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PROJECT REPORT: TALL BUILDINGS
from standard rectilinear forms in plan to tapering triangular ones, presenting even more variety to the south elevation.
A healthy, smart building The architects re-evaluated the mechanical systems on a health and safety basis to ensure they were future-proofed post- pandemic. However, says Kevin, “We didn’t make any major changes as the building’s VRF and DOAS ventilation system, somewhat atypical in a Chicago office, uses 100% fresh air.” This ‘mechanical penthouse’ system, which includes some heat recovery, means there’s no recycling of air within the office space.
SUNSET CLAUSE
At level 18, half of the floor is a games room and social lounge, leading onto a sunset terrace
“I think structural
engineers are the original low embodied carbon
engineers, by design” Kevin Rodenkirch
“layered spaces of activity.” The internal palette of exposed concrete, wood and red brick echoes the exterior and “draws inspiration from the neighbourhood’s industrial character.” The lobby has flexible, movable seating and informal spaces for working and collaborating, and has been designed to “blend seamlessly into the busy streetscape.”
The range of amenities (a “big part of the building’s marketing power, in that neighbourhood”) did change during the project. “There are so many offices being built that it almost becomes a kind of amenities race, who can provide more and better.” As well as retail and “community spaces,” the architects added conferencing centres, areas for respite and lounging, and a fitness centre. On level 18, half the floor is a social lounge and game room, and opens up onto the sunset terrace so workers can enjoy a drink at the end of the day. The terraces have a clear social value, in the months when they are usable, but are an expense that the client has to justify. Rodenkirch says that “tilting the needle” in 2017 was the fact that BOMA (the US standard for buildings measurement), acknowledged that fitted out terraces could be considered rentable. “In theory you could share some of that cost with the tenant,” adds Rodenkirch. The architects didn’t want excessive amounts of landscape in the spaces, but “enough density so you could read it from the street.” The terraces alternate
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There are myriad touchless sensors in the building, “which I think we’ll see on every new building going forward,” says Kevin. There’s also a focus on user control, and apps enable access, and control air, light and other parameters, and can be used to reserve amenity spaces such as the fitness suite. The building is also festooned with smart systems to monitor various conditions and operations and thereby optimise energy efficiency as well as environmental quality for users. The client engaged IT firm Buildings IOT to provide “cloud-based machine learning insights,” while tweaking and optimising fresh air circulation. The building also features electronic charging stations, and scooters for staff or tenants. Through extensive analysis of the building’s life cycle and a painstaking design approach, the architects managed to reduce the overall structure’s embodied carbon by 65%, compared with an “average commercial office,” thereby meeting the 2030 carbon reduction target set by The American Institute of Architects (AIA). Rodenkirch says that the seemingly daunting task of attaining both LEED and WELL was made easier by the fact that they overlap in lots of cases. “When you pursue LEED Platinum, you pretty much have WELL certification.” And he adds: “LEED has a lot of points about air quality, which is closely related to WELL.” He says that a lot of aspects are simply good design, but it’s a means of tracking the approaches through a project, and verifying them, while “providing a level of accountability.” In most US cities, according to Kevin Rodenkirch, architects still need to “fight” to get to the higher levels of energy performance. This was the case in Chicago until recently; he says it’s only in the last two years that the city has “pushed for more aggressive energy codes.” He thinks that this building is a sign of more things to come. g
ADF JUNE 2022
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