Energy Center II awarded LEED Gold certification
HOUSTON, Texas – The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the Energy Center Phase 2 development in Houston Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Gold certification. The project was developed by Trammel Crow Co. and built by Manhattan Construction Co., Earlier this year the same team delivered Energy Center Phase 1, which received LEED Silver certification. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system.
“We are pleased to announce that we exceeded our green building goals for both of these projects,” said Mitchell Davis, Manhattan Construction project manager. “The Energy Center Phase 1 set the project goal of LEED CS certification and achieved the higher LEED Silver certification. Phase 2 increased its goal to LEED Silver certification and through a team effort achieved LEED Gold certification.”
The Energy Center projects are Class “A” office buildings and their adjoining garages are located 9.5 acres in the heart of Houston’s Energy Corridor District, which is central headquarters for several petrochemical leaders.
Although many LEED principles were incorporated into the design and specifications of the Phase 1, the decision to obtain a LEED certification was not reached until well into construction, said Davis. Through the participation of Manhattan Construction, its subcontractors, the foresight of the design team (HOK, Inc.), exemplary construction methods and innovative design credits both projects were able to exceed their goals.
“Manhattan achieved all of its credit goals by implementing an aggressive program with its suppliers to achieve 23% use of recycled materials by value on Phase 2 and nearly 35% on Phase 1,” said Davis. “Manhattan’s selection of locally extracted, harvested or manufactured materials accounted for more than 46% of the building materials on Phase 2 and more than 58% on Phase 1.”
Phase 2 incorporated an impressive 94% of total wood based materials harvested from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests while Phase 1 achieved 51%, said Davis. Throughout construction Manhattan maintained an effective construction waste management system which successfully diverted 77% of construction waste from landfills on Phase 2 and more than 34% on Phase 1 due to the late decision to pursue LEED certification.
Manhattan Construction’s green building portfolio includes over $3 billion worth of projects and the company is ranked on Engineering News Record’s top green builder list.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy saving green buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building certification system is the leading certification program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. www.usgbc.org