United States. ASHRAE announced the board's approval of a $15.7 million budget to begin a renovation of its new world headquarters building in metro Atlanta with the intention of being designed for zero energy efficiency.
The building is located approximately 10 miles north of ASHRAE's current location. The building of the 1970s was selected from the existing building stock with the aim of adapting it to a modern and high-performance building.
"ASHRAE is pleased to demonstrate innovative leadership in our industry by transforming an existing commercial building into a state-of-the-art built environment," said ASHRAE 2018-2019 President Sheila J. Hayter. "We want our new global headquarters to be an example of everything we stand for as a society and all that our industry has to offer. "This project will serve as an exemplary model for other organizations looking to incorporate similar approaches and designs into new and existing facilities around the world."
The renovated world headquarters building will provide a state-of-the-art and technologically updated workspace for ASHRAE members, staff and the public.
"We believe that renovating existing buildings represents the best opportunity to make a significant impact on sustainability, resilience and energy efficiency," Hayter explained. "The reuse of existing buildings and the carbon embodied in those structures is the ultimate form of sustainability. Our challenge is to undertake an adaptation process that addresses the uniqueness of this building and do so cost-effectively. This is an important milestone for our society."
The objectives of the renovation project are:
- Upgrade an existing building to operate at a higher level of sustainability, anticipating net zero operation, which can be verified through available certification programs such as LEED, Green Globes, WELL Building or Living Building Challenge. For this effort, ASHRAE will work to reduce power consumption to a level below 22 kbtu/square feet/year, with a maximum load limit of plugs during the day at 0.5 W/square feet.
- Exceed ASHRAE standards where possible and economically justifiable, by including ASHRAE Standards 90.1-2016, 62.1-2016 and 55-2017.
- To be a model for reducing the carbon and environmental impacts of business operations in a cost-effective and reproducible manner.
- The renovation project will be overseen by an ASHRAE volunteer committee. In addition, a subcommittee of volunteers will advise on technical systems and components. ASHRAE will move out of its current building by October 2020.
