The recent announcement that the California Independent System Operator (ISO) facility in Folsom, CA won the 2012 National Best Overall Project and Best Office Project award from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) comes as no surprise. From the start, this exciting design-build project had winner written all over it.
The California ISO’s Iron Point Road facility is the headquarters for this non-profit organization, which manages California’s electrical grid. According to Dreyfuss & Blackford, architects for the project, “The over-arching goal in the new facility was to create a secure, innovative and energy efficient headquarters complex.”
The Iron Point facility is made-up of three distinct sections with a central lobby, and incorporates many energy-saving solutions. It is located on rolling hills at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The site is home to nearly 100 mature oak trees and other native plants.
The final civil site design prepared by NV5 not only contributed to the best overall-project win, it also helped to secure a LEED Platinum rating for the project back in July 2011. As much as possible, the natural landscape was preserved while incorporating energy-efficient features. NV5, a member of the design-build team, developed innovative site designs that helped to achieve the 2012 DBIA Best Overall Project win and coveted platinum rating.
According to Project Manager Jay Radke, few projects receive LEED Platinum standing—the highest category—as it requires an 80-point score (out of a possible 100 points). Points are added in six major categories including site sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design process.
Storm water quality control and the use of greywater for irrigation and lavatories were just a couple of the creative solutions incorporated into the final project design. NV5 designed a system of storm water capture ponds and storage basins that help to clean and control storm water runoff before it leaves the site. Storage tanks collect greywater discharge from the building’s cooling tower system, along with greywater from lavatories and showers—eliminating potable water use for irrigation. The high-quality cooling tower discharge water is also piped back into the building and used to flush toilets. NV5 designed the greywater collection system, 15,000 gallon storage tank, and main irrigation pumps for the award-winning facility.