Johnson Controls recently celebrated the renovation of its North American Headquarters in Glendale, Wis. The 144,000-square-foot facility exemplifies Johnson Controls’ dedication to the productivity and wellbeing of its nearly 1,500 local employees. With its new OpenBlue Innovation Center, it also serves as a showcase of solutions for building owners, operators, and other industry leaders to create a new class of smart buildings that are secure, healthy, and sustainable.
“This campus has been designed to create a culture of collaboration and sustainability with our OpenBlue digital platform at the core of its design,” says Vijay Sankaran, chief technology officer at Johnson Controls. “We look forward to welcoming visitors to the OpenBlue Innovation Center, where together, we’ll shape the future of building technologies.”
Showcase for North American Customers
The Innovation Center is a nearly 12,000-square-foot interactive space that will host thousands of visitors per year from a wide range of industries and provide interactive product demonstrations, cutting-edge virtual reality technology, and other multimedia sessions.
“This new innovation center will serve as a source of inspiration for our customers, helping to improve the design, operation, and maintenance of their indoor environments, ultimately driving value for their businesses,” said Julie Brandt, president of Building Solutions North America at Johnson Controls. “By engaging with our leading experts and exploring the latest advancements, our customers will gain a comprehensive understanding of how connected, data-driven solutions provide deeper insights into their building’s performance.”
The Glendale location is the eleventh to join Johnson Controls’ growing network of OpenBlue Innovation Centers across the globe.
Enabling an Optimized Environment
In addition to the OpenBlue Innovation Center, the full Glendale campus also is a demonstration of how building technology and design can improve a building’s efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and improve occupant experiences.
Technology plays a central role in reaching these goals. Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue solutions, integrated with its Metasys building automation system and other third-party devices, serves as the centralized control network. This platform offers facility management staff a unified view to track performance metrics of building systems, such as the energy usage of its heating and cooling systems, lighting, and shade controls.
Recognizing that buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Johnson Controls provides sustainable solutions to its customers while also setting ambitious targets for reducing its own environmental footprint. To help drive these goals, the campus includes a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic array system, generating 250 kW of power and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 827,000 pounds annually. Further, Johnson Controls on-site heat pumps that use electricity to circulate energy rather than burn fuel are expected to cut winter heating costs by around 29%.
The renovations also are an investment in Johnson Controls’ working environment to foster a positive culture for employees and other occupants. Reimagined floor plans and contemporary workstations give employees multiple work-points to utilize. Additionally, the newly implemented lighting system not only contributes to energy savings, but also enhances occupant comfort and productivity.
Furthering its commitment to its employee wellbeing, the Johnson Controls Glendale campus has achieved the prestigious WELL Health-Safety Rating from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) for the past two years. In addition to high-efficiency filtration and fresh air ventilation, the campus has an extensive indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring platform to ensure optimal IAQ. Maintaining the WELL Health-Safety Rating, as well as leveraging Johnson Controls industry-leading IAQ technology through the OpenBlue digital platform, exemplifies Johnson Controls’ dedication to creating healthy working environments that support high-performing teams for its employees and visitors, as well as its customers.
“As a leader in the smart buildings industry, Johnson Controls is committed to continually evolving our campuses to implement the latest and greatest digital solutions and design principles for more sustainable facilities and a top-notch workplace culture,” continued Brandt. “By transforming our North America headquarters, just as we do for our customers every day, we’re truly putting our core values and offerings into action to show what’s possible for our teams and visitors.”
