Conrad N. HiltonFoundationHeadquarters

Conrad N. HiltonFoundationHeadquartersAgoura Hills, California

One of the Foundation’s primary objectives for the design of its new campus was to make as little impact as possible in order to preserve the integrity of the surrounding environment.

This new home in Agoura Hills will prepare the Hilton Foundation for the time it will double in size and staff. My father, Barron Hilton, has pledged his intent to follow in the footsteps of his father, Conrad Hilton, and contribute virtually his entire net worth at the time of his passing. This new project will allow us to grow accordingly into the future.Steven M. Hilton :: Chairman, President & CEO / Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

In 1944, Conrad N. Hilton established the Foundation that bears his name as a

philanthropic trust. While the Foundation remained relatively small until his death in

1979, today it ranks among the largest foundations in the country. Since its inception,

the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants in eleven priority areas:

Supporting Catholic Sisters; Children Affected by HIV / AIDS; Supporting Transition-Age

Youth in Foster Care; Ending Chronic Homelessness; Preventing Substance Abuse;

Providing Safe Water; Confronting Sight Loss; Nurturing Catholic Schools; Responding

to Natural Disasters; Educating Students for the Hospitality Industry; and Overcoming

Multiple Sclerosis. The Foundation also administers the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian

Prize, the world’s largest humanitarian award.

Because of the Foundation’s projected growth, the Board of Directors decided to build

a permanent home. The new campus is a testimony of the Foundation’s commitment

to continue its work well into the future, and this building represents the first phase of

a campus that will allow its expansion. As such, the new campus has been planned

and designed to establish a regional precedent for environmental stewardship, and

the Foundation has committed to use this facility for educational purposes to advance

understanding of sustainable design and construction practices.

The FoundationPriorities

LEFT Main building entry.

CampusMaster Plan

When I think about this incredibly unique building, my hope would be that in 100 years the people who will be working at the Hilton Foundation will walk around and they will say that somebody, some group, had tremendous foresight in designing a building that was not for the moment, but it was for generations to come. Steven M. Hilton :: Chairman, President & CEO / Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

The four-phased building project, located on 44 acres below Ladyface Mountain in

Agoura Hills, California, is situated in the eastern Conejo Valley between the Simi Hills

and the Santa Monica Mountains, approximately 30 miles northeast of downtown Los

Angeles. The natural beauty of this particular site and the overall quality of life in the area

were among the primary factors in the Foundation’s decision to acquire the Agoura Hills

site, but with that came the added responsibility of ensuring that the new campus would

also create a dialog between the site, its buildings, and the user’s experience.

Chairman, President & CEO, Steven M. Hilton had a vision of a cutting-edge,

environmentally sensitive, energy efficient campus with the lowest possible impact on the

surrounding geography and habitat. To achieve this, the Foundation initiated a design

process that was aimed at identifying the site’s natural resources and its potential to

support both the site planning and building design. The Master Plan vision was for a

90,300 SF campus that, when complete, will be highly sustainable and net-zero energy

user. Future office buildings that will be constructed as the Foundation continues to

grow, will provide a welcoming architecture that is an extension of the environment.

The circulation routes within the site will eventually include electric-powered carts and

a funicular to navigate the steep slope between the eastern and western parts of the

campus to leave minimal impact on the land.

RIGHT Considerable effort went into minimizing the impact of construction on the oak trees and into

preserving the natural character of the site.

Inclined Cable Tramway

N

Phase 421,300 SF

Two-story Office Building

Agoura Road

Phase 236,000 SF

Two-story Office Building

1/126”=1”

0 12663

CampusSite Plan

Debris Basin

Photovoltaic Panels Over Parking

Debris Bas

Photovoltaic PanelsOver Parking

asin

lser POv

Phase 122,240 SF

Two-story Office Building

Phase 37,500 SF

Two-story Office Building

Phase 1 Building :: West-East Section

Phase 1 Net-Zero Building

One of our hopes in creating this very special building was that it’s not only just for our use, but that it could be a model for others who have an interest in trying to make a difference on this planet by building in a more environmentally sensitive way. Steven M. Hilton :: Chairman, President & CEO / Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

The 22,240 SF Phase 1 building includes offices and meeting facilities organized

around a central core of support functions. Planned to achieve the U.S. Green Building

Council’s LEED-Platinum certification, the building is designed as a net-zero energy

facility, generating all the energy it needs through renewable energy on an annual

basis. To achieve this, the building relies completely on natural ventilation rather than

on mechanically operated systems of heating and air-conditioning to control the indoor

environment. The building’s architecture is the result of an artful encounter between

nature and technology. As the product of a sustainability-driven design process,

the building is a minimalist, architectural ensemble, and a warm and comfortable

environment. The building has a sense of textural richness, and the architecture also

expresses the integrated systems that work passively to make the building function as

an uplifting, sustainable place to work. The building is sited to respect the natural slope

and hillside setting, while keeping the best possible solar orientation. The simple, box-like

form allows for views out, while admitting daylight in multiple ways, creating a remarkable

indoor environment. The articulation of the form also facilitates a dialog between building

and site, creating inhabitable outdoor spaces that give voice to the interface between the

architectural form and the local landscape. The split-face stone cladding enhances that

dialog by echoing the texture and color of the local stone. This synergy between building

and site affords the whole complex a tangible sense of place.

