LEED for Commercial Interiors

Perkins Eastman announced today that it has earned Gold certification under the LEED for Commercial Interiors rating system for General Electric's Energy Financial Services Division's 280,000-square-foot headquarters space in Stamford, Connecticut. The architects' Stamford office collaborated with LEED consultants Sustainable Design Collective to pursue the designation, which GE deemed critical in order to complement its management of a $4 billion portfolio of renewable energy projects across the world. The relocation project reorganized GE's work environment by shifting from a 90 percent office layout to a 70 percent open plan, which assisted Perkins Eastman in delivering increased natural light to the space's interior.

Late last month, Skanska USA, the U.S. division of Swedish construction firm Skanska AB, formally earned LEED for Commercial Interiors Platinum for its 24,000-square-foot offices on the 32nd floor of the Empire State Building. The project earned 44 points under the LEED-CI Version 2.2 rating system (which requires 42 points for a Platinum rating) and, after eight months of occupancy, the space is on track to achieve an expected 46 percent savings in energy costs. A priority for the design team was boosting indoor air quality, and the offices feature an underfloor air system with operable diffusers that allow each individual workstation to control temperature. Skanska, which actually served as its own construction manager, recycled 80 percent of construction debris and was able to preserve 40 percent of the space's non-structural interior components.

Another design-related Midtown sales office and showroom has earned LEED for Commercial Interiors certification from USGBC. Located at 5 Penn Plaza, the Center for Light+Space serves as the New York sales office and showroom for Acuity Brands Lighting and recently earned a LEED-CI Gold rating. The space was designed by Acuity in cooperation with Aztec Architects and garnered the bulk of its LEED credits under the materials and resources category, incorporating a variety of locally-sourced and recycled-content construction materials. Many of Acuity's own efficient lighting products were incorporated into the three-story space by RDK Engineers, who designed the project's MEP systems and also provided commissioning services. Other green design features include natural daylight harvesting and computer-controlled shading systems. The project is particularly interesting to us given the number of design firms that have achieved LEED-CI certification for their own offices, design studios, and showrooms; we frequently suggest that such firms should take leadership roles and advocate for sustainable design solutions for their clients in their own spaces.

What's on track to be Brooklyn's first LEED for Commercial Interiors-certified project had its grand opening on Saturday night in Williamsburg. Bird Boutique at 203 Grand Street was designed by Manhattan-based Ole Sondresen Architect and is aiming for a LEED Gold certification from USGBC. Mr. Sondresen was kind enough to invite us to Saturday night's event and share a few remarks about the project. 70 percent of the materials used to fit out the space were sourced in Williamsburg and various wood paneling was actually salvaged from a dumpster in SoHo. The space also includes LEED-standard features, ranging from efficient water and lighting fixtures to natural daylighting, as well as a basement shower that will earn the project one LEED credit. The front half of the store (facing Grand Street) will offer a variety of eco-friendly merchandise, ranging from clothing to jewelry, while the rear will continue to serve as an art exhibition space (Saturday's event featured photography by Shaniqwa Jarvis and Ignacio Parodi). The project team also included contractor William Dorvillier; check out an interview with Bird owner Jennifer Mankins below.