January 11, 2017: Entegrity Energy Partners, LLC will celebrate the completion of their new corporate headquarters, located at 1403 East 6th Street in Little Rock’s East Village neighborhood, with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 11 am.
Sustainable Properties, LLC led by Matt Bell and Chris Ladner, purchased the property on June 3rd, 2016 and began renovations in early July. Built in 1958, the property once served as the office of the Darragh Company which is currently located at the adjacent property at 1401 E 6th Street.
Originally designed by award winning architect Nolan Blass in 1958, the Darragh Building is a perfect example of mid-century modern architecture. Due to the historic nature of the building, extra attention was given to maintaining original design elements of the building interior and exterior façade. The renovation and expansion of the roughly 6,500 ft2 office building and adjacent 8,000 ft2 warehouse facility allows for reduced environmental impact, greater workplace efficiency, and better reflect the culture and vision of Entegrity Energy Partners. Plans for the renovation and addition were designed by David Sargent of Little Rock based WER Architects/Planners.
The building has been submitted for consideration to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, pursuing LEED® Platinum certification under the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Rating System, and Net Zero Energy Building certification per the Living Building Challenge program. LEED and Net Zero Consulting services are being provided by Viridian. Viridian is also providing Fundamental and Enhanced Commissioning, Building Envelope Commissioning, Energy Modeling, Indoor Air Quality Testing, and Measurement and Verification services.
Once certification is achieved with all three evaluation programs, the Entegrity office will be the only building in Arkansas to achieve both LEED Platinum and Net Zero Energy. Additionally, it will be one of only a handful of buildings in the country on the National Historic Register to receive both certifications.
In order to meet the ambitious sustainability goals of the project, the following advanced building technology and materials have been incorporated into the renovation and design:
- Electro-chromatic glazing from View Glass which has the ability to tint on demand electronically through electronic controls and smart phone devices.
- LED lighting technology with color changing and dimming capability has replaced the original fluorescent and incandescent lighting systems. The lighting upgrade has resulted in a lighting energy reduction of 90%.
- Heating and cooling systems have been replaced with high-efficient heat pump HVAC systems. The duct system has been sealed to reduce leakage and re-insulated to reduce heat loss.
- The gas hot water heating system was replaced with a high-efficient Hybrid heat pump water heater which is 3 to 4 times more efficient than traditional electric resistance water heaters.
- 100% of the already low energy load of the facility will be offset with with a 50 kW roof mounted solar photovoltaic system.
- Four public Tesla electric car charging stations will be added on the front parking lot for both company and public electric car charging.
As a USGBC registered LEED project, special attention was also given to the selection as well as removal and disposal of the following materials and finishes:
- Cork flooring, which is considered a rapidly renewable resource, was used in the entrance corridor and the conference room.
- Low-VOC paints and coatings and CRI Green Label Plus flooring where used throughout the interior of the building to provide for enhanced the indoor air quality.
- Carpeting was manufactured with a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content as well as installed with low VOC adhesives.
- Indoor water use was reduced with the installation of low flow faucets, high efficient toilets, and waterless urinals resulting in a reduction in water use of 35%.
- Construction and demolition waste was recycled whenever feasible and 90% of waste was diverted from the landfill.
- An exterior deck was constructed with Moisture Shield composite decking, an Arkansas manufactured decking product made with 95% recycled content.
