Australia-based Ecofibre – a global leader in innovative hemp technologies – recognized an opportunity to expand its emerging U.S. operations to meet the growing demand for the natural and medicinal properties of industrial hemp. In order to do so, a new, sustainable, multi-purpose North American headquarters was essential.

CHALLENGE:

To uphold Ecofibre’s fundamental commitment to producing environmentally friendly products, the new 51,000-square-foot facility would need to be as sustainable as its high-performance products. It would need to meet strict standards to achieve the goal of LEED Platinum Certification, the highest green building standard in the world. The state-of-the-art facility would also need to serve as a bright, welcoming landmark to instill employee pride and welcome Ecofibre customers and prospective clients, as well as provide a healthy environment to optimize the wellness for the occupants within.

SOLUTION:

The project’s ambitious sustainability and wellness target drove each aspect of the design to be carefully considered. To ensure as healthy an experience as possible, while limiting the amount of heat transfer into the building, the architects at JRA selected Solatube International. JRA worked closely with their Solatube design representative at Shaffner Heaney Associates to deliver an optimized amount of daylight throughout the facility. The Solatube Design Calculator was used to determine the number of units needed, the ideal spacing and the amount of daylight the Solatube Daylighting Systems would bring into each space.

66 Solatube Daylighting Systems were used throughout the office areas, manufacturing clean rooms and in the 30,000-square-foot warehouse and order fulfillment space, reducing total energy consumption by 58%.

Three different Solatube products were used to deliver soft, uniform natural light efficiently to each interior space without glare. Including:

• The Solatube SolaMaster 330 DS-C
• The Solatube SolaMaster 750 DS-O
• The Solatube SkyVault M74 DS with Collector and Amplifier (featuring proprietary Raybender HD, LightTracker and INFRAREDuction Technology)

RESULTS:

The Solatube Daylighting Systems improve building occupant health and contribute to the highly efficient exterior building envelope, which was critical to the project’s ambitious energy performance goals. The building achieved LEEDv4 Platinum Certification, the first for any warehouse and distribution facility in the United States. 

“Solatube products have consistently delivered optimized daylight performance across a diverse myriad of project types. The various daylighting products afford designers a range of options that coordinate with high performance, high design buildings, all at great value,” said Colin L. Drake, AIA, LEED AP, JRA Architects.