Heifer International Headquarters
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GENERAL INFORMATION
QUICK FACTS
| Location: | Little Rock, AR |
PROJECT INFORMATION
| Project Full Name | Heifer International Headquarters |
An organization dedicated to alleviating world hunger, Heifer International begins its interaction with communities by delivering one animal to one family. Like a drop of water generates ripples flowing outward from the impact point, the animal creates concentric rings of influence through a village, allowing knowledge and opportunity to be passed to others as the animal's offspring are gifted.
Part of a four-phase master plan, the Headquarters building was conceived as a series of concentric rings expanding from a central commons. The architecture was designed to expand environmental stewardship into the public realm while serving as a beacon of hope.
Environmental Aspects
Located next to the Clinton Presidential Library, the Heifer International Headquarters is in walking distance of busses, a new light-rail system, and a pedestrian entertainment district.
A restored wetland that wraps around three sides of the building collects stormwater for reuse as irrigation water. Rainwater collected from the roof is stored in a five-story water tower wrapped with a fire stair. Graywater collected from sinks and drinking fountains, condensate from outside air units, and rainwater from the water tower are reused in the toilets and cooling tower. Moisture removed from the building as condensate is reused to cool the building. Waterless urinals and low-flow toilets and lavatories further reduce potable water use.
The narrow, semicircular floor plan provides daylight and views for all employees. The majority of open offices in the building offer river views and northern light, and all major gathering spaces access the exterior: five balconies on each floor, designed as outdoor conference rooms, hang over the wetland and act as sunscreens.
The building was designed to use up to 55% less energy than a conventional office building and to last for at least 100 years. Materials were selected for their durability, maintainability, low toxicity, recycled content, and regional availability.
| Project Owner: | Heifer International |
| Owner Type: | Corporation, nonprofit |
LOCATION & CLIMATE
| City: | Little Rock |
| State / Province: | AR |
| Site context/setting: | Urban |
OCCUPANCY
| Typical Number of Permanent Occupants: | 474 |
| Owner Occupied: | Yes |
| Owner Type: | Corporation, nonprofit |
| Average Hours Per Permanent Occupant: | 40 |
| Typical Number of Visitors Per Week: | 100 |
VISITS & GUIDED TOURS
Visiting
It is possible to visit this project
Visiting Details:
The Heifer International Headquarters building, located at 1 World Avenue in Little Rock, Arkansas, is open to the public.
Building tours, 30 minutes long, are available from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Touring
It is possible to tour this project
Tour Details:
BUILDING DETAILS
SCOPE
GENERAL FLOOR AREA
BUILDING
COMPLETION
DATE OF
OCCUPANCY/COMPLETION
COMPLETION NOTES
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND RESOURCES USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND LANDSCAPING
One of the goals for the project was to use locally sourced materials whenever feasible. A steel structure was chosen because the steel factory was three blocks from the site and the material included 97% recycled content; the heavy timber roof was also sourced locally. An aluminum curtainwall and skin, making up more than 90% of the exterior, was fabricated at a major glass company located directly across the street.
The project team selected durable, low-toxicity materials for the project interior. These included toilet partitions made largely of sawdust, reception and toilet countertops made of recycled glass, and easily reconfigurable, locally manufactured storefront systems. Exposed-steel floor decks were left unpainted, which saved money while maintaining their reflectivity.
DESIGN
DESIGN PROCESS
Predesign
Initial sketches showed a building that was 40% smaller than the final result, on roughly half the amount of land. Because of tremendous increases in donations and staff and a desire to increase the potential for educational exhibits, however, Heifer revised its projected growth figures, and the project team determined that the project and site needed to be larger. At the same time, the team reassessed its environmental goals to allow the building to more accurately reflect the aspirations of Heifer.
An open dialogue began with a goal-setting charrette that included all consultants and a large Heifer contingent. The participants determined that the project parameters had changed to the point that the initial design was no longer viable, opening a process that led to the final design. From this process, the team established a list of attainable environmental goals.
The project team participated in monthly environmental committee meetings to better comprehend the organization's core mission and identify specific educational opportunities within the design. The team's efforts to create an energy-efficient design were geared toward freeing up funding from the infrastructure for use in promoting programs around the world.
Design
To formulate the structural concept for the building, the project team studied how Heifer would build around the world. The simple elegance of these structures—including just what is needed—led to a goal to minimize the ornamentation common in this building type and to express the functional detailing of the steel in a beautiful way.
