The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PA DEP) Philipsburg office building is home to the Moshannon District Headquarters. In line with several other PA DEP office buildings, design of the Philipsburg office space prioritized energy and water efficiency, a high quality indoor air environment and the use of sustainable building materials for a total cost comparative to that of a conventional office building. In addition, the eight-acre building site is located on a former strip mine, of which less than three acres was allowable buildable area. Originally consisting mostly of shale chips, this site was converted to a native meadow in conjunction with facility construction.

7group provided high performance integrative building design, energy modeling and commissioning services for this facility. After focusing on systematizing and integrating energy systems when completing energy analyses of the building, it was found that a concentration on the synergies between building systems could yield significant cost savings. Site constraints prohibited building orientation that would maximize southern wall and window exposure, resulting in alternative improved daylighting measures such as the use of several rows of clerestory windows.