anthony brower

Climate Architect

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Glumac Los Angeles

The design team realized an opportunity through the buildings outdated chiller on the enclosed thirteenth floor mechanical suite that the landlord was not ready to replace. Instead of upgrading the system with a newer more efficient version of the same technology, the project implemented a reverse cycle chiller which absorbs waste heat from other equipment on the mechanical floor to create hot water for a portion of the 20 floor stack in the tower. This reduction of energy draw from the utility grid reduced the buildings energy consumption by three floors worth of energy.
The result was a base building upgrade that generated three times the energy that Glumac’s office space needed to operate over the course of the year. A net zero energy goal resulted in the achievement of a triple net positive energy generation solution.
Ceiling mounted radiant chilled sails provide heating and cooling in the office suite in a more efficient manner than traditional forced air system. Furniture integrated lighting brings lamps closer to the desk requiring less wattage to be effective
Upon completion of the project, the building landlord is now considering repeating the strategy in three more locations potentially shedding the need for nine additional floors of demand load from the utility grids burden.

Project Details
Architect: Gensler
Completion: 2014
Size: 17,000 sf
Location: Los Angeles, CA
EUI: -31 kBtu/sf/yr

Awards
2016: AIA LA COTE Award
2016: new buildings institute – Emerging Net Zero Energy Interior
2015: Corenet REmmy Award

Image Credits
Gensler
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