Gensler

Gensler

China Construction Bank Signs Lease at 1095 Sixth Avenue

Wed

Feb

We’ve written about 1095 Sixth Avenue on a number of occasions previously; the tower, which is owned by the Blackstone Group, sits across 42nd Street from LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower and recently underwent a two-year, $408.9 million renovation. China Construction Bank, which is apparently the second largest bank in China and one of only three Chinese banks that has received branch status here in the United States over the past twenty years, recently signed a 14,000-square-foot lease at the tower. Grubb & Ellis represented the bank in the transaction; terms of the lease were not disclosed, including whether the space was subleased from one of the several financial services tenants that had been looking to unload pricey leases that they signed prior to the Wall Street meltdown last fall. As you'll recall, the renovations to 1095 Sixth Avenue were designed by Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects and Gensler. The entire shell of the tower, which was once occupied by Verizon and clad in marble, was completely replaced by Tishman Construction with a turquoise, energy-efficient glass curtain wall.

Tishman Speyer's Gotham Center: LEED for Core & Shell in Long Island City

Tue

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

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Currently under development by Tishman Speyer, the $316 million Gotham Center will be a 662,000-square-foot, 21-story Class A office building at the corner of Queens Plaza and 28th Street in Long Island City. Mayor Bloomberg and other officials announced the project's groundbreaking last Friday, noting that it will join a number of other green projects in the neighborhood, including the LEED Gold-certified, KPF-designed Court Square Two.

The tower was designed by architects Moed De Armas & Shannon (510 Madison Avenue, 1095 Sixth Avenue) and is pursuing a LEED Certified rating under the Core and Shell system. The project's interiors- which will ultimately be home to the New York City Health Department after the agency consolidates most of its offices in lower Manhattan- will aim for LEED Silver.

Hedge Fund Dabroes Management Inks 5-Year Lease at 1095 Sixth Avenue

Tue

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

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We’ve written about 1095 Sixth Avenue previously; the tower, owned by the Blackstone Group, sits across 42nd Street from LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower and is undergoing a two-year, $408.9 million renovation. Designed by Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects and Gensler, the entire shell of what was once the Verizon Building is being replaced, effectively creating an entirely new structure; the tower’s marble exterior is being replaced with an energy-efficient glass curtain wall. Unlike the Bank of America project, and despite its green features, 1095 Sixth Avenue is not seeking a LEED rating. Tishman Construction is the construction manager on the project.

JetBlue's Terminal 5 at Kennedy Airport: Green But No LEED

Thu

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

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Despite its green design features, JetBlue's new $743 million Terminal 5 at Kennedy Airport will not be seeking a LEED rating. The project's planning and design management firm Arup has deemed certification "not possible because of the airport's existing energy infrastructure." Architect Gensler's design for T5 includes extensive daylighting and windows, and given JetBlue's commitment at the corporate level to sustainability, it's a bit curious that the project will not pursue certification from USGBC, though precise details about how JFK's electrical grid precludes a LEED application are not available . T5 will give travelers the option of walking through Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal, a modernist landmark that has been incorporated into the T5 design program.

How Sweet It Is: Ogilvy, Gensler to Make Green at Auerbach Chocolate Factory on 11th Avenue

Fri

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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Hudson Yards won’t be the only development on the far West Side of Manhattan to incorporate sustainable design principles. After recently inking a long-term lease for the entire property, Ogilvy New York has retained Gensler to redesign the Hakimian Organization’s 11-story, 554,800-square foot 636 11th Avenue, which sits between 46th and 47th Streets, to LEED specifications. Built in 1913, the property is the former home of the Auerbach Chocolate Factory, and features high ceilings, Hudson River views, a courtyard, and rooftop space that Gensler will turn into a garden. It’s too early to report details on specific green features or LEED certification efforts, but Gunther Schumacher, Ogilvy’s chief business operations officer, stated that “[s]ustainability is a key priority for Ogilvy.

Monday LEEDoff: VillageGreen, Herman Miller's International HQ in Chippenham, England

Mon

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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Designed by Gensler, furniture company Herman Miller's new international headquarters was completed in February of 2006, but recently received its official LEED-NC Gold designation from USGBC. VillageGreen, as the 20,000-square-foot building is called, is located in Chippenham, England, and also earned a BREEAM Excellent rating (BREEAM is the UK's green building assessment tool). Green features include FSC-certified timber and a computerized system that monitors air flow in order to provide natural ventilation and eliminate the need for conventional air conditioning. Other design elements are LEED-standard, ranging from locally-sourced building materials, 95 percent of offices that are exposed to natural light, and bicycle racks and showers. Gensler's design emphasizes the building materials themselves, which include exposed concrete, structural wood, and corrugated decking. "The integrity of the building materials . . .

The Top 5 Green A/E/C Firms (by Number, Percentage of LEED-APs)

Tue

Dec

by Stephen Del Percio

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Coordination. Integration. Beyond the bells and whistles of sexy, but expensive, green design features such as green roofs or geothermal heating and cooling systems, sustainable construction is about a truly collaborative effort between owners, designers, and contractors. While the former are certainly more likely to earn a project on the local paper’s front page, educated project teams that have green experience are an imperative in executing a successful green project.

Fortunately, an increasing number of A/E/C firms are earning their green stripes, both by repeatedly participating on multiple green projects with similar stakeholders, as well as providing their staff with sustainable education through certification programs. For example, 42,000 A/E/C professionals have now earned USGBC’s LEED Accredited Professional designation, up from 25,000 at the close of 2006. Back in July, BD+C ranked the top 50 A/E/C firms by number of LEED-APs, compiling its list from the 348 largest firms in the country. While we’d be the first to agree that statistics only tell part of the story, the following five firms topped BD+C’s list; you’ll recognize several names from a number of posts here at gbNYC.

By Number #1: Perkins+Will (753 of 1,236 total staff) #2: Gensler (575 of 2,480) #3: HOK (456 of 2,153) #4: Stantec (277 of 5,977) #5: Turner (260 of N/A) By Percentage

Monday LEEDoff*: Gensler's Silver Office at 1230 Avenue of the Americas

Mon

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

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As we mentioned previously, Cook + Fox isn’t the only architectural firm that’s sought (and received) certification for New York City office space under the LEED for Commercial Interiors (“LEED-CI”) rating system. Back in September, USGBC awarded Gensler with New York’s third LEED-CI rating, dishing out Silver to the firm for its 66,000 square foot office at 1230 Avenue of the Americas in Rockefeller Center. Construction on the space, located on the building’s fifteenth and sixteenth floors, was completed by general contractor Lehr in October of 2006. The thrust of Gensler's design intent was to provide abundant natural daylight and views, which it achieved through the use of low workstations, no architectural elements on the perimeter, and few shading devices. Other green features include LEED standards such as recycled-content office furniture (custom-designed by Gensler) and low-VOC paints, adhesives, and sealants. The firm has also implemented a variety of office recycling programs which include the transformation of old construction drawings into new sketchbooks for its staff. Links to images and more after the jump.