Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 11/21/16

Yahoo! Commuting Coop Living Wall
Lockport, NY, USA
475 sf. Greenwall

Project of the Week Mini Description & Details

Completed in 2015, Yahoo!’s newest data center is a 155,000 square foot complex in Lockport, NY. PKJB Architectural Group and others utilized integrated building design to eliminate HVAC units, resulting in 40% less energy and 95% less water usage than conventional facilities. Located within the cool climate of nearby Niagara Falls, the air-cooled data center, which can accommodate 50,000 servers, is based on an unlikely design: the chicken coop. Known as the Yahoo! Commuting Coop (Y!CC), the buildings are long and narrow to provide good air circulation and shaped similar to a chicken coop. Yahoo! is committed to being an environmentally responsible company, and the addition of a G-O2® Living Wall by Plant Connection is just one leafy example.

In 2016 Yahoo! incorporated the acoustic Living Wall into their Y!CC utility space because they were interested in increasing their “green” presence. They felt the gorgeous new building for their call center in upstate New York would be a perfect spot. Not only would the living wall provide the “green” exposure they desired, they also felt it would greatly contribute to the aesthetic beauty of their new facility. Installed and maintained by Dore Landscape Associates, the living wall is segmented into seven sections and spans 62 feet. Its curvilinear design flows through the panel groupings and helps create one continuous living wall, while providing contrast to the existing façade. Nine varieties of sedum were planted to create the organic, free flowing design, supplying four seasons of interest, color, and texture. Similarly, other cloud computing providers are all trying to use renewable energy to power their data centers, helping to contribute to reductions in global warming, cut energy costs and comply with regulations. But Yahoo! demonstrates that nothing more boldly says you are being environmentally conscious than a green wall greeting visitors and employees!

Year: 2016
Owner: Yahoo! Inc.
Location: Lockport, NY, USA
Building Type: Corporate
Type: Living Wall
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 475 sq.ft.
Slope: 100%
Access: Accessible, Private

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Architect: PKJB Architectural Group
Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Steel Fabricator: Apollo Steel
Construction: M.A. Mortenson Company
Green Wall System: G-O2 Living Walls, Plant Connection, Inc.
Manufacturer & Grower: Plant Connection, Inc.
Planting Design: Sabrina Buttitta, BSLA, Plant Connection, Inc.
Installation: Dore Landscape Associates
Maintenance: Dore Landscape Associates
2009-2010 Construction Management: Structure Tone

View the Yahoo! Commuting Coop Living Wall PROJECT PROFILE to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the Yahoo! Commuting Coop Living Wall Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvh4qulf-nA&feature=youtu.be

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Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!

By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher