Design firm Perkins+Will has announced that its office in Atlanta has earned LEED Platinum certification with 95 points.
This is the highest rating received by any company in the Northern Hemisphere. The building was originally constructed in the year 1985 and was later on purchased by Perkins+Will in 2009. The company then renovated and redesigned the building in line with the needs of environment and using sustainable designs. The building has also received Development of Excellence Award from the Urban Institute. The building is occupied by other offices apart from Perkins+Will such as Museum of Design Atlanta and the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library.
Various features that were used in the building such as usage of energy efficient exterior glazing, alterations made to the front façade, multipurpose team rooms which have transparent walls, gardens for employees, raised flooring and heating system, daylight harvesting, usage of microturbines and adsorption chiller for the trigeneration system on the roof of the building, usage of natural gas to reduce carbon footprint, recirculation of water to water the plants low flow toilets and urinals were the reason for the building to receive this certification. Through the implementation of such sustainable designs and maintenance procedures, the building has been able to cut 58% in energy consumption and reduce the usage of water supplied by Municipality by 78%. The company was able to partner with 19 local non profit groups to meet their needs regarding furniture and other materials by using its excess inventory.
Source: http://www.perkinswill.com