Member Highlight: Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR)

Located in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors and Uber have joined forces to create an innovative and sustainable campus. Across the campus, the project team is pursuing a total of five LEED Gold certifications, capitalizing on the energy efficiency of architectural, mechanical and electrical systems, as well as, the water efficiency of the plumbing design. From the beginning, SSR has been at the forefront of systems’ development in collaboration with the project team, envisioning a variety of approaches to sustainable design throughout the complex.Through a combination of unique energy efficient features, Chase Center’s design projects a reduction in total annual energy consumption and fittingly operational costs, too. The arena is served by Indirect-Direct Evaporative Cooling (IDEC) air handling units which make use of the climate in the Bay Area to reduce the need for mechanical cooling. Furthermore, the design integrates highly efficient lighting with lighting controls throughout the project, including in suites, lounges and office spaces to generate the desired user experience.The Golden State Warriors’ campus is remarkable when it comes to the various methods of on-site water collection and re-use. While high-efficiency flush and flow fixtures are often standard design today, implementing additional potable water reduction strategies may still be considered innovative. The Warriors’ Chase Center and Uber’s office towers are designed to recover graywater from each building’s lavatories and showers, along with harvesting stormwater from the arena and office tower roofs, and even collecting condensate from the IDEC rooftop units. This water will then travel through an on-site water treatment system and ultimately be pumped back into each building for use in restroom flush fixtures. Additionally, the site irrigation design is ready to accommodate recycled water from the City of San Francisco, once available. The goal of the design is to maximize the use of recycled water, in turn minimizing the use of potable water in a city often subject to droughts.During operation, Chase Center and Entertainment Complex expects to maintain its model of sustainability through the use of waste management best practices, carbon emissions reducing transportation options, operational policies such as green housekeeping, and educational signage. Initial and on-going sustainable measures implemented on-site will be communicated and visible to the users.Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR) specializes in engineering, commissioning, technology and sustainability consulting services. SSR’s engineers are dedicated to sports facility design, and understand the range of challenges and opportunities sports project teams face. SSR utilizes high performance building analysis and energy modeling as a matter of principled design for its projects, to assist the project team in informed and holistic decision making.