case Study EMGP 270

The following article was publishedColoring in High Performing Buildings, Summer 2008. Nights ©Copyright 2008 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. It is presented for educational purposes only. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. By Frank Hovorka

In the City of Light, Parisians can see the vivid spectrum of light emanating from nearby Aubervilliers. EMGP 270 is not only beauti- ful, but also provides a comfortable office working environment and sustainability as the first private commercial building certified under the High Environmental Quality (HQE®) Offices program, a French sustainable building certification program comparable to theUSGBC LEED® program.

48 High Performing Buildings summer 2008 case Study EMGP 270

Color Glow The building façade features a light- ing design consisting of 600 windows framed with a range of 12 colors. Nights One or several frames around each window are superimposed to vary the depth and width of each window. Building At a Glance Vertically arranged glass cases with Trapezoid Base colors on the inner sides amplify the Building Name emgP 270 2 The 10,000 m EMGP 270 occupies look. The color and light movement Location 45 Avenue, a key position on the main avenue produces a distinct visual identifica- 93300 Aubervilliers, near the highway, which runs diago- tion, visible from nearby Paris. By Size 10 000 m2 nally from porte d’Aubervilliers, day, the windows appear to diffract Started January 2004 crosses the Saint-Denis canal and light. By night, each window is col- Completed June 2005 leads to the city’s center. The build- ored with light in five sequences. Use office building ing consists of a two-floor basement Nine staged electric circuits con- Cost €16.2 million for the car park, a ground floor with trol and dim the lighting. A 16 mm (approximately $24.9 million) the main entrance, services, and diameter fluorescent tube, located Distinctions first private commercial building retail, and seven additional floors in a recessed spot in the floor, lights certified under HQE Offices program with offices. The streets around the window frame from inside the EMGP 270 create a narrow triangle. building. The optic, asymmetrical The two-level trapezoid base of the design spreads the light 3° to 38°. Building Team building has a central core to house The T5 fluorescent tubes are fitted to the elevators, stairs, air shaft and controlled electronic ballasts with 18 Owner iCADE technical shaft. Each building face mm diameter glass filters. The filters, Project Manager frank Hovorka and varies according to the street charac- developed for this project, are recy- Caroline Delgado-Rodoz teristics: a sharp prow on the avenue, clable. The lighting installation has a Architect Brenac & Gonzalez a setback façade over the base on the 15,000 hour lifetime. Project Manager Xavier Gonzalez and south side, and a compressed look on In addition to the façade, the Jean-Pierre Lévèque the gable front. On all three faces, a lobby’s design features a light wall. Mechanical INGENI Project Manager brick façade pays tribute to the place Glass covers a 25 m long, 3 m high Patrick Bozetty and Annie Ayouch and its past, and tall windows cover wall, which gives 80% useful light THOR Project Manager Phillipe Cuvilliez the full height of each floor. in the lobby through a continuous Maintenance Engineering eurogem The triangular shape of the build- line of fluorescent tubes on the top of Project Managers Alain Vattan and ing helped to optimize the work- the wall and 19 200 m of optic fibers Benjamin Ficquet space. With the workspace around in a 4 cm space between the glass Building Skin Van Santen Project Manager gontran Dufour the periphery, each office receives and wall. The 150 W metallic iodide abundant daylight through the tall lights with a 7,000 hour lifetime are Structural sCYNA 4 Project Manager francois Delbarre windows. Computer simulations located in a false ceiling, making Lighting 8’ 18’’ defined the surface and dimension of them easy to maintain. Each light Project Manager françois Migeon glazing to achieve a daylight factor is equipped with a motorized color Assistant rozenn Le Couillard between 1.5 and 2.5 at 5 m to 6 m disk. Fibers change color randomly. Acoustic lASA from the façade. The variation is slow, almost elusive. Project Manager Adam Devilliers Project Management meunier Project Managers eric Marchand, Raymond Sauvegrain, Philippe Boitelet and Eric Botturi

Summer 2008 High Performing Buildings 49 Environmental Solutions • North-oriented entrance for glazed The building team studied and evalu- side without air conditioning; ated the global impact of the building • Chilled beam air conditioning; on the environment to find solutions. The project was designed to achieve • Workspace with direct indoor health, energy and water effi- daylight access; ciency, CO2 reduction, user comfort • Partitioning flexibility; Motorized blinds automatically control and control of environment, quicker incoming daylight. leasing and better tenant retention. • Office space with user-adjustable air diffusers, temperature controls The following features achieve and artificial light dimmers; • Airflow recycled by triple filters in these goals: • Motor-controlled blinds with the two air-handling units before being redirected; and • Energy-saving system regulating automatic shutdown according to indoor temperature based on solar heat; • Building management system external climate conditions; • Lavatories with light motion detectors; with metering by component • Triple-glazed windows for day- • Two flow flush systems (3 L and 6 L); (75 submeters for energy). lighting and street noise reduction;

