The Assembly (5051 Centre)
LEED Gold, 2022
The Assembly, located at 5051 Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, is a historic building that once housed a Ford Motor Company assembly plant. In 2022, the building opened its doors for its next life as a world-class biomedical research hub, leased in-part by the University of Pittsburgh.
The Assembly includes new state-of-the-art lab spaces for researchers, a variety of conference rooms, an 250+ seat auditorium, and galleries throughout to highlight the building’s rich heritage.
Pitt leases ~245,00 square feet in the 354,000 square foot building, which is owned by Wexford. It achieved its LEED Gold designation in 2022.
Green Building Highlights
- Maintained ~70% of existing historic building’s walls, floors, and roof.
- Diverted 90% of construction & demolition waste from the landfill (excluding tenant fit-out).
- 78 bicycle parking spaces & changing rooms, encourage active commuting.
- Conveniently located near public transportation.
- 30 electric vehicle chargers available for drivers.
- Mechanical system includes efficient active chilled beam system.
- Roof design helps reduce urban heat island effect, including green roof deck.
- Prefabricated mechanical penthouse helped building meet historic tax credit requirements, reduce construction waste, improved safety, minimize site disruption, & expedite construction.
- Water efficient landscaping.
- Construction materials had 32.4% had recycled content and 56% were manufactured regionally (core & shell + parking).
- Use of low-emitting materials, such as in adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, flooring systems, and composite wood and agrifiber products.
Architect: ZGF
Contractor: Turner
Read LEED Gold announcement (October 2022)
Read May 2022 Pittwire article
Read more about the project from Wexford
Read 2023 Metropolis Magazine article on project.