International Fund for Animal Welfare Headquarters

The World Headquarters Project for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) consists of a new ground-up building with a total of approximately 55,000 square feet of space including 2 finished floors and the basement level. This building was constructed in order to allow IFAW to consolidate all of its staff and services into one centralized location.

Our team provided preconstruction services for this project, working alongside the design team and the owner as the plans progressed from schematic design through design development and culminating in the final construction documents.

The IFAW Headquarters is designed and constructed to use 45% less energy for heating & air conditioning, and 22% less energy for lighting compared to similar buildings meeting the latest energy standards. This was accomplished by the use of an efficient evaporative cooled air conditioning system with ozone friendly refrigerant, high efficiency gas heating condensing boilers, and state-of the-art fluorescent lighting. The building was also  designed and constructed to consume 32% less energy compared to a typical office building. To ensure healthy indoor air quality, the outside ventilation air introduced through the building air conditioning system is measured and controlled to a rate that is 30% higher than the minimum standards.

The full-height glass curtain-wall that wraps around the courtyard side of the building strengthens the connection with the exterior landscape, increases views, and traps sunlight. The use of frit glass – a glass with a shading pattern silkscreened onto it – and wooden louvers protects against solar heat gain in the summer, while allowing sunlight to warm the major spaces in the winter. The louvers are constructed of Jarrah wood from Australia, which is managed, fast growing and highly resistant to rot and decay without chemical treatment. Other features include the use of fabric “sails” in the interior to provide sound dampening & light reflection benefits.

  The IFAW project achieved LEED Gold certification.  

Additional Information

Architect: DesignLab Architects
Owner: Willow Street International Headquarters, LLC
Location: Yarmouthport, MA
Value: $13.6M