November 06, 2008

edi office building achieves LEED® Gold certification

LEED Gold Certification

November 2008

PRESS RELEASE

Environmental Dynamics, Incorporated (edi) is proud to announce LEED_^® Gold certification of its office building located at 142 Truman St NE in Albuquerque, NM.  edi is an architecture and sustainability consulting firm providing design, project management, LEED consulting, energy modeling and daylight modeling services since 2000.  edi‘s office, dubbed ēo for Eco-Office, is also home to the NM Wilderness Alliance, the Sierra Club, and Quercus Landscape Architects.  

ēo is the fifth building certified under the LEED Rating system by edi’s LEED Accredited ProfessionalsTM.  LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design_^®) is a third party certification program and nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.  Currently, edi is working on over forty projects applying for LEED certification.

ēo is a 7,000 SF one-story existing office building located on a half-acre site.  The building was remodeled in 2006 and contributes to the urban revitalization of a blighted district in transition.  The building renovation serves as an example of green development and reflects the values of its occupants.

ēo is located within ½ mile of many basic services and within ¼ mile of several commuter bus lines.  The building includes shower facilities for employees who commute to work via bicycle and has designated parking spaces that reward carpoolers and owners of fuel-efficient vehicles.  Asphalt paving was removed from the site in favor of pervious surfaces, which allow stormwater to penetrate directly into the ground, reducing the impact on city infrastructure.

The building boasts a ‘cool’ roof, is well-insulated and covered with a highly reflective surface.  Part of the roof is a demonstration of one of the first vegetated roofs in Albuquerque.  All existing water fixtures were upgraded with water-saving aerators and an innovative device that uses lavatory waste water to flush toilets. Newly installed fixtures are the most water-efficient presently available on the market, resulting in an estimated 30% water savings.

Because buildings consume 60-70% of the electricity produced in the U.S. annually, it is important to to reduce energy consumption.  At ēo, the building envelope includes high efficiency windows, doors and a new roof.   The entire building uses daylight as its primary source of illumination.  In total, building energy consumption has been reduced nearly 30%.

One of the most effective strategies for minimizing environmental impact is to reuse existing buildings. In addition to reusing 50% of the shell and structural elements of the building, over 5% of purchased construction materials were reused, refurbished, or salvaged. In the process of rebuilding ēo, over 85% of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill.

As architects, we make and influence decisions about the materiality of our structures everyday. Over 30% of construction materials at ēo have recycled content (steel, glass, plastic, aluminum, rigid foam), come from local sources (concrete, drywall, aggregate), or are made from rapidly renewable materials (bamboo, cork, marmoleum). The innovative lime stucco is made from local recycled glass and serves as a carbon sink as it ages.

By achieving LEED certification, ēo has affirmed is role as an example of sustainable redevelopment.  ēo plans to be one of the first projects in the U.S. to apply for LEED certification for New Construction and move directly into LEED certification for Operations & Maintenance EB.  For a tour of ēo or to learn more about the LEED certification process, please contact info@edi-arch.com or 505-242-2851.