Atelier Ten New York Office Fit-Out
with Atelier Ten
Designing our own office presented Atelier Ten with an opportunity to “walk the talk” and showcase our environmental design thinking as a model for staff and clients. Achieving both LEED and WELL Platinum, the office balances energy efficiency, healthy interiors, access to light and views, acoustic comfort, and high air quality.
Post pandemic, it was necessary to create a safe and healthy environment for staff to return to. To improve air quality we equipped our air handling units with MERV 13 filters to reduce particles including dust, pollen, and bacteria. Air quality monitors provide real time indoor air quality and are accessible to all occupants. As required by the IWBI, we installed different types of water filters and now continue to conduct annual on-site water quality testing to maintain water quality while reducing indoor water use by 45%.
As with many tenant improvements, the mechanical system selection was limited by landlord the restriction but we were determined to reduce energy usage. Through careful optimizations with interior lighting, operation controls and service hot water, we achieved a 20% reduction in energy cost savings compared to the ASHRAE baseline. To enhance control over the systems and improve thermal comfort, we installed components including throttling dampers connected to thermostats in each conference space, and ceiling fans in all open work areas.
To further reduce our carbon impact, we reused existing fursniture and equipment from the previous office, reducing embodied carbon emissions by 11%. Combining the reuse of furniture with the careful selection of healthy and low-VOC materials, we achieved a total of 13% embodied carbon savings for the office.
Lighting design is critical for productivity and overall employee wellness. We designed the electric lighting to balance with daylight and installed a circadian lighting system that changes color temperature based on time of day. To further reduce energy usage, the team used 100% LED fixtures and a daylight responsive wireless control system to automatically shut off lights in perimeter areas when daylit.