The Bank of America Tower, completed in 2008, is the first commercial high-rise property to earn LEED-Platinum. The USGBC recognized the entire design and construction team for its pioneering approach to providing occupants with cleaner air and more natural light, while conserving energy and other natural resources within the building.
The Bank of America Tower utilizes a wide range of strategies and technologies to enhance the health and productivity of its tenants, reduce waste, and promote environmental sustainability. A clear, high-performance glass curtainwall permits maximum sunlight and views to the outdoors while blocking unwanted heat. An advanced under-floor air delivery system allows for individual control of heating/cooling and provides clean filtered outside air.
With 55 floors and 2.1 million square feet, sustainability was a bottom to top effort:
- A 4.6-megawatt co-generation plant meets 65 percent of electricity demands and reduces daytime peak electricity demand by 30 percent. The system also generates most of the heating energy for the building.
- An ice storage system provides 25 percent of annual cooling requirements. At night, excess electricity from the co-generation system is used to produce ice, which is melted during the day to supplement the cooling system.
- An air filtration system for both incoming and outgoing air.
- Gray water capture and reuse.
- Waterless urinals and low-flow faucets.
- 9’6” floor-to-ceiling windows to enhance daylighting.
- Steel made from 87 percent recycled material and concrete from 45 percent recycled content (blast furnace slag).
- 91 percent of all construction and demolition waste was recycled or otherwise diverted from landfill.
Anne M. Finucane, Global Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America, says,“This Tower at One Bryant Park is much more than the Bank of America headquarters in New York City – it is a magnificent example of environmentally sustainable building, and it symbolizes our continued commitment to the global environment and to the city of New York."
