Contrary To Some Earlier Predictions, New Interest Surges In Returning To Offices Post-Pandemic

“For the majority of companies and people, they’re going to want to be back in the office,” and “What we’ll see in the office space of the future is lots of amenities, more vibrancy, and more flexibility for users.”

McGough Construction

“The McGough Headquarters project focused on transforming an existing trucking transfer station into a modern, open office. The use of an underfloor air system allowed the design team to condition the space without hanging ductwork from the existing wood barrel-vaulted bowstring truss roof, the signature element of the existing building. Focusing the delivery of conditioned air at the level of the occupants allowed for a sustainable solution that brought thermal comfort and control where it is needed most. In addition, the use of the raised access flooring allowed for future flexibility of the open plan office arrangement, allowing for future reconfiguration of data and electrical connections to workstations and offices.”

HOK Designs NASA's Greenest Building at Johnson Space Center

"HOK's design for NASA's Building 20 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, a three-story 83,000-square-foot contemporary office facility, has achieved LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Platinum certification. The integrated architectural and design strategies include a highly efficient building envelope, an underfloor air distribution system, a total energy recovery wheel and a solar hot water harvesting system on the roof that accounts for 18 percent of the building's domestic hot water consumption. Building 20 is designed to be 57 percent more energy efficient than a typical office building and serves as a public showcase for high-performance, environmentally sound building design and construction at the Johnson Space Center."

Banner Bank Building

The Banner Bank Building is a model for high performance buildings in the US. The art-deco inspired building is the first LEED Platinum building in Idaho, earning 49 out of 62 possible LEED credits in the Core & Shell category. Worldwide, Banner Bank was the 16th Platinum building but the first speculative office building to achieve this level. "We created a beautiful, high-performance building that’s good for the environment. And it didn’t cost us any more to do it."

Green Building Report: Raised Floors - A Green Building Advantage

"When PA's Rachel Carson State Office Building was designed in the early 1980s, green buildings were unheard of. A look at what the Carson building missed shows how raised floors can help make a design both green and cost- effective."

There is More Beneath Your Feet than just the Floor: Underfloor Air Distribution

"One of the more exciting benefits that UFAD affords building owners and administrators is improved energy efficiency. The systems require less airflow volume, lower fan power and a lower air supply temperature than a traditional system in order to cool the same space. This more efficient air distribution is able to help building owners bring their facilities one step closer to meeting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards."

47 Million Green Regional Bus Facility Opens in Tempe

Valley Metro driver John W. Blake gazed around at the comfortable, glistening, spacious drivers' lounge in the brand new East Valley Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility in Tempe and had just one word to say. "Awesome!" Ken J. Anderson, project architect, said evaporative cooling is used throughout the facility to save energy and money, and an under-floor air distribution system reduces energy usage by up to 47 percent.
 

AZ Central.com, October 2007

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COVID-19 and Building Performance: The Big Picture

"The result in this case has been improved air quality directly to where people are working. Because UFAD uses a lower static pressure for air delivery, there are also energy savings due to fan power reduction loads. This combination of improved indoor air quality and fan power energy reduction loads can make UFAD an attractive choice when considering the impacts that COVID-19 adjustments may have on building performance."

Stephen Katz, Architect and Senior Associate, Gensler
July 2020

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Can Better Indoor Air Fight Covid-19?

Traditional displacement or underfloor air distribution (UFAD) systems can minimize air currents and the horizontal movement of air, says Cooper. “UFAD systems basically create an air zone per occupant workstation.”

David Cooper, Mechanical Engineer, President of Global Property and Buildings at WSP
May 2020

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There is More Beneath Your Feet than just the Floor: Underfloor Air Distribution

"With UFAD systems, airflow can be controlled at each air distribution vent so that individual users can adjust the supply of conditioned air in their own space. The air distribution method described earlier delivers more uniform temperatures throughout rooms in a building and better ventilation ensures cleaner air by removing dust and particles from the environment."

5 Radical Trends in Outpatient Facility Design

UFAD is safe for outpatient care facilities like the one in Holland, Mich. "Spectrum's infection control experts checked it out and found no inherent issues from an infection control standpoint," he says. "It's actually healthier, because the air is coming to the occupants in its freshest state. You're not mixing the stale air that's rising through the ductwork."

A Higher Standard: The Christman Building

In addition to delivering anticipated utility savings of 25 percent, the underfloor air distribution system is providing 200 to 300 percent more ventilation to the breathing zone than required by ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004. The system creates a better work environment for building occupants. The air is pressurized under the floor, delivered to people where they're sitting, and then passed overhead to return air ducts in the ceiling. "As a result, the energy-efficient system makes for a healthier environment in which occupants have the ability to adjust the temperature within their workspaces for greater comfort," says Jeff Fedewa, project manager at The Christman Company.

Underfloor air conditioning technology: The sustainable way to service space

"Underfloor air conditioning has come of age. Worldwide, major developers are embracing this technology for its height-saving benefits in new builds, and headroom increases in refurbishments."

Engineering healthy workplaces – Considerations in response to COVID-19

"To better incorporate strategic pressurization in workplaces to induce airflow that will lead to improved air quality, underfloor air displacement (UFAD) systems should be considered. These systems introduce clean supply air at the floor and accept return air at the ceiling, resulting in a once through pathway of airflow across the breathing zone of occupants before the air is returned to the central filtration system or exhausted directly out of the building."