by Brianna Crandall — January 19, 2011—Integral Group (formerly Rumsey Engineers) announced January 5 that the David Brower Center in Berkeley, California, was awarded a LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This is the firm’s eighth LEED Platinum-certified building. The project earned 55 out of a possible 60 points (42 points is the minimum for Platinum certification).
The design for this landmark mixed-use project in downtown Berkeley provides many opportunities to educate users and the public about sustainable design. Integral Group says it collaborated closely with the architects and design team from the earliest stages of the design process to create a building that is optimal in its energy efficiency, functionality and user comfort.
Named after the Sierra Club’s first executive director, David Brower, the project includes 50,000 square feet of office space, public education space, and a restaurant. The Center provides a home for the environmental movement: rental office space for environmental nonprofit organizations and conference center facilities for environmentally conscious events.
Important energy- and water-efficient design strategies included in the project are: optimal siting; 100 percent daylighting of all office areas; natural ventilation; a high performance building skin; a high efficiency HVAC system that includes in-slab radiant heating and cooling; photovoltaic power generation with panels doubling as sun shade devices; collection and reuse of rainwater for irrigation and toilet flushing; waterless urinals (the first installation of these for the City of Berkeley); a rainwater catchment system that provides water for flushing toilets and irrigation; low-flow fixtures used throughout the building; and a solar hot water system.
Integral Group’s mission is to fundamentally change building practices to be dramatically more sustainable and resource efficient.
