

AEE Capital One Tour
South East Chapter
July 15, 2022 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
The Association of Energy Engineers- National Capital Chapter is pleased to invite you to a tour of the Capital One Center in McLean, VA. During the visit, we will look at multiple spaces throughout the Watermark Hotel, the Capital One Hall, and the Perch. See below for a more complete description of the facility and some of its core features related to sustainability. Various members of the Capital One facilities team will lead a guided discussion about how the user experience is impacted by operational practices.
When: Friday, July 15th from 10am-1pm. The tour will last roughly 2 hours and will be followed by a networking lunch on site.
Where: The Capital One Center in Tysons, VA. The location is a short walk from the McLean Metro stop and nearby parking is available. Details about the precise meeting location will be included in your confirmation email.
What: During this tour, we will:
– Visit mechanical spaces with the facilities team.
– Learn about energy optimization and systems management.
– Understand how Capital One Center recycles waste and learn about other aspects of their sustainability story.
Cost (Includes Lunch): Non-Member: $35 Member: $25 Student: $10 AEE-NCC is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is committed to advancing education and networking opportunities related to responsible energy usage. The fee is to cover lunch expenses and support the overall mission of AEE-NCC.
Event Sponsor: Siemens Energy Siemens Energy has made a generous contribution to help fund this event. To learn more about Siemens Energy, please visit https://www.siemens-energy.com/global/en/company/about.html

More on the Capital One Center: Capital One Center Overview Capital One Center is a 25 acre mixed-use development in the bustling Tysons East neighborhood, located 500 steps from the McLean Metro Station and anchored by the headquarters of Capital One. Roughly 3 million sq. ft has been delivered with 3 million sq. ft. of future development in the pipeline.
2021 openings included a world-class corporate events and performing arts center, Capital One Hall, a 300-key corporate lodging facility, The Watermark Hotel, numerous retail and dining options, and a 2.5 acre skypark, The Perch complete with Starr Hill Biergarten. Performances at Capital One Hall range from concerts, comedy, Broadway theater, as well as private events (galas, weddings, holiday receptions) and 15% of the venue’s usage is designated for local nonprofit arts organizations. Roughly half of The Perch is a Fairfax County dedicated public park, and the recent Perch Phase 2 opening included food trucks, a Tiki Bar, and 18-hole miniature golf course 11 stories in the sky.
This fall Capital One’s next mixed-use tower with roughly 900,000 sq. ft. will open doors with ground floor and second floor retail. In total, retail will encompass 250,000 sq. ft at Capital One Center.
Capital One serves as the owner, Cushman & Wakefield as the project development partner, Whiting-Turner as the general contractor, HGA as the architect of Capital One Hall, Gensler as the architect of the Podium, Hotel, and next Tower underway (Center Three); B.F. Saul Hospitality as the hotel operator and ASM as the Performing Arts Center operator.
Nearly two decades after Capital One purchased land in Tysons, Capital One Center’s development has evolved with two overarching goals: to attract and retain the nation’s top talent, and provide much-needed outdoor space and cultural amenities for the growing DC and Northern Virginia population. The iconic Capital One HQ Tower has led the way in transforming Tysons’ skyline. It is the tallest occupied building in the DMV at 470 ft. Once Capital One Center’s development plans are complete, it will house 12,000 Capital One employees, and become a cultural and entertainment destination.
Capital One Hall and The Watermark Hotel are LEED® Gold certified.

Some of Capital One Hall’s sustainability features include:
● Finishes and Coatings: Finishes and coatings with low or no emissions were used to help promote human-healthy indoor environments.
● Heating and Cooling Systems: Heating and cooling systems are zoned and optimized to include energy recovery systems which are expected to achieve 27 percent more energy savings as compared to a code-compliant building.
● Daylighting/Thermal Comfort: The building envelope has been enhanced for daylighting and views, while mitigating solar gains to keep the cooling loads and energy use down. HGA and its partners conducted a solar radiation analysis which provided guidance on which exterior panels of the structure should be glass and which should be stone to limit direct radiation on the building.
● Green Roof: A beautiful and sustainable green roof provides a lovely park setting where people can congregate but also acts as an integral part of Capital One Hall’s acoustics. The serrated design of the atrium ceiling, which echoes the building façade, provides deep areas suited to tree planting which also enhance the acoustics.
● Water Management: Water efficient landscaping, along with stormwater quality and quantity controls exceeded standard performance. Green Roofs at Capital One Center
The Perch, our rooftop park, will achieve cooling strategies, insulate Capital One Hall, purify the air surrounding our development, save carbon footprint and energy costs, and offer water efficient landscaping and infiltration with our stormwater management systems — just to name a few benefits! The Perch was designed to adhere to the highest standards in sustainability.
Our rooftop park was designed to host all kinds of plants – even trees! Below the finished surface is a layered system to make up the intensive green roof system and stretches as far as 4 feet below the surface, so the trees have enough soil to thrive in. But our roof can’t support all that weight of soil throughout, so we built up the sidewalks and plazas with recycled glass gravel that’s lightweight and compactable.
Each of our species was carefully selected to handle the higher winds, dryer soils, and less water on top of the roof. Even with all these restrictions, we’ve managed to achieve a diverse landscape that always has something in bloom and creates a wonderful habitat for birds and insects.
Sitting atop of our Center Two corporate tower is another green roof — with beehives! Honey bees are an agricultural animal, in the same way as sheep and cattle, and a crucial part of our ecosystem, pollinating fruits and vegetables and flowering plants.
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