NASA’s Sustainability Base is out of this world
Welcome to NASA’s latest mission on Earth. Its Moffett Field, Calif.-based Sustainability Base is unlike any other government building ever created. Using NASA innovations originally engineered for space travel and exploration, the 50,000-square-foot, lunar-shaped facility is simultaneously a working office space, a showcase for NASA technology and a peek at the future of buildings. Although not a spacecraft, NASA’s Sustainability Base was created with the vision that everything about its design would support both human and planetary well-being.
Inside, research is conducted on how to apply NASA technologies to green buildings and on emerging technologies in the sustainable building industry. Some of the NASA technologies investigated include aero-thermal computational modeling, intelligent control approaches, anomaly detection algorithms and techniques to predict equipment degradation. Novel technologies and concepts that enable a more sustainable, efficient and enjoyable work environment are being tested through collaborative research. But in terms of innovation, the building itself rivals the research going on inside in it.
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| Photo: Cesar Rubio |
Wings and Exoskeleton
The facility, constructed on a formerly empty field, was designed by San Francisco-based architectural firm William McDonough + Partners and Los Angeles-based AECOM, and built by San Francisco-based Swinerton Inc. The notable thing about the two-story, two-wing building from the aspect of metal construction is its geometry.
Its curvy façade was inspired by the International Space Station. But producing the gentle arcing of its two wings required a great deal of attention to its steel structure detailing, says Tom Horan, vice president of AECOM. “The circumferential arcs produced four distinct radii; the result that many different beam lengths and sizes were required, and many of the details were unique,” he says. “The lateral resistance system involved braced frames in the radial direction and moment connections in the circumferential direction.”
The entire building is wrapped in a metal exoskeleton from San Leandro, Calif.-based Olson Steel that serves two distinct but important functions. “First, this modern and advanced office building makes a referential nod to the exterior steel structure of its massive backdrop, the 1940’s wind tunnels, in which many of the commercial and government air and space vehicles of the last 70 years have been tested,” Horan says. “Second, this exoskeleton affords the maximum amount of unencumbered clear span within the 53-foot depth of the curving floor plate, allowing for optimum space-planning flexibility.” Steel was chosen because it can be easily dismantled as well as repaired after a seismic event. It also helps give the building its iconic appearance, recalling lunar modules and satellites.
More than 34,000 square feet of Moon Township, Pa.-based CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series 3-inch insulated metal panels were used in the building envelope for advanced thermal and moisture protection. “All detailing and specification work was done out of the AECOM offices in Orange, Calif.,” says Gary Kehrier, CSI, CDT, CENTRIA district sales manager. “Because the project was aiming for LEED Platinum certification, the complete coordination of all aspects of the detailing and specifications process, in preparation of the bidding documents were a critical necessity to the AECOM design team.”
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| Photo: Cesar Rubio |
Norcross, Ga.-based Kawneer Co. Inc.’s 1600 Wall System 1 Curtainwall with Versoleil SunShade- Outrigger System provides natural light within the building approximately 80 to 90 percent of the time. “The stick-fabricated, pressure-glazed curtainwall not only allows ample light into a building, but also has an aesthetically pleasing smooth, monolithic appearance,” says Chris Giovannielli, Kawneer’s product manager of curtainwalls and sun control. “The sunshade-outrigger system offers highlight configurable blade options for maximum shading energy potential.” Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries’ Solarban 70XL glass was specified for the project due to its due to high visible light transmittance and control of heat gain.
Ultra Green
Designed to be one of the greenest federal buildings ever constructed, the NASA Sustainability Base goes beyond not hurting the environment to actually being beneficial to nature and humans. Through a combination of innovative design and leading-edge technology, it generates all the power it needs to operate. It uses 90 percent less drinking water than a traditional building of comparable size via recycled water for irrigation, grey water recycling and lowflow fixtures. Designed by scientists for use on the International Space Station, this system cleans grey water
(water that drains from the bathroom sinks and showers) and then recycles it into the building to flush toilets and urinals.
