CHICAGO — Plans were recently unveiled for an approximately $350 million green renovation of Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower. The project will reduce the building’s electricity use by up to 80 percent through a combination of energy savings and co-generation — equating to savings of 68 million kilowatt hours per year. The project architect for the renovation is local design firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG).
Upgrades to the building begin with the exterior. The tower’s 16,000 windows will be replaced and glazed, amounting to a 50 percent savings in heating costs. The building’s boilers are being replaced with new gas-fired units that utilize fuel cell technology and are up to 90 percent more energy efficient. High-efficiency chillers are also being installed and upgrades will be performed to the distribution system. The tower’s 104 high-speed elevators and 15 escalators are also being modernized, which will result in a 40 percent reduction in energy use.
The project will also place an emphasis and the tower’s water and lighting systems. Upgrades to the building’s restroom fixtures, a condensation recovery system and the installation of water-efficient landscaping will reduce water usage by up to 24 million gallons per year. An advanced lighting control system is also being installed that will take advantage of daylight harvesting to reduce lighting needs by 40 percent. The new system will automatically dim lights in tenant spaces based on the amount of sunlight entering through the windows.
In addition to reduced consumption, the renovation project will also explore renewable energy generation options. Wind turbines will be tested on the 110-story tower and solar panels will be installed to aid in water heating. Finally, renovations could include the installation of a green roof to reduce stormwater runoff, improve insulation and mitigate the urban heat island effect.
Additional construction will take place around the Sears Tower. A new park will be built at the corner of Wacker Drive and Adams Street, and the granite wall on Adams Street will be replaced with glass storefronts, trees and an interactive digital display. A new hotel has also been proposed at the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Wacker Drive, which would be designed for LEED-Gold certification. Within the building, a Sustainable Technology Learning Center will be created, which will use the Sears Tower as a laboratory to teach visitors about ways to save energy and money.
“Buildings are the world’s largest contributors to carbon emissions, and therefore, the biggest opportunity to address climate change is to retrofit existing structures,” says Adrian Smith, a partner with AS+GG, in a statement. “Our goal in the Sears Tower greening project is to create a holistic approach that integrates high-performance building technologies and design strategies for maximum energy efficiency. In the process, we hope to set a benchmark for how high-rise buildings throughout the world can limit their impact on the environment.”
Work on the project will begin immediately and is expected to take approximately 5 years to complete. The project will create more than 3,600 jobs. Public and private financing options are currently being explored by the building’s owner, 233 S. Wacker Drive LLC, an investment group that includes Yisroel Gluck and John Huston of Skokie, Ill.-based American Landmark Properties, as well as Joseph Chetrit and Joseph Moinian of The Moinian Group.
— Coleman Wood