One Bala Redevelopment
One Bala Redevelopment
Bala Cynwyd, PA
One Bala Plaza, a 1965 cast-in-place concrete office building, was showing its age. The tenants were hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and the 345,000 square foot building needed a facelift inside and out to address occupant comfort, energy efficiency and marketability.
Design solutions needed to address modern thermal performance considerations, an entirely fresh image and a complete HVAC overhaul, and all this needed to fit around an impenetrable cast-in-place concrete structure. If that wasn’t challenging enough, the team had to figure out how to accomplish those renovations while the building was fully occupied.
Replacing the single pane window systems seemed like an easy place to start, but early investigations found that the cast-in-place concrete on the upper four stories could not support modern window systems. Instead, a prefabricated exterior skin was applied to support the windows and provide the insulation the building was lacking, giving the building a clean look. A dramatic new four-story addition at the main entrance, featuring electrochromic glass, gives the building the focal point it was lacking. The team also devised a way to replace the existing mechanical systems with a newly efficient system that achieves a LEED Silver rating.
Features:
- New energy efficient, double glazed, low-e argon filled glass units installed everywhere that provides terrific visibility to the exterior but dramatically cuts down solar heat gain, even on the sunniest of summer days
- Electrochromic glass in the new addition changes shading automatically with the sun, so no shades or blinds are needed.
- Interior roller blinds automatic, controlled by a sensor that moves them up or down in response to the level of sun.
- New landscaping with a biophilic approach provides multiple outdoor tenant amenity areas such as a walking path, basketball court, outdoor seating and gather areas, as well as traffic calming.