The building and landscape are designed “native to place,” which means they capitalize on the natural resources of its location and blend seamlessly with their contextual environment and culture. The building’s orientation takes advantage of both the sun’s arc across Moffett Field and the prevailing Bay Area winds. This means for all but approximately 40 days of the year, no artificial lighting is necessary. The landscape surrounding the facility includes primarily plants, flowers and trees that are native to the area and draught resistant.
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| Photo: Cesar Rubio |
Given NASA’s pioneering research in photovoltaics (PV) dating back to the 1950s, it seemed appropriate that Sustainability Base utilizes PV from San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower Corp. “The panels operate at the highest efficiency currently possible for this technology: 19 percent,” says Alastair Mac- Gregor, vice president of AECOM. “Sustainability Base was designed to achieve a 65 percent energy use reduction against the ASHRAE 90.1 2004 minimum requirements. While large glazing areas maximize daylighting, they have the detrimental effect of increasing solar heat gain. Fortunately, Sustainability Base’s main building axis is oriented approximately east-west. Computer modeling analysis demonstrated that horizontal shading on the east and west faces provided the most benefit.”
Solar hot water panels on the roof offset more than half of the domestic hot water generation demand. Also, “Rather than use conventional boilers and chillers, Sustainability Base employs a closedloop, buried, vertical pipe-work system in conjunction with ground-source heat pumps,” MacGregor says. “This system saves energy over conventional systems by utilizing the relatively constant temperature of the soil all year around. In the Bay Area during summer, the soil is at a lower temperature than the air, and hence heat removed from the building can be rejected via water circulated through buried pipe loops more efficiently. The reverse is true in winter. Water in the buried pipe loops can be used as a heat source for the building.”
Collaborative Design
Outside, people can have meetings in various naturally landscaped “rooms” amidst gardens and trees, or they can sit on benches or at picnic tables and simply work quietly in harmony with nature. Those who work at Sustainability Base are an integral part of keeping the building sustainable. Each individual has a personal energy dashboard that shows their energy usage at any given moment and even suggests energy conservation activities, as simple as lowering the shades or opening windows.
By embracing a collaborative design approach that identified the long-term sustainable performance of the building as a key project driver, the design team garnered over 80 percent of the points available within the USGBC’s LEED certification program, earning the building LEED Platinum, the highest possible rating.
Sidebar: Sustainability Base, So Far
In many ways, Sustainability Base has exceeded NASA’s expectations. It’s gained global attention for the application of NASA’s suite of technology to an office building. We have had technical difficulties with some of the building systems, especially the computer-controlled windows which require a level of detailed optimization to provide both useful energy savings and optimal occupant comfort. For now, the building is operating with those windows offline until we can complete a more detailed assessment of what would serve the occupants best and meet our energy goals.
A number of features have been added for additional optimization and/or better characterization. For example, after enduring a cold winter when the heat pumps did not seem to be providing the source heat water as designed, a new loop was built into the system to feed in warmed water to prevent the pumps from freezing up when ambient temperatures dip too low for the system to operate efficiently.
The occupants of the building have had a chance to provide feedback to researchers and NASA Facilities evaluators on their experiences in the building. Many of them are very positive about the sustainable features with the exception of acoustic privacy. The building has been modified in an attempt to provide both more private spaces and better noise control in open spaces.
Rosalind Grymes, deputy, partnerships directorate and sustainability partnerships lead, NASA Sustainability Base
Sidebar: NASA Sustainability Base, Moffett Field, Calif.
Completed: January 2012 Total square feet: 50,000 square feet
Building owner: NASA Ames Research Center
Architects: William McDonough + Partners, San Francisco
Integrated design and engineering: AECOM, Los Angeles
General contractor: Swinerton Inc., San Francisco
Daylighting/lighting/energy consultant: Loisos + Ubbelohde, Alameda, Calif.
Landscape architect: Siteworks Studio, Charlottesville, Va.
Curtainwall and sunshade: Kawneer Co. Inc., Norcross, Ga., www.kawneer.com
Exoskeleton: Olson Steel, San Leandro, Calif., www.olsonsteel.com
Glass: PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, www.ppg.com
Insulated metal panels: CENTRIA, Moon Township, Pa., www.centria.com
Photovoltaics: SunPower Corp., San Jose, Calif., us.sunpowerinc.com
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| Photo: Cesar Rubio |