Morrissey Engineering Office Building

Sinclair Hille Architects provided programming and conceptual design services for the Morrissey Engineering 4940 Building project. This 14,765 square-foot building includes a wide variety of innovative and environmentally-friendly features such as daylight harvesting, reflective roofing, and the use of recycled building materials. The building was also designed to provide conveniences to employees in an aesthetically pleasing work environment, while awarding and encouraging green practices. These include features such as bicycle storage, recycling stations, shower and changing rooms, preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles and carpools, as well as direct views of the outdoors for more than ninety percent of the staff.

Achieving high energy goals, while maintaining a westward facing view of the outdoors, was the most challenging aspect of this project. Sinclair Hille had an integral role in achieving this goal which provided staff a connection between the tranquil outdoors where a pond is located on the southwest side of the site and the indoor work environment. The interior space has an open structure exposing the mechanical systems where volume is created by high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows which allow natural light to reach innermost work areas.

The 4940 Building became the first building in Nebraska to be awarded LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in October of 2009. In addition, the 4940 Building’s energy efficiency ranks in the top 10 percent of comparable buildings as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star rating for buildings.