Commercial Architecture September 2017 - 53

PROJECT

windows

ety. It was important to hold on to the history and meaning to the community in the project restoration.
Multiple design objectives were required to realize this
vision. Resilience was crucial to creating a durable building to protect against future flooding and other natural
disasters. Additionally, while the flood had made its mark
on the buildings, it wasn't just the visible damage that
needed to be repaired. Occupant comfort had long been
an issue. Old, single-pane windows, antiquated central
heat, and a lack of central air conditioning made working
conditions less than optimal during cold winters and hot,
humid summers. As a result, it was important to enhance
occupant comfort, provide productive working conditions, and obtain a high level of energy efficiency. LEEDGold certification was a goal from the onset of the project.
A MODEL APPROACH

Freeman French Freeman Inc. staff worked closely with
the state of Vermont, Boston-based preservation architect
Goody Clancy, and a host of local contractors, engineers,
and consultants to develop plans to restore the sprawling
100-acre campus.
"One of the unique things about this project was the

The historic 100-acre Vermont campus represents one of the state's largest construction projects to date. Photo: Encore Renewable Energy

level of collaboration involved. We brought the key players together at the onset to review every detail of the build-

gy load so, in the event of a future emergency, we can

energy-cost savings. Additionally, the new central plant

ing envelope," said Robbins. "Together we evaluated, re-

make more of the building functional with the same

now houses two wood-fired biomass boilers fueled with

searched, and made changes to the building envelope.

amount of generator power," said Robbins. "Second, em-

low-cost, locally and sustainably harvested wood chips.

This simple action built a tremendous amount of good-

ployees needed to feel healthy, comfortable, and produc-

The project is on track to receive LEED-Gold certification

will and positivity amongst the team, which was critical to

tive-at any time of year. YKK AP was able to demonstrate

in mid-2017 and is near the threshold of Platinum certifi-

the success of such a large-scale project."

via its thermal modeling how its products would perform

cation.

When construction commenced, 21 flood-prone

by showing how energy would escape the building."

In late 2015 and early 2016, the office complex re-

buildings-about 350,000 sq. ft. of unusable space-were

In addition to the high performance required, fast in-

opened its doors to state employees, and the town of Wa-

deconstructed to make space for a new 86,000-sq.-ft. of-

stallation and a demanding timeline were critical to the

terbury welcomed with open arms the return of workers

fice building to house approximately 1,000 employees at

success of the project.

to the community shops and restaurants. What was once

the Vermont Agency of Human Services. Thirteen histor-

"To provide a quick turnaround on installation, the

a beautiful and historic campus has stayed true to its

ical structures were preserved, adapted, and reused. As

team needed to get creative," said David Warden, enerG-

roots, while integrating a mix of modern and traditional

part of the desire to develop a more comfortable working

facade brand manager for YKK AP America Inc. "We cus-

architecture with striking spans of glass and beautiful

environment and ensure long-term use of the facility, a

tomized our aluminum-fenestration products to specifi-

green space. Designed for comfort and to protect against

20,000-sq.-ft. central heating and cooling facility was add-

cally suit the needs of the project. The team even

future floods and natural disasters, the facility is now a

ed. All buildings were built above the 500-year flood plain

developed a custom piece that allowed our windows to

great source of pride for the State of Vermont, its employ-

to protect against future damage.

snap together to provide for faster installation and im-

ees, and the town of Waterbury. CA

At the core of the project was energy efficiency. The
state of Vermont officials set out to achieve a fenestration

proved energy performance while reducing the sightlines
on the building."

assembly U-factor of 0.24 Btu/hr·ft ·F or better at NFRC

In order to achieve the desired fenestration assembly

100 model sizes. YKK AP America Inc., the Austell, GA-

U-factor, the company provided framing solutions that

based aluminum-facades manufacturer, was chosen to

allowed triple glazing. With a warm-edge spacer from

provide its enerGfacade brand of energy-efficient building

Technoform to achieve a 0.24 U-factor with YOW 350 XT

solutions to meet this strict requirement while providing

and a 0.19 U-factor with the YCW 750 XT, curtain wall

the desired aesthetic for new and existing facilities. The

initial specifications were met and exceeded. The prod-

company's high-performance YOW 350 XT fixed and op-

ucts were tested throughout the course of the project by

erable windows, YCW 750 XT and YOW 750 OG curtain

an independent Envelope Commissioning Agent to en-

walls, and YES 45 F-I/S storefront were used to complete

sure success.

the complex.

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The collaborative effort from the design team paid off.

"Energy efficiency was one of the most critical aspects

Today the Waterbury State Office Complex is significant-

of this project for two reasons. First, resilience. Operable

ly more efficient, achieving a modeled 56% energy-use

windows and a strong building envelope reduce the ener-

savings over the code-compliant baseline resulting in 41%
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SEPTEMBER 2017

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture September 2017