Strategic Regenerative Sustainability - Sustainability 2030 Clips

As reported in MercuryNews.com, NASA, in collaboration with lead architect and engineering firm AECOM and designer William McDonough and Partners of Charlottesville, VA., and San Francisco, designed the building to be "native to place," which means it incorporates the natural landscape into the design.

NASA's newest building at the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, has won the distinction of being certified as the nation's "greenest" federal building. Known as "Sustainability Base," the 50,000-square-foot, two-story office building is visually stunning: Sunlight streams through skylights, windows actually open, and the office floor plan has scrapped private offices in favor of open spaces that encourage teamwork and collaboration.

The $25 million building integrates a host of clean-energy components, including fuel cells from Bloom Energy, solar panels, a water recovery system and building controls that can react to subtle changes in sunlight, temperature, wind and occupancy. The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) unit has awarded the building LEED Platinum status, the highest rating possible.

"This building generates more electricity than it consumes, which allows us to support the energy needs of other buildings on the campus . . . .