How The Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Office Building Became a Paragon of Green Architecture

On the path to sustainable construction, the Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Office Building sets a new benchmark. This three-story, 87,300 sq. ft. medical office building includes primary care facilities such as family medicine, health education, obstetrics, and gynecology, along with supporting imaging, laboratory, and pharmacy units. What sets it apart is its achievement of Net Zero Operational Carbon and Net Zero Energy.

Design Highlights

Solar Orientation: The building’s simple rectangular floorplate, strategically oriented on the east-west axis, optimizes solar energy utilization.

Window-to-Wall Ratio: A carefully designed ratio allows appropriate daylight for each space while minimizing heat loss and gain.

Smart Glazing: Electrochromic glass controls glare and further reduces heat gain.

Innovative Technology

All-Electric Heat Pump System: This approach saved over $1 million in HVAC construction costs compared to the industry-standard gas-fired boiler system.

Domestic Hot Water: Heat pumps replaced gas-fired water heaters, eliminating all natural gas piping from the project.

Energy Solution

Photovoltaic Array: A 640 kW photovoltaic array installed in shade canopies over the adjacent parking lot generates electricity that offsets all the building’s energy use, including parking lot lighting and electric vehicle chargers, on an annual basis.

Certifications and Honors

LEED Platinum Certification: The project is on track to achieve this highest honor in green building.

LEED Zero Energy Certification: As one of the first projects in the country to receive this certification, it pioneers in the medical office building sector.

Eco-Friendly Philosophy

This project is a perfect example of achieving Net Zero Energy, Net Zero Carbon, and other high-performance building goals through a simple, pragmatic approach. By breaking away from industry norms and implementing an all-electric strategy, the project saved over $1 million in construction costs and reduced annual energy consumption by 40%, achieving both Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon goals.