With the client's goals in mind, the Rockefeller Group and New York City-based general contractor Turner Construction actively sought LEED Double-Platinum, which includes core, shell and tenant improvements, in design and execution. To reach this goal, the developer also worked closely with base-building engineer AKF Group LLC and civil engineer Bohler Engineering to make sure the end product had as many sustainable features as possible, including solar power and natural light. In addition, some 20% of all construction materials were recycled.

To accomplish this, the team had to "start fresh," as Machemer terms it, and work from a more traditional design for "a courtyard-type setting with a building around it, to create an asset that was appropriately set toward the sun." The courtyard approach gives "all office spaces daylight and views. The design is clean and crisp and people want to work in it, but it's not overpowering. It's attractive."

And here's another point of departure Machemer makes from sustainable buildings built even five or six years ago. A visitor or employee "would walk in and say 'this is odd.' But with BASF, the reaction is, 'wow.' You feel the uniqueness of the building and you know there are sustainable features there, even though you can't touch or feel them. They're part of the design."

In creating a sleek, contemporary look for the project, the Rockefeller Group tapped architect Kohn Pedersen Fox for the base building work and Gensler for the interiors. The building features a 90% open floor plan, which contributed to the asset's collaborative environment, according to Les Smith, executive vice president of development for the Rockefeller Group. And that, in turn helps draw potential recruits.

As do the other amenities the asset has to offer, he says, such as a 450-seat "town hall" area where employees can congregate; a 264-seat dining hall and food market; a 164-seat stadium theater for special events and presentations; a 7,300-square-foot training center; and a 3,600-square-foot fitness center. "Your first impression is 'Boy, this is a place I want to work,'" Smith states.

The live-work aspect of the building also falls into the greater master plan of the Green at Florham Park. The 300-acre site is comprised of several different elements, including 855,000 square feet of commercial office space; a full-service hotel; and a 425-unit age-restricted community to be developed by K. Hovnanian Cos.

"Florham Park is not an urban area, so we had to go about creating an environment that would work with all the different uses," Machemer says. "When we started talking about the project early on, it was not just about BASF; it wasn't just one building we were focused on. We were focusing on 300 acres and planning that appropriately."

In addition to BASF's new headquarters, approximately 27 acres of the site are home to the New York Jets football team's headquarters and Atlantic Health Jets training center, which includes training, teaching and medical facilities, corporate offices, a full-size indoor practice field and four outdoor practice fields. Over time, three additional class A office buildings are planned, ranging in size from 100,000 to 300,000 square feet, all planned with a minimum goal of LEED Gold.

New data show that, after being open for a few short months, BASF's sustainable features are already adding up to real energy and cost savings, practices that will be used in future developments on the site. According to the Rockefeller Group, the property has seen reductions in interior water usage by at least 40% and outdoor water consumption by 85%. Energy consumption has been reduced by more than 20%.

One of the most significant innovations, however, is an under-floor air system rather than a traditional central air system. "It comes up through oversize vents that you can adjust," Machemer explains. "Installing the air system was key to the sustainable nature of the building, and very few are built that way." It clearly had a major impact on the "comfort of the occupants and the energy use within the building."

Developments like BASF prove the cost savings, productivity enhancements and worker satisfaction inherent in environmentally sound design. Its proponents harbor no doubt that the "new class of Class A" will serve as models for generations to come. "We took this building to a level beyond what we envisioned," says Machemer. "We built a showcase building."

Building Name: BASF Corp. North American Headquarters

Location: Florham Park, NJ

Ownership & Management: Rockefeller Group

Size: 325,000 square feet

When Built: 2012

# of Tenants: 1