Building Section

50 High Performing Buildings summer 2008 Motion detectors regulate lighting in the lavatories.

EMGP 270 provides a comfortable office working environment. Water Management Control and management of water will be one of the vital issues in Thermal Control matching the look of nearby older years to come. In view of this, rain- In addition to excluding all glass buildings and avoiding needing a water is caught, stored and used for curtain-wall type systems, exter- thermal bridge with an outside insu- watering the lawn and for flushing nal materials were chosen for their lating layer. Composed of compacted toilets. The consumption of the toilet thermal control performance levels. polyurethane foam and imbedded flush is an average of 200 3m per Combining external insulation with terra cotta facing, the 1 m by 1 m month for 450 users. The rainwater bricks offered the dual advantage of panels were joined on-site. tank of 180 m3 is insufficient.

site plan

Summer 2008 High Performing Buildings 51 Limiting Impact To limit the negative impact of the work site on the environment and the neighborhood, a green construction site chart was created for contrac- tors and a method for achieving responsible waste management was defined. The chart showed vehicle movements on-site, hours for deliv- ery, and noise reduction measures. Particularly, machines and tools used on-site were controlled to limit periods of noise. Furthermore, dust was limited by regular sprinkling of surfaces and cleaning of trucks using recycled rainwater. A light wall in the lobby gives 80% useful lighting. Indoor Comfort Two air-handling units on the roof of 5.5 m3/s are integrated with heat pumps, electrical heater and cooling 2007 Electrical Consumption on site unit. The team anticipated low-mode 2 functioning in the event of breakdown, kWh/year kWh/m /year so that resulting levels of discomfort HVAC 1,295,236 144 would remain within acceptable lim- Lighting 202,299 22 its. Each air-handling unit is designed to provide enough air for the whole Individual Electrical Sockets 360,389 40 building at a lower quantity but in accordance with French codes. Dry Miscellaneous* 418,286 47 coolers (range 14°C to 18°C) and two Total 2,276,210 253 electrical chillers of 350 kW each provide chilled water to the chilled *Miscellaneous includes the consumption of 900 m2 of shops and restaurant on the beams. The main air supply is from ground floor, four elevators, parking and façade lighting, and small equipment. two heat pumps of 20 000 m3/h, each with a heat recovery system.

The team installed an efficient The data should be compared to the Changing the temperature settings average consumption for HVAC and light- increases energy consumption. An indoor ventilation system to renew a ing of 380 kWh/m2 per year for a typical temperature set at 20°C to 22°C directly volume of air four times larger than office building, according to the French impacts the electrical heater in the chilled the prescribed code (55 m3/h per Environment and Energy Management beam (196,435 kWh). An indoor tempera- chilled beam, each 1.35 m axes). To Agency (ADEME). Nevertheless, the con- ture set to a maximum of 24°C results in sumption of EMGP 270 is 40% higher the chillers running all year long. In addi- achieve skin comfort, a cooling sys- than predicted. tion, free chilling is not efficient enough tem was chosen that diffuses slow- Users believe that in a green building they when the outside temperature is higher speed air drafts. Humidity levels are should not feel too cold or too warm. To avoid than 11°C. maintained between 40% and 60%. complaints, the facility maintenance team A centralized computer system set the temperature range between 22°C and 24°C. However, the building was designed to ensures occupant comfort. Sensors work properly between 20°C and 25°C.

52 High Performing Buildings summer 2008 Advertisement formerly in this space. Chilled beams allow occupants to easily change an office to a meeting area.

