed harbor-front site in Hong Kong. Designed as a carbon-neutral development, “City Park” will seamlessly blend into existing streets while creating large expanses of green space and seventeen new cultural venues.
| Mar 16, 2011
CALGreen v. LEED: How does California's new green building code compare to LEED?
The California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen), the country’s first statewide green building code, seeks to establish minimum green building standards for the majority of residential and commercial new construction projects across California. As the requirements of CALGreen take effect this year, many wonder how the new code compares with other established green building standards, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system. Let’s review…
| Mar 11, 2011
Texas A&M mixed-use community will focus on green living
HOK, Realty Appreciation, and Texas A&M University are working on the Urban Living Laboratory, a 1.2-million-sf mixed-use project owned by the university. The five-phase, live-work-play project will include offices, retail, multifamily apartments, and two hotels.
| Mar 10, 2011
Steel Joists Clean Up a Car Wash’s Carbon Footprint
Open-web bowstring trusses and steel joists give a Utah car wash architectural interest, reduce its construction costs, and help green a building type with a reputation for being wasteful.
| Mar 9, 2011
Hoping to win over a community, Facebook scraps its fortress architecture
Facebook is moving from its tony Palo Alto, Calif., locale to blue-collar Belle Haven, and the social network want to woo residents with community-oriented design.
