includes a large reception area, board room, offices, training areas, cafe-style lounge, employee locker rooms, product manufacturing areas, engineering labs, testing facilities, warehousing, shipping/receiving, and support areas. Major infrastructure components include chilled water system with redundant chillers, dual electrical services, hazardous chemicals storage, scrubbers, and extensive process piping.

TAG worked closely with Heliovolt personnel to develop a lean process flow and to establish a corporate image for the young start-up company. TAG designed a clean-room quality manufacturing floor running the length of the building, with utilities infrastructure and support services on one side and a long “gallery” corridor separating the factory from the offices on the other side to provide visitors with excellent viewing of the factory without entering the factory floor.

Sustainability features include high-efficiency HVAC and lighting systems; low-flow plumbing fixtures; low VOC paints, adhesives, and sealants; materials with high recycled content; rapidly-renewable decorative wood finishes; and regionally manufactured materials. The selection of finishes addressed aesthetic, functional, and sustainable considerations, as well as initial and lifecycle costs. The facility achieved 39 percent overall energy savings above the City of Austin’s energy code and lighting energy savings of 59 percent above code requirements. The facility also features a 10 kW solar array on the roof for PV product testing.