The project: A 100,000-sf, five-floor fit-out on the top levels of a 14-story building. The new world headquarters fully occupies the top three floors and portions of two other floors. IMEG provided structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering and commissioning services for the project.

Project amenities: Conference rooms, private offices, open office spaces, natural daylighting, barista bar, boardroom, and social hubs / community spaces.

Innovative design aspects:

• CO2 demand control ventilation
• Lighting occupancy sensors integrated into HVAC control
• Three-story connecting convenience stair
• Unique and modern lighting
• Motorized shades on time-of-day sequence
• Advanced submetering
• Mechanical and electrical systems commissioning

Challenge: The owner requested hidden or concealed HVAC equipment in a building with large open ceilings with large glazing. Solution: Design utilized spiral ductwork and sleek duct mounted linear diffusers. Ductwork was also installed to align with lighting and structure to be more inconspicuous.

Challenge: A combination of code required submetering and owner required submetering forced creative system design. Solution: A combination of full panel metering, individual branch circuit metering, and logic-based metering calculations.

Challenge: Motorized shades were required on all exterior windows. Solution: Close coordination with the owner and subcontractors resulted in time-of-day scheduling to achieve code required daylight harvesting.

Challenge: A barista bar was requested on the 13th floor during construction. Solution: IMEG worked with the barista company, owner, health official, and contractors to strategically layout the bar that worked for the barista and met health code requirements.

Challenge: The convenience stair connecting levels 12, 13, and 14 created an “atrium” like space requiring special fire protection measures. Solution: Closely spaced sprinklers and a smoke baffle were installed to meet the building code requirements. The design team worked closely with the fire protection contractor to provide this code compliant system during construction.

Goals and standards: IMEG met Emerson’s unique sustainability goals and standards titled Energy Management and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Best Practices Playbook and Emerson received tax incentives through the Ameren Biz Savers program. International Building Codes 2021 and IECC 2021, including project commissioning, were also met.

The outcome: The new headquarters for Emerson Electric provides a more sustainable office space for the largest electric company based in St. Louis.