{"id":859,"date":"2013-10-15T12:11:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T16:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?p=859"},"modified":"2017-01-31T12:46:29","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T17:46:29","slug":"providence-office-park-ii-finds-gold-with-raised-access-floors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/providence-office-park-ii-finds-gold-with-raised-access-floors\/","title":{"rendered":"Providence Office Park II finds gold with raised access floors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Portland\u2019s
Portland\u2019s 21,925-m2<\/sup> (236,000-sf) Providence Office Park II development includes a raised access floor system in five of its six floors.<\/span>
Photos courtesy Jon R. Jurgens & Associates<\/span><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Scott Alwine, LEED AP
\n<\/b>For its Portland, Oregon, offices, Providence Health & Services\u2014a Catholic healthcare ministry\u2014includes open park space on a tight urban site. However, one of its \u2018greenest\u2019 attributes may be its floors. A raised access floor system employed in five of Office Park II\u2019s six floors, is instrumental to the open-plan design, daylighting, and expansive views for employees of owner Providence Health & Services. The facility also boasts a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, exceeding the Silver originally sought by the building owner and required by the city.<\/p>\n

The 21,925-m2<\/sup> (236,000-sf) building is home to some of the organization\u2019s Oregon region departments, which provide healthcare, community services, and education to communities.<\/p>\n

The six-story building includes one level of below-grade parking and a mixed-use ground level that includes caf\u00e9, conference center, commercial space, and employment center.<\/p>\n

Upstairs, offices and meeting rooms surround a structural core including stairways and two elevator shafts. This core provides the entire building\u2019s seismic and lateral bracing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe structural core allowed us to eliminate cross-bracing throughout the building and raised access flooring eliminated the need for overhead ductwork,\u201d Tom Wesel, architect at Oregon-based Jon R. Jurgens & Associates Beaverton said. \u201cAs a result, when you step out of the core area, you always have access to natural light and an unobstructed view to the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

The raised access floor system consists of an understructure and 609-mm (24-in.) square, welded steel floor panels filled with lightweight cement. The understructure supporting the panels provides positive positioning, lateral retention, and leveling adjustments to ensure the floor is soundly supported on all contact points.<\/p>\n

The resulting underfloor pathway created by the raised floor panels provides housing for the building\u2019s wiring, cabling and heating, and HVAC systems. Power-voice-data (PVD) terminations fed through the modular floor panels offer convenient, flexible access to all these services, while air diffusers supply fresh cool air from the underfloor plenum directly into the occupied space.<\/p>\n

\"The
The underfloor air distribution (UFAD) system improves the indoor air quality (IAQ) for employees. Air is delivered directly to the occupied space and during the process, older, warmer air is carried to the ceiling by natural convection and removed through return outlets, keeping it out of the occupied zone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along with the ability to distribute air from under the floor, comes improved comfort control in individual work areas, the result of diffusers placed in the floor that deliver conditioned air to the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese diffusers enable employees to adjust the volume and the direction of air entering their work space,\u201d Wesel noted. \u201cUsing them helped us to achieve an important goal Providence Health & Services identified early in the planning process\u2014to provide individual control over comfort by eliminating the hot and cold syndrome employees had experienced in other facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as importantly, the underfloor air distribution (UFAD) system provides employees with improved indoor air quality (IAQ). This is because air is delivered directly to the occupied space, typically identified as the space from floor level up to 1.8 m (6 ft). During the process, older, warmer air is carried to the ceiling by natural convection and removed through return outlets, keeping it out of the occupied zone.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the access floor system supports the flexible floor plan important to the building owner. Occupants are able to reconfigure or relocate work areas without having to move walls and rewire offices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, the ability to run all the wiring and cables under the floor eliminated the need to purchase powered furniture, which can create another set of issues and challenges with respect to reconfiguring office space,\u201d said Wesel.<\/p>\n

Energy costs have also decreased as a result of the access floor system.<\/p>\n

\u201cOregon has a pretty high mandate for energy efficiency, so saving energy was certainly top of mind as we discussed plans for this building,\u201d said Richard Staley, regional director of construction services for the state\u2019s Providence Health & Services.<\/p>\n

\"The
The facility is Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design (LEED) Gold-certified and employs daylighting, rubber flooring, and motion sensors to control lighting and HVAC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Additional energy-efficient design elements include:<\/p>\n