US BANK PLAZA RENOVATION VALERIO DEWALT TRAIN

US BANK PLAZA RENOVATION
VALERIO DEWALT TRAIN
US BANK PLAZA RENOVATION
MADISON, WISCONSIN
VALERIO DEWALT TRAIN ASSOCIATES
500 North Dearborn
Chicago, Illinois 60654
424 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, California 94301
© Photography Mike Rebholz
© 2011 Valerio Dewalt Train Associates
WHAT’S INSIDE
INTRODUCTION
PRODUCT OF THE 1970’s
ANALYSIS & INVESTIGATION
EXTREME MAKEOVER:
ENERGY REDUCTION
WHAT WOULD BRUCE DO?
A GOOD URBAN CITIZEN
Early rendering of VDTA’S proposed renovations.
VDTA Office in Chicago, Il.
INTRODUCTION
Valerio Dewalt Train is a 50 person national architectural
practice with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Palo Alto, California.
Since 1996, the firm has based its practice on the simple idea
that whatever the question, design is the answer. But we also
believe that before you can provide an answer, you have to do the
research to make sure you understand the question.
As designers, we take a research-based approach to the design
process; it is immersive, probing, and specific. We work with a
wide range of clients: institutional, educational, corporate, retail,
entertainment, hospitality, and developers, each client benefits
from the cross-fertilization of ideas between these industries
and as expressed by our URL, “build or die.com”.
The result of our energetic approach is a series of remarkable
projects often produced on very tight budgets and schedules
for many notable organizations; from eBay, to the Kresge
Foundation, the University of Chicago, and Lincoln Properties.
Steelcase’s open-office
system circa 1971.
PRODUCT OF THE 1970’s
It’s 1972. The Brady Bunch. 8-track tapes. PONG. Oil is cheap
and seemingly plentiful; a barrel costs $3.00; gas is just 55 cents
a gallon. Folks are hitting the road and exploring America in
their new VW camper buses and connecting to the outdoors.
Architecture, through new material technologies, is pushing
It’s 1972. Architecture, through
new material technologies, is
pushing boundaries of height
and enclosure...
boundaries of height and enclosure allowing more openness
and connectivity to the environment. New curtainwall and glass
technologies are expanding the desire for more transparency
– abundant daylighting of interiors coupled with a desire to
“open up” business to the people is influencing architectural
expression. Enclosed private offices are being replaced with the
new concept of open-office environments; these “offices without
walls” defined the new, more open and connected society.
Hot on the heels of a new 40-story SOM designed highrise headquarters in downtown Milwaukee, Madison’s First
Wisconsin Bank president petitioned for a similar prominent
facility to be built in the state’s seat of government. Since
Madison had a building height covenant protecting the views of
the State Capitol dome, the skyline majesty of a high-rise was not
possible. Rather, visual prominence would have to be achieved
by the building’s site and design. A highly visible downtown
location was needed and found on the Capitol Square.
First Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
© Eddie Lo
The site, a city block on the Square’s east side was chosen for
its close proximity to the State Capitol Building – the heart of
state financial policy making – and its approaching hilltop perch
from the Square’s primary arterial, East Washington Street.
SOM of Chicago was again tabbed to design this sister facility to
Milwaukee’s First Wisconsin Center.
First Wisconsin Plaza as built per Bruce Graham’s design.
SOM’s Bruce Graham, just two years removed from designing
the Chicago icon John Hancock Tower, designed Madison’s
9-story First Wisconsin Plaza building. Mr. Graham conceived
of the bank and office building as a large atrium with a spacious,
airy, internal environment that would serve as a green space
in winter and as a public square in summer. The first floor is
mostly given over to a two-story tall atrium banking hall and
upper office floors wrap around a fourth floor roof garden.
The building was clad in what was deemed at the time as an
“economical” clear all-glass curtainwall.
Structural and
mechanical elements were exposed and colorfully expressed as
design elements. And, as Mr. Graham stated when describing
the building’s design: “Obviously, energy is saved in this building,
and the building is put to the larger purpose of an architectural
experience”.
Economy may have been the aim in 1972 when the building was
conceived but by 1974, when the building was finally completed,
the issue of energy was dominating America’s awareness. Strife
Original interior atrium space.
in the Middle East led to an oil embargo causing the cost of oil to
increase four-fold. Suddenly, on the eve of the building’s grand
opening, the projected cost of energy to operate and occupy
the building as designed had quadrupled. The sad reality was
that a building thought to be created to save energy would be
expending it at a cost of four times than when designed. And, as
discovered rather quickly and observed to be increasingly worse
over time, the technology of the day did not match the ambition
of the concept and many design elements proved to actually be
energy in-efficient, wasteful, and outright functional failures.
The sad reality was that a building
thought to be created to save
energy would be expending it at
a cost of four times greater than
when designed.
SOM’s original interiors of First Wisconsin’s banking space.
At night, soon after building opening.
