The Keystone Building contains 21,000 square feet with office space on the upper floor and warehouse space on the lower floor. Energy and environmental issues plus an extremely tight budget were important from the very initiation of the project. A drop in grade from south to north allowed the insertion of the entry at a mid-level mezzanine on the “public” south side with the 20-foot high warehouses entered from the north or “working” side. Common circulation system with elevator eliminated the need for individual stairs and toilet rooms for each office unit in a typical organization for this building type – and made the building fully accessible. An arcade on the south formalizes the mezzanine entries, and provides a shaded transition from the sunlit parking area.
Environmental Strategies
- “Butterfly” roof for water collection
- 10,000 gallon tanks at each end of building
- Fully daylit offices
- Passive solar heated
- Daylighting for warehouse
- Partial earth sheltering
- Energy efficient envelope
- Efficient radiant heating and evaporative cooling
- Very low total energy cost
- Pre-engineered steel frame for cost savings
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