PNC tops off its new global headquarters

The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. celebrated the topping off of its new global headquarters, The Tower at PNC Plaza, in Pittsburgh on June 20, 2014.

Officials, labor union representatives, construction workers, PNC employees and project partners gathered to sign the final steel beam before it was placed atop the building structure. The 33-story, 800,000-square foot tower in downtown Pittsburgh will house approximately 2,200 employees when it opens in the fall of 2015. The building will help accommodate PNC’s growth and support further business development in downtown Pittsburgh, the company says.

“The tower's construction is a reflection of PNC’s commitment to Pittsburgh and a testament to our tremendous growth over the past decade,” says PNC Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Demchak. “The new headquarters will serve as a statement about the importance that we place on sustainability and innovation and on providing the best-possible environment for our employees.”

By utilizing ground-breaking technology, including a double-skin facade and a solar chimney, the tower is anticipated to ventilate naturally at least 42 percent of the year and consume 50 percent less energy than a typical office building. The building’s floor-to-ceiling windows and narrow floor plates are designed to allow daylight to illuminate 90 percent of all open workspaces, and a water recycling system is expected to decrease the tower's annual water consumption by 77 percent. PNC says it believes the building will exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification and set a new standard for green building.

In 2000, the 650,000-square-foot PNC Firstside Center, also in Pittsburgh, opened as the first U.S. LEED-certified financial services building and the largest LEED-certified building in the country. Since then, PNC has certified 225 projects to LEED standards—more newly-constructed LEED-certified buildings than any other company, according to the company. The Tower at PNC Plaza topping off ceremony marks 15 years since the topping off of PNC Firstside Center, symbolizing what PNC says is its ongoing commitment to create healthier workplaces and to help further revitalize downtown Pittsburgh.

The project team for the building includes PJ Dick Inc., a Pittsburgh-based general contractor; Gensler, a global design firm; Buro Happold, a United Kingdom-based engineering firm; and Paladino & Co., a Seattle-based green building consultant, among others.