BLOCK 89
First Wisconsin Plaza
ORIGINAL FIRST WISCONSIN PLAZA
ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION
Over the years, First Wisconsin changed names and ultimately
owners, becoming in the 1990’s the main Madison branch for
Minneapolis based US Bank. The building originally conceived
as a large regional headquarters housing personal & corporate
banking and loan & administrative offices no longer had the
need for large floor areas for office workers. In addition the
requirement of an expansive walk-in banking hall to serve
consumer on-site banking had significantly dwindled following
VDT was commissioned to assist
ULI in renovation and resurrection
of this flawed yet beloved modernist
building...
the advent of electronic banking and ATM’s.
The 330,000 sf building had become at bit of a “functional
dinosaur”, its floorplates difficult to lease due to a number of
building configuration problems, service and tenant comfort
issues. Following years of complacent building ownership and
critical deferred maintenance the facility’s status as a downtown
property had lapsed to a Class B building. Vacancy was 50%.
Finally, in 2008, US Bank had determined that, although they
wanted banking services to remain at the location, they no longer
wished to own the building and they placed it on the market.
A highly successful local developer with a track record of
exceptional downtown renovations and developments was
interested in the challenge of resurrecting this Madison icon.
This developer, Urban Land Interests, had recently completed a
phased full city block mixed-use development on the adjacent
block – Block 89 - and saw the hidden potential this property had
having spent many years expounding on the building’s problems
as they marketed against it to potential tenants in favor of their
own lease space at Block 89. Valerio Dewalt Train (VDT) worked
with Urban Land Interests (ULI) for 15 years completing the
phased development of Block 89 and was commissioned to
assist ULI in the renovation and resurrection of this flawed yet
beloved modernist building that everyone in town recognized as
the “Glass Bank”.
Investigation of curtain
wall system.
VDT along with mechanical consultant, Environmental Systems
Design (ESD) of Chicago, embarked on an intensive study
and analysis of the building’s existing design, operations
and mechanical systems. Foremost of the investigation was
getting to the bottom of two obvious problematic issues: energy
costs – the building was an energy hog – and large areas of
functionally deficient lease space.
The primary goal being to
dramatically reduce the operating costs for a more economical
and sustainable facility while adding more viable space to the
building’s lease inventory.
Top: Condition of building enclosure.
Bottom: Aging rooftop mechanical equipment.
The result of the renovations was a
38% reduction in average monthly
electricity consumption...
US BANK PLAZA ENERGY USAGE (kWh)
New Mechanical Equipment
Goes Online
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
2011
kWh
300,000
200,000
Jan
Months
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
EXTREME MAKEOVER: ENERGY REDUCTION
The design team’s investigation uncovered a variety of building
envelope and systems problems which were further analyzed
in a comprehensive energy model. The findings of the energy
model led to an overhaul of the building’s HVAC main equipment,
air distribution and control systems, replacement of glass in
the atrium areas and upgrades to other building core systems
including lighting and elevators. The result of the renovations
was a 38% reduction in average monthly electricity consumption
taking the building from an Energy Star rating of the low 40’s to
91 today and Energy Star certified status.
Using the energy model, it was determined that the southeast
and southwest facades were allowing significant heat loads
and energy loss in the building. Included among these facades
were the original sloped-roof atrium areas which were clad with
single-pane clear glass that had a minimal shading coefficient.
The sloped-roof atrium areas were re-built “squared off” with
1998 2008
highly insulated roof structures that served the added benefit
of creating usable outdoor spaces for the floors above. Also,
new double-pane low-E glass, matching the same transparent
appearance as the original clear glass, replaced the old glazing
on these facades.
The existing building chiller equipment was replaced with two,
2010
2009
high-efficiency chillers with the ability to run at just 10% of the
load when demand is less.
In addition, the chiller plant was
relocated from the ninth floor where it previously occupied
prime top-floor space, to an underused existing storage space
Oct
Nov
Dec
near the loading docks on the first floor.
US BANK PLAZA WATER USAGE (Gallons)
35,000,000
30,000,000
30.3 M
32.4M
25,000,000
20,000,000
16.4M
15,000,000
13.9M
Gallons
10,000,000
5,000,000
6.18 M
3.9M
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year
Automatic
Flushing
Disabled
New Mechanical
System Installed
New Low
Consumption
Fixtures
Water Consumption
Management
Implemented
...new low consumption plumbing
fixtures and equipment were installed, water usage in the building
dropped 85% from 32 million to 3
million gallons.
2010
The existing air distribution system throughout the building was
a constant volume with reheat induction system. The movement
of air from the perimeter floor mounted units was noisy and
inefficient because the air nozzles had not been maintained or
cleaned for decades. What’s more, the units took up valuable
usable space along the floor-to-ceiling glass window wall.
The system was converted in renovated areas to an overhead
variable air volume (VAV) system with upgraded direct digital
controls at the building automation system for an increased
level of control.
This maximized the ability to optimize
reduced fan and pump usage runtimes leading to significant
energy savings.
Toilets for renovation
Water was another resource that was being wasted by the
building’s original systems design – automatic flushing of all the
entire building’s toilets and urinals was occurring every hour on
the hour. In addition, domestic water was being used to supply
heat pumps then being dumped to sewer. After these practices
were terminated and new low consumption plumbing fixtures
and equipment were installed, water usage in the building
dropped 85% from 32 million to just below 4 million gallons.
