Astra Tower
Salt Lake City
Award for Merit, Sustainability
Presented by Jacobsen construction
owner Kensington Investment Co.
Leading design company HKS
General Contractor Jacobsen construction
Road engineer Engineering of the Great Basin
Structural Engineer Thornton Tomasetti
MEP engineer mechanical archer
electrical engineer Electric hunting
Standing 40 stories above downtown Salt Lake City, this 456-foot luxury apartment building is the tallest building in Utah. The tower has 377 residences of various sizes and two levels of penthouse suites. An urban park sits atop the five-level parking structure.
With LEED Gold certification pending, Astra Tower’s design emphasized addressing important environmental issues in Utah, such as air quality and water conservation. The building has a central air intake system equipped with advanced two-stage filtration, which improves indoor air quality as much as possible for residents and guests. Operable windows facilitate natural ventilation, while the first air quality sensors have been integrated into each unit.
Another sustainability strategy was to emphasize community awareness. A color-changing beacon atop the Astra Tower uses different shades of illumination to alert Utahns to air quality conditions in real time, leveraging its prominent presence on the skyline to encourage behavioral changes around air pollution. In partnership with Utah Clean Air, the building is connected to an air quality sensor that provides this air quality data in real time.
Water conservation is another goal. The tower will consume about 14 million gallons of potable water per year, representing at least a 35% reduction from the projected baseline use.
Biophilic design elements promote the well-being of residents, as well as low-emission materials in floors, ceilings, insulation, paints, coatings, plaster and composite wood.
