G reen B uildings
Real Estate Journal — Green Buildings — June 24 - July 14, 2016, 2014 — 17B
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Office building first to earn LEED Silver in Haddonfield Walters Group receives LEED Certification for two Camden County projects
ADDON TWP/HAD- DONFIELD, NJ — Walters Group , a resi- dential and commercial devel- oper, has been awarded LEED Gold certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council for Albertson Village Apartments in Haddon Twp. and LEED Silver for its 8,000 s/f office building at 21 Euclid Ave. in Haddonfield. Both of these residential and office buildings in Camden County are visible examples of Walters Group’s long-term commitment to building green and being environmentally responsible. The developer went above and beyond basic LEED certification for both projects. Albertson Village, an 82-unit luxury apartment project, received 77 points, which is over the 74 required to attain LEED Gold certifica- tion. The office building at 21 Euclid Ave. scored 53 points of the 50-59 required to earn the LEED Silver designation. Minno & Wasko , with offices in Lambertville and Newark, New Jersey, served as the lead architect on both projects. “The basic outcome of pursu- ing LEED on projects like these is to create an environment that is healthier, more efficient and comfortable as compared to code built or existing con- struction,” said Jon Jensen , sustainability director for Ma- H WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced a new LEED pilot credit—Building Material Human Hazard & Exposure Assessment, which encourages project teams and manufacturers to assess hu- man health related exposure scenarios for products dur- ing their installation and use phases. “LEED v4, the latest version of the LEED green building system, has begun a shift in how we think about health and building materials,” said Scot Horst , chief product officer,
The Center for Parks & People at Auchentoroly Terrace
headquarters, according to the USGBC. Qualified build- ings are given certified, silver, gold, or platinum ratings that represent ascending levels of environmental sensitivity and energy efficiency. One of the biggest hurdles in the LEED program is meeting all of the prerequisites, accord- ing to Jensen. These prereq- uisites have to be met before points can begin to accrue to reach a desired certification level. Before a project can be LEED certified, it must also go through some extra measures such as commissioning, a test- ing and a verification process to identify any performance issues. In both the residential and office projects, Walters Group included many sustainable design, environmental and designed to minimize human health impacts during instal- lation and use of the products. These assessments can, in turn, be an important consideration for alternative assessment of building materials. By requir- ing exposure to be considered during product development, this pilot begins to make link- ages between the product’s in- gredient inventory and hazard assessment required by the existing Materials Ingredients credit and performance testing required by LEED’s Low Emit- ting Materials credits. The Hazard & Exposure pi-
lot credit continues USGBC’s work to advance LEED users’ knowledge and understand- ing of the materials used to build and operate buildings. USGBC’s ultimate aim is that project teams have a full and complete picture of building materials and products—all in one place—which will help enable transparent, informed decisions around important at- tributes of materials and prod- ucts used in our offices, homes, schools and other structures. This pilot credit was devel- oped by USGBC in conjunction with the American Chemistry innovative elements and prac- tices within the design and construction plans. Earning Points for LEED To become LEED Gold cer- tified, Albertson Village met rigorous technical require- ments including a home energy (HERS) rating of 58, 27% bet- ter than the maximum 85 for LEED. The lower the HERS score, the more energy effi- cient the home. “This primar- ily translates into savings for residents,” said Jensen. “Wal- ters does not recuperate any of those savings. They are simply making it an attractive place for residents to live.” Other key elements for Alb- ertson Village included high- efficiency fixtures to conserve water and a highly efficient irrigation system. In addition, the use of recycled materials in
Council (ACC) and its mem- bers, as part of the partner- ship announced in 2014. The partnership was established to expand collaboration be- tween suppliers and specifiers, leverage scientific expertise and make LEED a more ef- fective tool to deliver positive economic, environmental and social outcomes. This initiative acknowledges USGBC’s suc- cess in leading the transforma- tion of the built environment and sets up a pathway to take advantage of the materials sci- ence expertise of ACC and its members. n The Euclid Ave. office build- ing earned 12 points for its Op- timized Energy Performance, according to Karen O’Brien, LEED AP consultant for Con- silience, LLC, Washington, DC. The office project earned another 4 points for water effi- cient landscaping since all the vegetation planted is native to the area, making it a more sustainable choice. n the foundation and insulation amounted to almost 80 percent of construction waste being diverted from the landfill. Wal- ters earned points in the indoor air quality section by having a third party test the ventilation system to confirm it is working as designed, according to Jen- sen. “You’d be surprised how many ventilation systems in new buildings are not working appropriately,” he added.
Grann Associates , energy ef- ficiency and green consultants who assisted Walters with the LEED process. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, MaGrann has worked with Walters to complete six LEED certified commercial and residential projects. “Sustainable development is about creating a better build- ing which is at the core of our corporate philosophy” said Ed Walters, Jr. , president and founder of Walters Group. “Although there are incremen- tal costs involved in building green, we see it as investing in a higher quality product that in the long runmakes good sense.” LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the preeminent ratings pro- gram, which works for all build- ings—from homes to corporate USGBC. “We have a focus on transparency and optimization so specifiers can know what they are using and can reward innovation. But understand- ing how a material impacts human health requires a full understanding of hazard and exposure. The new pilot credit is a first step toward evaluat- ing exposure by encouraging product inventories in order to prioritize decision making.” The pilot credit seeks to reward manufacturers who perform hazard and exposure assessments that can serve as a basis for developing products
U.S. Green Building Council announces LEED Pilot Credit: Building Material Human Hazard and Exposure Assessment
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