Plans for the reinvention of 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW included replacing the existing building with a new, highly efficient, trophy class office building.
GHT provided energy system concept designs for the project, including a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) as part of an ultra high efficiency HVAC system. A DOAS can benefit tenants and owners by maximizing building energy efficiency and usable square footage compared to other HVAC systems.
Other sustainable design features that were explored included external sunshades; a green roof; photovoltaic array; rainwater collection; geothermal; and natural ventilation. The team evaluated how the design would react to typical climate data and the results suggested that occupants would be able to utilize operable windows approximately a third of the year during typical occupied hours.
The design team’s initial analysis of sustainable design strategies also found that the new building could be 70% more energy efficient than an average comparable building, the combined result of a predicted:
- 27% total annual energy use reduction
- 23% total annual energy cost reduction
- 45% reduction in HVAC energy consumption and lighting loads
