Renovating, rehabilitating and building new Class A office space presents many exciting opportunities for innovative and sustainable design solutions that push the boundaries of available technology. Applications that operate our lights, heating and cooling systems, window shades and plumbing fixtures are being developed and then improved upon daily. Designers must remain aware of new developments, and investigate and then consider these options for present and future projects. In order to provide the latest and highest-quality product for our tenants, the forward movement towards sustainable design trends is crucial for attracting and retaining our Class A clientele.

Tenants are asking for applications that benefit their bottom line, and many are interested in preserving the environment for their own benefit and to ensure the health of their employees. Many techniques are easy and have been widely implemented for a long time. Automatic faucets and water closets and motion-detecting light sensors are common elements of current office amenities. Some newer and grander initiatives include the following:

Solar Technology

According to Columbia Energy, Hobbs Brook Management’s energy partner in its solar initiative, “the building sector consumes nearly half (48.7 percent) of all energy produced in the United States (and) 76 percent of all electricity produced in the U.S. is used just to operate buildings.” The installation of solar power systems helps building owners decrease energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, save money and meet long-term goals.

As the owner and developer of nearly 6 million square feet of office space in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois and Georgia, solar arrays on Hobbs Brook Management’s rooftops are the soundest investment we can make at this time. Our goal is to have a solar array on every garage and rooftop in our portfolio that will support it, taking into consideration site positioning and the angle of the sun. For new construction projects, we will consider redesigning the building footprint and taking a hard look at site utilization in order to accommodate solar arrays atop that project.

Automated Lighting Controls

Smart buildings with automated networked lighting controls are a design trend worth investigating. Surpassing systems that feature light harvesting and motion sensors, current networked controls are installed on every fixture in a space and record room use, temperature and room-by-room utilization, establishing a specific schedule for illuminating that space. Having recently installed this in our corporate headquarters, we’ve seen a 65 percent energy savings immediately after install. A nice perk is the incentive rebate for establishing this system. Hobbs Brook is considering this automation for the shell and core lighting needs in all of its buildings and will work with tenants who want to install a similar system in their space. At a minimum, all incandescent bulbs will be replaced with LEDs, separate from whether a tenant chooses to install an automated lighting system or not.

Building Controls

Networked building controls allow onsite property managers to manage heating and cooling functions remotely to further support energy savings, tenant comfort and sustainable practices. Data from these systems, including solar array controls, is collected and published so tenants can visualize how these applications are translated to real savings.

Glazing

With any renovation or newly constructed project, we work closely with our architects to design spacious and naturally-lit environments that also protect the interior environment from heat gain and energy loss. Our designers specify windows with the lowest U-Value (a measure of insulation) to accomplish these goals. Our building practices go beyond satisfying the minimum requirements for building codes. In the city of Waltham, our corporate standard is 7 to 8 percent better than the Massachusetts stretch energy code.

With the goal of attracting new tenants and retaining existing ones, it is critical for designers to explore emerging technologies for sustainable and energy efficient building practices. In many cases, applications will need to be discussed with a tenant before construction of a fit-out begins. Owners will need to make upfront investments in order to realize ROI over the lifespan of a project. However, with the advances available to the building profession today, we have the great ability to make a difference in the built environment tomorrow.

Bradley Cardoso, AIA, is a principal architect at Hobbs Brook Management.