THE US AND CANADIAN CASES
5.1.4 Elevation of Hearst Tower, New York, designed by Foster +
Partners
glazing panels. These are double-glazed with high-performance,
low-emission glass and integral computer-managed roll-down
blinds. At the corners, the diagonal cutbacks give the tower its
faceted shape and reduce the wind turbulence associated with
urban skyscrapers.
The building was designed to consume 100 kWh/m2/yr,
which is around 75 per cent that of a typical modern office in
Manhattan. It does this by paying particular attention to cooling.
For example, in the foyer, limestone floors incorporate in their
screed polythene tubing which is cooled in the summer using
rainwater collected on the roof and heated in the winter using
heat-recovery technology whereby waste heat in the ventila-
tion system is captured before the air is exhausted. Energy is
also reduced by the extensive system of light sensors in the
offices which are activated by both external lighting levels and
space occupation. Computers are also automatically turned off
when not in use, thereby reducing the server energy loads.
Added to this, outside air is used for cooling and ventilation of
the office tower for 75 per cent of the year (Haw, 2010).
Water is harvested and used in the foyer ice-fall water
sculpture. Besides the amenity value of the 15-m high cascade
of water, it also humidifies the air and chills the atrium, thereby
reducing air-conditioning needs. Recycled water is used for
5.2 BANK OF AMERICA TOWER, NEW YORK, BY
COOK + FOX ARCHITECTS
Brian Edwards
The Bank of America Tower (known also as One Bryant Park)
designed by Cook + Fox is one of three green skyscrapers that
have given the Manhattan skyline the stamp of sustainability.
Along with the Hearst Tower designed by Foster + Partners
Copyright © 2013. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
and the New York Times Building designed by Renzo Piano
Building Workshop, these three towers are distinctive land-
marks because of their approach to low-energy design.
In many ways the Bank of America Tower, developed in
collaboration with the Durst Organization, is the greenest,
having received LEED Platinum certification (the others were
LEED Gold). However, it is of interest also because of the
way the architects Cook + Fox use the high-energy and water
targets of 50 per cent reduction over existing standards to
shape the building in an architectural sense. In fact, the
monumental qualities are achieved by tilting the glass walls so
that the building is faceted to reduce solar problems. Each
117
Edwards, B., & Naboni, E. (2013). Green buildings pay : Design, productivity and ecology. Taylor & Francis Group.
Created from UNICAF on 2024-03-21 23:47:30.
irrigating plants. Overall, the Hearst Tower is designed to use
25 per cent less water than conventional buildings.
The 2,000 staff of the Hearst Corporation now occupy
a building that has been described as a healthier, more inviting
and productive working environment than previously (www.
hearst.com/real-estate/hearst-tower.php). The building is not
only energy-efficient, but also healthy. In fact, it confirms the
thesis that sustainability and healthy lifestyles are closely related.
Here, high levels of natural light, water-based paint, furniture
free of formaldehyde and natural floor finishes create a
wholesome working environment. For the Hearst Corporation,
the building has enhanced its reputation, improved its produc-
tivity, cut its utility bills and added to New York’s growing
heritage of sustainable skyscrapers. It is no surprise to find that
Foster + Partners has chosen to locate their New York office
on the 26th floor of the building.
References
Amelar, S. (2006) ‘For its Manhattan debut Foster and Partners creates
the new Hearst Tower’, Architectural Record, June, pp. 75–81.
Haw, B. (2010) Telephone interview on 30 November with Brandon
Haw, partner at Foster + Partners, who led the design team.
façade in this fifty-five-storey tower is engineered according to
the environmental forces at play, making it architecturally
distinctive and a development on earlier green models.
The structural design of this tower is relatively con-
ventional and possibly more so than the other New York
towers featured here. The building has deep rectangular floor-
plates, a central service core, steel frame, sealed façades and
fully air-conditioned spaces. Although the floorplates taper
upwards, they are bigger than either the Hearst Tower or the
New York Times Building and, by placing the lift and service
core in the centre, no advantage is taken of this type of accom-
modation to reduce solar problems at the building perimeter.
However, working within these constraints the architects and
engineers have been skilful in the use of sustainable techn-
ologies and the exploitation of renewable resources such as
geothermal energy and rainwater harvesting.
 CASE STUDIES OF GREEN OFFICE DESIGN

5.2.1 Bank of America Tower by Cook + Fox: floor plans

0m 10m 30m

0’ 50’ 100’
Copyright © 2013. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

118

Edwards, B., & Naboni, E. (2013). Green buildings pay : Design, productivity and ecology. Taylor & Francis Group.
Created from UNICAF on 2024-03-21 23:47:30.
 THE US AND CANADIAN CASES

5.2.2 Bank of America Tower by Cook + Fox: section through tower

showing water-conservation strategy
Copyright © 2013. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

119

Edwards, B., & Naboni, E. (2013). Green buildings pay : Design, productivity and ecology. Taylor & Francis Group.
Created from UNICAF on 2024-03-21 23:47:30.
 CASE STUDIES OF GREEN OFFICE DESIGN

5.2.3 Bank of America Tower by Cook + Fox: section detail

5.2.4 Bank of America Tower by Cook + Fox: façade detail
Copyright © 2013. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

120

Edwards, B., & Naboni, E. (2013). Green buildings pay : Design, productivity and ecology. Taylor & Francis Group.
Created from UNICAF on 2024-03-21 23:47:30.

