As part of a unique public-private partnership, HOK is designing a new type of sustainable research development intended to leave a lasting legacy. HOK is working with Arlington-based Realty Appreciation Ltd. and the Texas A&M University System to design the Urban Living Laboratory, a 73-acre, 1.2 million-sq.-ft. mixed-use development that sits on a 240-acre parcel of land owned by the Texas A&M University System and located in north Dallas.
The proposed five-phase project, which will be built to endure for 75 years, includes offices, retail space, multifamily apartments, and two hotels. HOK is providing architecture, interior design, master planning, landscape architecture and environmental graphics services.In addition to being a “live, work, play” development that showcases green building techniques and systems, the Urban Living Laboratory will accommodate unprecedented levels of sustainable research in the built environment. Scientists from across Texas A&M and other universities will be able to monitor the buildings’ technologies, systems and environmental impact while studying the factors that influence occupants to act sustainably in their daily lives.”We can design a building to meet specific sustainable specifications, but performance monitoring of both the systems and the people is what we’re missing in the green movement,” said Kevin Rogers, director of real estate for Realty Appreciation. “We don’t believe there is any other development in the world where this is happening.”
More than 20 Fortune 500 companies that have joined the project as partners will underwrite the Urban Living Laboratory’s technology platforms. These corporate partners will benefit from access to real-time performance data on their building systems and products — as well as extensive research on how people use them.
“There is sustainability by device and sustainability by design,” said Rogers. “These companies will provide the green ‘devices’ that we will install in every building for research purposes. Meanwhile, we expect HOK’s sustainable design to change the paradigm of how we build, operate and maintain new buildings.”
Each building will be designed to achieve at least LEED® Silver certification and will be required to maintain this level over time. The rating system is intended to provide baseline figures against which the team can measure and continuously improve the performance of the buildings.”We selected HOK for its leadership in sustainability and for its ability to design buildings that will last 75 years, while being flexible to be updated with better-performing materials and technologies once every seven to 10 years,” added Rogers.
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