Ferguson Headquarters 3 Receives ACEC Virginia Honor Award

Clark Nexsen received an Honor Award at the 2023 ACEC Virginia Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on February 2 for the Ferguson Enterprises Headquarters 3 (HQ3) building. The new facility is a collaborative, amenities-rich environment that reflects Ferguson’s shift towards transparency, connectivity, and sustainability. Award entries were judged based on their ability to demonstrate outstanding engineering design, delivery, function, and cost effectiveness.

At eight stories tall and 275,000 square feet, the building utilizes an open concept, with a variety of flex, meeting, and amenity spaces to support different work styles. Movement is encouraged with a striking stairwell that connects multiple levels of the facility. Outdoor spaces were built throughout, providing associates with access to a rooftop terrace and a pathway under the building that connects to the community plaza. Thanks to close collaboration with Ferguson and the City of Newport News, a new plaza and green space for associates and the public were also created.

Sustainability was a central focus from the beginning of the project, which helped create an exceptionally energy efficient office building, achieving a pEUI reduction of 70% compared to the baseline. Contributing to this is an efficient HVAC system, which utilizes a thermal storage system that shifts electrical demand for cooling from peak daytime hours to off-peak nighttime hours. A narrow footprint in the optimum building orientation, high efficiency glazing, sunshades on the south and west sides, and the efficient mechanical system were major drivers of this pEUI reduction.

Delivering on corporate, community, and sustainability goals, Ferguson’s HQ3 is evidence that these priorities can be achieved simultaneously.

About ACEC Virginia

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia is the state’s largest engineering firm association in the state, comprised of more than 85 engineering firms representing every discipline of engineering related to the built environment — civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, environmental, geotechnical — and affiliated companies. ACEC Virginia’s shared goals are to further the business interests of the membership, enhance the quality and safety of the environment and ensure the vitality of communities in Virginia.