The project team wanted the structure to sit lightly on the land, which led to the creation of thin planes at floor edges and the roof. Each tree column was designed as one tube, four stories tall, capped with light, fingerlike tube branches. All systems were integrated and visually cupped within the fingers of the trees. The inverted roof was designed to direct rainwater to exposed pipes above circulation paths. Extended steel beams at the roof edge were capped with galvanized steel grates to extend the sun protection and lighten the edge in a crown-like fashion.
The lobby hosts a sculptural building-section model with interactive displays that highlight the Headquarters' green attributes, such as the rainwater collection system and the lightshelves, and explain how they are connected to Heifer’s work.
Construction
The design team felt that it was important to get buy-in from the construction team to ensure the best and clearest translation from the design to reality. The design team held numerous meetings with the construction team in an effort to communicate not only the process of documenting LEED criteria but also the larger picture. The contractors researched and submitted many alternate materials to ensure compliance with indoor environmental quality needs and local availability. Many vendors and suppliers showcased and promoted products that were being used for the first time in this market. The team reviewed LEED criteria and submittals during each weekly construction meeting.
Operations/Maintenance
Long-term operations and maintenance were critical considerations in the selection of materials and systems. The office building was designed for a 100-year life with normal replacement of items at anticipated intervals. Exterior and interior materials were selected for their durability and low maintenance needs. Mechanical systems and lighting systems, while complicated due to the level of control and reporting required for LEED, were supplied with user-friendly interfaces.
Commissioning
A commissioning agent was involved in every aspect of the design process. The agent provided peer review and input during each phase of the project, produced a commissioning plan, attended construction update meetings, and performed all the required commissioning duties during the installation, testing, and acceptance of the identified and required systems and equipment. The same agent was hired to monitor and report on the building's performance during the first year of occupancy.
LESSONS LEARNED
This design process began with sharing knowledge and goals. It was important that the building speak of its environmental responsibility as well as Heifer’s story. The strongest shared statement came from the founder’s daughter, who remembered her father speaking of village visits where a community would make decisions sitting in a circle, all facing each other as equals. During the Headquarters design process, members of the project team, the community, and the client made collaborative decisions in that same arrangement: all ideas were considered equally worthy of consideration.
The integrated design approach focused on actual, not perceived, measures of environmental responsibility, meaning that the anticipated environmental results drove the design and that beauty was found in those features.
This design approach did offer challenges. The process required additional time and effort from a design standpoint. In construction, early site and steel packages hindered efforts to fully integrate the design. The project was very successful, however, in its introduction of new thinking into the construction industry, opening the door for future local projects to take advantage of the lessons learned here.
FINANCES
GENERAL INFORMATION
Through the integrated design process, the project team was able to participate in early discussions ranging from methods of finance to site selection. Heifer had grown rapidly over recent years and was renting two full floors of a downtown high-rise as well as space in two other buildings. An analysis of rent expenditure showed that an equal amount would be spent on an ownership payment, and Heifer chose to finance the project through a combination of conventional loans and a capital campaign.
A grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency financed brownfield cleanup.
Heifer purchased eight individual land tracks and allowed the city to build a perimeter road to alleviate congestion from the adjacent project. This opened new access to the site and will provide for the use of adjacent City land for future Heifer projects.
FINANCE DETAILS
Because of the tight budget, the design team performed life-cycle cost analyses for major systems and tested every idea against Heifer’s ideology. For any cost that would not be part of a conventional office building, the team used a payback period of seven to ten years as a baseline to determine its viability. For example, vehicle recharging stations, while environmentally responsible, would get very little use and were not projected to meet the acceptable payback period. This analysis encouraged the project team to pursue inexpensive means of encouraging alternative transportation, such as providing preferred parking for hybrid vehicles and connections to public transportation.
GENERAL ENERGY
GENERAL INFORMATION
The design team's fundamental goal was to create integrated building systems that would maximize both energy savings and educational potential. Exposing the systems offered an excellent educational opportunity by connecting the ways in which air and water move with the ways in which humans move and work.
The building was designed to use 55% less energy than a comparable, conventional building. These savings are due in large part to the use of daylight as the primary source of ambient light during work hours; the building's east-west axis and expansive glazing allow for minimal electric lighting. Dimming systems automatically adjust the lighting in response to daylight levels, while occupancy sensors ensure that lights are turned off when rooms are unoccupied.
Vertical fins and horizontal sunshades limit unwanted solar heat gain while redirecting daylight into the building's interior. Glazing on the building has an insulation value of U-0.29, and the envelope has an insulation value of R-25.
The use of raised floors for ventilation distribution minimizes the power needed for fan units and allows for higher ceilings and windows.
In anticipation of a future photovoltaic system, the project team angled the roof for optimal solar exposure.