Architect: NBBJ Architects
General Contractor: GLY Construction
Completion: 2022
Products/Services Supplied:
- Kawneer 1600UT Ultra-Thermal Curtain Wall
- Vitro Solarban 60 on Acuity, by Hartung Glass
- NoiseLock Windows and Doors by IAC Acoustics
The Microsoft Thermal Energy Center is one of the most cutting-edge testaments to carbon reduction projects on a corporate campus. The Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA benefits from the heating and cooling exchange through the implementation of 900 geothermal wells drilled over 550 feet into the ground. This much infrastructure involved over 220 miles of pipe and will help reduce the energy use of the campus by nearly 50% compared to traditional utility plants.
While geothermal wells are not indicative of glass facades, the design team made sure to show off the massive equipment by wrapping highlight areas of the building to provide visitors access and unobstructed viewpoints of the geothermal tanks and wells that carry the geothermal fluid deep down into the earth. From these viewpoints you can see the massive scale of the project and the fluid storage tanks and exchangers that use the constant temperature of the earth to help supplement traditional heating and cooling systems, offsetting the overall energy expenditures of the campus as a whole. Mission Glass also installed acoustical glass walls, which cut the deafening sound of the pumps and mechanical equipment down to a quiet whisper through the use of sound control rated glazing and framing.
We plan to see these types of projects grow over time as the country, and rest of the world, implements drastic changes to their infrastructure systems in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and footprints throughout the entire life cycle of a building. We look forward to the next opportunity to be a part of such a breakthrough project at the cutting-edge of industry technologies.
