January 9, 2004—During its recent Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Pittsburgh, P., the US Green Building Council (USGBC) recognized the first two projects to complete LEED for Existing Buildings certification.
One project is the National Geographic Society Headquarters Complex in Washington, DC. This project demonstrates the effectiveness of LEED-EB applied to older buildings as the complex is comprised of four interconnected buildings ranging from twenty years to one hundred years old. Among the many EB strategies, the project upgraded heating and cooling systems, interior lighting systems, and building operating practices. The upgrades to the existing buildings have increased the market value to this property by $4 for every $1 invested.
The other project is the Joe Serna, Jr. Cal/EPA Headquarters Building, developed by Thomas Properties Group. The building is Sacramento’s largest high-rise real estate project. The design, construction, and operation of this building incorporated sustainable, yet economically competitive technologies, materials, methods, and processes, earning it a LEED Gold certification, which is the second-highest LEED rating certification level.
Three major categories of building upgrades are the focus of LEED-EB:
- Buildings that already currently LEED certified or operating according to green principles. LEED-EB helps fine tune and rate the level of green operation.
- Buildings with systems and infrastructures that are already efficient. LEED-EB helps guide the greening of the rest of the building operations.
- Buildings that require significant system retrofits and operational improvements to meet LEED-EB standards.
For more information, contact USGBC.
