Winthrop Center Passive House
MUSIC UP AND UNDER:
SUPER:
The Journey to Beyond
VO:
When we set out to build something, we make sure it stands for something. That it’s a catalyst for ongoing transformation and a model of sustainability for the future.
And if you’re building that project right in the heart of one of the world’s great innovation cities? (PAUSE)
You certainly don’t take the obvious route. You thinkbeyond. You embrace the unknown and go where nobody else ever has, in search of new ways to hold yourself responsible to your city, its citizens and our planet.
BRAD ON CAMERA:
SUPER:
BRAD MAHONEY
Development Project Manager, Winthrop Center
OR
Director of Sustainable Development, Winthrop Center
OR
Sustainable Development Lead, Winthrop Center
With Winthrop Center, once we committed to thinking beyond, we had a challenge on our hands. We had to create our own roadmap…and dream big.
Doing the right thing meant going all in. Even if it had never been done before. Especially if it had never been done before.
VO:
The answer became clear: Passive House.
SUPER:
The quest begins, to build the largest Passive House project in the world.
VO:
In Winthrop Center’s quest to create something against which all future office buildings would be measured, we went right to the birthplace of the Passive House movement: the science and technology capital of Germany.
The culmination of this journey was to dig in with the Passive House team in Darmstadt. After all, this was their baby…their passion. They’d have to completely reimagine Passive House standards for an office building of this size and scale. Would they embrace the idea?
JESSICA ON CAMERA:
JESSICA GROVE-SMITH
Research Team/Physicist, Passive House International
Germany
ZENO ON CAMERA:
ZENO BASTIAN
Head of Building Certification, Passive House International
Germany
CORINNA ON CAMERA:
CORINNA GEIGER
Certifier, Passive House International
Germany
VO:
Passive House certification specifies a process that is simple but elegant: build a high-performance envelope to create an airtight seal so the energy footprint from the mechanical systems are immediately—and dramatically—reduced by the façade. The best part is,you achieve the healthiest, most comfortable interior office climate, year-round.
But with Boston’s unpredictable weather, it’s a challenge to achieve year-round thermal comfort using predominantly passive heat sources. And this will be three-quarters-of-a-millionsquare feetof office space.
SUPER:
Nobody has ever built a Passive House office building this big.
VO:
So now, there was one more thing to consider back in Boston: the cost.
KATHY MCNEIL ON CAMERA:
KATHY MACNEIL
Construction Manager, MP Boston
VO:
In the end, Winthrop Center’s journey of discovery became a pilot study that would transform the very definition of sustainable building for today…and beyond.
BRAD ON CAMERA:
Passive House changes everything. As a building, Winthrop Center is about to do the same. Not just in Boston, but around the world.
LOGO: WINTHROP CENTER
Think Beyond.
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