RELIABLE CONTROLS HEADQUARTERS

When high-tech, HVAC- instruments firm Reliable Controls commissioned a 4,000 square-meter annex to accommodate growing administration and research functions, DAUSTUDIO had to rethink building systems from first principles. The result was a certified LEED Platinum mass-timber-structured building with integrated passive and sophisticated energy-conservation technologies.

Replacing a surface parking lot, the annex links functionally to integrate with the existing structure and site. Windows of the new annex building and the original structure (a former recreational building), open to a landscaped courtyard. In addition to a sheltered and secure bike pavilion, the private outdoor “classroom” optimizes sunlight for outside gatherings and for the interior workspaces. A constructed stream of bio-swales from the courtyard filtersfilter rainwater from the roofs and flowsflow through the site, making stormwater management visible as a natural feature of the restored landscape.

Inside, the mass-timber structure of regionally sourced wood forms warm and human-scaled workspaces. The central atrium brings in ambient light and acts as a wind-tower to draw convection air from the auto-operated intake and exhaust louvres through the two floors, to the rooftop. With a weather station and state-of-the-art environmental control system, the building is both the company headquarters and an ever-evolving showcase of itstheir software research and hardware production.