by Shane Henson — May 28, 2012—Integral Group, an innovative leader in building system design that focuses exclusively on highly energy-efficient and sustainable design projects, recently announced that its Oakland, California, office earned the world’s highest-ever Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system score from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Awarded the LEED Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) Platinum designation, Integral Group garnered a remarkable 102 of 110 possible points—far surpassing the 80 points required to earn Platinum.
In 2009, Rumsey Engineers joined Integral Group, expanding the company’s deep green engineering expertise. With this expanded team came the search for additional space, says Integral Group. The ideal space was identified at 427 13th Street in the heart of urban Oakland, California. Empty for some time, this open-plan office suite fit the numerous requirements of Peter Rumsey and Integral Group Chairman, Kevin Hydes. It did not require major construction, and Integral Group had space to grow, as they would have control of all the square footage except the first floor retail.
BuildingWise, a high-performance building consulting firm long aligned and affiliated with Integral Group and its principals, worked closely with the Integral/Rumsey team and soon realized that, using the USGBC’s LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) program, they could, together, set a new “high-bar” global example of leadership. Outstanding achievements include:
- Overall energy reduction of 37%;
- Reduction of potable water use by 40%;
- Plug load energy savings of 49%;
- Server virtualization, eliminating the need for three out of five existing servers, saving 54% of the server energy;
- Very low cost for the building renovation: $25/square feet compared to a typical office space renovation cost of $50 to $75/square feet; and
- Recycling of more than 83% of construction waste materials.
- Reduction of potable water use by 40%;
