• Plainsboro Township, NJ
  • Ivy Realty
  • Novo Nordisk
  • 770,000 sq. ft.

Novo Nordisk

Van Note-Harvey provided site/civil engineering services for site improvements to an existing 770,000 sq. ft. building located in Princeton Forrestal Center to create a modern, Class A office building to accommodate occupancy by Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical product manufacturer.

This $225 Million redevelopment project consisted of the replacement of the existing building precast concrete façade with a new façade comprised of glazed curtain wall with spandrel glass, as well as courtyard improvements to two entrances of the existing building, shadowbox detailing at the floor and roof lines, and metal panel cladding with a zinc-like finish. Improvements to the main building entrance included the creation of a new two-story lobby (moving exterior wall west), reconfiguring of the entry drive, and the removal of an existing fountain and landscaping area. The entry drive/fountain area was replaced with a new fountain, a concrete paver driveway, porous sidewalks, landscaping, bollard lights, and curbing. A bio-retention swale was also added to offset the reconfiguration of the paver driveway. Improvements at the Building ‘E’ courtyard included a new entrance, porous walkway, landscaping, and bollard lights. The USGBC LEED Silver certified campus is powered by renewable energy from wind, solar, and hydro sources.

In order to limit the increase in stormwater runoff caused by the proposed hard surface area improvements, the use of porous surfaces (including walks constructed of porous concrete and porous recycled tire material) was utilized for the new sidewalks. Porous surfaces allow the rainwater to seep through the surface and be stored in the voids of the stone reservoir course until it percolates into the soil. A bio-retention swale was also added to one of the landscape islands in the parking lot to treat runoff generated by the water quality storm event. Runoff from previously untreated pavement area was allowed to sheet flow into the bio-retention swale to offset the reconstruction of the entry drive.

The existing building was constructed by and previously occupied by Merrill Lynch. VNHA provided site/civil engineering, environmental consulting, and survey services to Merrill Lynch for the original building complex construction of 1.8 million square feet.

Awards:
Resource Efficiency Achievement Award, PlanSmart NJ, 2013
Best Project Winner, Office/Retail/Mixed Use Category, Engineering News Record, New York Region, 2013


  • Surveying, Subsurface Utility Investigations, Site/Civil Engineering Design, Stormwater Management, Environmental Consulting, Land Use Permitting, Construction Phase Engineering, LEED Consulting