July 16, 2008—Environmental Market Solutions, Inc. (EMSI), an environmental and green building consulting company, has provided consulting services for Century Prosper Center, the first speculative commercial office building in China to achieve LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
EMSI is part of Carrier Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp.
Planning for the Century Prosper Center project began in 2002 when the Beijing Prosper Development Company, Ltd. engaged EMSI as sustainability consultants. EMSI faced the challenge of applying USGBC standards in an environment that does not have similar requirements.
The USGBC requires strict performance levels for indoor air quality, energy efficiency, water conservation and building commissioning. As the project developed, it became apparent to the building stakeholders that it would serve as a model for green building practices in China, says EMSI.
The $250 million, 1.6 million-square-foot twin tower building in the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District was completed in the first quarter of 2008. At capacity, the building can house 10,000 occupants and will include retail and commercial offices.
The building features a high-performance curtain wall system that keeps heat outside the building during the summer and inside during the winter; variable speed high-efficiency electric centrifugal chillers with a secondary loop to cool building parameters zones; demand- control ventilation; and “free cooling” during swing seasons along with reductions in lighting power density.
For more information on these and other Carrier projects, see the Web site.
