The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has set an ambitious goal: to become a Net Zero Energy airport. One of the ways this airport is achieving this is by incorporating renewable energy technologies into new buildings, including the Consolidated Administration Campus (CAC), which is Net Zero Energy capable. The 135,000 square foot building was designed by two architectural firms, Perkins + Will and Mark Cavagnero Associates.
To contribute to sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives, more than 55,000 square feet of BENCHMARK Designwall 2000 Architectural Wall Panels from Kingspan were selected.
Kingspan’s Designwall 2000 panels contain polyisocyanurate foam core insulation that has been GREENGUARD Gold certified, so they have been third-party tested to ensure that their components are not harmful to building occupants and do not adversely impact indoor environment quality (IEQ). The GREENGUARD Gold certification can help earn credits for LEED certification, Green Guide for Health Care, Green Globes and other rating programs.
“The building is net zero energy capable with a modeled energy use intensity score of 25, so the internal systems and exterior envelope were designed holistically to support those goals,” said Sarah Rege, senior project manager at Perkins + Will.
SFO’s CAC building was awarded LEED Gold status by the United States Green Building Council. That designation is a high priority for SFO, as it is aiming to become a net zero energy campus by 2021. If successful, it will be the world’s first net zero energy airport campus.
The insulated metal panels were installed both horizontally and vertically on the exterior walls as well as soffits. The design called for an extensive use of extrusions; more than 700 were used on the base, walls, corners and parapet of the building. In addition to extrusions, approximately 4,000 feet of flashing was used to give the CAC building a finished, modern look.
“Insulated metal panels provide an ideal exterior cladding to meet a very high energy conservation target for this project,” said Kang Kiang, partner at Mark Cavagnero Associates. “Additionally, the panels provide exceptional acoustic insulation properties, ideal for a site with close adjacency to traffic and plane noise.”
The SFO Consolidated Administration Campus (CAC) houses workers from four departments – administration, landside, terminal and airside operations. The CAC is also home to the SFO Museum, common areas, retail shops and a café.
“We have a 5,000-acre campus with an asset portfolio of over 14.5 million square feet, across nearly 70 buildings that currently consume 440GWh of energy each year. If we can get to zero, what’s stopping others?” said SFO’s Chief Development Officer Geoff Neumayr.
