Operable sustainability: Operable aluminum louvers are an icon for LEED Gold office building
by Jonathan McGaha | October 25, 2010 12:00 am
The 267,000-square-foot (24,803-m2), six-story Papago Gateway Center, an office and research facility in Tempe, Ariz., is one of the first Arizona buildings of its type to become LEED Gold certified under LEED-CS ratings. Part of the LEED-CS pilot program, the project was precertified at the Silver level and was able to attain Gold status after a review of the strict environmental practices observed during construction.
Located on 5 acres (2 hectares), the building is the gateway to the city, Papago Park and Arizona State University. Completed in March 2008, the Papago Gateway Center was designed by Smith- Group Inc., Phoenix, and built by Okland Construction, Tempe.
“The desire for the building was to have a multifunctional speculative office and research lab building that includes cutting-edge technology, and is also a model for sustainability,” said Mark Roddy, AIA, LEED AP, design principal with SmithGroup.
The building envelope features high-performance glazing enhanced by an outer skin of operable, perforated aluminum louvers from Colt International Ltd., Hampshire, England, that wrap the entire south elevation of the building, in addition to portions of the east and west façades.
“Using technology with operable louvers maximizes visibility,” Roddy said. “Stationary horizontal and vertical louvers can only provide so much control, but the operable, sun-tracking louvers maximize the ability to block solar heat gain. Furthermore,the louvers became an icon for the building and are an overt move that says it is a sustainable office and lab facility.
“The building features more than 2,000 individual louvers in banks of 10 louvers each. Each bank is controlled by one hydraulic operator that requires 1 amp to run. For protection, each controller is completely enclosed in the vertical mullions of the framing system and utilizes vegetable oil to power the hydraulics.
A weather station on the roof collects data from which the louvers are operated automatically. The sun’s position is tracked across the sky, and the data is fed into a building program that automatically adjusts the louvers to open and close for optimal shading, depending on the sun’s position at any moment throughout the day. The east end of the building is closed during the morning hours while the west end is open, and in the afternoon the reverse occurs. On rainy or cloudy days, the program automatically opens the louvers to their full extent.
Lancaster, Pa.-based Fabral provided 12,220 square feet (1,135 m2) of its 18-inch (457-mm)Thin Seam metal roof panels used for cladding the mechanical penthouse in Bright Silver that were installed horizontally as a wall panel. Additionally, London-based Corus provided the aluminum for Colt’s Solarfin louvers; Sapa Profiles Inc., Portland, Ore., provided the aluminum extrusions for all of the window systems; and The Cookson Co. Inc., Phoenix, provided Insulated Service Doors. Colt also supplied its ISC 4-Link control system for the louvers.
Caruso Turley Scott, Tempe, was the structural engineer; Dibble Engineering, Phoenix, was the civil engineer; and GBtwo Landscape Architecture Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., was the landscape architect. Walters & Wolf, Chandler, Ariz., was the glass and curtainwall glazing contractor, and Progressive Roofing, Phoenix, supplied the metal roofing. Cookson Door Sales of Arizona, Tempe, installed the service doors.
Chesnut Properties LLC, Del Mar, Calif., the developer and owner, committed to purchasing 100 percent green power for the life of the facility, in addition to implementing a green cleaning program and tenant incentive program, honoring elevated levels of commitment to eco-building during tenant improvements.
Colt International Ltd.
The Cookson Co. Inc.
Fabral
Corus
Sapa Profiles Inc.
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/operable-sustainability-operable-aluminum-louvers-are-an-icon-for-leed-gold-office-building/