Building Systems Integration

and Management
UA19BA474E

Case Study on
USGBC Headquarters,
Washington, D. C.

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV

PES1UG19BA039
SEM – VII YEAR – IV
FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
 USGBC Headquarters, Washington, D. C.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) headquarters, located in

Washington, DC, was the first building project to achieve
certification under the 2009 version of LEED for Commercial
Interiors. The building is owned by Charles E. Smith Vornado and, as
per the lease agreement, the base building pursued LEED for Existing
Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, which it achieved in
December 2010.

There are two other LEED-certified offices in the building: Cassidy

Turley which achieved LEED Silver and RTKL which achieved LEED
Platinum. The growth of USGBC mirrors the explosive growth of the
green building industry in recent years. When the organization
outgrew its previous space in less than two years, its leadership
wanted the new office to demonstrate USGBC's coming of age while
also serving as a living laboratory to teach the benefits and
implementation of green building.

USGBC leadership wanted the space to be classically modern and

timeless. This was accomplished with natural light and flexibility in
accommodating ongoing change through a mix of workstations and
private offices. Reducing energy consumption played a key role in
the design of the space, and, of course, it was a must for the new
office to achieve LEED Platinum under the most recent version of
the rating system.

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
Site context

The USGBC Headquarters is sited in Washington, DC, on the edge of the Golden Triangle Business
Improvement District. It neighbors a university and two vibrant residential neighborhoods, Dupont Circle and
Foggy Bottom. Numerous transportation options including both bus and rail, as well as restaurants and shops,
are within steps of the office. The headquarters are situated on the fifth and sixth floors of a ten-story office
building that is itself certified under the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system.

As the creator of the LEED rating system for sustainable buildings, USGBC initiated the design of a new national
headquarters that exemplifies best practices. The 2101 L Street NW office space was designed to offer 30%
better air quality, save 40% more water, and use less than half the energy of a typical comparable office space.
The project achieved a certification level of Platinum under the LEED for Commercial Interiors ™ rating system
– the first to do so under LEED Version 3.0.

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
MAIN GOALS FOR THE BUILDING
“One of the main goals of the overall design was to make it look like a standard office space,” says Gretchen Leigh, a
LEED-accredited senior associate at Perkins+Will. “We needed to make the aesthetic look accessible for many
people.” Making sure that the design met employees' needs was key, especially given the expectation that the
office will serve as a venue for educational tours and events. “We focused first on how the space would function for
the employees, knowing that tours and such can be disruptive,” says Leigh. “All the workstations are along the
perimeter, so that most people can take advantage of the natural daylight, and the shared spaces are contained in
the center.” In fact, the large window walls allow all the employees to see greenery outside, which actually earned
the space points toward its LEED Platinum for Commercial Interiors status. And to bring the green indoors, the
architects designed planters into the row of workstations so that greenery is directly incorporated in the work area.
With the new space, the USGBC has been able to hire even more people, almost doubling its staff in the first half of
2007.

HVAC SYSTEMS

Energy reduction efforts include a demand controlled ventilation system for the conference center with heat
recovery. To reduce grid demand, connections for the addition of solar were included as part of the original
tenant design, and the design/build installation of a solar array is currently underway.

Sensors and automatic controls are a hallmark of the project and deliver optimum building performance. As a
result, the connected watt density is a mere 0.55 w/SF. To save heating and cooling costs, occupancy monitors
sense when offices and workstations are occupied or vacant and adjust temperatures higher or lower by three
degrees.

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
Indoor Lighting system

Motor-operated, auto-controlled window systems detect the intensity of the sun and adjust blinds accordingly,
which maximizes views and natural light while reducing glare on workstations. Occupancy sensors also turn off
power to electronic devices at night and outside of business hours.
The offices consist of private and open office spaces connected to
central common areas, designed to promote collaboration. All of
the spaces function as offices and meeting spaces – even the
kitchen and library.

Bliss Fasman’s design supported LEED certification specifically by

achieving a lower lighting power density than prescribed for
office buildings by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004, ensuring that a
majority of occupants received access to daylight and views, and
providing task lighting to occupants to enable them to control
their light levels.

