Needham Public Service Administration Building

The Town of Needham retained Winter Street Architects to design a new Public Services Administration Building (PSAB). The two-story structure features private and open offices, conference rooms and public meeting spaces. While the town did not pursue LEED Certification, sustainable practices include:

• 100% storm water reclaimed on site

• Drought tolerant/native species landscape design

• Waterless urinals

• Roof designed to receive future solar panels

• Geothermal heating and cooling

• BAS / active management of building energy

• Maximized daylight and views for occupants

The Needham PSAB employs a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system for heating and cooling. GSHP systems exploit the Earth’s ability to store and dissipate heat. A few feet below the surface of the earth, underground temperatures are stable throughout the year. This building has a series of (16) five-hundred-foot-deep wells located under the parking lot which collect available heat in the winter and discharge heat back into the ground in the summer. The final construction bid came in $400,000 under the estimate and the building was completed on time with only 10 months of construction.