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The Unisphere grew out of a vision to embrace

responsibility measures and embodies a new idea of
what a large commercial office building can be.

This integrated approach to facility design
embraces advances in technology, respect for
nature, and a health-positive workplace.

fire alarm system) and controls and monitors over 11,000
devices. During temperate weather, the BAS automatically
opens exterior windows to naturally ventilate the building.
During natural ventilation mode, the Unisphere’s HVAC
system consumes about as much energy as an average
suburban home.

To provide visibility into the building systems integration
process, UT mandated a systems integration mockup be
completed within 150 days of awarding the construction
contract. The mockup required the BAS subcontractor to
prove that every component of the building that would be
connected to the BAS could be virtually controlled. This
forced the general contractor to award the contract to the
BAS subcontractor very early in the process. The idea was
to bring everyone to the process from the very beginning.
Key team members met regularly to plan out how the
controls implementation process would work—including
the owner’s IT and Facilities departments, the general con-
tractor, the building control subcontractor, the mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing subcontractors, and the commis-
sioning agent.

It was very important to UT that the building be able to
communicate its net zero mission to occupants and vis-
itors. The central atrium contains an installation called
the Energy Wheel that expresses the energy status of the
building in an inspiring, educational and beautiful manner.
It is a circular array of mirrored light fixtures, 24 feet in can track historical performance here or change different
diameter. Using real time data from the BAS, the energy variables to see how building performance changes in
wheel creates unique animations based on whether or not different scenarios—hotter vs. colder months, or cloud cov-
the building is producing more energy than it is consuming. erage vs. a sunny day. These interactive displays help the
Unisphere communicate its mission to its occupants.
Real time data from the BAS system is also used to create
an interactive energy dashboard: an LED touch-screen Among the many cutting-edge deployments of technol-
panel that is fed real-time data from the building automa- ogy, the Unisphere also relies on simple design principles,
tion system and shares real-time energy production next some as old as the Roman empire. The seven-story cen-
to real-time consumption. Swiping the screen allows for tral atrium, which provides a secondary source of natural
deeper access to the different systems of the building, and light to all offices, is not heated or cooled by a mechanical
deeper into the components of each system. Occupants system. Instead, an underground concrete maze called

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