Apex Plaza Charlottesville, Virginia Mass Timber Building, USA Architecture Design, Mixed-use
Apex Plaza Charlottesville: Mass Timber Building in Virginia
Apr 26, 2022
William McDonough Celebrates Opening of Tallest Mass Timber Building on the East Coast
Design: William McDonough + Partners
Location: Apex Plaza, 100 Garrett Street, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
photograph © WilliamMcDonough+Partners
Progress photos all ©Prakash Patel Photography
Apex Plaza in Charlottesville, Virginia
What if our homes and workplaces were like trees, living organisms participating productively in their surroundings?
Twenty years ago, William McDonough (William McDonough + Partners, MBDC, McDonough Innovation) posited the notion that buildings could “delightfully participate” in the landscape and enable the “possibility of developing healthy and creatively interactive relationships between human settlements and the natural world” (McDonough, Braungart 2002). This philosophy has endured and continues to be utilized today.
This Earth Day, Apex Plaza, the latest building designed “like a tree,” officially opens. The first large-scale mass timber project in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Apex Plaza is a successful example of circular and cradle-to-cradle design thinking, integrating sustainable features in the building’s energy use, materials and water.
Below are a few bullet points about the building’s sustainability features. If you’d like to learn more about Apex Plaza, designing buildings like trees, or the other projects he is working on, I would love to connect you with Bill McDonough. Please let me know and we’ll get it scheduled.
Apex Plaza Sustainability Features
Energy
• Rooftop solar – 364 MWh annual production of energy, zero Net Energy use for Apex offices
• Solar array – Provides shade and renewable energy
Materials
• CRADLE TO CRADLE CERTIFIED™ – Materials and products assessed for ecological and human health
• Mass timber structure – Sustainably Harvested FSC – Mass timber provides carbon sequestration, low embodied carbon footprint, and fast construction
• CLT Framing, designed for disassembly – Modular, adaptable and cost-effective structure
Water
• Green roof terrace – Provides habitat, biodiversity and stormwater retention
Environmental Quality
• Excellent access to natural light, rooftop landscape, and views.
• Lighting controls, occupancy sensors and operable shades
Apex Plaza Charlottesville, Virginia Building images / information received 250422
Location: Apex Plaza, 100 Garrett Street, Charlottesville, Virginia,United States of America
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