EcoSmart Houses One-Of-A-Kind Conference Facility

<B> EcoSmart Houses One-Of-A-Kind Conference Facility</B>

By Frank Rosci

The EcoSmart Building Center's conference room in New York, outfitted with office-of-the-future technology as well as a waterfall and plants, offers small- to medium-size corporate groups perhaps the most flexible and environmentally mindful meeting space of any in the city.

The conference center, which opened in April 1998 and occupies the 23rd floor of the building at 40 Wall Street, features a rotating floor and movable modular walls, and is fast becoming a major part of EcoSmart's financial district presence and appeal, said Barry Dimson, president and CEO of Eco-Smart Healthy Properties, a consulting company that specializes in the construction of environmentally smart buildings.

<B>Planners Price The Benefits</B>

"The space is a very soothing environment that is thought-provoking and energizing, which comes from its flexibility," while the calming effect comes from the waterfall and greenery, said Erica Levy Klein, Web strategist at New York-based Information Design Associates, which held a meeting in the center this past August. "Also, the price is less than other venues in the area."

Other groups, including American Express, the American Society of Architects and the Sierra Club, have held meetings in the one-of-a-kind space, which accommodates from 12 to 150 attendees theater-style in the Presentation Theatre and up to 80 people seated. Individual spaces include a 24-person boardroom, two 12-person meeting rooms, an orientation room and a multimedia room.

Rental rates for the Presentation Theatre are $900 per eight-hour day for up to 50 participants and $1,100 for a full day for more than 50 participants. The small boardroom costs $350 per eight-hour day, while the large boardroom costs $700 per day. Per-hour videoconferencing rates range between $250 and $525, depending on the time of day. Staff, services and equipment rentals are additional.

"Since the floor rotates, we can face it out in several directions to line it up with existing space, which affords considerably more room for group functions. We also can face it out toward the elevators for a high level of access and impact," Dimson said. On its own, the conference center space measures 2,800 square feet. When configured with existing space, it measures up to 4,000 square feet, depending on the number of other spaces used. The various configurations take from 30 to 90 seconds to complete.

Technologically advanced touches of the center's office-of-the-future concept include state-of-the-art ventilation, such as air conditioning with an under-floor flow, a system in use in Europe for some time; energy efficient conversion of daylight for solar heating and automated solar controls for window shades; high performance, non-glare light filters; and high-tech telecommunications, including videoconferencing. Air conditioning comes out of the floor in a circular pattern, eliminating hot and cold spots, thus increasing client comfort. The system uses 50 percent less energy than conventional air conditioning systems.

All electrical, phone, optical fiber and high-speed data lines also are beneath the floor. This under-floor approach avoids the need for a dropped ceiling, allowing more natural light in through the windows. Naturally, all of the materials used in construction of the center, including carpeting, flooring, wall systems, lighting, paint, furniture and building maintenance products are environmentally advanced and safe.

To further enhance client comfort and raise attentiveness, said Dimson, the center's air quality is regulated by a self-documenting system that controls temperature and humidity, and that brings in more fresh air, for example, when sensors indicate high levels of carbon dioxide.

"With the EcoSmart Building Center in a new Silicon Alley of New York," Dimson said, "we want to establish and position it as an ideal meeting location." There are plans, he added, to open similar centers across the country and abroad; EcoSmart already maintains a videoconferencing center in San Francisco.