The David & Lucile

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

planning code, to just 67 spaces. This allowed us to eliminate 

an $8 million underground parking garage, cut the building’s 

embodied energy in half, and create a superior courtyard with 

mature trees and landscaping since they were no longer planted 

over structure. Extensive video conferencing capabilities were 

included to support the Foundations commitment to reduce air 

travel by 10% in the next two years.  

Occupant Survey Results

In response to prior lessons learned as our buildings are oc-

cupied and we conduct post occupancy surveys, we are now ex-

plicitly including an additional phase of work (and fee) for 1 year 

after occupancy. This allows the full design team to respond 

to issues that come up in the energy monitoring and occupant 

survey results. There were a number of results we discovered in 

the CBE survey that we were then able to address.  

Some of the occupants reported glare problems in certain of-

fices and a number of these were attributed to the automatic 

exterior blinds not being calibrated correctly, these were then 

reprogrammed to the correct times. There was also a thin shaft 

of daylight that “leaked” between the window frame and the 

blind which we were able to remedy with the addition of a con-

tinuous angle. Some occupants expressed a lack of adequate 

daylight in their space, our sense is that these first floor workers 

would be fine in a typical office, but compared to the exception-

ally bright and even daylighting on the second floor, they don’t 

feel they have “daylight parity.” The most significant failure 

with the building when it opened was the complete mechanical 

failure of two of the four Multi-stack heat pumps that provided 

heating. This left the building with inadequate heating in the 

winter of 2013 prior to the survey.  It would be interesting to 

survey again on the issue and see if complaints of cold hands 

were reduced.

 

Several acoustic issues were raised in the survey, in particular 

the staff entrance was much more heavily used than anticipated, 

disturbing adjacent workstations. We have since separated that 

entry from the workstations with a glazed partition to mitigate 

this issue. There were also complaints about speech privacy and 

noise in the workstations, reflecting a challenging transition from 

private to open offices for some staff.  

Project Narrative

The headquarters for The David and Lucile Packard Founda-

tion in Los Altos, California brings staff, grantees and partners 

together to solve the world’s most intractable problems. For two 

decades, as the Foundation’s grant-making programs expanded 

locally and internationally, staff and operations have been scat-

tered in various buildings--this project brings them together in 

one primary location to enhance collaboration on their many 

projects. Their prior facilities were primarily large private offices 

that included meeting space within each office which limited 

collaboration. The new design has half the staff in open worksta-

tions, and half in small private offices, supported by a diverse 

range of shared communal meeting and social spaces.

Sustainable Design

The project’s focus on sustainability reflects the Foundation’s 

core work of conserving and restoring the Earth’s natural sys-

tems. Their new home – the largest building to date to receive 

Net Zero Energy Building Certification™ through the Interna-

tional Living Future Institute – is the cornerstone of their effort 

to demonstrate how they can improve the effectiveness and the 

quality of life for its employees while meeting aggressive carbon 

reduction goals as an organization.

The project vision was not to design a sustainable building, but 

to advance the Foundation’s sustainability as an organization.  

We believe in a fundamentally shift to broaden the approach to 

sustainability beyond the building to include the organization as 

a whole, and to assist our clients in achieving these larger goals. 

Our integrated design team, including transportation planners, 

sustainable food experts and a newly formed client Sustain-

able Task Force, began with an assessment of the Foundation’s 

overall GHG inventory. Staff commuting, travel and building 

energy use each represented about a third of their emissions. 

We then developed strategies to address each of these sectors, 

to reduce their entire carbon footprint by 80% by 2050.  Get-

ting their building to zero energy was the key first step in this 

journey, reducing overall emissions by 35%.  

The emissions associated with Commuting were addressed 

through a comprehensive transportation demand manage-

ment program. With this plan in hand, we were able to negoti-

ate a reduction in on-site parking from the 160 spaces per the 

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

Energy Performance Data

We have very detailed measured performance data for the first 

year and the building reached its zero energy goal a couple of 

months early. Second year performance is trending significantly 

better yet. The measured lighting loads were quite a bit lower 

than predicted, due to very successful daylighting, very suc-

cessful commissioning, and an explicit first year post occupancy 

phase to optimize performance that included the entire design 

team. Heating loads were higher than modeled, cooling loads 

were significantly lower than predicted. We expect to complete 

a white paper detailing the results after year two. 

