As we approach our Green Building Showcase on the 25th, we will be releasing a series of project spotlights that will be shown at the event! Check out two from Structure Tone and Gerding Edlen.
Don’t forget to buy a ticket or register your board for the event!
Jacobs – Submitted by Structure Tone
The building’s floor-to-ceiling glazing provides quality views and excellent access to daylight to nearly 80% of the regularly occupied interior.
©Anton Grassl
When global AEC firm Jacobs relocated its Boston-area offices from Cambridge to Boston, they took the opportunity to set a high bar when it came to sustainability. With its new 46,000sf space, Jacobs was looking for multiple sustainability and wellness certifications, all within a tight project schedule. With such lofty sustainability goals in the plan, Jacobs called on the sustainable construction experts at Structure Tone to help them find a way to achieve them.
The building’s floor-to-ceiling glazing provides quality views and excellent access to daylight to nearly 80% of the regularly occupied interior. In open-plan and collaboration areas, Structure Tone installed sound masking to help with acoustic comfort by providing light background noise to help muffle auditory distractions. The office also offers two wellness rooms, which can be used for nursing mothers, meditation, prayer, napping, or just a quiet moment alone. This amenity helps staff feel comfortable and supported knowing there is a private space wholly dedicated to the wellness of its users.
The office also features large café area, various-sized huddle and collaboration rooms, showers and lockers, 100% sit-stand desks and a complex lighting package designed to meet the WELL Building criteria. In fact, Jacobs is seeking WELL Gold and LEED version 4 Gold for the space and has already earned Fitwel three-star certification, thanks both to the design and to the sustainable construction practices that Structure Tone partnered with Jacobs to foster.
The Eddy in East Boston: Submitted by Gerding Edlen
Through its Green Cities funds, Gerding Edlen’s Boston portfolio currently consists of The Eddy in East Boston, a LEED Gold certified new construction multifamily property
Gerding Edlen is a leading real estate investment, development and asset and property management firm recognized for its expertise in creating and owning highly sustainable, urban infill, office, residential and mixed-use properties. Founded in 1996, the firm engages a socially responsible approach to real estate by cultivating properties that strengthen communities, minimize impact on the environment and add profound value to residents and tenants.
Gerding Edlen’s efforts are guided by a set of criteria, known as the Principles of Place, where community plays a pivotal role alongside design, technology and sustainability in the success of their properties. This commitment has led the firm to become a recognized national leader of sustainable development, which includes more than 75 LEED certified or certified pending properties.
Through its Green Cities funds, Gerding Edlen’s Boston portfolio currently consists of The Eddy in East Boston, a LEED Gold certified new construction multifamily property; Neponset Landing, an acquired multifamily property located in Quincy which is pursuing LEED certification through the Arc platform; and Fenway Center, two multifamily towers currently under construction adjacent to Fenway Park.
Fenway Center is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and features an array of high-performance building strategies, including a 75 kW co-generation plant that will generate electricity for the building and waste heat to help offset natural gas use for the building’s hot water system. The project also has an abundance of biophilic design strategies that serve to connect building occupants to the natural environment. As part of this health and wellness focus, Fenway Center is pursuing Fitwel certification, a standard that evaluates an array of health-related behaviors and risks associated with the building.
A particularly innovative building feature at Fenway Center is the use of View Dynamic Glass in the façade. When it opens, Fenway Center will be one of only a few multifamily properties in the country to feature windows made with View Dynamic Glass. Designed to tint automatically in response to ambient light levels throughout the day, View glass allows natural light into the building while keeping unwanted heat and glare out, without the need for blinds. This not only saves energy but creates a more pleasant indoor environment for residents who can enjoy full views to the outdoors throughout the day. Four shades of tint are available; residents can either allow the system to adjust automatically or they can adjust the tint to their personal preference via a mobile app.
Each of these properties is unique and each has demonstrable social and environmental benefits. Gerding Edlen is proud to design, build and manage properties that have positive and lasting impacts in their communities.
To learn more about Gerding Edlen, please visit www.gerdingedlen.com/social-impact/overview/.
Global Head of Sustainability, Superior Essex
Sustainability Director, Steven Winter Associates
PE | Associate, LeMessurier
Vice President, AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group
Interior Designer, Jacobs, Boston
Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development U.S. Green Building Council
AIA LEED AP BD+C | Senior Associate, Gensler Boston 
LEED Fellow, WELL AP | Founder and Principal, Ecoworks Studio
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
LEED AP BD+C | Environmental Sustainability Manager, Armstrong World Industries
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science | Director of the Healthy Buildings program
Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.
Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Jamestown
Director of Sustainability Programs, DASNY | LEED AP BD+C
Associate Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation
Co-Founder, Facilitator at The Laurentia Project | LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Vice President of Sustainable Development, Shaw
Founder and President, Board of the Healthy Building Network
Building Technology Director, Kingspan North America
LEED® AP ID+C, BD+C, USGBC Faculty, WELL® AP, WELL Faculty and Fitwel Ambassador
Workplace Strategy Expert and Researcher, EYP
Principal, Integrated Ecostrategy
Senior Vice President, International WELL Building Institute
Principal, Bruner/Cott
Architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader, Stantec Architecture and Engineering
FAIA, LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs
Products & Materials Specialist, BuildingGreen
Director of Acquisitions and Development
Director of Restorative Enterprise, Interface
Sustainability Manager, Consigli Construction Company