The San Francisco Federal Building

Photo Source: Bryan Kelley

The Federal Building in San Francisco is an engineering icon because it revolutionized green building. Completed in 2007, the architectural firm Morphosis rewrote the traditional rules of building design.

The 18 floors of office space were constructed to maximize the bay weather and minimize waste and inefficiency.  Wrapped along the south façade is the building’s most notable feature – an innovative sunscreen.  The sunscreen absorbs and conducts the solar energy from the sun before it enters the building.  Since warm air rises, the system also serves as a passive heat pump which draws warm air from the inside to the outside.  To capitalize on the exterior benefits the building provides, designers created a modern, inverted office floor plan.  The 60’ wide floors allow the natural light to penetrate through workstations and into the central offices.  These exterior and interior design changes virtually eliminate the need for electric lighting and air conditioning during the day.

Some other features that help San Francisco’s Federal Building save money include:

• The building was constructed from recycled materials, including recycled steel, sustainably harvested wood, and concrete composed of a combination of cement and the waste product blast-furnace slag.
• During construction, over 90% of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill, saving about $1.3 million in dumping fees.
• Drip irrigation and dual-flush valves on all toilet fixtures reduce water usage by 30%, saving $50,000 a year.

The total estimated utility savings to the Government as a result of the building’s design and plans are around $500,000 a year.  The building will also save enough energy (6.9 million KW hrs) to power 600 homes for one year.  Let’s hope that The San Francisco Federal Building inspires other cities to build sustainably in the future.