Signature Centre

Golden, CO

Located just outside Golden, Colorado, Signature Centre includes a five-story, 186,000 ft², Class A office building and 112,000 ft² underground parking area. The building, which houses 900 employees and also features a fitness center and a café, was designed, developed, and built by Aardex, LLC.

Signature Centre is the first LEED Platinum certified commercial building in Colorado. At the time of completion it is touted as one of just 41 LEED Platinum buildings in the world.

The project team designed the building so that more than 92% of regularly occupied spaces receive daylight and offer views to the city, the mountains, or the immediate landscape. Large windows, interior and exterior light shelves, high ceilings, glazed partition walls and an open layout welcome daylight deep into the building. Occupancy sensors, photo sensors and dimming ballasts ensure that electric lights are used only when necessary.

The project site includes a pervious pathway, bioswales for managing stormwater and native grasses that require little irrigation. This reduced irrigation - combined with dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, low-flow showerheads, and low-flow faucets with automatic controls - was expected to reduce the project's use of potable water by 47%.

A low-velocity underfloor system provides heating, cooling, and ventilation to most spaces. Perimeter areas are conditioned by radiant heaters and chilled beams. Other energy-efficiency strategies include low-emissivity glazing, an outside-air economizer, and a sophisticated building-automation system. Signature Centre is expected to use 37% less energy than a comparable conventional building, saving more than $80,000 each year.

The project team located all air-supply intakes on the building roof, away from traffic exhaust, and ensured that all restrooms, janitor closets, and kitchens vent directly outside. The team also selected paints, adhesives, sealants, carpeting, and composite-wood products for their low chemical emissions. Additionally, more than 20% of all materials, by cost, were extracted, processed, and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site, and half of all wood was certified to Forest Stewardship Council standards.

The developer insisted that all green features pay for themselves within three years. Some green strategies saved first costs, while others reduce operating costs. The underfloor air-delivery system, for example, reduced material use by allowing for a shorter building and avoiding the need for ducting. It also reduces operating costs by saving energy and improving employee productivity.

Signature Centre scored 12 of possible 14 points in Energy & Atmosphere. The main energy efficiency features of the building include:

• 92% of the occupied space has access to daylighting and outside views.
• Under floor air delivery is provided, allowing each occupant to control the air in their space.
• Exterior and Interior light shelves reduce glare while bringing daylight further into the space.
• Solar Ban 70 Low-E glazing used throughout the building to reduce heat gain and glare.
• Lighting controlled by occupancy sensors, photo sensors, and dimmable switches.
• Hot water supplied from high efficient condensing boilers.
• Cold water supplied from evaporative cooled condensing chilled water units.

This case study was excerpted and adapted from project profiles developed by the US Green Building Council.

For more information, visit:

• US Green Building Council Project Profiles
• LEED-CS Pilot Certification Final Review (pdf)

Last Updated: 11/26/2009