urbs was the lead consultant to the Hudson Square Properties and Hines team that won the Empire Building Challenge by NYSERDA in New York.

The comprehensive retrofit of 345 Hudson Street takes advantage of tenant turnover from now to 2032 as an opportunity to upgrade the building’s infrastructure to new, carbon-efficient, energy cost-saving technology and completely decarbonize the 978,277 square foot property.

The floor-by-floor replacement of packaged terminal cooling units and steam heating with a comprehensive water source heat pump system significantly reduces heating and cooling needs by recycling heat from different spaces in the building. The water source heat pump system is accompanied by a new, highly efficient energy recovery ventilation system that minimizes energy waste.

This project will demonstrate the power of thermal networking through an innovative approach by which heating and cooling is shared between tenants throughout the building and eventually between neighboring buildings. Heat will be stored by reusing defunct fire suppression tanks, which first reduces cost, but also allows heat pumps to operate more efficiently, matching heat delivery more closely with building operations.

To read more about the partners involved and their roles, read the project report on the link below. Or follow the project webpage for an illustrative representation of our solution.