Office building insights:

• Certifications like LEED along with new codes and standards are pushing office building design to be more sustainable.
• Office buildings are increasingly adopting flexible layouts, modular designs, and smart technologies to support hybrid work.

Describe a project in which electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were included. What were the challenges and solutions on this project?

Jarron Gass: As a rapidly emerging industry, electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to fully integrate them into everyday society are still being developed. The prescriptive codes and standards we rely on struggle to keep pace with current technologies and define adequate baseline requirements. Installing chargers in parking garages, often in retrofit situations, presents challenges in providing reliable charging while meeting various fire protection and life safety requirements. Fire risks associated with EV chargers come not only from the charging units themselves but also from the vehicles they connect to and the structures where they are located. A key focus in many of these projects is ensuring that the existing electrical infrastructure is not overburdened when incorporating new EV chargers.

John Yoon: One of the unique challenges when deploying electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) is dealing with insurance companies.  Right or wrong, the perceived risk associated with electric vehicle fires is extremely high. While the NFPA has reclassified parking areas as ordinary hazard 2 with increased fire protection requirements, insurance companies have directed provisions above and beyond these code requirements. This includes a minimum design density of 0.30 GPM per square foot over 2,500 square feet, interlocking EVSE power supplies with the fire alarm system for automatic shutdown, etc. While these aren’t required by the local authority having jurisdiction, the simple fact that the insurance company can withhold coverage is often sufficient motivation for most owners to comply.

What unusual systems or features are owners requesting to make their office facilities more efficient?

Jarron Gass: Technologies like solar panels and high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have become fairly commonplace and are no longer considered unusual. However, the incorporation of features like green roofs or living walls—providing vegetation that enhances insulation, improves air quality and reduces carbon footprints—has gained more attention in design considerations without being cost-prohibitive. One recent development I’ve come across is dynamic glass, or smart windows, which automatically adjust their tint or transparency in response to direct sunlight or temperature changes. These windows can boost energy efficiency by reducing the need for HVAC systems while simultaneously improving overall occupant comfort.

Danielle Passaglia: Owners are starting to look at occupying and designing fully electric buildings or hybrid systems. Owners increasingly consider indoor air quality and are designing for more stringent requirements on filtration and ventilation with additional transparency, monitoring, tracking and displaying of air quality.

What types of sustainable features or concerns might you encounter for office buildings that you wouldn’t on other projects?

Jarron Gass: Finding the right level of employee well-being in a professional office environment can be achieved through various methods, such as improving light quality (natural lighting), noise control or acoustic comfort, and incorporating the Internet of Things or smart technologies. Achieving a balance between maximum employee well-being, regulatory compliance and cost-effectiveness can lead to higher productivity. From my perspective, natural light and a connection to nature offer the greatest benefits for well-being, closely followed by creating a quiet workspace that includes acoustic elements like soundproof panels or white noise to enhance concentration.

Danielle Passaglia: Due to the constant change of occupancy levels in office buildings, more sustainable features that are based on occupancy can be implemented, such as occupant-driven demand control ventilation and tracking, smart sensors, and plugs.

What types of renewable or alternative energy systems have you recently specified to provide power? This may include photovoltaics, wind turbines, etc. Describe the challenges and solutions.

Jarron Gass: As part of our sustainability efforts, we consistently evaluate photovoltaics (PV) as a potential source of alternative power, and asses the most cost-effective methods for capturing that energy — whether through battery storage or a combination of storage and traditional backup power sources like generators. The most common challenge we encounter is the lack of physical space to accommodate the required number and size of solar panels, particularly when aiming for a full energy offset.

John Yoon: Designing cost-effective alternate energy generation sources (wind/PV) is challenging in dense urban environments with tall buildings. There are many complicating factors including limited roof area, excessive shading factors and lack of service access. The main question is: What is the client trying to accomplish by installing these types of systems? The reason we’ve generally accommodated our clients’ requests is because the primary goal was often to provide the perception of being ‘green.’  Other solutions, such as community solar programs and buying renewable energy credits, can be much more effective in driving societal change by helping fund resources that would be available to the larger public.

