Salesforce Tower

Strategy & Services: Salesforce Tower (formerly Transbay Tower) is the signature office tower of the planned Transbay Development District in downtown San Francisco. Rising to 1,070 feet, it is the tallest building allowed in San Francisco by zoning, and will forever be a prominent feature on the city’s skyline. Sustainability was a key consideration in the building’s design, with a focus on energy, water, and site selection. As a project that was pursuing LEED Gold, with aspirations for Platinum, stok conducted numerous evaluations of the space for water recycling, a cogeneration system, and other innovative solutions to get the project to Platinum.

Design Details: Salesforce Tower has numerous efficient and healthy building strategies woven into its design. stok’s water consulting helped vision comprehensive water recycling systems in the tower and transit center that will help to reduce water consumption 30% below code inside the building, and greater than 50% in outdoor landscaping. The tower also features a first of its kind HVAC system with floor-by-floor air handlers that maximize natural ventilation, creating a healthy and sustainable solution by lowering CO2 levels while not requiring conditioned air. These measures, coupled with stringent materials analysis and specifications, significantly improved indoor environmental quality in the space. In addition to efficient and healthy features, the tower is designed for an enhanced occupant experience. Utilizing under-floor air distribution (UFAD) will greatly reduce HVAC and fan horsepower energy usage, as well as improve occupant comfort and zone controllability. UFAD also allows for increased floor to ceiling space, creating breathtaking 360 views while high performance, low-emissivity glass will help reduce the cooling load as well as enhance energy performance and natural light transmission. Adjacent to the tower is a 5.4 acre public park, which will include a walking trail, vegetation gardens, lily ponds, and outdoor amphitheater to create an inviting communal space.

 

Outcome: Finding abundant energy efficiency measures to optimize, stok took Salesforce Tower from LEED Gold to comfortably Platinum, making it the first pre-certified LEED Platinum Core & Shell project in San Francisco. The building will serve as an example of the successful alignment of sustainable and healthy building practices, and will remain an iconic component of the San Francisco skyline.