By Joel Scanlon
Enso-Atlanta, a multi-family residential complex in Grant Park in the heart of Atlanta with 325-units has become the first ever apartment construction to receive LEED Certification in the Southeast. The complex received 40 credits to achieve the gold certification, which normally requires 39 points to receive.
2 bedroom Apartment at Enso-Atlanta. Credit: Enso-Atlanta
Enso-Atlanta broke the ground to commence the construction of the project in March 2009 and opened officially in June this year. The complex will achieve nearly 93% occupancy by September this year. During the construction process, the construction recycled nearly 85% of the older building materials and around 92% of materials utilized for construction were transported from places that are within 500 miles from the construction site.
The other environment friendly features in the construction include a tank to harvest over 76,000 gal of rainwater, which can be compared to water stored in five normal sized swimming pools and facility to collect and store around 84% rainwater that comes down over the property. The native landscaping grown over one acre area brings down the water intake by 51% and the water efficient plumbing installed at the construction enables each resident to save over 40,000 gal every year and cuts down the overall consumption by around 22%.
The efficient air-conditioning installed at the construction cuts down energy usage by 14%. The building utilizes carpets and paints with zero volatile organic compounds (VOC) and did not use appliance refrigerants that depletes the ozone.
Source: http://ensoatl.com/