Rumsey Engineers announced today that the National Resources Defense Council headquarters project in San Francisco has been awarded a Merit Award by the San Francisco Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in the Energy and Sustainability category. AIA San Francisco's annual design awards program celebrates the best of Bay Area architecture, recognize achievement in a broad range of architectural work, and inform the public of the breadth and value of architectural practice.

A collaboration between Rumsey Engineers and Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects of San Francisco, the project is the first to achieve a LEED Gold certification under USGBC's new Commercial Interiors rating system, and has also received wide recognition on many fronts, including a PG&E Savings by Design Award. Located on two floors of a San Francisco financial district highrise constructed in 1927, the project demonstrates that sustainable design can be affordable for most companies, and that many older buildings with natural ventilation and daylighting already offer many energy efficient features.

NRDC specifically choose a building in downtown San Francisco that was amenable to natural ventilation. The U-shaped building provided a thin floor plate, which maximized the amount of perimeter office space and minimized interior space. Existing operable windows in each perimeter office provided ample natural ventilation and daylighting. Rumsey Engineers worked carefully with LMS Architects on the design, creating a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the spaces, to insure that the natural ventilation elements were effective in delivering adequate fresh air and that the final design would result in excellent occupant comfort during all months of the year.

Of the building end uses that are regulated by the LEED CI rating system (lights, plug loads and HVAC), the project's HVAC energy use alone is 55% lower than the LEED minimum. With operable windows as well as user controllable thermostatic valves on the radiators, comfort and occupant satisfaction in the building far surpasses that of conventional buildings.

About Rumsey Engineers
Rumsey Engineers, Inc., is a Bay Area-based design engineering firm that specializes in innovative HVAC system solutions for the most demanding commercial installations and critical environments, including green buildings, data centers, cleanrooms and laboratories. The company's philosophy is based on the premise that the best design is simple and elegant, and results in substantially lower energy costs. For more information, visit www.rumseyengineers.com.

Contact: Clifton Lemon 510 663 2070 x 217 clemon@rumseyengineers.com