February 10, 2006—The Toronto office and studio of HOK, Canada’s leading architectural design firm, has received Gold certification in the LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-C) program. The certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) recognizes high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work, are less costly to operate and maintain, and demonstrate environmental stewardship.
The USGBC reviewed and rated HOK’s office and studio in five environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality, in addition to Innovation and Design Process.
Completed in December 2004, the 20,500-sq.ft. office and studio space was designed to utilize the base building attributes: sealed concrete floors, open ceilings, bicycle storage and change rooms, and exposed columns. Among the qualities that earned the project its LEED-CI Gold status are effective use of natural daylight harvesting, low VOC paint and other coatings, high levels of local and recycled materials, installation of operable windows, over 30% reduction in energy consumption, and the provision of 75% of its electricity provided by renewable resources (through green power).
HOK’s renovated Canadian headquarters in Toronto is one of only two projects in Canada to receive a LEED-CI Gold certification, both awarded in January 2006.
For more information, visit the HOK Web site.
