Best Practice Guide

Commercial Office Buildings

Case Study

Swinerton, Inc.

Property Name: 260 Townsend
Location: San Francisco (urban infill development)
Type: Owner-occupied 7-story office building
Size: 66,943 sq. ft.
Year Built: 1986

Website: main www.swinerton.com and Green Building page www.swinertongreen.com

Electricity End-Use Consumption in Commercial Office Buildings by ActivityView Details.

Swinerton Incorporated is a premiere construction company operating in the western United States. Committed to green building and sustainable design, Swinerton put its principles to practice renovating the company headquarters in San Francisco. Originally built by Swinerton in 1986, this seven-story, 67,000 sq. ft. office building now beats California's strict Title-24 efficiency standards by over 12 percent.

Swinerton installed state-of-the-art, direct digital controls (DDC) that manage the building's mechanical and electrical systems, including the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The control system has dedicated Internet access, allowing facility staff to continuously monitor temperature, CO2, and humidity - even from remote locations. The DDC provides real time feedback, which not only assists with the development of trend reports, but also helps to immediately identify problems with equipment. On the HVAC system, variable frequency drives were installed on motors and fans, further enhancing the ability of the DDC to optimize operations.

Illustration of the increase in fuel-use efficiency by using combined heat and power (CHP) to eliminate a boiler. Courtesy of California Energy Commission.View Details.

High-efficiency lighting fixtures were used throughout the building and adjacent parking garage to reduce energy costs as well as limit outdoor light pollution. Motion sensors are installed to maximize the benefits of these low-watt fixtures. Designers took advantage of daylighting, providing 90 percent of the workstations with direct or indirect natural light. 75 percent of these workstations also have views to the outdoors. Swinerton has found that these changes helped boost worker productivity in the building, which in turn helped quicken the payback rate.

25,330 sq. ft. of garden terraces are spread across four floors, with large areas planted with native species that significantly reduce storm run-off and solar heat island gains. Native plants require less water to irrigate and support local wildlife like birds and insects. Low impact fertilizers and pesticides are used in the gardens.

Greywater system at NRDC's Santa Monica offices. Photo by Grey Crawford, courtesy of NRDC.View Details.

Another measure that combats the impact of urban heat islands is a custom fabricated cool roof. Swinerton convinced 3M to add a white, high albedo admixture to their elastomeric roofing product, which was tested on the headquarters building. The demonstration was so successful that 3M is now testing this coating and hopes to earn an Energy Star rating before making this new product commercially available to the building industry.

To save potable water, 5-gallon per flush toilets were replaced with 1.5-gallon models. All showerheads and faucets are equipped with low-flow aerators.

201 Mission has a 750-kW CHP system. Equity Office Properties.View Details.

Although Swinerton CEO Jim Gillette evaluated the success of the renovation in terms of bottom-line results, his perspective of the benefits has widened. "Seeing our employees in the atmosphere of our new headquarters, with the abundant natural light and improved indoor air quality, everyone is happier," Gillette stated. "There is a definite change. What we've provided for our people, a truly healthy environment, with no off-gassing of VOCs, has proven to be the greatest benefit of all."

Upgrades made at the Swinerton headquarters save 6,040-kWh and 2,700-Btu each year. PG&E provided a $30,000 rebate that helped offset project costs. The project resulted in energy-use intensity for the building of 16-kWH/sq. ft./year. Swinerton's headquarters has been distinguished with LEED-EB (Gold) certification.