Summary: Redwood City-based DPR Construction reports that construction is now complete on its new company-owned San Diego regional headquarters. The 24,000-sq-ft office located in University City is designed to be Net Zero Energy and is pursuing LEED platinum certification.

The DPR office contains 11 conference rooms including the circular Delta Room and a large training area, a 16-person video conference room and a space dedicated to building information modeling technology. In addition, the open office features over 14-ft exposed ceilings complete with scrims or material that hangs from the ceiling to defuse light, which are artistically designed to resemble the sails of boats.

To generate as much power as the building consumes, a 64 kilowatt AC photovoltaic system was installed. The solar panels are expected to produce enough power to offset the building’s energy consumption, annually.

It was also important to the company to incorporate natural light and ventilation into building’s design.

“Our intent was to create an environment that was naturally ventilated and lit, and to do so in such a way that a person walking through the space wouldn’t even realize that there are no lights on or no air conditioning running,” he says. “In effect, we want to bring the outside in – not only because it’s the responsible thing to do but also because it’s a far superior working environment for our employees.”