EMD Serono’s Sagamore Building earns LEED Platinum

Jim Newman,Chair of USGBC Massachusetts presenting LEED Platinum to Paris Panayiotopoulos, President of EMD Serono

A few weeks ago Chapter President Jim Newman had the honor of presenting EMD Serono with their LEED Platinum plaque for the Sagamore Building project. The project, designed by Ellenzweig and BR+A, and built by JLL, earned 81 points in LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors (v2009). The sustainability efforts were lead by Eric Ruoff of chapter sponsor The Green Engineer.

Sagamore Building office area

During his speech at the ceremony, Jim said “You always know when you are in a Platinum building. They are just so cool!” Several occupants have stated they really enjoy working in the space and rumor is that the building has become so popular employees working elsewhere on the campus “claimed” desks before they were officially available. Project Architect Mario Abanto says “Every LEED point was scrutinized and not taken for granted.  The outcome resulted from a tremendous collaborative process by all parties involved- owner, builder, architect, and engineer.”

Tony Meenaghan of EMD Serono and Greg Berndt of Ellenzweig show off the Sagamore Building to Jim Newman

The building was originally a protein production laboratory complete with clean rooms and heavy-duty mechanical equipment. The team was able to open up areas to create a double-height office space with a mezzanine. Features include ample daylight and views, extremely efficient lighting and controls, optimized the existing HVAC systems, and reuse of many building elements. EMD Serono has committed to keeping the building green by using only ENERGY STAR equipment, comprehensive recycling, purchasing renewable power, and ongoing monitoring of the building’s performance.

More information about the building can be found at http://www.sagamorebuilding.info/news/ and the scorecard is available on the USGBC website.

JLL, The Green Engineer, Ellenzweig, BR+A and EMD Serono project team members

Carolyn serves on the MA Chapter Board of Directors as Secretary and works at Ellenzweig as an architect.

Members: We're looking for projects for our upcoming Massachusetts LEED Project Showcase!

The Massachusetts LEED Project Showcase 2013 is coming!

When: Thursday, October 17, 2013; 6:00 - 8:00PM

Where: Google's LEED Gold space at 3 Cambridge Center in Kendall Sq.  

What to expect: Short presentations, networking, learning, light appetizers and beverages.

Cost: $25 USGBC MA members, $40 for non-members, sponsorship opportunities available

Here is our invitation letter to our members (you too could become a member!) - and please take a look at the links to see the event page and consider registering a project for the Showcase!

Dear Colleagues in Green Building,

Thank you also for being a dedicated Member of the USGBC MA Chapter. As I went through this list, I am amazed at all the great LEED projects I can connect to a name. I want more of these projects to be better known.

Your work has helped move the Commonwealth to the forefront of sustainable planning, design, construction and operation of buildings and communities. We want to celebrate your efforts, and those of your teams, by having your LEED certified projects showcased at an exciting event to be hosted at Google’s facility in Cambridge on Oct. 17th, 2013.

The USGBC MA Chapter is hosting this inaugural LEED Project Showcase as a way of gathering our community of practitioners, raising the profile of our LEED buildings, and sharing information about innovative practices in design and construction.

I hope you will consider joining us. There are many ways to participate. We are seeking basic information about each of your projects so we can highlight these stories on our website and create opportunities for team building among the many disciplines involved in projects. We want the story of these projects whether located in Massachusetts or designed/created by you or your firm outside of the state. There are also several sponsorship opportunities to allow for better exposure, including event boards and tie-ins with our media partner, the New England Real Estate Journal. We are also seeking sponsors that want to present information about their projects live at the event. If you would like to sponsor multiple projects that you've been involved in, please let me know.

We anticipate an enjoyable and informative gathering and hope that you and members of your project team will submit your projects' narratives and attend the event.

I'm hoping this may be a way to connect with more of the people who have supported our mission to make every building a green building, through your daily work. 

Thank you for your efforts in promoting the design, construction, and operation of sustainable buildings and communities in Massachusetts! I look forward to hearing from you.

Grey Lee

MA LEED Project Showcase

Are you ready?!

October 17, 2013, live, at Google, it's:

The Massachusetts LEED Project Showcase!

We are celebrating the achievements of LEED certifications - every project team should come. We want to see and hear about these green buildings. At this inaugural episode, we'll be reaching back to the beginning of 2012 - almost 200 projects have attained certification since then. Let's highlight them all!

If you know of a project, and know a project team member or person otherwise central to the project, please let us know so we can reach out. Each project has the opportunity share their story with the community and to create a board to display at the Showcase. For those that are interested there are a variety of sponsorship packages to connect with the event.

When: Thursday, October 17, 2013; 6:00 - 8:00PM

Where: Google's LEED Gold space at 3 Cambridge Center in Kendall Sq.  

What to expect: Food, drinks, short presentations, mingling, learning

Cost: $25 USGBC MA members, $40 for non-members, sponsorship opportunities available 

We look forward to seeing you at the Massachusetts LEED Project Showcase in October!

Networking Nights are Back!

It's time to connect. Join your fellow Green Building professionals and enthusiasts for an informal evening of networking on June 18th. Don't miss this chance to re-launch our energizing series of monthly gatherings designed to bring you together with others who are as passionate about sustainability as you are.

Chapter Silver Partner Knoll has generously agreed to sponsor our networking sessions and host us at their showroom space in the Innovation District of Boston. This month, Andrea Coan will speak briefly at 6:00 to give us highlights of the LEED Platinum space. Appetizers and drinks will be provided.

The Knoll Offices and Showroom at 281 Summer Street, Boston, MA was awarded LEED Platinum certification in 2012

Doors open at 5:30 and stay open until 7:00. This is an informal gathering so please come and go as you please. No worries if you are late or have to leave early.

Register now through the Chapter web site. We look forward to seeing you there!

Project Spotlight: Harvard Graduate School of Education Gutman Library (1st and 2nd Floor)

Harvard Graduate School of Education recently celebrated the LEED Platinum certification of the 1^st and 2^nd floors of the Gutman Library. With three certified buildings already under their belts, HGSE now leads the University for the number of certified projects per square foot.

The 1^st and 2^nd Floors of the Gutman Library, approximately 36,000 square feet, are certified under the LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI v2009) rating system and earned a total of 83 points out of 110 possible points.  The goal of the renovation was to create a meeting place for the students and faculty of the School of Education while still prioritizing sustainability. The renovations included the addition of a café, indoor and outdoor seating, new reading and lounge areas (including a working fireplace), and the rearrangement of book stacks, periodicals, and microfiche collection. The project team also addressed outstanding renewal issues with the mechanical, heating, and plumbing systems.

To achieve their goal of sustainability, the Gutman Library project team:

• Installed demand control ventilation. The volume of outside air supplied to multi-occupant spaces is controlled by a C02 sensor. C02 increases as more people enter the room and more outside air is provided
• Reused waste heat in the kitchen. Air handling units in the kitchen hood captures and uses the waste heat from the refrigeration equipment to pre-heat the supply air      
•  Diverted 96% of construction waste from the landfill

For more information on this facility and its sustainability features:

Harvard School of Education  

Sustainability at Harvard