PROJECT.

Sol Pendleton

Walking the walk


How do we return a historic building to its mixed-use origins and achieve LEED Platinum certification cost-effectively? Especially when it’s our own reputation—and our own budget—on the line?

Problem


We wanted beautiful, healthy, sustainable offices for our growing company, apartments renovated to high performance standards, and a design that respected the character of the historic neighborhood—all on a budget.

Our approach combined our experience in LEED certification, historic retrofits, and architectural design with new concepts from the WELL Building Standard. We also put our building diagnostic expertise to work to tune the building systems.

Solution


Find improvements that respect history.

We preserved and restored the building’s exterior while implementing high-performance strategies, including interior insulation, storm windows, and efficient mechanical systems. We paid close attention to detailing the windows to minimize changes to their appearance, and we benefited from the inherent sustainability of the historic fabric: compact, walkable, and mixed-use.

Design around key cost thresholds.

Certain design decisions can trigger code or LEED certification requirements that come with major cost implications—for example, whether sprinklers are required. During design, we identified the sweet spot between our design requirements, building code, historic preservation, and LEED certification constraints. This allowed us to achieve our goals on budget.

Look beyond sustainability to wellness.

We integrated a number of concepts from the WELL Building Standard, including water filtration, WELL-approved bathroom fixtures, healthy materials, a dedicated fresh air system, and a design that promotes activity. Post-construction we tuned our HVAC system until it met ASHRAE 55 comfort guidelines. The result is a bright, airy office that promotes health and wellbeing.

The Impact


LEED Platinum Certified


48%
reduction in energy cost

37%
reduction in water use

95%
diversion of construction waste

84
Walk Score