Executed through the Vitro Concierge Program®, an exclusive service designed to ensure supply chain success for large, complex or high-profile commercial construction projects, Amazon Headquarters - Metropolitan Park in Arlington, Va., embodies Amazon’s vision and goals to design a highly sustainable campus, the world’s largest LEED® v4 Platinum building, and give back to the local community.
In addition to constructing two glass towers with 2.1 million square feet of office space, the U.S. technology giant, global e-commerce, cloud computing and digital streaming company renovated and expanded the public Metropolitan Park to 2 ½ acres next to two, 22-floor towers housing 14,000 Amazonians and their dogs. The two ground-floor lobbies are open to the public and offer free coffee and donuts to both employees and the public. Decorated with plants and sliding glass doors, these welcoming spaces present a front-lawn type of vibe.
Part of Amazon’s design strategy included ample daylighting and a feeling of openness for the lobbies, office towers and 50,000 square feet of retail where employees and visitors can patronize local businesses.
Supporting ZGF Architects’ quest, Solarban® 72 Starphire® glass from Vitro Architectural Glass maximizes daylighting through an expansive curtainwall system comprised of approximately 13-ft. by 5-ft. modules with approximately 7 ft., 6-in.-tall vision panels and an approximately 5 ½-ft.-tall spandrel section.
According to Brian Earle, AIA, principal, ZGF Architects, Arlington, Va., the team considered a wide range of glazing options, but ultimately, Solarban® 72 Starphire® glass was chosen for its high energy efficiency performance and clarity. “The low iron makeup makes it extremely clear without the green tint common in high-iron glazing,” he says.
The podium cladding is charcoal-colored terracotta, which references the site’s historic use as a brickyard, and the first tower, Jasper — code name for an Alexa project — is comprised of dichroic glass, an iridescent, dynamic material that changes hues as the sun rises and sets. The second building, Merlin — code name for an Amazon Web Service project — features metal fins with a color-shifting pearlescent coating.
All of the storefront and curtainwall glazing is Solarban® 72 Starphire® glass, including a large 35-ft. picture window at the building’s Large Event Center where it is integrated into a 2-in.- thick acoustical layup. Solarban® 72 Starphire® glass delivers exceptional clarity and superior solar control performance, allowing 68 percent of the visible light to pass through while blocking 72 percent of the sun’s solar rays.
To meet the project’s aggressive energy goals 24 percent below the ASHRAE baseline, the architects designed the two towers with deep setbacks to bounce light far into the interior while simultaneously shading the buildings. Additional shading is provided by perforated copper-colored fins attached to scalloped light louvres on the west-facing amenity zones.
“The louver system has engineered sightlines to eliminate glare, allowing the roller shade to be mounted below it,” relates Earle. “This ensures that even when the shades are drawn for privacy, ample light still makes its way deep into the space.”
Another daylighting strategy is the large vision panels, which start at 30 inches above the finished floor and extend upwards to 120 inches. The top two feet of the panels contain integral light shelves that project natural daylight up to 50 feet into the building’s interior, thereby providing daylight autonomy for 88 percent of the occupied areas.
Yet another light harvesting strategy is the addition of skylights in areas of the buildings where site constraints required deeper floorplates on the lower levels.
“In addition to reducing the need for energyintensive electric lighting, daylight has proven to have a positive impact on occupant mood and productivity,” reports Earle.
Enhancing the building enclosure’s performance, ZGF specified custom gray spandrel panels for above and below the vision panels where the daylighting is less beneficial. Between the two buildings, a total of 3,008 custom single-hung operable windows with an integrated bug screen were developed in partnership with Harmon and Wausau Window and Wall Systems.
Located near the Potomac River, a major bird migratory corridor, the architects designed the facades to be bird safe. A combination of terracotta, metal and glass fins break up the façade, thereby enabling the birds to see it. For the lower stories facing the park, an additional Walker Glass frit was added.
Walker’s AviProtek® E pattern 216 is a bird friendly glass solution with acid-etched visual markers on the exterior surface of the glass and Solarban® 72 solar control, low-e coating by Vitro on surface two.
Between the two buildings there are 19 rooftop terraces, eight of which are occupied, including a farm terrace where Amazon employees can volunteer to grow herbs and vegetables for free distribution to local organizations.
The all-electric campus is powered by 100 percent renewable energy from an off-site solar array and the plumbing systems were designed to reduce water consumption to 50 percent below code.
“Amazon HQ2 was our premier project where we made the glass and coated it all at one time for superior consistency and quality. This method proved successful as we were able to keep ahead of the project, meet the critical timelines and supply exceptional glass for this monumental project,” said Julie Unitas, Vitro Architectural Glass Project Manager for the Signature and Concierge Programs. “It was an honor to work with Aaron Spindler, the General Manager of Oldcastle Wright City and his team, who provided the utmost partnership in communication and quality control.”
