by Shane Henson — September 7, 2012—Global research and advisory firm Forrester Research Inc. has announced that its new corporate headquarters has attained LEED Platinum certification for Commercial Interiors by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA), a Boston-based architectural and interior design firm, provided architecture and corporate design services for the project, its largest and most sustainable design project to date.
As an internationally recognized mark of excellence given through the USGBC, the LEED program, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED Platinum certification is the highest possible rating from the USGBC.
Forrester moved in to its six-story, 190,000-square-foot headquarters at Cambridge Discovery Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in August 2011. According to Margulies Perruzzi Architects, who has worked with Forrester for 10 years, the company has a unique corporate culture, with no private offices; everyone works in open “pods,” communities of low, flexible workstations defined by the placement of “team rooms” and other community spaces, with ready access to video conferencing and other audio-visual resources for flexible working. MPA’s design reflects Forrester’s corporate “personality” in its planning of spaces and the interior build-out, including Forrester’s quirky naming of all its conference rooms for Rock ‘n Roll stars and floors by decade.
The building overlooks a newly restored “Urban Wild,” a naturalistic designed landscape that can be used for recreational purposes. Forrester’s office building was designed to provide views of nature to everyone: all enclosed rooms are on the interior, and the perimeter windows are accessible to all employees and guests. Factors that contributed to the LEED rating include:
- The selection of a LEED Gold base building
- A 35% reduction in water use
- A 35% reduction in lighting power, due to the use of LED lighting and daylight responsive controls
- The use of Energy Star-rated equipment and appliances
- Diversion of almost 80% of construction waste from landfills
- Specification of recycled and regional materials
- Use of 97% FSC certified wood products, and the purchase of green power
