United Technologies Corp. (UTC), the parent company of Carrier Corp., recently opened the new UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The innovation and technology experience center will be a workspace for 500 employees as it serves as the global headquarters for UTC Climate, Controls & Security.

“It is more than a high-tech, modern workspace,” said Mary Milmoe, vice president, communications & marketing, UTC Climate, Controls & Security. “It’s a living showcase of what’s possible when advanced building technologies are implemented intelligently and integrated to increase efficiency, protect people and property, and enhance the occupant experience. With features like a state-of-the-art customer experience center, the building reveals the unseen, taking technologies that are critical to efficient, comfortable, productive, safe, and secure environments — but commonly hidden in basements, closets, and on rooftops — and putting them on display for all to see and interact with.”

The experience starts the moment visitors walk through the doors and continues throughout their entire stay. The UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings’ Customer Experience Center features over 60 interactive physical and digital displays with fully customizable content that can be changed to target specific audiences. The Customer Experience Center offers guided tours, but visitors can also choose to direct themselves. Each exhibit is designed around specific themes to give customers insight into how the products can integrate with one another to best meet their needs. Interactive displays include the use of building information modeling, projection mapping, touchscreens, and 3-D models.

The environmentally sustainable building was designed to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum standards.

“At United Technologies, we define sustainability as doing good for the planet while we do good for our customers, employees, communities, and shareowners,” said Bob McDonough, president of UTC Climate, Controls & Security. “We believe that profitable, responsible operations should not compromise the environmental or economic health of future generations. So it’s only natural that the UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings was designed and constructed to be among the most sustainable and efficient buildings in the world. We are targeting LEED Platinum® certification by the U.S. Green Building Council — the highest recognition for sustainable building design and operation. When certified, it is expected to be the first LEED Platinum building under the new rating system in Florida.”

The building is designed to IAQ conditions found by the COGfx study to double employee decision-making performance. The center achieves a 60 percent reduction in energy, 60 percent reduction in CO₂, 36 percent reduction of inside water, and 100 percent reduction of outside water.

A few examples of the sustainable solutions in the UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings include a 350kW photovoltaic array that captures solar energy, expected to offset the facility’s energy costs by up to 30 percent, and entire walls of dynamic glass windows, each with their own IP address and integrated with Automated Logic’s WebCTRL system. The glass is programmed to adjust its tint throughout the day based on the amount of sunlight at a specific time, reducing the demand on the HVAC system while keeping the building cool and comfortable more efficiently.

BUILDING DEDICATION

The grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings.

The speakers at the program represented UTC leadership, local politicians, and the people that helped make the building a reality.

Included in the lineup were McDonough; Florida Gov. Rick Scott; Palm Beach County Mayor Melissa McKinlay; and City of Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Maria Marino.

At the ceremony, UTC announced the opening of the building, the addition of 100 jobs to the area, and a $500,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County to help construct a teen center in nearby Belle Glade, Florida.

But the celebration didn’t end there; it actually carried on throughout the week. After the ribbon-cutting, UTC hosted a reception to welcome back people who had worked on the building and to meet with local businesses and partners as well as community organizations. The next day, the company participated in the groundbreaking for the new teen center in Belle Glade, and employees volunteered at the Max M. Fisher Boys & Girls Club in Riviera Beach to teach sustainability lessons to students. Later that week, UTC welcomed Dr. Joe Allen, renowned Harvard researcher, to discuss his work on The COGfx Studies with employees and local students.

Publication date: 7/9/2018

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