The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design

Architect: Lord Aeck Sargent in collaboration with The Miller Hull Partnership

Owner: Georgia Institute of Technology

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Project site: Previously developed land

Building program type(s): Education – College/University (campus-level), Office – 10,000 sf

The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech is a multidisciplinary education building that serves as a working model of what is possible with sustainable design. The building is located at the heart of campus, anchoring the Eco-Commons, an eight-acre restored green space central to the campus master plan. The design team focused on integration and multidimensional solutions using an iterative and systems-based process.

The west-facing Regenerative Porch exemplifies this integration. As a Southern, vernacular design element, the porch typology addresses some of the project’s most significant challenges. Welcoming and generous in spirit, the porch provides shaded space for outdoor programs while reducing building cooling loads. It collects enough solar energy and rainwater to meet the building demand.

A central atrium space serves as the heart of the project and brings even daylight distribution to the deepest part of the plan. Where glare reduction and heat gain mitigation were required, exposure-specific strategies were employed—horizontal shading at the south elevation, automated exterior blinds on the east façade, large roof overhangs, and vertical vegetation screens on the west façade.

Reduced embodied carbon goals led to the selection of wood as the primary structure. Leaving the wood exposed reduced the need for interior finishes and provided a biophilic interior palette. Where lateral loads or longer spans were required, steel was paired with timber, creating a hybrid system that employs each material to its highest and best capabilities. For the exterior, where weather protection is critical, high-performance coatings were used on steel members. Concrete is limited to foundations and where beneficial for thermal mass.

A fully integrated design, the Kendeda Building is a synthesis of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) that operates in a regenerative manner, giving back more than it takes, and serves as a living laboratory for generations of students to come.

Additional information

Project attributes

Year of design completion: 2019

Year of substantial project completion: 2019

Gross conditioned floor area: 36, 978 sq ft

Number of stories: 3

Project climate zone: ASHRAE 3A

Annual hours of operation: 3,900

Site area: 58,813 sq ft

Project site context/setting: Urban

Cost of construction, excluding furnishing: $20,400,000

Number of residents, occupants, visitors: 38,480

Project team

Architect – Design: Lord Aeck Sargent in collaboration with The Miller Hull Partnership

Engineer – Civil: Long Engineering

Engineer – Greywater: Biohabitats

Engineer – MEP (Design): PAE

Engineer – MEP (Prime): Newcomb & Boyd Consultants and Engineers

Engineer – Structural: Uzun + Case

Interior Design: Lord Aeck Sargent

Landscape Architect: Andropogon Associates, Ltd.

Jury

Erica Cochran Hameen, Assoc. AIA, Carnegie Mellon University

Lynn Simon, FAIA, Google

Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, Marlon Blackwell Architects

Michelle Amt, AIA, VMDO Architects

Renee Cheng, FAIA, University of Washington

Image credits

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Jonathan Hillyer

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Gregg Willett

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Gregg Willett

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Gregg Willett

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Jonathan Hillyer