RIGHT Foundation staff and visitors who arrive at the Phase 1 building enter from the parking located

to the southwest.

Bioswales, or natural drainage channels, clean stormwater runoff from the driveways and parking lot before it leaves the property.

Level 2

Level 1

RIGHT Foundation exterior entry at dusk.

LEFT Two-story entry and reception lobby. // ABOVE Reception lobby, visitor waiting area.

LEFT Entry to lobby from landscaped courtyard. // ABOVE Foundation Board Room.

LEFT Clerestories reinforce the sense of light and feel of openness. // ABOVE Private offices are organized around a

double-height atrium.

LEFT North-facing private office. // ABOVE All offices and conference rooms have access to daylight and views.

LEFT Air is expelled through digitally controlled clerestory windows at the top of the atrium. // ABOVE Daylight throughout, and

interactive open spaces, reinforce a collegial work environment.

Energy This is really the kind of approach that we should be taking in the future with our buildings; increasing their performance, decreasing their footprint on the land, and really thinking very clearly about the systems. This building is the most integrated building from a systems point of view that you could possibly imagine.Doss Mabe, FAIA :: Partner / ZGF Architects LLP

Passive Downdraft System The building is almost entirely conditioned using a passive

downdraft HVAC system. The passive downdraft system uses thermal buoyancy forces

to drive the flow of ventilation and cooling air through the building without the use of fans.

Additional cooling is provided in the air stream through the use of cooling coils so that

in warm weather the space can be kept cool and ventilated. The air is heated in cold

weather. The passive flow of air is supplied via downdraft shafts, or chimneys, integrated

into the building’s perimeter and structural lateral system through a raised floor system.

Each chimney serves four offices to supply air to plenums with raised floors where it

naturally rises through the offices. Air is exhausted from the offices into the central atrium

space—carried by convective currents—and out through the digitally controlled clerestory

windows, eliminating the need for fans from the building and using much higher supply

temperatures than conventional systems.

RIGHT Illustration depicting the passive downdraft ventilation system that captures air through a series

of chimneys on top of the building, reduces the need for electricity, and also improves the quality of the

indoor environment.

DOWNDRAFT SHAFT

DOWNDRAFT SHAFT

LEFT View of downdraft shaft, digitally controlled windows, and green roof. // ABOVE Exterior view of the downdraft shafts.

Energy We were thinking of this building more as a natural machine. So, all of the materials, the material qualities of the building, are a part of the mechanical system of the building in a kind of unprecedented way.Doss Mabe, FAIA :: Partner / ZGF Architects LLP

Solar Thermal Heating System Energy for the heating load and hot water comes

from the sun, with the back-up water heating system using a solar thermal system.

The solar thermal array, consisting of 1,000 SF (750 SF net) of evacuated tubes, along

with a 3,000-gallon hot water storage tank provide almost 70% of the hot water heating

and all of the domestic hot water for the project. A back-up electric boiler is used only

when required.

Water Cooled Chiller System The HVAC system provides chilled water using a

water-cooled chiller, combined with a cooling tower and pumps. The combination

creates a system that is 50% more efficient than a stand-alone chiller. The highly efficient

chiller, combined with the elevated supply temperatures used by the natural ventilation

system, and the automated operable shading devices with high-performance glazing,

will potentially allow the building to have 61% HVAC energy savings when compared

to a code compliant HVAC system (ASHRAE 90.1 - 2007) or 46% overall building

energy savings. Thermal comfort is also benefitted by a lack of cold or warm drafts that

conventional HVAC systems normally produce.

RIGHT The climate, usually warm and dry, is similar to Mediterranean climates, and the building’s

modern twist on wind towers from those climates was used as passive intakes for the building,

supplemented by stored solar energy for heating.

SOLAR HOT WATER

PRECOOLING COIL &COOLING COIL

STORAGE TANK

COOLING TOWERON SITE

BACKUP WATER HEATER

WATERSIDE

ECONOMIZER LOOP

WATER COOLED CHILLERS

Water Cooled Chiller SystemDiagram

LEFT The building’s solar thermal array on the roof. // ABOVE The building’s mechanical room.

Energy My hope was to gather the best and the brightest experts in sustainable building and green technologies, with the goal of stretching them to come up with ideas that they thought were the most cutting-edge possible.Steven M. Hilton :: Chairman, President & CEO / Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Renewable Energy The building incorporates a solar photovoltaic array of

approximately 11,000 SF that generates approximately 115 kW of solar electricity each

year. The system is sized considerably smaller than other similar systems of its kind due

to the overall low electric demands shaped by the building’s innovative energy strategies.

