February 9, 2010 — Callison's high-tech, high-performance sustainable design for Technical Glass Product's (TGP) headquarters has been awarded LEED-CI Gold certification from the USGBC.

 

TGP, a leading supplier of high-performance, specialized glazing products for the architecture and design community, commissioned a headquarter design that would showcase its products and address its commitment to the triple-bottom-line through sustainable design.

 

In response, Callison created a distinct and inspiring workspace conscious of cost, employee well-being and the environment. The project features a range of incorporated design features, including use of locally sourced materials, energy efficient lighting and low-flow water fixtures.

 

Employee Integration: Industrial Warehouse Design Meets the Corner Office For the first time, employees from all parts of the company are located in the same facility, creating a shared sense of space and enhancing collaboration between support personnel, sales, design, fabrication and executives. The new design fosters communication and a seamless sales experience.

 

"Co-locating our administrative and production operations in one building enables our employees to collaborate face-to-face," says Jeff Razwick, Vice President of Business Development for TGP. "The design staff can now walk down the hall and speak directly with the fabrication professionals. This enhances our responsiveness to customer requests, which are often under tight deadlines and require creative solutions to design challenges."

 

Architectural Solution: High-Tech, High-Performance Sustainable Design

The design achieves maximized daylighting, solar loading and visibility with a butterfly roof that creates a wooden platform positioned above the concrete tilt-up panels. The module of windows further helps support daylighting and views, while creating an asymmetric panelized façade. Team spaces, working islands and ample break rooms and meeting rooms are arranged along a sky-lit main artery connecting the building longitudinally. A cross-access meets this path at a circular node and connects the administrative staff directly via stairs and windows to the assembly floor and personnel, creating an integrated experience to heighten real time sales, assembly, production and administrative functions for a more streamlined approach to delivery and service.

 

State-of-the-art sustainable development further encourages this sense of development and supports the specific workspace needs of the TGP staff. The design achieved LEED-CI GOLD certification through:

 

Maximizing use of outside light to reduce energy consumption and lighting requirements

Diverting 96 percent of construction waste from landfills

Reducing water consumption by 43 percent with low-flow water fixtures and using 100 percent reclaimed water for all irrigation, lowering impact on the local water table and potable water supply

 

Using low VOC materials to achieve ventilation rates 34 percent above standard

 

Callison has 89 million square feet of sustainable projects worldwide, of which seven million are LEED registered. Callison believes sustainable design is a smart business strategy. Through reduced life-cycle costs and increased ROI and brand recognition, smart business strategies fuel sustainable design.

 

Callison is an international architecture firm specializing in urban planning, mixed-use, residential, retail, healthcare, corporate, mission critical and hospitality in markets worldwide. With offices in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Shanghai, London, Dubai, Mexico City and Mumbai, Callison is one of the largest design firms based in the United States with 500 professional staff. For more information please visit, Facebook, Twitter or our Web site. Subscribe to our RSS feed by copying and pasting http://feeds2.feedburner.com/callison into your RSS reader.

 

Technical Glass Products (TGP) is your one source for fire-rated glass and framing systems, along with specialty architectural glass products. The company offers AIA registered continuing education, project consultation, product specifications, CAD drawings and rapid-response quoting. For more information about TGP's products and services, call (800) 426-0279 or visit www.fireglass.com (fire-rated glass) or www.tgpamerica.com (architectural glass).