The Sustainable Design Blog

April 10, 2013 – Sarasota, FL – The Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina on Lake Mohave made history this month by achieving LEED-NC LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the world’s first LEED certified floating green building. This eco-friendly marina, located in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area just outside of Las Vegas, was designed by Florida’s premier green design team, Carlson Studio Architecture (CSA). CSA, based in Sarasota, was selected for this unique project because of its diverse sustainable design experience.  The project, spearheaded by the National Park Service and Forever Resorts, LLC, serves as the marina’s operations office, and is literally floating ON Lake Mohave.  This project marks the 12^th LEED certified project the firm has been responsible for. 

“Using a team approach and the integrated design process, we were able to seamlessly incorporate environmentally friendly features throughout the project,” explained Project Architect Michael R. Carlson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C. “A committed ownership group, a skilled design team and conscientious contractor makes projects like this especially rewarding.”

The floating eco-friendly structure features sustainable modular construction and state-of-the-art energy-efficient and environmentally responsible materials and fixtures. The modular wall and roof system is constructed of Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) designed to lessen the amount of construction waste, improve the insulation value of the building and provide a tighter envelope than traditional construction. The SIPs also lowered the overall weight of the building, decreasing the load on the floating foundation system. Decking is made of a composite of rice hulls and recycled plastic, and the exterior stucco contains recycled tire particles. Use of low or no volatile organic compound materials, paints and adhesives will rid the building of the typical “new building” smell, improving the overall indoor air quality.

The project’s key green building design features include:

• Extensive energy saving materials and systems, including high-performance insulated glass
• High-efficient HVAC equipment

Extensive use of recycled and regionally extracted and/or manufactured materials, such as steel, drywall, metal studs, carpet, etc.