Workplace
Work forms revolve around degrees of freedom, movement, and various notions of ownership.
Work (physics), mechanical work is the amount of energy by a force acting through a direction of the force. Zero work is when there is no force.
Work (thermodynamics), the quantity of energy transferred from one system to another.
BLINK!s results are a process examining boundaries of technology, environment economics and sustainable performance.
BLINK! is attracted to projects with the work process and environment in mind.
TYPICAL WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS - STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING + WORK FLOW ANALYSIS . SUSTAINABLE CHANGE IMPLEMENTATION.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW - NASA Ames Research Center, Sustainability Base, Building N232, (AECOM - under construction).
Sustainability Base (N232) is the first of 5 buildings under the Renovation-by-Replacement program. It is also the 1st new building for the Ames campus in over 20 years. N232 is revolutionary in that it is designed to be a naturally ventilated building with fully automated mechanical systems controlling lighting, shade devices, as well as indoor air temperature. As a prototype, N232, is intended to reduce facility related costs and increase operational efficiency when compared to existing aged, substandard, high-cost facilities. This new facility, as part of the Master Planning process, will replace five existing inefficient buildings.
Awards: Winner of the 2010 GSA Green Innovation Award; 2010 San Jose/Silicon Valley Green Public Structure Award
Nominations: 2011 US Presidential GreenGov award (decisions due November)
Sustainability Base's design addresses new workplace comfort. Significant strategies include:
- Extensive glazed facades in combination with shading strategies which will reduce mechanical system sizes and design loads.
- Narrow footprint which permits natural cross-ventilation and daylight penetration targeted to lower artificial lighting requirements.
- Sensitive water strategy for on-site re-use for significant reduction in sewer loads.
- Integrated landscape programming which allows workplace extension from interior to exterior.
- Automated Building Management Control systems
- Extensive utilization of Building Analysis and Information Management software which are intended for both front-end but also post-occupancy facilities management.
- Integrate NASA advanced diagnostic research technologies which adapts the building for pubic research.
To date optimized Building Energy Design Demand are indicating formidable results:
- Building Energy Demand reductions – from 34% passive strategies and 73% Active strategies. Remaining energy demand can be provided by renewable sources such as Building Integrated photo-voltaic cells, fuel cell and roof top photo-voltaic cells.
- High Performance Water reduced storm water discharge; results 87%reduction in potable water, 100% reduction in sewer discharge.
It is also noteworthy, in that this is the first building in NASA’s history where products resulting from NASA’s research will be incorporated into the structure of the building. Making N232 truly ‘NASA Inside’. N232 is designed to be NET-ZERO and meet LEED-NC Platinum certification.
NASA Ames Research Center, Integrated Office Building, Building N268
N268 is a next-generation evolutionary adaptive environment building. It is the second of 5 buildings under the Renovation-by-Replacement program. It continues the Master Plan implementation with a building designed for greater sustainability and energy generation than its predecessor N232. By exploiting the latest thin-film photovoltaic technology, the building's envelop asks like a human skin - regulating interior temperature as a result of interaction with the external environment. In addition to naturally ventilated building with fully automated mechanical systems to control lighting, shade devices, as well as indoor air temperature. It is also designed to fully meet it’s energy needs through capturing solar energy. As with N232, N268, is intended to reduce facility related costs and increase operational efficiency. N268 is designed to meet LEED-NC Platinum certification.
N268 builds on the lessons of N232. It is a high-performance building integrated into a computerized campus resource management system. Evolutionary adaptation is designing for the changing future.
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SAN FRANCISCO - AKQA Advertising Agency nilus designs/huntsman
Concept Design - AKQA is an international interactive media agency, with offices in London and San Francisco. The SF offices are located in a historic un-reinforced red brick building. For contemporary office use, the concept rests on the notion of 'presenting branded space' interjected within an existing world. The result is an extremely contracted space where contemporary media meets handed-craft. High-gloss walls and a poured floors. The result is a welding of the electronic space within a mechanical world of the past. Size: 28, 000 sq. ft.
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CHEVRON, San Ramon / Tsao Design Group
Renovation of 3 15-year old buildings, 55,000 sq. ft.
Without the expert craftsmanship of the team at DesignWork, key anchor pieces could not have been realized.
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SURFSHOP / light guage steel building nilusdesigns
This low-budget new construction
office/warehouse is now underway. The challenge to build a 7,000 sq.
ft. building for very little required research into building structures
and materials. We knew that this was a project where the structure and
the 'architecture' had to be one in the same. The final design is a
pre-engineered steel building fabricated off-site and assembled in-place.
The frame is then skinned with translucent panels. When complete the translucent
panels will permit diffused light into the work space. Due to its suface,
the panels will reflect cloud patterns during the day. At night the building will glow like a
lantern.
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SAN FRANCISCO - FRITZ, a UPS company / Tsao Design Group
A low-budget Tenant Improvement, 15,000 sq. ft.
1444 Market Street was the conversion of a former electronics store to accommodate the new Civic Center law offices. Transformation of the five story facility included new elevator and mezzanine conference rooms.
BLINK!LABarchitecture, inc
4228 martin luther king, jr. way
oakland, ca 94609
t 510.326.2176