What are some of the challenges or issues when designing for water use in office buildings?

Jarron Gass: When focusing on water supply for fire protection, the main challenge for most office buildings is providing adequate pressure, especially as the building height increases. High-rise buildings require significantly more water pressure to reach the top floors, which can put strain on local water supply systems. The taller the building, the greater the need for pumping systems to ensure that water reaches all floors. This is typically achieved through pumps or a series of pumps, depending on the building’s height, to maintain adequate pressure without exceeding the specified limits. Hydraulic models are used to validate these systems and ensure they provide an acceptable minimum level of fire protection and life safety.

John Yoon: There are multiple ways to increase water efficiency. Common methods are the use of tankless water heaters, heat pump water heaters and WaterSense labeled low flow fixtures.  While there are multiple valid ways of conserving electricity and water, understanding equipment capabilities and potential interdependences ensures that the final design will work as intended. There are numerous examples of what can happen if this isn’t done. For instance, an instantaneous water heater selected for an application in Florida won’t have the same performance in locations with colder groundwater temperatures like Illinois. Ultimately, the designer needs to determine the acceptable balance between performance and efficiency.

How has the demand for energy recovery technology influenced the design for these kinds of projects?

Jarron Gass: The demand for energy recovery technology has significantly influenced office building design, with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. Key impacts include the integration of energy recovery ventilation systems that reduce HVAC loads, heat recovery systems that repurpose waste heat for space heating and hot water, and the use of energy management systems for real-time optimization. Improved insulation, renewable energy sources such as solar panels and advanced HVAC designs further reduce energy consumption. These technologies not only help buildings meet sustainability standards like LEED but also provide cost savings and contribute to lower operational expenses.

John Yoon: Once upon a time, energy recovery was only specified in high-value office building projects. However, current versions of energy conservation codes incorporate requirements for energy recovery systems. It’s no longer optional in jurisdictions where those codes are enforced. For instance, the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code added mandatory requirements for energy recovery with section C403.7.4. The requirements are prescriptive, with a minimum enthalpy recovery ratio of 50%. The 2024 version of the code further tweaked those requirements and future drivers are stretch code provisions that can be found in the appendix of the 2024 IECC. While it’s unlikely that most jurisdictions will adopt them, it indicates where the code will go in the future.

High-performance design strategies have been shown to have an impact on the performance of the building and its occupants. What value-add items are you adding these kinds of facilities to make the buildings perform at a higher and more efficient level?

Danielle Passaglia: Additional filtration and increased ventilation directly impact the occupants which makes it a digestible value-add on a project. Additionally, acoustical consulting results in quieter mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and directly impacts the occupant has become standard. Items that have a direct impact on the end user are typically high on the list to adopt in projects. For new construction, including energy modeling and envelope studies during system design are a great value add that can help save money down the road by looking at optimum envelopes and evaluation of different mechanical systems’ energy use.

What level of performance are you being asked to achieve, such as WELL Building Standards, LEED certification, net zero energy, Passive House or other guidelines? Describe a project and its goals, identifying the geographic location of the building.

Danielle Passaglia: LEED is still the most popular certification in our experience on projects. Any level of LEED certification is a great project goal to have. While consulting design firms can do LEED documentation and certification, we see more and more specialized LEED consultants that can take ownership with documentation and requirements at a multi-disciplinary level making it a popular choice for clients to use. A project example is the DC Water Headquarters in Washington DC, which was a 150,000 GSF office building that attained LEED Platinum. For this project: 41% of the total site area supports vegetation (landscape or green roof) post-development. Pre-development, zero percent of the site supported vegetation. 100% of the landscaped area is covered by native or climate-appropriate plants supporting native or migratory animals. Estimated carbon emissions are 65 pounds CO2/square foot associated with building construction, including the extraction and manufacturing of materials used in construction. 26 kBtu/square foot/year is the predicted net energy use intensity of the project, including on-site renewables. This is a 48% reduction of energy.

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