 

The team completed a detailed plug load study to quantify 

their existing plug loads, and developed recommendations 

for purchasing and power management that predicted a 58% 

reduction in these loads. Detailed measured data shows plug 

loads came in significantly below this reduced target. This was 

due in part to quickly falling power demand for computing due 

to solid state drives and the shift to low power chips developed 

for phones and tablets.  

The building design was fundamentally shaped by the desire for 

a thin floor plate for excellent daylighting and natural ventila-

tion.  A great deal of attention was paid to shading, including 

fixed and operable controlled exterior blinds. The building 

envelope included exterior insulation, wood studs and extensive 

detailing to minimize thermal breaks, and air sealing to reduce 

infiltration. An unexpected discovery was that triple element 

glazing reduced the initial cost of construction by allowing the 

elimination of 4 pipe perimeter heating/cooling elements. The 

building includes a 258 kw PV system that also serves several car 

charging stations as part of our effort to reduce transportation 

emissions. The PV cost dropped significantly from first design 

cost estimates to final installed price as the cost of panels fell 

sharply.

Total EUI: 22kBtu/sf/yr

Net EUI: -4kBtu/sf/yr

Percent Reduction from National Median EUI for Building 

Type: 76%

Lighting Power Density: 0.60watts/sf

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

Project ID

1000004074

Rating system & version

LEED-NC v2009

Project registration date

01/08/2010

LEED FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION & MAJOR RENOVATIONS (V2009)

