The $400 million project will feature a double-glass exterior skin that will allow fresh air to circulate throughout, according to architect Doug Gensler, who described its latest environmentally friendly features.
PNC expects to begin demolition of existing structures in April and hopes to open the building in July 2015, said John Robinson, PNC director of development.
Other environmentally friendly features previously disclosed include a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system, which will reduce the amount of water used, and large amounts of natural sunlight would cut energy costs.
"We plan to place a heat sink atop the several story high roof to help control the climate in the building," said Doug Gensler, a principle in the Boston office of Gensler, the architecture firm designing the tower.
Gensler joined Robinson at a meeting of the Urban Land Institute Pittsburgh at the Rivers Club, Downtown. His firm has opened an office in the Buhl Building, Downtown, to work on the project.
The Tower at PNC Plaza will be rectangular in shape, though modified in some areas, he said.
Read more: New PNC tower's 'glass skins' to breathe - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_766489.html#ixzz1dNlcqRqd
New PNC tower's 'glass skins' to breathe
Date: 14 November 2011
Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com
The Tower at PNC Plaza -- the new headquarters of PNC Financial Services Group -- will contain 33 floors of office space and a sloped roof that will house equipment to help manage the building's environment, its architect said on Wednesday.