How A LEED Accredited Architect In Florida Broke The Mold From The Start.
They thought we were crazy. What is a LEED certified architecture project?
Carlson Studio Architecture has been a LEED accredited architect and designing green buildings since before it was cool.
In 2000, the pilot program to get a LEED certified project up and running was completed and LEED-NC v2.0 was launched. Later that year, Carlson Studio Architecture began to design our first LEED certified project, the Twin Lakes Park Office complex for Sarasota County Government. It became one of the first LEED certified projects in Florida, and was the highest scoring LEED-NC project until 2009. It was designed as a demonstration LEED certified project to show what can be done in a commercial office building. This was during the early days of the LEED credits, and getting the required documentation was not as easy as it is today.
Manufacturer representatives did not know where their product were manufactured, what its recycled content was, or what volatile organic compounds, or other toxic chemicals it may contain. Many of the manufacturer’s representatives, subcontractors, and even some people from Sarasota County Government thought we were crazy. There were enough people involved in this LEED certified project to champion the sustainability goals of the project and it was completed successfully, and has served as a demonstration project and catalyst ever since.
The LEED certified TWIN LAKES PARK sustainability features included:
- 45% LESS ENERGY USE
- 58% LESS WATER USE
- 28,000 GALLON RAINWATER CISTERN
- GROUND WATER GEOTHERMAL HVAC SYS
- 0% POTABLE WATER FOR WASTE
- 89% BUILDING RE-USE
- 5% ON SITE RENEWABLE ENERGY
- DAYLIGHT HARVESTING & OCCUPANCY SENSORS
- R-12 WALLS (R-22 EFFECTIVE) AERATED CONCRETE
- R-32 ROOF SIP PANELS
- 89% CONSTRUCTION WASTE DIVERTED FROM THE LAND FILL
But the green building movement started slowly in Florida. In the summer 2007 there were only 9 LEED Certified projects in the state. They were…
- Twin Lakes Office Complex: Sarasota – Certified Gold
- North County Library: Sarasota – Certified Gold
- Whole Foods Market: Sarasota – first Certified Silver grocery store
- Happy Feet Plus: Clearwater – first Gold retail store
- Eugene M. & Christine Lynn Business Center: Stetson University - Certified
- Rinker Hall: University of FL Gainesville – Certified Gold
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera Research: University of FL, Gainesville - Certified
- Navy Federal Credit Union Remote Call Center: Pensacola, FL Certified Gold
- Deer Park Water Bottling Plant: Lee, FL – Certified Silver
Building momentum
By March of 2011 there were 300 LEED Certified projects completed and 1264 LEED registered projects. In Sarasota County alone, there were 19 LEED Certified projects (remember there were 3 in the summer of 2007) and 54 LEED registered projects.
Jump ahead to 2013
In 2013, in Florida, there were 716 LEED certified projects, 182 LEED for Schools Certified projects, and 1,160 LEED certified residential units, totally over 68 million square feet of construction. Florida ranked 4th in total certified commercial buildings in the USA. 750 companies were USGBC members and there were over 9500 LEED accredited professionals in the state.
Now who is crazy?
There is still many misconception about green building out there. People claim to be LEED certified. That is not possible. Buildings can be LEED certified- people can be LEED accredited. Products and manufacturers still claim get a project or material can achieve a certain number of LEED credits. Individual products and materials can contribute to credits, but only when all materials are taken into account, not just the green materials. And the certification is LEED. There is no “S”. Leeds is a city in the United Kingdom.
Carlson Studio has 14 years of experience designing green buildings and getting them certified. We have been the architect on 11 successfully completed projects, and LEED consultant on 2 more. One reason our projects are successful is we use a combination of passive and active design features, that work together, and do not really on technology alone.
I will leave you with this quote from E.B. White
“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
Contact Carlson Studio to get the expert feedback you need for your new project or request a no cost consultation:
