high performance building case stuies

1. HIGH PERFORMANCE
BUILDINGS
CASE STUDY-1
INDRADEVA MENDIS
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2. CALIFORNIAPUBLICEMPLOYEES'
RETIREMENTSYSTEMHEADQUARTERS
Photo: Peter Aaron/Esto
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3. GENERAL INFORMATION
• Building Name: California Public Employees' Retirement System
Headquarters Complex
• Building Location:
• City: Sacramento
• State: California
• Country: USA
• Project Size (ft², m²): 1.1 million gross square feet
• Building Type(s): Mixed-use office building composed of 2 U-shaped
buildings of 4 and 6 floors that form a public courtyard
• Project Type: New Construction
• Delivery Method: Design / Bid / Build
• Total Building Costs: Construction cost–$192M; Project budget–$265M
• Cost/ft² or Cost/m²: Because the project was divided into multiple bid
packages, it was not possible to track costs per square foot.
• Owner: California Public Employees' Retirement System 3

4. DESCRIPTION
• Mixed-use development integrating corporate office space,
retail space and parking
• The site comprises two contiguous blocks
• The building's design is a response to both Sacramento's
urban fabric and to clients' sustainable design goals
• The Complex is composed of 2 U-shaped buildings of 4 and 6
floors that form a public courtyard
• The structures are linked by exterior walkways and bisected by
a public plaza and a mews for pedestrians and vehicles
• Spaces encourage easy orientation and movement and an
open exchange among employees and members
•
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5. DESCRIPTION
• This complex achieved a LEED New Construction (NC) Gold
rating in 2005
• The exterior skin incorporates sunshades, light shelves, and
planters, helping the building exceed energy efficiency
requirements
• The building's fenestration changes from street to street in
response to sun orientation, internal program requirements,
and neighborhood adjacencies
• Underground rather than the required surface parking
reduces the project's urban heat island effect and minimized
its footprint
• The dramatic multi-story glass atrium brings light into the core
of the building
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6. 6
View looking east with sculptural entrance
pavilion at center
Detail view of façade at southwest corner
with sunshades

7. 7
Detail of roof courtyard
View of landscaped courtyard with
exterior walkways and entrance
pavilion

8. 8
Landscaped public courtyard with artist-designed fountain and exterior walkways
Landscaped public courtyard with fountain and exterior walkways beyond

9. 9
View of daylight open interior atrium
at core of building
Detail view of stair and other surfaces
with certified woods

10. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Secure/Safe Goal
• The safety and security of employees, members and
neighbors figured prominently throughout all aspects
of the design and construction of the headquarters
• The project complies with construction standards set
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) in respect to floodplains and wetlands
• The public plaza and mews for pedestrians and vehicles
was carefully designed for maximum enjoyment but for
security as well 10

11. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Sustainable Goal
• The project team participated in a green building workshop to prioritize the green
strategies necessary to achieve the client's goals of setting a new standard of
environmental sustainability
• The building's orientation and façade maximize daylight while minimizing solar gain
• The façade features shading projections, light shelves, floor-to-ceiling clear glass, and
integrated planters
• Multiple outdoor terraces offer occupants easy direct access to sunlight, fresh air and
native plantings
• Indigenous landscape materials, an evaporative cooling system and landscaped
terraces
• The project incorporates an 87-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) array on the roof surface,
and water is heated with recovered waste heat
• Green materials include bamboo flooring, recycled-content and regionally
manufactured materials and certified woods
• More than 90% of construction waste was recycled
• Project implemented nearly all of the LEED Indoor Environmental Quality strategies
• The building was designed to use 38% less energy than a comparable building
designed in minimal compliance with ASHRAE 90.1-1999
• Reduced water consumption for irrigation by 50%
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12. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Functional Goal
• One of project programming's primary goals was to optimally
distribute various business groups between the two buildings
• Three core competencies (operations, customer service, and
executive/strategic management) were defined and were
distributed both horizontally, so that people from all of these
groups would go in both buildings, and vertically, putting
customer service employees on the ground floor, operations
people in the middle floors, and the executive strategic
management and traders on top
• The building's large open floor plates allow for flexible work
environments and easy workspace reconfigurations
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13. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Accessible Goal
• Spaces encourage easy orientation and movement and an open
exchange among employees, members and visitors-to accommodate
interaction and circulation within the building
• Considered how people would approach the building from the
surrounding streets
• A large central courtyard with landscaping gestures in a series of indoor
and outdoor spaces
• Outdoor play area for employees' children
• The park-like setting of the grounds and the buildings was designed to
embrace the community and feel very permeable
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14. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Aesthetic Goal
• Design is cohesive and integrated in its architecture and high-quality work
environment
• The building's fenestration is modulated in response to sun orientation,
internal program and neighborhood adjacencies
• A central courtyard offers a sheltered urban oasis
• Multi-story glass atrium floods the core of the west building with daylight
• A six-story entry pavilion serves as an iconic centerpiece of the facility
• To make the buildings pedestrian-friendly and reduce their overall mass,
keeping them in scale with other buildings in the neighborhood, on-site
parking was submerged below ground.
• The two structures are bisected by a public plaza and a mews for
pedestrians and vehicles
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15. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Cost-Effective Goal
• As a state project, pre-determined budget, cost management and control
were carefully and monitored throughout the design and construction of the
project
• The selection of "green" and durable materials supported the effort to
create a building that would last and increase in value
• Historic Preservation Goal
• The design of the facility was inspired by and respects by some existing
facilities- raised floors, extensive day-lighting, and roof terraces
• The look and feel of the new interiors were designed to harmonize with
those of the existing buildings
• The idea was to create a building that would be equal in quality and
character to the original, yet be of its time architecturally and
technologically
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16. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Productive Goal
• The new Headquarters Complex provides a humane, healthy, daylight and
fresh air-filled work environment and even further enhances employees'
quality of life with expanded on-site day care and a fully equipped fitness
center
• Multiple outdoor terraces distributed throughout the complex offer
occupants easy direct access to sunlight, fresh air, and lush planting
• Interior finishes provide a uniform degree of warmth, light and comfort
throughout
• State of the art lighting, patterned glass office fronts, centrally located
conference and break rooms, and clearly defined circulation serve to
encourage employee collaboration and productivity
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17. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
• Indoor Environment Approach
• The project included multiple outdoor terraces distributed throughout
the complex to offer occupants easy direct access to sunlight and fresh
air
• Indoor Environmental Quality strategies were implemented, including
the;
• Use of low-emitting materials,
• Views to the outside,
• Construction IAQ management,
• Thermal comfort controls,
• Increased ventilation effectiveness through under-floor air distribution
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18. OVERALL PROJECT GOAL/PHILOSOPHY
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