Sustainable Design Blog

LEEDership Award Winners Celebrate!
St. Petersburg, FL --- The U.S. Green Building Council - Florida Gulf Coast Chapter hosted its third annual LEEDership Awards on October  23rd, 2012, recognizing and honoring those outstanding projects, inspirational businesses, dedicated individuals, and instrumental Chapter members who are ‘LEEDing the Way’ to a more sustainable built environment on the Gulf Coast of Florida and beyond.

Alexis Muellner, Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, emceed the evening at the beautiful Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. The event included a Networking/Cocktail Hour in the Gardens, delicious appetizers and the Awards Ceremony to conclude the evening.

Mayor Bill Foster graciously accepted the award for Municipality of the Year on behalf of the City of St. Petersburg, and many other green building leaders were in attendance to celebrate the projects that were nominated and won awards at the event.

Over 100 attendees celebrated the successes of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council over the past year.

2012 LEEDership Awards Winners

Outstanding LEED  for Commercial Interiors
Carlson Studio Architecture
« Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery Center

Outstanding LEED Core and Shell
Carlson Studio Eco Consulting
«City of Sarasota- Palm Avenue Parking Garage

Outstanding LEED Existing Buildings
« Waldemere Medical Plaza

Outstanding LEED for Homes – Multi-Family
« Eco Oaks Apartments

Outstanding Chapter Member of the Year
« Taylor Ralph – with REAL Building Consultants

Outstanding LEED for Existing Buildings - School
«Pasco County – Marlowe Elementary

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- Government
« Ft. Pierce U.S. Courthouse(GSA)

Outstanding LEED for New Construction – Higher Education
« UF – Hough Hall Graduate School of Business

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- Retail
« Dunkin’ Donuts – St. Petersburg

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- General
« Anna Maria Island Historic Green Village

Outstanding Green Business
« Gilbane Building Company

Outstanding Green Government
« City of St. Petersburg

Presidents Award – Outstanding Service to the Green Building Community
« Progress Energy 

The beautiful offices of Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery & Skin Care and Lakewood Ranch Family Medicine have earned the LEED Certification.  This is the first private physician’s office and medical spa in the state of Florida to be LEED certified.   In honor of this, Drs Joshua and Andrea Kreithen will host a party and LEED certification ceremony on Tuesday, December 7, from 4 until 7 pm. The office is located at 6310 Health Park Way, Suite #110 behind the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

The office space is recognized for energy use, lighting, water and material use. The medical practices have also incorporated a variety of sustainable strategies in their everyday practices. Ultimately, LEED certified facilities reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to an overall healthier environment.

Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP of Carlson Studio Architecture, based in Sarasota, served as the architect for the project. The company is a recognized leader in green building design in Florida. They were able to incorporate natural light, renewable resources and overall healthy design to create a space that is pleasant, calm, healthy and relaxing.

“Utilizing as many sustainable building practices as possible, our goal was to make our office a beautiful place that promotes a healthier environment,”  states Joshua Kreithen, MD Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. “We use energy, water and other natural resources more efficiently, in turn reducing our impact on the environment while creating a sense of health, serenity and well-being.” “It was an easy decision for us to ‘go green.’ We know that a LEED certified area is healthier for our clients and our staff. It’s the right thing to do.”

The LEED ceremony will take place at 4 pm. Immediately following, there will be a party for the public. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door. There will be demonstrations of services and products available at the health care facility.

U.S. Green Building Council

The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.

With a community comprising 80 local affiliates, more than 18,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 155,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013.

LEED

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. More than 32,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising over 9.6 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 114 countries.

By using less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.

Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery Office is the second project to recieve the "COOL" rating form the Tampa Bay Business Journal, CSA'a own office received the honor in 2009.

LWR Plastic Surgery is currently seeking LEED-CI certification for the US Green Building Council.

Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Margaret Cashill Staff writer

Tampa Bay's coolest office spaces designed to inspire employees - Tampa Bay Business Journal
Coolest Office Spaces, a TBBJ feature now in its third year, is dedicated to recognizing the "cool" in Tampa Bay area offices.

This year's spaces prove that cool is an ever-evolving concept, one that in 2010 departed from conventional design concepts and restored the notion of fun in the workplace.

Companies are choosing bright colors to liven up the mood and original artwork, in some cases created by the owners.

Owners favor collaborative, open environments that foster communication and camaraderie.

Read more: PDF of Article