The quality of the working environment and the
approach to sustainability are closely linked in this building.
Daylight and interior air quality were major design drivers. In
fact, the modelling tools in these areas were used to shape the
building design from inception rather than evaluate it pre-
construction. This led to the profiled shape, the use of high
floor-to-ceiling dimensions, high levels of local environmental
control to facilitate submetering by small and large tenants, and
the maximisation of daylighting without adverse solar gain or
glare problems.
Glazing is the key to how this building achieved its high
LEED certification. Using high floor-to-ceiling heights (normally
2.95 m), clear glazing of the whole façade, with varying degrees
of heat reflecting ceramic fritting according to energy loads,
glass with high transparency (low iron and low-e), the work-
ing spaces have particularly high environmental standards
(Gonçalves, 2010). The quality of the working spaces was a
determining factor in the attraction of key tenants, which
included large occupiers, including the Bank of America (who
occupy 75 per cent of the building, including six special trading
floors), and smaller companies such as the fashion house
Elie Tahari Ltd, according to lead architect with Cook + Fox
Serge Appel (www.inhabitat.com/2008/10/02/serge-appel-on-
one-bryant-park/). Not only are the views uninterrupted and
not discoloured, but the air quality is particularly high in this
tower. Artificial light is also on an automatic daylight-sensitive
and occupant-dimming system. The use of extensive air filtering,
which results in 95 per cent of suspended particles being re-
moved before air is introduced to the HVAC system, was also
one of the factors that led to LEED Platinum certification.
As with many steel-framed skyscrapers, the primary energy
demand is that of cooling, which exceeds heating by a consider-
able margin over a typical year. In the basement of the Bank of
America Tower the thermal storage system uses forty-four tanks
3 m high containing water with a cooling coil inside. At night, the
cogeneration plant, which produces 65 per cent of the building’s
electricity needs, transfers its electrical energy-production to
cooling. The chilling coils cool the tank water to freezing point
Copyright © 2013. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.
so that during the day, when cooling is required, the HVAC
system can extract the ‘coolth’ to chill the building. As the ice
melts, evaporative cooling occurs, thereby reducing the energy
demand by more conventional cooling means.
Besides the air and daylight quality, and the attention
paid to cooling, the building exploits geothermal renewable
resources. Although the intention of using photovoltaic clad-
ding of the tower was abandoned on cost grounds and that of
using wind turbines on the roof proved impractical because of
the lack of consistency with Manhattan’s wind profile, the
building utilises an extensive geothermal energy system. Under-
ground water at 14°C is fed into the heating and cooling
121
Edwards, B., & Naboni, E. (2013). Green buildings pay : Design, productivity and ecology. Taylor & Francis Group.
Created from UNICAF on 2024-03-21 23:47:30.
THE US AND CANADIAN CASES
system, adding greatly to energy efficiency. In addition, it is pre-
dicted that 70 per cent of the total energy demand will be met
by cogeneration (combined heat and power), meaning that for
30 per cent of the year the building will be grid independent.
This not only offers energy security to the bank and other
tenants, it also reduces the load on New York City’s already
stressed energy supply infrastructure.
After energy, water was the next resource that focused
the attention of Cook + Fox. Rainwater from an annual rainfall
of 1.2 m is collected on the roof for use in the building and in
irrigation. Greywater is cleansed and recycled. Toilets have
waterless flushing using cartridges and special sealed drains,
while hand washing is by spray taps with sensors. Water use is
internally monitored, allowing leaks to be detected quickly and
overuse to be reported as part of building monitoring. In total,
these strategies save nearly 8 million gallons of potable water
a year.
Recycling, encouraged by the large number of LEED
points available, led to much reuse of materials and design for
salvageability. The steel frame can be re-erected if required and
already contains 75 per cent recycled content. Some 91 per
cent of construction waste and that from site demolition was
also recycled. The cement used also contained 45 per cent blast
furnace slag. Such attention to the ecological impact of urban
construction sets this building apart from many neighbours.
As with many urban buildings, the disadvantages of poor
external air quality and noise are offset by access to public
transport and proximity to other services. At the Bank of
America Tower, the large ground-floor lobby is crossed by
public access routes and has its own route to the underground
railway system – a necessary requirement for a building
employing nearly 8,000 people. In some ways, the lobby acts
as an extension to the adjoining Bryant Park, thereby enhancing
travel by foot and aiding healthy lifestyles.
When completed in 2010, the Bank of America Tower
was the first high-rise commercial building in the world to
achieve LEED Platinum certification. It has acted as an
inspiration to others, not just in environmental terms but by
raising the bar for the property development industry. By
attracting high-calibre tenants who have been drawn by the
quality of the building and particularly the workplace
environment, the property industry in Manhattan has begun to
believe that green buildings pay in business terms. What is
interesting in this example is the way that LEED has pushed
standards higher than those required by regulation, which in
turn has led to design and energy innovation, which in turn has
proved attractive to tenants. Such a virtuous circle has
encouraged investors such as the Durst Organization to see
sustainability as the way forward in the demanding world of
property development.