Sustainable Design Blog

TIER ONE - Business Operations – Conserving and Reducing

Operations

• Purchasing supplies – evaluate which supplies can be purchased with recycled content
• Printing - Provide policies to try and reduce in-office printing
• Promoting alternative means of transportation - Car Pools; Mass Transportation; Fuel efficient vehicles; Bicycling
• Institute a recycling program
• Provide a designated smoking area away from building openings and/or institute a smoking policy that provides assistance in reducing smoking.
• Institute a cleaning program with low or no VOC cleaning agents

Energy

• Lamps – change incandescent to fluorescent
• Implement a policy to turn lights off when not in use

Water

• Low-flow aerators

Materials

• Any new finishes to have recycled content and/or low or no VOC’s (ex. Paint)

Environment

• Provide access to temperature controls with a policy for how to regulate control, especially while there are no occupants in the space

TIER TWO - Facility Upgrades – (all the pertinent above mentioned strategies plus those outlined below)

Energy

• Upgrade lighting fixtures
• Purchase green power credits
• Provide occupancy sensors to regulate lights

Water

• Implement upgraded fixtures for those that do not meet current code
• Alternatively, upgrade all plumbing fixtures to low-flow

Materials

• Any new finishes instituted to have recycled content and/or low or no VOC’s (ex. Paint).

Environment

• Provide programmable temperature controls based on occupancy of space

TIER THREE - Major Renovation – (all the above mentioned strategies plus those outlined below)

Operations

• Re-landscape with drought tolerant and native species for minimal irrigation use
• Increase landscaped areas
• Introduce building commissioning
• Provide a designated recycling center
• Provide detailed construction waste management and waste diversion plans

Energy

• Upgrade roofi  to highly reflective material
• Upgrade exterior lighting – timers/ light sensors
• Upgrade HVAC equipment
• Implement renewable energy technologies
• Upgrade building envelope – Windows, doors and insulation
• Reuse as much of building as possible

Water

• Replace all fixtures to ultra low-flow
• Evaluate use of reclaimed or cistern water

Materials

• Any new finishes to have recycled content and/or low or no VOC’s (ex. Paint)
• Use rapidly renewable materials in renovation where possible
• Use regional materials in renovation where possible
• Use certified products where possible

Environment

• Increased ventilation – fresh air
• Use only low emitting or no emitting VOC materials, adhesives, paints, carpets, composite woods
• Provide lighting control
• Provide temperature control
• Provide programmable temperature control based on occupancy of space
• Provide natural day-lighting and views for regularly occupied spaces

What's the biggest reason your company builds green and the biggest reason your customers say they want to build green?

"Green buildings are better buildings for the money than non-green buildings.  Now that there is a widely recognized, sophisticated way to determine how green a building is, and have that tested and verified by an independent 3rd party (the LEED rating system from the USGBC) we can determine how much better each design is.  We designed our first green building in 2000.  Our clients are motivated differently to build green.  Most like the savings generated by energy and water conservation combined with higher quality of interior space that is healthier to live or work in.  Both are quality of life issues.  Some are motivated to save money while others share our concerns about the future of the planet." - Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Florida Trend Magazine, Cynthia Barnett

by ABC 7 mysuncoast.com SARASOTA COUNTY - Banks are used to dealing with the color green; but one Suncoast bank has taken it a step further by working green. We ask...

In the current issue of the Gulfcoast Business Review, Carlson Studio's Gateway Bank renovation is featured as one of the 1st LEED certified banks in Florida.

Gateway Bank goes green

by Carl Cronan, Tampa Bay Editor
Gulfcoast Business Review

Numerous smaller buildings along the Gulf Coast, particularly single-tenant office and retail structures, have sought and achieved LEED certification.

Sarasota-based Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida recently got the green stamp on its 4,500-square-foot Lockwood Ridge Road location, a former Regions Bank branch that opened in 1996.

Shaun Merriman, Gateway Bank president and CEO, says the decision to seek LEED certification was made while the building was being retrofitted for compliance with new state building codes designed to withstand hurricanes. He says the bank worked with Willis A. Smith Construction Inc., whose president, David Sessions, is on its board, as well as local architect Michael Carlson, a strong advocate of LEED design.

Changes to the building range from improved insulation to a new roof that absorbs less heat, with total payback estimated over four years. "It's saving us roughly $4,000 a year on our power bills," says Merriman, who has also calculated that the LEED branch uses at least 40% less energy than its comparable Manatee Avenue office.

An added benefit, he says, comes from being able to maintain a comfortable office setting with the thermostat set at 77 degrees - a seemingly magic number for air conditioning.

"We're not as focused on the economic return as we are on environmental impact," Merriman says. "It makes a huge difference. Not only that, but our employees like it."

Gateway Bank, which launched its own green commitment nearly two years ago, decided to pursue basic LEED certification instead of metal-named levels because gold or platinum is more difficult to achieve with existing buildings, Merriman says. Its next attempt at certifying another branch may be another two years away, he says.

In the meantime, he adds that bank customers are being offered various incentives for making changes that consume less paper, such as converting to e-statements and performing other banking functions online: "This business sure kills a lot of trees."

Read the rest of the arcticle

www.gatewaybank.com