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.

Fun Networking at Knoll!

Last night we had the first in our new series of Networking Nights for the USGBC MA Chapter in Boston.

Knoll - furniture provisioner extraordinaire - provided their LEED Platinum showroom space and a full array of beverages and food for our community. It was a great night for making new connections - I came across the EDF, Spaulding Rehab, a neighbor from an office just upstairs from mine, and met a recent arrival who's only been in Boston two weeks but was part of another Chapter in the midwest and is ready to help out with our crew! Thanks!

And major thank you to Knoll, in particular Jamie Stuono, the Showroom Manager, for making everything come together, and to Andrea Coan, Arch. & Design Manager, for organizing the event and presenting about Knoll. It was great to learn about the features of the space and how the points all came together to earn the highest rating from the USGBC. 

I enjoyed speaking with Andrea about Knoll - how it started with a German refugee in 1939 - Hans Knoll - who brought the Bauhaus design approach to furniture, making a great impression in the US. He was part of a community of forward-thinking designers including the Eames and Eliel Saarinen. The firm started with furniture but expanded into interior design and now full office systems. They innovated in the business by not having designers in-house but rather contracting with the "creatives" to always have new ideas coming from outside the organization. 

She highlighted a favorite piece of hers: a table in the "antennae" product line. The design team had previously worked on subway systems - trains, gate-access systems (I would call them turnstiles but I know that's not really what they are anymore), but who Knoll pursued to work on a line of furniture. The table is classy and clean, but does not look anything like a subway train!

Below is our Green Schools Program Manager, Steve Muzzy, using his hands to explain how wonderful the Green Apple Day of Service is going to be, this September, and how everyone could get involved.

Thanks Knoll and everyone for coming out last night! We look forward to the next time - which will be our "Summer Social" on July 16th, again a Tuesday night at Knoll. 

See you there! More Green Buildings!

-Grey Lee

Platinum Tour of the UTEC in Lowell

In June 12th, the Emerging Professionals (EPMA) hosted a green building tour and networking night in Lowell.

United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) was the venue and provided a great opportunity to see a LEED Platinum facility. It is actually the oldest building to go through to LEED Platinum.

[more commentary is coming, but here are some pictures:]

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

Project Spotlight: United Teen Equality Center

The United Teen Equality Center in Lowell was founded to serve the young people of Lowell and to provide them with the tools to trade violence and poverty for success. Through a number of programs, including intensive street outreach and gang peacemaking, UTEC helps students resume or continue their education and develop skills through their workforce development programs. UTEC is nationally recognized as a model youth development agency.

Photo Courtesy of UTEC

UTEC also holds the distinction of being one of the oldest LEED certified buildings in the country. UTEC renovated the former St. Paul’s United Methodist Church building, built in 1839, and were certified as LEED Platinum last November. The expansion of the building will allow UTEC to double the number of youths in their Workforce Development and Education programs.

There are 147 solar panels on the roof of the historic building. The project team also incorporated soy-based insulation in the basement. Other sustainability features include an electric car-charging station, solar chimney, passive cooling system, and natural daylighting.

The building will also have a youth-run café open to the public, serving locally sourced food. The café will also have a Green Resource Center with interactive displays.

Learn more about the United Teen Equality Center and their LEED Platinum Certification.