November 2, 2009

 

 

When the world's largest “green” building conference and expo comes to the Valley in November, it will bring hundreds of professionals from all aspects of the building industry together to share ideas and promote greener building. The City of Chandler has been a leader in green building initiatives among Arizona municipalities and will have a booth at the expo to promote its efforts to conference and expo attendees.

The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center November 10-13, 2009. A major focus of the conference is to promote the construction of new buildings to LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), standards. LEED certification is a Green Building Rating System™ that provides independent, third-party verification that a building project was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

In June 2008, the Chandler City Council adopted a resolution declaring that all new City buildings larger than 5,000 square feet will be designed and constructed to meet LEED-Silver standards or better. Chandler is one of six municipalities in Arizona that have committed to build new municipal buildings to these environmentally responsible LEED standards.

The City of Chandler currently has two projects under construction and a third that recently opened which will earn LEED Silver certification or higher. The recently opened Chandler Fire Department Administration Building is expected to receive LEED Silver certification. The new Chandler Compadre Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley will open on November 16 and is expected to also receive Silver LEED certification. The largest project is the new Chandler City Hall, which may qualify for LEED Gold certification when completed in October 2010.

Key sustainable features of the new City Hall focus in six areas. First, the site location is sustainable as it re-uses an existing urban site instead of raw land. The site is close to public transportation and provides ample open space in a centralized courtyard, which features a park-like design. This feature minimizes the heat-island effect of the building.

Efficient use of water is another key strategy and landscape materials were specifically designated which are low water users. In addition, the building employs innovative wastewater utilities, including a gray water system.

In terms of energy, the building was designed to require minimum energy performance and the building’s energy consumption may be offset by a 330kWh photovoltaic array on the roof of the new parking garage being built to accommodate City Hall parking needs.

The indoor environmental quality of the building is another sustainability strategy area, as the building will include outdoor air delivery monitoring and an increased ventilation system. In addition, low emitting paints and flooring material will be used throughout the building and indoor chemical and pollutant source control will be maximized.

Appropriate use and handling of material is a key sustainability area for the City Hall and use of regional material and materials with recycled content will be emphasized. In addition, wood used in the project will be certified and construction debris created by the project will be minimized and monitored.

Finally, innovation in sustainability areas will be emphasized, as the building will include an educational program on its sustainable features as well as a green cleaning program.

Chandler’s green building efforts actually started prior to June 2008, since the design of the Fire Administration Building, Boys and Girls Club and City Hall all began prior to the adoption of the resolution.

The Greenbuild event includes over 100 educational sessions featuring world renown speakers, including former Vice President and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. There will also be LEED workshops, off-site educational sessions, and Green Building tours of local sites. All three of the Chandler projects noted above may be included in the local tours.

For more information on the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, go to www.greenbuildexpo.org.

Learn about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards at www.usgbc.org/LEED.

More information on Chandler's green initiatives, including the Green Building Program, is available at www.chandleraz.gov/green.