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SALT LAKE CITY — Jacobsen Construction’s remodel of the Architectural Nexus (Arch Nexus) office in Utah is now officially Petal Certified by the Living Future Institute, solidifying the unique building’s status as one of the most energy-efficient and environmentally regenerative facilities in the world.
The building, located near the mouth of Parley’s Canyon in Salt Lake City, was renovated according to strict Living Building Challenge standards in 2021. After undergoing rigorous auditing by the Living Building Institute, the stunning business headquarters recently received its official designation as a Petal Certified building — of which there only a few dozen in existence worldwide.
The Petal Certified status recognizes buildings that go beyond being less harmful to the surrounding natural environment and become a truly regenerative part of the local ecosystem. Regenerative features of the remodeled Architectural Nexus office include:
- Net Positive Energy – By combining ultra-efficiency with onsite power generation via solar canopies, the building generates more energy than it consumes annually.
- Net Positive Water – Rainwater collection and gray water recycling is utilized for all non-potable uses such as indoor and outdoor irrigation, as well as flushing.
- Healthy Environment – Building materials were carefully selected — with priority given to reclaimed and local materials — to promote both environmental and human health and to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions required to procure them.
- Biophilic Design: Living walls that use native vegetation to provide high-quality water filtration throughout the office are one of several special features that help connect the building’s occupants with natural surroundings.
Another major feature of this remodel was the addition of outdoor courtyards cut into the building’s interior. The resulting courtyards can be accessed from the office space through a folding glass door system, giving supremely easy access to courtyard space. This provides a direct connection that seamlessly brings offices together with the outdoors and can be left open throughout the day, depending on employee preference.
The entire Arch Nexus office — from its skylights, to interior steel stud framing, to window upgrades and much more — is tailor-made to optimize the building’s interaction with the living ecosystem surrounding it. To achieve construction standards on this remodel that would be consistent with Petal certification, Jacobsen collaborated closely with Arch Nexus, which also has a Sacramento office that became the first-ever certified Living Building in California in 2018. The two firms frequently work together as design and construction partners on other projects.
The transformed Arch Nexus office also features a diverse assortment of working environments — such as open workspaces, hoteling offices, focus rooms, lounge areas, design labs, community meeting spaces and more — in addition to a café and a gym.
The remodel has won many awards, including construction industry honors from Associated General Contractors of Utah (Green Building Project of the Year), Utah Construction & Design (Most Outstanding Green/Sustainable Project) and ENR Mountain States (Best Small Project).
Learn more by visiting https://www.archnexus.com/arch-nexus-slc/.