It was immediately acknowledged by the designers that well-

controlled daylight would be a useful ally, particularly in the open
office area, to accelerate energy savings while increasing the
perception of brightness and satisfying the occupants with
daylight and views. In the open office area, large windows allow
ample daylight to enter the space and provide a sense of
connection with the outdoors for nine out of 10 of the occupants.
Each of the lighting fixtures in the offices was configured to be
individually controlled via a photosensor, enabling light output to
be dimmed in response to changing light levels.
VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
The electric lighting was designed to minimize light levels, but enhance perception of brightness by illuminating vertical
surfaces, such as walls. Wattage was minimized via selection of highly efficient lamps, ballasts, and lighting fixtures. “Based on
our experience on dozens of corporate interiors projects, we have found that the LEED lighting requirements can only be
achieved if the following equipment is used: fluorescent fixtures with a minimum efficiency of 85 percent, energy-efficient T8
lamps, and high-performance electronic T8 ballasts,” says Bliss.

“We point out that, generally speaking, our office prefers T5 fixture designs because of the smaller profiles and improved
efficiency,” Mosbacher says. “We find that ballasts for T8 lamps have been further engineered than T5 ballasts, however,
simply because they have been in development for a longer period of time.”

Even though T5 lamp wattages are nominally lower than comparable T8 lamps, T8 systems powered by low-wattage T8
ballasts save more energy than comparable T5 systems, he adds. “In time, we expect T5 ballast technologies to improve, and
to come up to speed with T8 technologies,” Mosbacher says.

Pendant-mount direct/indirect fixtures were specified for the open office area to accentuate the openness of the volume and
provide diffuse reflected ambient illumination. These decorative, luminous fixtures provide a visual source of light and
increase the general perception of brightness. The distribution of the fixtures simulates the appearance of ambient daylight
during times of the day when there is less daylight entering the space. Occupants can control light levels using LED task lights.

In private offices where dropped acoustical tile ceilings are common, recessed direct/indirect fixtures are used as
complementary fixtures to the design motif established in the open offices. “Recessed direct/indirect fixtures distribute light
uniformly throughout the office spaces and have the effect of illuminating the perimeter wall due to their wide optical
distribution,” Mosbacher says. “This vertical illumination again creates an increased perception of brightness in the enclosed
office spaces.”

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
Meanwhile, staggered and randomly placed ceiling slot fixtures add visual
interest to public spaces using an otherwise utilitarian fixture, while fiber-optic
fixtures and downlights/wallwashers are used to accentuate key architectural
design features, such as a natural timber wall in the reception area, and rough-
hewn wood timbers, recycled from another project, in the conference rooms.

Complicating the project was the fact that the majority of the installed lighting
equipment was donated by manufacturers – with the donations confirmed at
different stages of the design process. This required the lighting team to rework
their original designs to incorporate new products, turning the design into a
moving target. “We needed to be able to quickly adapt the lighting scheme and
fixture, lamp, and ballast selections to absorb the donated products that were
being offered,” Bliss says.

In the end, more than 30 fixture types – using T8 fluorescent, compact

fluorescent, LED, and fiber-optic light sources – were used. Lighting equipment
was donated by Cooper Lighting and OSRAM Sylvania; other organizations
donating time and materials to the facility included Armstrong World
Industries, Benjamin Moore & Co., Formica Corp., Haworth, James G. Davis
Construction Corp., Perkins+Will, and others.

A Showcase for Lighting Efficiency

In the end, the lighting of the USGBC’s new headquarters provides a showcase
of energy-efficient lighting design achievable within the stringent requirements
of the LEED rating system. In part because of the marriage of quality lighting
design and highly efficient lighting products, the USGBC has gained a space that
provides a clear understanding of its mission, and proof that the ideals of green
construction provide real benefits.

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY
Indoor environmental quality

Envision designed this central identity incorporating USGBC’s

signature three oak leaves. True to the nature of LEED standards
of sustainability and transparency, the environmentally
preferable methods demonstrated with this aspect of the
project alone set the bar high. The gumwood panels are third-
party certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) as being
100% submerged lumber and containing no chemicals,
adhesives, or additives of any kind. Waterborne Pre-Cat Lacquer
375 by Fuhr Industrial was used as a clear finish on the
paneling. This water-based finish surpasses South Coast Air
Quality Management District (SCAQMD) requirements for
volatile organic compounds.

As a nonprofit, the USGBC was able to solicit product donations from a variety
of different manufacturers, installing higher-end products than the budget
would have normally allowed. Reusing furniture earned the project a series of
LEED credits, and 30 percent of the workstations were brought over from the
old USGBC headquarters. The existing desking system, the Premise series
from Haworth, was integrated with new pieces from the Compose series by
the same manufacturer, to avoid giving the impression that some employees
were getting hand-me-downs. Marble on top of the reception desk was
salvaged from the reception area of the previous tenants, a law firm.

VUNGARALA SAI ABHINAV | PES1UG19BA039 | SEM – VII | YEAR – IV | FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, PES UNIVERSITY