Lessons Learned

Auditing The building team, client, archi- Facilities Management Talks Facility man- Building Information Management tects, design office, mechanical engineers agement was involved early in the design Building information management is key to and other specialists in environment control, process through a task from an ICADE success because energy-efficient buildings worked with an auditor to achieve HQE certi- subsidiary. The involvement helped to pre- are more sensitive. For example, changing fication. The auditor, as the official body, vali- vent, at no cost, problems that would have the setpoint temperature at EMGP 270 has dated each phase of the project from design been difficult to solve after construction a greater impact on energy use than in an to construction. Periodic verification from the was completed. average building. Because the building was auditor placed the onus on the building team Avoiding Disruptions All building manage- designed to work properly between 20°C to achieve eco-friendly performances. ment system subunits and valves for the and 25°C, changing the settings increases Simulation Tools In the project’s early chilled beams are placed in the corridor’s energy consumption. Additionally, the build- stages, the design team worked with simple operable ceiling tile for easy access. Access ing is designed to run with no night or thermal dynamic simulations and compu- through the lobby to all technical shafts weekend stop because of thermal inertia. tational fluid dynamics. The simulations means no disruption for the tenants. The managers are not used to tuning HVAC provided data to help the investor choose the parameters according to predictions based End User Information The team created a on external parameters. Unfortunately, the best solution or make modifications to the CD-ROM for occupants that explains build- project plan. For example, the windows were building team was not efficient enough with ing aspects such as nonoperable windows the information transferred to the facility changed from operable to nonoperable based and automatic window blinds, as well as on simulated acoustic and air pollution mea- management team, and some misunder- addressing best green practices. Occupant standings occurred about the best possible surements. In addition, the investor chose feedback for the CD-ROM has been positive. less efficient insulation to increase ease of use and fine-tuning of the building. maintenance and replacement of the blinds.

54 High Performing Buildings summer 2008 Flexibility with Chilled Beams

Flexibility is vital for high performance build- offers consistency in appearance, eases ceiling and exposed installation. Supply ings. The chilled beam system offers com- installation and simplifies maintenance. airflow rate is adjusted based on demand, fort and flexibility, efficient use of space, making it easy to change an office to a and economical life cycle due to low airflow New Range: Adaptable Active meeting area or vice versa. Additionally, and low water flow rates. New, adaptable Chilled Beams cooling capacity and air velocity can be active chilled beams with a broad operation In addition to an excellent indoor climate, adjusted when division wall locations range are used in the building. Adjustable chilled beams offer competitive life-cycle change to create an open plan or individual air velocity, cooling capacity and supply costs. With a broad operation range, chilled preferences vary. Compared with the tradi- airflow rates make them adaptable. beams can be simply and cost-efficiently tional systems, chilled beams ensure good Beams are ventilating systems, inte- adjusted to meet requirements of a new working conditions, drastically reduce churn grated with or without suspended ceilings layout. The range enables suspended costs and provide adaptability. and combining ventilation, cooling and heating (supply air) and even lighting. A water coil allows the cooling and the reheating of the air. A cooling coil cools high temperatures (14°C/17°C) when there is no condensate for the system to use. Thanks to the range of water tempera- ture, the building can run with free chilling through the dry coolers on the roof without switching on the chillers. The whole office and meeting areas’ indoor climate solution can be built on one type of product. Chilled beams are suitable for constant and demand-based ventilation applications. Using only one product and Chilled beams generate low velocity air one specification benefits the building life diffusion for user comfort. cycle. It makes the logistics chain easy in order-delivery process and on building site, monitor presence, temperature, air Acoustic comfort was achieved by ing and commissioning reduce quality, lighting and activate ventila- eliminating noise from the exterior. maintenance needs. tion, heating and cooling devices. Triple glazing reduces the noise level To date EMGP 270 has achieved The information-processing system to 40 db. The chilled beam system a 30% lower than average operat- also monitors the quality of outdoor eliminates noise using an offset ing cost, mainly due to lower energy and indoor air. However, occupants motor. Carpets and acoustic ceilings consumption. According to the can change parameters using a also reduce noise in offices. French association of facilities man- remote-control. Although exter- agers, the same size building costs nal heat intensity sensors on each Operating Cost an average of €190 000 per year façade automatically regulate Construction on EMGP 270 began (approximately $290,000) for energy. motorized venetian blinds to help in January 2004 and finished in In 2007, EMGP 270 cost €130 000 control daylight, occupants also June 2005. As the average energy (approximately $200,000). • can adjust the blinds manually. cost is roughly 20% to 30% of the Artificial light dims automatically operating cost of the building, the depending on the brightness of design included features to minimize About the Author incoming daylight, or users can other costs. No filters in the manually dim the light to suit indi- chilled beams means no filter Frank Hovorka is program director at vidual taste. replacements. Additionally, monitor- ICADE in Paris.

Summer 2008 High Performing Buildings 55