Sustainability Key in New Nissan Headquarters

Gresham, Smith and Partners, a national architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm, recently celebrated the grand opening of Nissan America's corporate facility in Franklin, Tenn. The striking 460,000-square-foot building was designed by GS&P to enhance Nissan's employee efficiency while incorporating sustainability in both interior and exterior environments.

Functional and creative design of the interior spaces and the sustainability elements such as sun shades and low-E glass give the facility a distinctive appearance.

"Our goal was to work with Nissan to understand their business strategy and workplace model in order to design a place that would effectively help them attain their business and operational objectives," explains Steven P. Johnson, executive vice president, corporate and urban design for GSP. The new facility is aimed at supporting the cross-functional nature of the Nissan staff while helping to facilitate collaboration and creativity.

The building incorporates many elements of sustainable design; most noticeable is the inclusion of six-foot deep aluminum sunshade outriggers, supplied by Waltek, that extend around the perimeter of each floor to reduce solar heat gain and improve energy efficiency. The sun shades are extruded aluminum, foil-type and approximately 7,200 lineal feet of sun shade was utilized on the structure. Waltek's 7000 series unitized curtainwall was also used for the project. The company both provided and installed the curtainwall. Viracon was the glass supplier for the curtainwall.

Additional energy efficient details include the design of a green roof system, digital lighting controls, a chilled water plant and an under-floor air distribution system that provides a more comfortable and controllable environment for employees. Building materials, finishes and furnishings contain high quantities of recycled content and/or low VOCs for improved indoor air quality.

The 10-story structure is one of the largest office buildings in Franklin and serves the needs of more than 1,500 Nissan employees. Departments in the headquarters include administration, sales and marketing, communications, legal, finance, human resources, product planning and advertising. Nissan America's new facility is a wonderful work environment for the Nissan employees and a proud addition to the Middle Tennessee landscape, states Rob Traynham, director of corporate services for Nissan North America, Inc.

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