ATTEMPTED: 95, DENIED: 0, PENDING: 0, AWARDED: 94 OF 110 POINTS

SUSTAINABLE SITES

24 OF 26

SSp1 Construc tion Ac tivity Pollution Prevention

Y

SSc 1 Site Selec tion

1 / 1

SSc 2 Development Density and Community Connec tivity

5 / 5

SSc 3 Brownfield Redevelopment

0 / 1

SSc 4.1Alternative Transportation-Public  Transportation Ac c ess

6 / 6

SSc 4.2Alternative Transportation-Bic yc le Storage and Changing Rooms

1 / 1

SSc 4.3Alternative Transportation-Low-Emitting and Fuel-Effic ient Vehic les

3 / 3

SSc 4.4Alternative Transportation-Parking Capac ity

2 / 2

SSc 5.1Site Development-Protec t or Restore Habitat

1 / 1

SSc 5.2Site Development-Maximize Open Spac e

1 / 1

SSc 6.1Stormwater Design-Quantity Control

1 / 1

SSc 6.2Stormwater Design-Quality Control

1 / 1

SSc 7.1Heat Island Effec t, Non-Roof

0 / 1

SSc 7.2Heat Island Effec t-Roof

1 / 1

SSc 8 Light Pollution Reduc tion

1 / 1

WATER EFFICIENCY

8 OF 10

WEp1 Water Use Reduc tion-20% Reduc tion

Y

WEc 1 Water Effic ient Landsc aping

2 / 4

WEc 2 Innovative Wastewater Tec hnologies

2 / 2

WEc 3 Water Use Reduc tion

4 / 4

ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE

33 OF 35

EAp1 Fundamental Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems

Y

EAp2 Minimum Energy Performanc e

Y

EAp3 Fundamental Refrigerant Mgmt

Y

EAc 1 Optimize Energy Performanc e

19 /

19

EAc 2 On-Site Renewable Energy

7 / 7

EAc 3 Enhanc ed Commissioning

2 / 2

EAc 4 Enhanc ed Refrigerant Mgmt

2 / 2

EAc 5 Measurement and Verific ation

3 / 3

EAc 6 Green Power

0 / 2

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

6 OF 14

MRp1 Storage and Collec tion of Rec yc lables

Y

MRc 1.1Building Reuse-Maintain Existing Walls, Floors and Roof

0 / 3

MRc 1.2Building Reuse, Maintain 50% of Interior

0 / 1

MRc 2 Construc tion Waste Mgmt

2 / 2

MRc 3 Materials Reuse

0 / 2

MRc 4 Rec yc led Content

2 / 2

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

CONTINUED

MRc 5 Regional Materials

1 / 2

MRc 6 Rapidly Renewable Materials

0 / 1

MRc 7 Certified Wood

1 / 1

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

13 OF 15

IEQp1 Minimum IAQ Performanc e

Y

IEQp2 Environmental Tobac c o Smoke (ETS) Control

Y

IEQc 1 Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring

1 / 1

IEQc 2 Inc reased Ventilation

1 / 1

IEQc 3.1Construc tion IAQ Mgmt Plan-During Construc tion

1 / 1

IEQc 3.2Construc tion IAQ Mgmt Plan-Before Oc c upanc y

0 / 1

IEQc 4.1Low-Emitting Materials-Adhesives and Sealants

1 / 1

IEQc 4.2Low-Emitting Materials-Paints and Coatings

1 / 1

IEQc 4.3Low-Emitting Materials-Flooring Systems

1 / 1

IEQc 4.4Low-Emitting Materials-Composite Wood and Agrifiber Produc ts

1 / 1

IEQc 5 Indoor Chemic al and Pollutant Sourc e Control

0 / 1

IEQc 6.1Controllability of Systems-Lighting

1 / 1

IEQc 6.2Controllability of Systems-Thermal Comfort

1 / 1

IEQc 7.1Thermal Comfort-Design

1 / 1

IEQc 7.2Thermal Comfort-Verific ation

1 / 1

IEQc 8.1Daylight and Views-Daylight

1 / 1

IEQc 8.2Daylight and Views-Views

1 / 1

INNOVATION IN DESIGN

6 OF 6

IDc 1.1 Innovation in Design

1 / 1

IDc 1.2 Innovation in Design

1 / 1

IDc 1.3 Innovation in Design

1 / 1

IDc 1.4 Innovation in Design

1 / 1

IDc 1.5 Innovation in Design

1 / 1

IDc 2

LEED® Ac c redited Professional

1 / 1

REGIONAL PRIORITY CREDITS

4 OF 4

SSc 4.1 Alternative Transportation-Public  Transportation Ac c ess

1 / 1

SSc 7.1 Heat Island Effec t, Non-Roof

0 / 1

WEc 2

Innovative Wastewater Tec hnologies

1 / 1

WEc 3

Water Use Reduc tion

1 / 1

EAc 2

On-Site Renewable Energy

1 / 1

IEQc 8.1Daylight and Views-Daylight

0 / 1

TOTAL

94 OF 110

LEED Certification Review Report

This report contains the results of the technical review of an application for LEED® certification subm itted for the specified project. LEED

certification is an official recognition that a project complies with the requirements prescribed within the LEED rating systems as created

and maintained by the U.S. Green Building Council® (USGBC®). The LEED certifcation program is administered by the Green Building

Certification Institute (GBCI®).

Packard Foundation 343 Second St Project

Certified (Platinum) 

CERTIFIED: 40-49, SILVER: 50-59, GOLD: 60-79,

PLATINUM: 80+

 

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

D

O

M

ES

TI

C F

LIG

H

TS

SO

LO

  C

AR

 CO

MM

UT

E

ALT. TRANSPORTATION

BU

ILD

INGS

SERV

ICE

TRA

NSPORTA

TIO

N

O

FF

ICE

 C

A

R

M

AT

ERI

AL

S 

US

E

GAS HO

T WATE

R

GA

S H

EATI

NG

 

 

LIG

HT

IN

G

PLU

G L

OA

DS

ELE

CT

RIC

 H

EA

T/C

OOL

   

   

   

   

 Z

ER

O 

EN

ER

GY

 BU

ILD

ING

 SCOP

E

   

   

   

   

 

ZE

RO

 EN

ER

GY

 BU

ILD

ING

 SCOP

E

SE

RV

ICE

S

WATER              

R

WASTE

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

---

C E N T E R   F O R   T H E   B U I L T   E N V I R O N M E N T   •   L I V A B L E   B U I L D I N G   A W A R D S   2 0 1 4

The David & Lucile  

Packard Foundation 

Headquarters

 

L O S   A LT O S ,   C A L I F O R N I A

Project Team

Architect of Record: EHDD Architecture

Owner’s Representative: Rhodes Dahl 

General Contractor: DPR Construction

Structural: Tipping Mar

Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing: Integral Group

Civil: Sherwood Design Engineers

Acoustics: Charles M. Salter Associates

Commissioning Agent: CTG Energetics – The

CADMUS Group

Landscape: Joni L. Janecki & Associates

Lighting: Janet Nolan & Associates

Daylighting: Loisos Ubbelohde

 

 

 

Photo Credit

Jeremy Bittermann

David Livingston