Net Zero Headquarters

Serving as the main office space for the majority of the company’s 150+ Colorado-based employees, it will be Vaisala’s new regional conference and training center, where customers and researchers will visit from all over the world. Designed by OZ Architecture, Denver, the office building blends Scandinavian style and sustainable, net zero-ready functionality.

“In addition to paying homage to the company’s Scandinavian headquarters with crisp, modern and crafted spaces that utilize natural light, the project is a testament to sustainably minded architectural design,” says Nathan Jenkins, LEED AP, principal, OZ Architecture. “Metal was strategically incorporated within the design to provide both contrast and permanence to the existing campus. As a critical design move, a large metal-clad fin helps demark the new entry to the campus.”

Open, Inviting and Collaborative

Vaisala wanted its headquarters’ architectural design to be an open, inviting, collaborative and inspired by the topography of the region, oriented to bring views of the Rocky Mountains through the building.

To do this, Walker, Mich.-based Tubelite Inc.’s supplied its curtainwall and window wall systems to the building’s modern, minimalist, high-performance design. Tubelite’s 400T Thermal Curtainwall encloses a double-height, daylit atrium and reception area. This meets or exceeds today’s stringent energy codes and net zero goals.

A 900RW Thermal Window Wall provide views from the offices, training area and conference rooms. Thermally broken aluminum framing, low-E insulated glass (from Tri-Star Glass Inc., Catoosa, Okla.) and Tubelite’s PTB120 Thermal Pressure Plate supplied by Monroe, Ohio-based Deceuninck North America, further aid the building envelope’s sustainability and energy-efficiency goals.

Tubelite’s director of marketing, Tom Mifflin, says the thermal pressure plates were key to meeting Vaisala’s high thermal performance requirements and energy-efficiency objectives. Greg Koch, Deceuninck North America’s vice president of sales and marketing, says his company’s custom solution, Innergy AP, enabled Tubelite to enhance the thermal and structural performance of its existing curtainwall system, and realize the vision and high demands for this modern mid-rise building.

Koch says combining Deceuninck’s fiber-reinforced polymer thermal pressure plate with warm edge spacers, Tubelite’s 400T Thermal Curtainwall can achieve a system U-Factor of 0.32. Tubelite’s 400T curtainwall’s expanded thermal break and thicker gasketing also improves condensation resistance, as well as provides industry-leading air, water, structural and acoustic performance.

Tubelite’s 900RW Series Thermal Window Wall is ideal for between-slab strip window applications. For Vaisala’s building, the window wall was manufactured with silicone-glazed verticals and dual poured-and-debridged thermal breaks in the perimeter framing members. This system design has been tested to deliver as low as 0.32 U-Factors for thermal performance. “We engineer 900RW and 400T to complement each other in performance and aesthetics, providing a complete package that’s easy to fabricate and install, which saves time, labor and associated costs,” Mifflin says.

In total, more than 3,400 feet of curtainwall and 8,100 feet of window wall systems were installed. Frederick, Colo.-based FCI Constructors Inc. was the headquarters’ general contractor. Glazing contractor Colorado Window Systems, Denver, worked closely with FCI and Tubelite on the building’s 10-month construction timeline.

Environmentally Responsible

Protecting the systems’ framing members and enhancing their appearance, Wausau, Wis.-based Linetec finished the aluminum in a three-coat black 70% PVDF resin-based architectural coating. The high-performance coatings meet the industry’s most stringent standards for resistance to humidity, chalking, chemicals, salt spray, gloss loss and color change. Linetec uses a 100% air capture system and regenerative thermal oxidizer to safely destroy the VOCs in liquid paints’ solvents. By managing this in its quality-controlled facility, there is no adverse environmental impact either at Linetec or on the job site.

Jenkins adds, “Our sustainable design initiatives for Vaisala resulted in extraordinarily low energy use that surpasses energy-use codes, making it one of Colorado’s most sustainable office buildings.”

Other sustainable materials and features include a high-efficiency heating and cooling system, extra insulation, and advanced water-saving fixtures. A rooftop patio off the atrium’s third story allows access to the outdoors and sweeping views to the mountains. A pocket park on the rear of the building gives employees and guests additional options for enjoying the outdoors.