ESTéE LAUDER COGENERATION PLANT

Location: Melville, NY
Date: 1999
Program: Cogen Plant / Campus Expansion

Joseph R. Loring & Associates and Trigen Nassau Energy Corporation retained Caples Jefferson Architects to add to the Estee Lauder factory in the central area on Long Island. The existing factory complex was considered a model of responsible design; the Owner wanted to continue the same high quality of design.

The cogeneration plant is capable of generating 2.2 megawatts of power and 4.5 million BTU of heat for process and building requirements. The first design goal was the seamless integration of the new addition into the existing factory building. A new panel system was devised which would match the 25-year-old porcelain panel visually, while responding to modern energy conservation and acoustical standards. The second goal was to reconfigure the traffic area to preserve the existing rolling landscape preserve. The plant is flanked by new bermed areas to increase greenscaped areas as well as provide a measure of blast protection adjacent to the most hazardous areas of the structure. Traffic patterns around the new plant were altered in order to provide landscaped dividers and to better direct traffic between plant buildings.

The project was reviewed and approved by the original architect for the factory, but the project was ultimately suspended due to changes in energy suppliers.