The overall system generates an estimated 167,500 kWh per year and an overall energy

savings, including renewable resources, of 95% when compared to a code compliant

building system (ASHRAE 90.1 - 2007).

Daylighting Passive design strategies, such as building orientation with the long axis

running east to west and maintaining a thin floor plate, allow daylight to penetrate regularly

occupied spaces. The natural daylight in each space gives the occupants the ability to

control the electric lighting by turning artificial light off during daylit hours, thus significantly

reducing energy use throughout the year. Daylight sensors turn off electric lighting when

adequate daylight is available near glazing and building perimeter spaces.

Active Shading System A key requirement of the passive downdraft HVAC system

is the need to control direct sun from the conditioned space whenever the outside air

temperatures are above 80°F. The automated external shading system is designed to limit

the direct sun on the southwest façade of the building, yet enable occupants to enjoy

outdoor views and abundant natural light. Lighting that is not needed can be turned off

with automated controls or by building occupants.

RIGHT An automated exterior shading system on the south façade, that raises and lowers with the

angles of the sun, ensures interior comfort by mitigating glare and heat gains.

Shades Open

SHADES

Shades Closed

Water Improved Water Quality The project’s site and landscape design includes unique

measures to collect and reduce pollution. As runoff collects from the driveways, parking

areas, and pedestrian spaces, it is directed through a series of bioswales and storm

drains, which enable the runoff to infiltrate or soak into the ground as it is conveyed

through the site. The project also incorporates permeable pavers in the main entry

driveway and parking areas, and decomposed granite paths, to help mitigate stormwater

issues and allow percolation into the soil, decreasing runoff that eventually leaves the site

and goes to streams, estuaries, and the ocean.

Green Roof The project incorporates a system of intensive and extensive green roofs,

which absorb up to 60-100% of a one-inch rainfall, thereby lessening the impact of

runoff to the site and minimizing the size of needed catch basins.

Recycled Water for Toilets and Cooling Tower In addition to being used for site

irrigation, reclaimed water is also utilized in the office building. This water is plumbed

into the building’s toilets for flushing, further reducing the use of potable water onsite.

Reclaimed water is also used in the cooling tower that controls and operates the

building’s ventilation systems.

Potable Water Conservation The landscape design focuses on native California

vegetation with drought-tolerant characteristics. The project includes a 20,000 gallon

buried cistern, which stores 100% of rainwater that is collected from the building’s

green roof. The irrigation is served from the mixing tank that receives water from onsite

sources, including rainwater and recycled water from the Water District. Sensors

monitor the quality of the various water sources and blend them to minimize the amount

of potable water in the mix, and also to create irrigation water that will not harm the

sensitive root systems of the native plants.

Debris Basin Prior to construction, the site was used by the Los Angeles County

Department of Public Works as a debris basin made of concrete and steel that was

designed to collect and remove rocks, mud, and vegetation coming down from

Ladyface Mountain during heavy storms. Unlike most County basins, the bottom and

earthen sides are irrigated and planted with a special seed mix of native California

grasses and wildflowers.

OVERFLOWDRAIN

MAIN DRAIN

OUT TO IRRIGATION

POTABLE

RECLAIMED

FUTURE WELLValveControl

ROOF WATER

Blending Tank Pump

Sensor

Mixer

Debris Basin

Stormwater Design

A landscaped courtyard outside the Foundation Board Room provides outdoor space for building users.

LEFT // ABOVE The building offers users attractive outdoor spaces for meetings and informal interaction.

LEFT // ABOVE The natural environment governed the choice of materials and selection of the earth-tone palette for the building.

The outdoor spaces and landscape are an extension of the interior environment, and the overall design maximizes natural light and is a calming, contemporary solution that is simply stated in its architectural vocabulary.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Bigelow Development Associates

ARCHITECT / INTERIOR DESIGNER

ZGF Architects LLP

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

MATT Construction

Team CONSULTANTS

WSP Flack+Kurtz / Built Ecology Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineer /

Security Consultant / Energy and Passive Design Consultant

KPFF Consulting Engineers Structural Engineer

David Nelson & Associates Lighting Designer

Stantec Consulting ServicesCivil Engineer

Van Atta Associates Landscape Architect

Davis Langdon Cost Estimator

Rocky Mountain Institute Sustainable Consultant

Alden Water Resource Engineer

GeoSoils Consultants Geotechnical Engineer

Envicom Corporation Environmental Consultant

PlanNet Consulting Audio Visual, IT, Security Consultant

Kaminski Kaneko Design Signage Consultant

The Cadmus Group, Inc. Commissioning Agent

Nick Merrick©Hedrich Blessing Photographer

Printed on recycled paper.

PORTLAND

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NEW YORK

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New York, New York 10016

T 212.624.4754

www.zgf.com