Building Design Construction

The tower’s lobby includes
a 30-foot structure, The
Beacon, which through
LED lights provides visitors
and workers with real-time
sensor readings of the
building’s energy and
water consumption.
building
team
awards
2016
GOLD AWARD
use 50% less energy than a comparable
building that meets ASHRAE 90.1 2007
standards. Daylighting is available to 92%
of the tower’s workspace. It is estimated
that the building can be ventilated naturally
for 42% of the year.
To establish green benchmarks for its
work, the Building Team toured some of
the world’s highest-performing buildings. It
also had to invent solutions that hadn’t been
attempted to give PNC the effi ciencies the
bank wanted. The team adopted a “passive
fi rst” approach, starting with a south-facing
orientation for the tower, that became a
guiding principle on this project.
The Building Team constructed a 1,200-
sf mockup that replicated the tower’s
southwest corner. The mockup allowed
the team to test various systems for effi
ciency, functionality, and potential impact
on the building’s occupants. The mockup
also helped to resolve issues before construction
began. At one point, the Building
Team discovered that the façade system
wasn’t functioning as designed. Adding
vents to the walls increased the ventilation
and avoided more than $1 million in onsite
repairs.
CREATING AN UPDRAFT
THROUGH THE CORE
The building is designed to breathe like
a living organism. Outside air enters the
building through its double-skin façade
and circulates through the interior via a
solar chimney, a shaft that runs through
the core of the tower. The chimney works
with a rooftop solar collection panel that
creates an updraft, drawing the air through
the building without the need for pumps
or fans.
Air gates open automatically to vent a
36-inch-wide cavity (“the porch”) between
the interior wall and the exterior façade.
The wood-accented interior walls have
automated louvers for natural ventilation.
Manually operated sliding doors allow
offi ce workers to step onto the porch on
any fl oor.
Amenities within the tower include varying
collaborative spaces, outdoor terraces,
“neighborhoods” that openly connect
fl oors, observation decks, and an indoor
park on the 28 th fl oor.
Depending on the season, an energyrecovery
wheel humidifi es, dehumidifi
es, heats, or cools the outside air as it
fl ows into the building. The tower lobby
and atrium feature radiant fl ooring. A
30-foot tower, known as The Beacon, is
suspended in the lobby; its LED lighting
provides onlookers with real-time sensor
readings of the building’s performance,
including energy use and water consumption.
“This high-performance, sustainabledesign
building did a great job blending
both passive and active systems for
harvesting daylight and natural ventilation,
while providing collaboration and interaction
for people at the interior,” observed
awards judge Gary Keclik, AIA, CSI, GGA,
LEED AP, Principal of Keclik Associates.
Keclik points specifi cally to the mockup
as “an outstanding example of team
cooperation that minimized budget and
schedule impacts.”
“PNC Tower is the epitome of sustainability
and energy-effi ciency innovation,”
said judge Josh Greenfi eld, PE, REP,
CEM, BEMP, LEED AP, Vice President
and Energy Services Group Manager with
Primera Engineers. “It sets the bar very
high—33 fl oors high—with respect to
high-performance high-rise design and
construction.”
Last fall, PNC Tower, which accommodates
approximately 1,750 PNC employees,
achieved LEED Platinum certifi cation.
—John Caulfi eld
PROJECT SUMMARY
GOLD AWARD
The Tower at PNC Plaza
Pittsburgh, Pa.
BUILDING TEAM
Submitting firm: Paladino and Company
(sustainability consultant)
Owner: PNC Financial Services Group
Architect: Gensler
Structural/MEP: BuroHappold
Mechanical/plumbing:
Associated Mechanical Engineers
Electrical: Woodward Engineering
GC/CM: PJ Dick
GENERAL INFORMATION
Project size: Approximately 800,000 sf
Construction cost: Confidential at client’s request
Construction period: Spring 2012 to fall 2015
Delivery method: Design-build
www.BDCuniversity.com BUILDING DESIGN+CONSTRUCTION MAY 2016 39