Common area lighting has been systematically replaced with
more efficient fixtures further reducing the energy consumed –
a huge savings from the wasteful amount of lighting expended
by the original ground floor array of 150 watt recessed
downlight fixtures.
The primary goal being to dramatically
reduce the operating costs for a more
economical and sustainable facility while
adding more viable space to the building’s
lease inventory.
VDTA Rendering of proposed rennovation
WHAT WOULD BRUCE DO?
Tackling the problems of energy consumption head-on forced
VDT to make dramatic yet sympathetic alterations to the Bruce
Graham design. Other planned corrective footprint and building
envelope changes also would significantly affect the look of
the building. Moving forward required a firm understanding
Moving forward required a firm
understanding of the intentions of
the original design.
of the intentions of the original design. At the very least it was
imperative that VDT respect the existing relentless modular
curtainwall grid that gave the building its modernist expression.
There was considerable reluctance by locals that the building’s
iconic appearance be altered in any way. Further, VDT understood
the historical responsibility to the original architecture and vowed
to approach the modifications with a respectful eye and, before
drawing any conclusions, ask ourselves “what would Bruce do?”
In the instance of correcting the non-functional floorplates,
where the width of the east wing of the upper floors was too
narrow to accommodate contemporary tenant uses making
them virtually un-leasable, a full structural bay spanning the
length of the wing was added to each floor resulting in a more
marketable 90 foot wide floorplate. This new building extension
was sheathed in matching white-painted modular curtainwall
and glazed with new energy efficient glass.
Building envelope mock-up.
Aerial of building during construction
Atria chronically
over-heated due to
single pane glass
enclosure
ORIGINAL BUILDING SECTION
New insulated
enclosure makes
atria spaces usable
RECONFIGURED BUILDING SECTION
Other architectural changes contributed to the building’s
return to Class A status, including upgrades to the building’s
underground parking garage: new brighter and energy efficient
lighting, the elimination of the failed, curiously designed
combination parking exhaust duct / floor drainage system
(where the ductwork doubled as drainpipes in an apparent
attempt to collect the water and hold it for evaporation) and
improved entrances and security systems.
Most significant was implementation of new elevatoring – two
parking shuttle elevators that originally brought tenants from
the underground parking garage to the main building lobby
for transfer to the main building elevators were removed; the
building’s four passenger elevators were re-built, the shafts
extended downward into the parking levels below, thereby
offering the convenience to tenants of direct transport from
their parked car to their office floor.
Finally, rooftop terraces were added over the new reconfigured
atria and the quantity of greenery was doubled at existing
terraces making the rooftops more user friendly and
environmentally responsible.
New restaurants entrance facing the Capitol Square.
US BANK LOBBY LEVEL
Webster Street
Retail Spaces
Building Lobby
Service Spaces
6
Restaurant Spaces
2
1 Elevator Lobby
2 Bank & Retail
3 L’Etoile & Graze
1
4 Outdoor Seating
5 Building Conference Center
E .Washington Street
6 Parking Ramp Entrance
5
2
3
4
N. Pinckney Street
RETAIL
ORIGINAL BANK SPACE
ORIGINAL LOBBY LEVEL
Drawings Not to Scale
US BANK TYPICAL OFFICE LEVEL
Office Space
2
Additional Office Space
Roof Terrace
1 Elevator Lobby
2 Office Space
1
2
ORIGINAL TYPICAL OFFICE LEVEL
Drawings Not to Scale
New roof terrace with skylights to atrium below, looking towards Block 89.
Renovated 4th Floor roof terrace and atrium.
Renovated building with new street facing retail spaces, atria and rooftop terraces.
Pinckney sidewalk along new ground floor atria.
A GOOD URBAN CITIZEN
With two new ground floor restaurants opening out and adding
activity at the sidewalk, a larger more welcoming main entrance
and new landscaped roof terraces, US Bank Plaza has made
a dramatic re-emergence as a good citizen in the downtown
Madison urban landscape.
...a demonstration of social,
economic and environmental
responsibility.
The functional and operational problems that the building
faced were serious enough to make it a possible candidate for
demolition. But, with careful and insightful analysis and redesign, the project team under VDT’s leadership successfully
transformed this icon into a contributing citizen on the Capitol
Square once again. Vacancy has dropped to under 10% and the
building was recently acknowledged as a winner of InBusiness
Magazine’s 2010 Commercial Design Award for Best Office or
Retail Renovation.
Focusing on genuine sustainable opportunities helped the
new owner elevate downtown Madison’s largest office building
into a demonstration of social, economic and environmental
responsibility. Bruce Graham’s energy saving promise of 1972
is finally now being realized.
L’Etoile with Graze beyond.
L’Etoile dining room.
Graze dining and bar area.
Graze outdoor patio.
VALERIO DEWALT TRAIN ASSOCIATES
500 North Dearborn
Chicago, Illinois 60654
424 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, California 94301
© Photography Mike Rebolz
© 2011 Valerio Dewalt Train Associates
BUILDORDIE.COM