Meeting a Living Building Challenge
PAE relies on Axis multisensor cameras to monitor surrounding streets and interior hallways of its sustainable Portland headquarters. A 2N intercom controls access to the building by PAE employees and other tenants.
Earning a Living Building certification
When PAE began designing its new Portland, Oregon headquarters, the 56-year-old engineering firm decided that the new building should reflect its commitment to sustainability. They carefully selected mechanical and electrical systems and technology that would generate and use its own electricity and 100% rainwater creating a net zero footprint.
“Our goal was to be a Living Building” shares Ryan Sennett, a senior associate at PAE. “That can only happen after the building’s been occupied for over a year and you’ve proven deliverables like using no municipal water and generating 105% of the building’s energy consumption.”
Among the many systems that PAE installed in its new headquarters were a 71,000-gallon cistern system to reclaim rainwater, a water treatment system to turn rainwater into potable drinking water, a solid waste treatment system, and composters to turn waste into fertilizer. “Essentially, the idea is to eliminate waste and become a self-sustaining ecosystem just like nature,” says Sennett.
PAE even looked for ways to create a more energy efficient telecommunications system. Working with the other owners of the building, PAE was able to devise a solution that minimized cabling, network switches, servers, and distribution frames. “This allowed us to reduce the need for extra cooling and got our telecommunications energy consumption down to the equivalent of about one and a half hairdryers for all five floors of our building,” states Sennett.
To offset the energy demands of the building and its occupants, PAE installed solar arrays on its roof and the roof of a nearby affordable housing unit. These panels produce enough energy for the PAE Living Building as well as provide some energy for the affordable housing unit.
Working with a camera vendor that shares common sustainability goals was important to us. Axis multisensor cameras keep our camera counts, cabling, and energy consumption low while delivering a high level of awareness about activity in and around our property.
Protecting property and people
“In a Living Building, every watt you consume has an impact on your building’s energy footprint,” says Sennett. “That includes the security camera system you install.”
So, when PAE was considering a video surveillance system for their new headquarters they went looking for a solution that was as minimal as possible, without compromising the security of their building and the safety of their employees and tenants. “We didn’t want to throw cameras, data drops and network switches everywhere,” shares Sennett. “In keeping with the power consumption and materials usage goals of the overall project, we wanted to use the fewest number of cameras we could to get the views we needed for security purposes.”
With help from Convergint, a systems integrator and Axis partner, PAE decided on two Axis quad sensor camera models from the AXIS P37 and AXIS P38 Panoramic Camera Series. The AXIS P37 camera for the building’s interior and the AXIS P38 for outside the building. “We found that the panoramic view each camera delivers gives the property’s security monitoring company great awareness of what goes on in and around our building,” says Sennett. “Plus, the Axis technology integrates well with our Genetec video management system."
Two AXIS P37 cameras cover the main lobby and the bicycle lockup at the back of the building, as well as the halls and stairwell entrances. Two AXIS P38 cameras capture all the activity on the street. “The outside cameras are especially important as our building resides in Old Town Portland where we want to keep an eye on potential crime,” explains Sennett. “The cameras’ field of view extends several blocks in both directions.”
A loitering analytic alerts security to people lingering near the building after business hours or laying down in the doorway overnight. The Axis cameras were able to catch someone setting a fire outside of the rear entrance and alert security to douse it before any significant damage was done.
Energy-efficient access control
Minimizing the energy requirements for access control was another project goal. Instead of installing traditional door contacts, controller boards, and power supplies on the wall, PAE opted for a POE-powered lock set and a 2N® IP Verso intercom with a card reader – a solution that would consume 50 percent less power.
“The 2N intercom not only gives PAE employees and other tenants easy access to the building, it allows us to visually screen visitors and unlock the front door remotely,” explains Sennett. The intercom links to the building’s phone system so that when a visitor scrolls through the directory and pushes a tenant’s button, the call automatically routes to that tenant’s line.
“The system is really convenient,” says Sennett. “We can even control the front door interaction through a 2N application on our smartphones.”
Sharing a common sustainability goal
“When we started this project, we planned to partner with manufacturers that shared the same sustainability mindset as PAE,” shares Sennett. “With Axis, we saw a lot of momentum toward sustainability both in the materials being used in their cameras and the manufacturing processes they employed.” Sennett says that PAE looks forward to pushing the sustainability envelope with Axis on future projects.
Images courtesy of Jamie Goodwick of Portlanddrone, Ben Benshneider, Lara Swimmer, PAE, and Bernice Noriz.
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