Denver, Colorado

This facility features the following green attributes:
LEED-NC 2.1 Gold Certification
Green Power
ENERGY STAR

Region 8 Office

Total Facility Area: 248,849 rentable square feet (RSF) (EPA share)
Estimated Personnel: 775 EPA personnel
Energy Consumption: 19,329,573,605 Btu per year (EPA share)
Estimated Btu per RSF per Year: 77,676
Estimated Water Consumption: 2,348,146 gallons per year
Gallons per RSF per Year: 9.44

All energy and water data are reported as of FY 2010.

Description

EPA's Region 8 covers the mountain states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. In January 2007, the Region 8 Office relocated to a new facility leased by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for EPA. EPA occupies the nine-story building through a 10-year lease with GSA. In September 2007, the facility received the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) Gold-level certification for new construction. The facility, a product of more than three years of planning, design, and construction, serves as a hallmark of environmental sustainability in a prominent Lower Downtown Historic District location.

Awards

William Daniels, Tammy James, and Joseph Chisholm of the Region 8 Office in Denver, Colorado, received a fiscal year (FY) 2010 Leading Edge Award for their continued work investigating energy management tools and energy reduction equipment and methods during: facility projects, modifications, remodels, and utility usages. Specific projects include implementation of electrical submetering; identification and cost analyses for replacement of individual occupant task lighting to LED table top fixtures; data center/server room submetering and tracking; investigation of renewable energy solar equity purchasing; and electric car charging/outlet station feasibility analysis.
Kim Bartels, Virginia Till, Elizabeth Rogers, Kate Gregory, Joseph Chisolm, Whitney Trulove-Cranor, Linda Walters, Katie Romero, Patty Provencher, Michelle Reichmuth, Tammy James, Christopher Razzazian, Nat Miullo, Blake Huff, William Daniels, John Brink, Ted Lanzano, John Campbell, Tim Rehder, Christopher Ayala, and Barbara Conklin won an FY 2010 Waste Warrior Award for developing and implementing a compostable waste collection program. The team modified the facility's GSA lease to include composting services; purchased and installed new bins and biodegradable bags; created and installed new signage, and educated and trained employees about the new waste diversion process. The composting team estimates that this program has boosted the facility's recycling rate from 65 percent to 85 percent.
In August 2008, the Denver Region 8 Office received the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design's American Architecture Award , the highest and most prestigious building award in the United States. It honors new cutting-edge design, urban philosophy, design approach, style, and intellectual substance in American architecture today.
In November 2007, DOE presented the Denver Region 8 Office with a Federal Energy Saver Showcase Award, which honors facilities that use cost-effective energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy technologies.
The developer and owner of EPA's Region 8 Office, Opus Northwest LLC, was honored with a 2006 Downtown Denver Award for the facility for "helping to usher in a new era of sustainable development in Downtown Denver while respecting the distinct character of Lower Downtown."

Environmental Features

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

To learn more about the energy-efficient design features incorporated in the Region 8 Office, view the following documents:

Setting a Standard for Sustainable Design (PDF) (2 pp, 1.8MB), created by EPA and GSA.
EPA Region 8 Headquarters USGBC Greenbuild Conference Brochure (PDF) (4 pp, 2.9MB), created by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects.

Energy Conservation

The building in which the Region 8 office is located was awarded the ENERGY STAR^® label in 2008, with a score of 96.
Construction drawings were “Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR,” which helped establish a building rating target for the facility.
The under-floor air delivery system saves energy since the air is delivered from below the occupant and therefore does not require as much cooling as air from overhead ducts.
The heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system is set to work at lowest possible cooling loads in warm weather from high discharge air temperature (63° F). This allows for the use of warmer chilled water on all but the most humid days, which extends the use of chilled water from the cooling towers.
Daylight dimming controls on areas of the building perimeter reduce the amount of light needed when there is enough natural sunlight.
Building design provides for natural light in 85 percent of floor space. Reflective surfaces, task lighting, daylighting dimmers and occupancy sensors reduce energy use as the lights are only on when the room is occupied and automatically turn off in empty rooms.
Air side economizers and a heat recovery system reduces emissions and improve energy performance.
All mechanical and electrical systems were commissioned systematically for quality assurance
Interim energy modeling shows:
- With plug loads (task lights, computers, copiers, etc.), 11,800 Btu per square foot per year will be saved, which is 20.3 percent better than ASHRAE 90.1-1999 base case per standard of 58,300 kBtu per square foot per year.

