The new Toyota Motor North American Headquarters brings together 19 different corporate functions on one 100-acre campus. The new LEED Platinum campus in Plano, Texas will house over 4,000 employees, including new hires and relocated workers from the Torrance, Calif., campus.
The new campus uses a layout that is 50% open and collaborative with numerous indoor and outdoor places to work. The amenity loop includes a conference center, fitness center, healthcare, retail, and dining. The amenity loop is connected to the shared campus via a central courtyard. The surrounding landscaping reflects the native habitat and incorporates drought resistant plants.
Photo: Toyota.
To help improve employee health and wellbeing, the Corgan-designed campus was created so over 90% of people-occupied office spaces offer views directly to the outdoors. Additionally, there is an 82% natural daylight penetration inside the building.
New Toyota Headquarters in Plano Leverages Solar Panels
On the sustainability front, the new HQ includes one of the largest corporate solar power systems in the United States. Over 20,000 solar panels generate 9 megawatts of electricity for the campus. Any electricity not generated from the solar panels will be purchased from Texas wind farms to achieve a 100% renewable energy campus. An advanced multi-array 400,000-gallon rainwater collection system has also been incorporated into the campus.
Photo: Toyota.
Construction at the campus included the pouring of more than 142,500 yards of concrete, installation of more than 12 acres of glass, and enough Texas limestone to equal the weight of 340 Toyota Tundra 1794 Edition trucks.
The new headquarters celebrated its grand opening roughly three years after Toyota originally announced plans to move the North American HQ to Plano.
Photo: Toyota.
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ
With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.
| Aug 11, 2010
CTBUH changes height criteria; Burj Dubai height increases, others decrease
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)—the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s Tallest Building”—has announced a change to its height criteria, as a reflection of recent developments with several super-tall buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIG's 'folded façade' design takes first-prize in competition for China energy company headquarters
Copenhagen-based architect BIG, in collaboration with ARUP and Transsolar, was awarded first-prize in an international competition to design Shenzhen International Energy Mansion, the regional headquarters for the Shenzhen Energy Company.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
New air-conditioning design standard allows for increased air speed to cool building interiors
Building occupants, who may soon feel cooler from increased air movement, can thank a committee of building science specialists. The committee in charge of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 - Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy—after months of study and discussion--has voted recently to allow increased air speed as an option for cooling building interiors. In lay terms, increased air speed is the equivalent of turning up the fan.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Free-span solar energy system installed at REM Eyewear headquarters
The first cable-suspended free-span solar energy system was completed today over the REM Eyewear headquarters parking lot in Sun Valley, Calif. The patented, cable-supported photovoltaic system created by P4P Energy is expected to generate 40,877 kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity per year, enough to power five to six single family homes and to prevent 1.5 million pounds of carbon from being released into the atmosphere.
