LEED® News

AEC Takes the Tahoe Center to Platinum
May 21, 2007

AEC has enjoyed coordinating LEED® Certification for the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, which recently achieved a Platinum rating under LEED-NC v2.1. In addition to LEED® Certification services, AEC is currently working on commissioning the building. The Tahoe Center, a joint venture between Sierra Nevada College and UC Davis, is a 45,000 sqft lab and classroom facility on Sierra Nevada College's Lake Tahoe Campus. The project boasts a 58% reduction in energy cost when compared to a code compliant building, innovative HVAC system.

Another Gold For the University of Colorado
April 10, 2007

The Wolf Law Building at the University of Colorado Boulder Campus attained a Gold Certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design®(LEED) Rating System. Architectural Energy Corporation served as the energy, daylighting, and LEED® consultant.

The University of Colorado Student Union passed a capital funding fee in the fall of 2004 requiring that all new buildings on the Boulder campus achieve, at a minimum, a LEED® Silver Certification. As a result, all Wolf design team members were committed to achieving the LEED® Certification goal by identifying evaluating and integrating numerous energy efficiency and sustainable design strategies into the building. The Wolf Law Building is a 166,000 square foot educational facility located in the heart of the Boulder campus. The building contains two high-tech courtrooms to be used for symposia, court proceedings of state and federal appellate courts, classes, moot court and litigation training. The building holds the Byron R. White Center for the Study of Constitutional Law, the Natural Resources Law Center, the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program, and the Energy and Environmental Security Initiative. Sustainable Design Features: In addition to being within walking distance of several bus lines and being in the middle of an extremely bike-friendly city, the University of Colorado has 14 buses that run on 20% biodiesel (B20) fuel that will service the Wolf Law Building. The design team for the Wolf Law building incorporated strategies to reduce the urban heat island effect on both the site and roof surfaces. Seventy-two percent of the total impervious area of the site will be covered in reflective materials. In addition, the roofs of most University buildings are covered in a terra cotta tiles. Each tile color was tested in accordance with the Energy Star standard and the mix for the Wolf Law Building was designed specifically to address the LEED® credit requirements. As a result, 78.8% of the roof is LEED® Compliant. Through diligence on the part of Saunders Construction and the subcontractors on the project, the Wolf Law Building diverted over 90% of construction waste from the landfill. The University is purchasing over 90% of the Wolf Law Building’s electricity from Community Energy, Inc. which offers Green-e certified power. The University is purchasing over 90% of the Wolf Law Building's electricity from Community Energy, Inc. which offers Green-e certified power. With high recycled-content specifications and diligent efforts of the project's construction team, the project was able to verify that almost 23% of the building's material cost is recycled content. By integrating high-performance glazing, wall insulation and reduced lighting power densities throughout the building, the Wolf Law Building was able to show a projected savings of over 33% compared to a baseline building.

AEC Brings Home Another LEED® Gold
January 31, 2007

The Alliance for Teaching, Learning and Society (ATLAS) Center is the first building at the University of Colorado Boulder Campus to attain a Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ (LEED) Rating System. Architectural Energy Corporation served as the energy, daylighting, and LEED® consultant as part of the DTJ Design and Communication Arts Design Team.

The University of Colorado Student Union passed a capital funding fee in the fall of 2004 requiring that all new buildings on the Boulder campus achieve, at a minimum, a LEED® Silver Certification. As a result, all ATLAS design team members were committed to achieving LEED® Certification from the beginning of the project's design. The ATLAS Center is a campus-wide institute at the University of Colorado's Boulder campus that integrates information technology with multidisciplinary curricular, research and outreach programs. The ATLAS Center is a 66,155 square foot educational facility located in the heart of the Boulder campus. The Center contains a 3,000 square foot, two-story performance studio, a 1,000 square foot production studio, a 150-seat distance-learning auditorium and a 75-seat film screening room in addition to several smaller classrooms. ATLAS will be the home for the National Center for Women & Information Technology, the Film Studies Program and the new Teaching and Learning Center. Sustainable Design Features: In addition to being within walking distance of several bus lines and being in the middle of an extremely bike-friendly city, the University of Colorado has 14 buses that run on 20% biodiesel (B20) fuel that will service the ATLAS Center. The design team for the ATLAS Center incorporated strategies to reduce the urban heat island effect on both the site and roof surfaces. Seventy-two percent of the total impervious area of the site is covered in reflective materials. The University is purchasing 100% of the ATLAS Center's electricity from Community Energy, Inc. which offers certified sustainable electric power. With high recycled-content building material specifications and diligent efforts by the project's construction team, the project was able to verify that over 25% of the building's material cost is recycled content. As part of the University's commitment to open space, the project sponsored the planting of 3,600 square feet of native grasses on the campus in an area previously covered by invasive weeds. An energy efficient HVAC system, using direct/indirect evaporative cooling, and energy efficient lighting system significantly reduce annual energy consumption and costs.

AEC's Sustainable Design Assistance Staff Celebrate Team's 100% LEED® AP Status
December 12, 2006

AEC's Sustainable Design Assistance Team has achieved a 100% LEED® Professional Accreditation (AP) status. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ (LEED) rating system has become the industry-leading process by which to document and to validate sustainable building design and construction practices. According to the U.S. Green Building Guild, LEED® AP ensures that a professional has the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in the design process, to support and encourage integrated design.

Architectural Energy Corporation has used the LEED® rating scheme as a framework for the energy and environmental design on over 200 buildings, and has coordinated (or is coordinating) the preparation and submittal of over 100 buildings for LEED® Certification. AEC has provided sustainable design consulting services since 1982 and provides the full spectrum of energy, daylighting, and sustainable design consulting services to carry a project from programming / pre-design, through design, construction, and commissioning.

AEC Staff LEED® Onward with 33 Accredited Professionals
October 4, 2006

Architectural Energy Corporation would like to congratulate Senior Engineer Ellen Franconi and Associate Engineer Jim Salasovich for passing the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ exam. Ms. Franconi and Mr. Salasovich are now both LEED® Accredited Professionals, increasing AEC's number of LEED® AP's to 33.

AEC Continues Sustainable Design Assistance and LEED® Certification in the United Arab Emirates
September 22, 2006

Continuing its work in the United Arab Emirates, Architectural Energy Corporation (AEC) is a member of the R.W. Armstrong/A2S04 Architects design team for a new project on The Shams on Reem Island Development in Abu Dhabi. AEC will be providing energy, daylighting and sustainable design and analysis and LEED® Certification services for the First Abu Dhabi Shams mixed-use development project, which consists of four 40 to 55 story mixed-use towers and several podiums of retail and office space.

AEC "LEED"s Two Buildings at CU Boulder to Gold
August 30, 2006

AEC's Wolf and ATLAS projects; two new buildings on the University of Colorado - Boulder campus, are in the final stages of construction and should be complete by the end of August. The University will hold a grand opening for the buildings during the first two weeks of October. AEC expects each project to receive its official LEED® Certification plaque by the end of October. Both buildings are pursuing LEED® Gold certification.

Department of Veterans Affairs Office Building Completes LEED® Documentation
August 30, 2006

AEC's U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office building project in Reno, Nevada has completed documentation for its design credits. The documentation will be submitted to the USGBC this week for a preliminary review and an initial score. The project is pursuing a LEED® Certified level of certification and expects construction to be complete at the end of this year.

Pasadena Convention Center Moves Forward with LEED®
August 30, 2006

After several months on hold, the Pasadena Convention Center project is back on target for a LEED® Certified level of certification. Initial construction of a temporary tensile membrane structure will begin in September while the actual building construction will take place starting in December.