case study | The New York Times Building, New ... - TechDecisions

“ The whole building structure is designed for maximum light. The numberone priority was to allow natural light to make our employees feel morecomfortable and to produce an energizing work environment.”—David Thurm, former Sr. Vice President, The New York Times CompanyTo accomplish these objectives, the TimesCompany hired the world-renowned architectRenzo Piano, along with two major architecturalfirms, FXFOWLE of New York, and Gensler,headquartered in San Francisco. The TimesCompany also employed the lighting designservices of SBLD Studio of New York.The result is a dazzling 52-story tower with 1.5million gross square feet. The building is a mixof office and retail. Its chief attributes are openspaces and floor-to-ceiling glass walls thatprovide building occupants wide views of theneighboring skyscrapers and, conversely,allow outsiders to look in.The importance of lighting controls wasrecognized by the Times Company from thestart. Executives extensively researched thestate-of-the-art lighting control options to satisfytheir twin desires for daylight harvesting andfor the flexibility to reconfigure spaces easilyand simply. The word “extensively” is not usedloosely. As Thurm himself described in an articlepublished in the Harvard Business Review,virtually every decision fell under tight scrutinyto drive innovation and to avoid what he called,“well-intentioned guesses by others as to whatyou want.”

“When you have a client interested in exploringnew territories it is very exciting,” said EdwardWood, Principal and Design Director forGensler—the interior architect for NYT.“The entire project was a big research study.”Another Gensler principal echoes that sentiment:“Because they are a media organization, they arevery research-oriented, very probing, alwaysasking a lot of questions and challenging thestatus quo,” said Rocco Giannetti, AIA.The research eventually gravitated to the BuildingTechnologies Department at the LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory at the University ofCalifornia. With guidance from the Berkeley Lab,the project design team, and manufacturers, theTimes Company built a replica of the southwestcorner of its new building at one of its printingfacilities in Queens, New York. For six months,from winter solstice to summer solstice, themock-up tested an array of different lightingtechnologies and products from a variety ofmanufacturers—including a new technologyjust emerging from Lutron Electronics Co. Inc.Hughes estimates that the lighting energysavings achieved by The New York Timesis primarily from the following strategies:20% Daylight harvestingdimming electric lights whendaylight is available35% Occupancy sensingturning off lights whenspaces are vacant45% Light level tuningsetting the appropriatelight level for each spaceSource: Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

The testing, plus Lutron’s response to acompetitive bid, convinced the Times Companyto select Lutron’s Quantum® light managementsolution for its office space. Quantum employs anumber of different strategies—including daylightcontrol, occupant control, target set point control(light level tuning), time clock control, andemergency lighting control —to give buildingoccupants maximum comfort, and to givebusiness owners the flexibility to adapt theirwork environments to meet changing businessrequirements. Quantum also features softwareto control, monitor, and report on the lightingusage in the building.“What we have achieved with our building isspectacular,” said Thurm. “But any office spaceeventually needs to move in different directionsand this lighting system gives us the flexibility tochange as we see fit.”With Quantum, the daylight sensors makethe most of natural light pouring into a space,continually and imperceptibly adjusting the electriclight levels accordingly– all the while maintaininga consistent overall light level as set for thepeople working in that space.“With all the daylight coming in, the avoidance ofglare was a crucial issue to the client,” said AttilaUysal, Principal and Technical Director of thelighting design firm, Susan Brady Lighting DesignStudio. “Lutron’s involvement from the beginningwas invaluable.They understood that the ‘quality’of the lighting mattered as much as anything—andthey were able to deliver a highly sophisticateddigital lighting system with a very powerful controlsoftware tool that’s easy to use and that carriedthe clients’ wishes to the nth degree. Everyonewas impressed.”Uysal said every floor’s lighting scheme is dividedinto zones, each with its own lighting levels thatfit the needs of the employees (depending onwhat type of work they perform) and based onthe amount of daylight that penetrates thatspace. Over 15,000 digitally addressableEcoSystem® ballasts were used to achievethat kind of precision, according to Hughes.The Times Company executives report increasedemployee satisfaction.Lighting is a vital component of any constructionproject, serving as a favorite ‘form and function’instrument of architects designing a space. Itreveals volume, area, ideas of scale, and itallows a building’s occupants to interact withtheir environment. As such, it affects workers’comfort levels and, in turn, their productivity.However, as any building owner or tenant canattest, this function comes at a steep price:the cost of electricity.“As a company,” Thurm said, “we intuitivelyunderstood that, if we were going to work ina building with so much outer glass, we hadto keep a rein on our energy consumption.That helps our bottom line but also is theenvironmentally responsible thing to do.”Employee comfort, increased productivity,reduced energy usage, and ease and flexibilityof use—is there a big story here? The New YorkTimes Company already has decided.For more information,visit www.lutron.com/nyt

Project Credits:ArchitectsRenzo Piano Building WorkshopGenoa, ItalyRenzo PianoFXFOWLE ARCHITECTSNew York, NYBruce Fowle, FAIA, LEED,Senior PrincipalDan Kaplan, AIA, LEED,Senior PrincipalLighting DesignerSBLD StudioNew York, NYSusan Brady, President/Design PrincipalAttila Uysal, Principal/Technical DirectorZengwei Fu, SeniorProject ManagerWen Yaun Lin, SeniorProject ManagerInterior ArchitectGenslerNew York, NYRobin Klehr Avia, FIDA,Managing PrincipalRocco Giannetti, AIA,Principal/Project ManagerEdward Wood, RA,Design PrincipalE.J. Lee,Principal/Design DirectorOliver Schaper, LEED AP,CDT, DesignerNaoko Oguro, IIDA, NCIDQ,CID, Interior DesignerTom Lanzelotti, RA, Principal/Technical DirectorPatricia Aponte, CDT,Job CaptainAylin CinarliRina Consuelo Parado, AIASusana Su-TomEquipment ManufacturerLutron Electronics Co., Inc.Coopersburg, PAElectrical ContractorsFred Geller Electrical, Inc.New York, NYUnity Electric Co., Inc.New York, NYElectrical EngineerWSP Flack + KurtzNew York, NYFred Holdorf, LC, LEED AP,Vice PresidentConstruction ManagerTurner Construction CompanyNew York, NYwww.lutron.comLutron Electronics Co., Inc.7200 Suter RoadCoopersburg, PA 18036-1299World Headquarters 1.610.282.3800Technical Support Center 1.800.523.9466Customer Service 1.888.LUTRON1All photos © Nic Lehoux© 08/2010 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. I Made and printed in the U.S.A. I P/N 367-1413 REV C