Last week issuewire.com posted an article announcing that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (or JPL) has attained LEED Gold certification for its new Flight Projects Center, located near Pasadena, CA. The building’s design, created by a team of sustainable architects at LPA Inc., is being celebrated for achieving LEED Gold status on a “Silver” budget.  Dr. Charles Elachi, the JPL’s director, said in a video attached to the issuewire.com article, “[The building] is highly functional for our purpose, and at the same time reduces our carbon footprint.” Elachi sees LEED certification not as a barrier to JPL’s business, nor a trophy to hang on its wall—for JPL, employing green standards will allow them to do their jobs more effectively.

Before we go on, let’s review what LEED certification is. According to an earlier post [Seven World Trade Center LEED Certified] on this blog,

In early 2000, a coalition of construction-industry leaders established the LEED system (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which grades structures in areas like energy and water consumption, indoor-air quality and constructive use of renewable materials. Ratings for LEED certification range from certified (26 to 32 points) to platinum (52 to 69 points); 39 gets you the gold certification.

LEED, a nonprofit organization, was created with hopes to develop a set of unified building standards that would make it easier for designers and builders to create sustainable structures. In addition, the government offers certain incentives to LEED certified projects, including grants and tax breaks.

So what are some of the Flight Projects Center’s greenest features? They include:

• Low-flow faucets and toilets will reduce water use by more than 44 percent compared with typical fixtures.
• A vegetative roof will keep the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The green roof will also help minimize storm water runoff into the Arroyo Seco, a dry riverbed near JPL.
• Drought tolerant, native plants and landscapes use 72 percent less water.
• Improved wall insulation, efficient chillers and boilers, window shading devices and the green roof will greatly reduce energy needs.
• Smart heating and cooling systems know whether people are in a room or not, and adjust temperatures and ventilation accordingly.

For more information:

Check out this article on the building’s ribbon cutting, released today.

For more information on LEED Certification and what it means, visit the wikipedia pageor the USGBC site.

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