Recently, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded TK Elevator’s Innovation and Qualification Center and North American Headquarters in Atlanta a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. We are grateful to our project partners for collaborating to achieve this incredible standard. This development, which features North America’s tallest elevator tower, exemplifies TK Elevator’s commitment to sustainability. Impact Development Management represented the owner throughout the design and construction process as program manager. Other project partners included Gensler (as project architect) and Brasfield and Gorrie (as general contractor).
An excerpt from TK Elevator’s press release notes the following:
To achieve LEED Gold certification, the IQC realized a 12% reduction in embodied carbon compared to typical construction through concrete mix optimization – using ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash. This approach saved 2.36 million pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions. The IQC achieved more than a 40% reduction in potable water use compared to baseline buildings through the selection of efficiency flush and flow fixtures that will save 60,000 gallons of water annually.
The IQC utilizes a Smart Building metering system, which fully integrates specialty equipment such as HVAC and lighting. The Department of Energy estimates that a building employing this system can realize up to 45% energy savings as the elevators put power back into the building with regenerative drives, reducing the energy load of elevators.
In addition, TK Elevator prioritized the materials used throughout the IQC, installing products that were produced with a high recycled content, reducing the need for raw materials and ensuring natural resources could be preserved. This includes using carpet comprised of recycled PET plastic, flooring tile verified to have the lowest global warming potential among comparable products, as well as finish materials tested and proven to have low VOC emissions, contributing to a healthier indoor air quality. TK Elevator’s own products also complied with many of the materials credits as its elevators boast the industry’s first Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) focused on environmental and human health.
Impact Development Management has collaborated on several other projects that have achieved various levels of recognition for sustainability efforts. One recent notable effort includes the ASHRAE Global Headquarters where we were able to team with project partners to achieve LEED Platinum.
To learn more about how IMPACT can help you achieve similar goals for your projects, contact Jason Hughes.