Incremental Energy Savings Pie Chart

Pie Chart showing Denver's incremental energy savings. Chart is accurate as of December 2006.

Green Power

EPA offsets 100 percent of the electricity consumption at the Region 8 office with renewable energy certificates (RECs) purchased through the Agency's current blanket green power contract. Learn more about EPA's current and past blanket green power contracts.
In November 2006, 10 kilowatts of photovoltaics (PVs) were added to the 9th floor penthouse roof. The array is composed of 48 panels, which produce 215 watts each. The grid-tied PV system provides power when the emergency generator is running to reduce generator load and fuel consumption.

The PV panels located on the roof of the Region 8 Office.

Green Building

The building is LEED-NC 2.1 Gold certified. Through lease documents, EPA and GSA required that the building be certified at the LEED-NC Silver level at a minimum. However, the building was able to achieve a higher certification level certification. View the LEED Scorecard for Denver (PDF) (1 pg, 38K).

Green Roof

Photo of the Region 8 Office's green roof with a view of Downtown.

The upper levels of the building feature a three-terraced, 20,000-square-foot green roof.
The extensive planting scheme consists of grasses, perennials, and groundcovers selected in accordance with USDA hardiness zone classification in 2'x2' or 2'x4' modules with 4" soil depth.
The green roof is expected to minimize heat island effects, absorb carbon dioxide, and contribute to an estimated 26.7 percent reduction in stormwater runoff.
More information on the green roof can be found on EPA's Region 8 website.

Water Conservation

The building maximizes water conservation through low-flow plumbing fixtures, water-conserving mechanical system design, and low-maintenance landscape design using sustainable and native species.
All plumbing fixtures have low-flow devices including aerators and auto-closing faucets to reduce water and energy use.
Waterless urinals installed in men's restrooms reduce water consumption by 36 percent. Dual flush toilets were also installed in women's restrooms.

Stormwater Management

The building has an extensive green roof, described above, that was designed in accordance with Denver's 2004 Water Quality Management Plan. With pollutant removal rates that meet the design standards for the City and County of Denver, the green roof was approved as the sole best management practice to treat stormwater runoff from the entire facility.

Waste Reduction and Recycling - Construction

Throughout the planning, construction, and operation of the new facility, EPA required that the design and development team maximize resource conservation by selecting materials with postconsumer recycled content, recycling construction waste, and designing space for ongoing recycling efforts.
More than 75 percent of building construction waste was recycled and therefore diverted from landfills.

Waste Reduction and Recycling - Operations

An extensive facility recycling program and green housekeeping measures focus on a sustainable, healthy, and productive work environment.

Other Features

Indoor air quality is controlled through careful placement of exhaust and air intakes and the use of low volatile organic compound interior adhesives, paints, sealants, and caulks, as well as environmentally preferable janitorial and cleaning products.
Some of the floors are made of bamboo, which is a rapidly renewable fiber and has a lower environmental impact than traditional wood floors.
The building's location near Denver's Union Station offers access to multiple public transportation options, and extensive bike parking and shower facilities are available in the building.
Interior shades, exterior vertical fins, and atrium sails control daylight, solar heat gain and glare.

Photo of sails in Denver Region 8 Office atrium.

Close up photo of sails in Denver Region 8 Office atrium.

Sails in the building atrium help alleviate glare and control heat from daylighting.

For More Information About This Facility

Website: www.epa.gov/region8

Following are summaries of the environmental provisions included in the solicitations for offers (SFOs) for the Region 8 office building:

Region 8 Office SFO Environmental Provisions (PDF) (5 pp, 43K)
Region 8 Office SFO Environmental Provisions II (PDF) (18 pp, 251K)

Bill Daniels (daniels.william@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA Region 8
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 312-6074

To take a tour of the Denver Region 8 Office, contact:
Patty Provencher (provencher.patricia@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA Region 8
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 312-6836