BY MICHAEL BURKE
Journal Times | Posted: Saturday, January 5, 2008 12:00 am
MOUNT PLEASANT - From its lighting, heating and cooling systems to its landscaping, the new Horizon Retail Construction headquarters will be a model of modern sustainability.
Construction just began on the estimated $8 million, 75,000-square-foot structure. Horizon President and majority owner Patrick Christensen hopes Horizon will move into the stone and steel building in November.
He said the structure was a case of designing the most-efficient systems possible, and then putting a structure around them.
Horizon made some material choices that will cost more, but the building is designed for minimum energy usage and environmental impact.
For example, "We spent a lot of extra money, about 30 percent more, on the (exterior) glass," Christensen said. And there is an enormous amount of it. But he said the payback will be huge in reducing cooling costs.
In some cases, making a better environmental choice did not cost extra. "The interior glass is all reclaimed from other buildings," Christensen said. "It costs about the same as new or maybe a little less."
The heating and cooling system will be a sophisticated, variable-refrigerant system controlled by Horizon's information-technology department. Christensen said the building will be divided into 41 heating/cooling zones; the system will redistribute unwanted heat from one zone to another where it is needed.
He said the heating/cooling system costs about 40 percent more than a standard system but is also about 40 percent more efficient.
Other innovations will include:
* Flushless urinals. They're more expensive to buy, but the payback is immediate because there is less plumbing involved, Christensen said.
But even if that wasn't true, each urinal should save 3,300 gallons of water yearly for a total estimated water savings of 49,500 gallons a year.
* The building will save more water with its low-water toilets and faucets.
* The four-story building will be well-lit by the large expanses of glass. In addition, all lights will be on light and motion sensors. Candle-watt sensors at desk levels will turn lights off anytime they're not needed.
"We will not dim lights - we will turn lights off," Christensen said.
* The non-glass parts of the exterior will be clad with Exterior Insulation Finish System, with an extremely high insulating value.
Horizon's environmental ethic also extends to the grounds around the building. For example, the small trees that stood within the building's footprint are being moved to other locations on site instead of destroying them and planting new trees.
And the nearby wetland plants will be allowed to grow right up to the parking lot. "There will be no sprinkling, no mowed lawn, no emissions from grass and maintenance management," Christensen said. "That makes me crazy."
"The only thing we'll have to maintain is snow removal," Christensen said.