The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded Tremco Inc. LEED Gold certification for the reconstruction of the company's 40-year-old headquarters.
Changes were so extensive that the certification is for new construction and not for renovation; officially, the building is LEED-NC. The building received 72 points from the USGBC, far surpassing the minimum number required for LEED Gold.
“We are extremely proud to have achieved LEED Gold status,” said Tremco President Randy Korach. “We felt that to lead by example in the construction industry, it was our responsibility to convert our headquarters into a high-performance, energy efficient building that required less water, embraced renewable energy sources and reduced operating costs substantially from prior levels. We accomplished all of this in an expedited construction process that took only about six months.”
Many of the sustainable features included in the renovation that were responsible for LEED Gold points came from organizations that are part of RPM International Inc., Tremco’s parent company. These included:
- Four types of sustainable roofing systems from Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance – a vegetated roof; photovoltaic array; white, reflective built-up roof; and white reflective membrane.
- A Dryvit Systems Outsulation Plus MD exterior wall system that provided an energy efficient, insulated façade.
- Sealants, gaskets, and Proglaze ETA (Engineered Transition Assembly) from Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing to ensure an airtight transition from walls to the new high-performance, double-pane, tinted windows.
- New sidewalks, with decorative concrete from Increte Systems, part of The Euclid Chemical Company.
Additional features included:
- A wind turbine and, on the new carport, an additional photovoltaic array to help generate electricity; the carport is also meant to encourage the use of electric vehicles.
- A 15,000 gallon water capture and reuse system in the parking lot to reduce the amount of water entering the city’s sewers; captured water will be used to irrigate the building’s landscaping and vegetated roof.
- Numerous interior upgrades such as an ADA-compliant elevator and restrooms.
- Mechanical/electrical/plumbing upgrades including a high efficiency HVAC system and new plumbing fixtures that save potable water.
Throughout the entire renovation, Tremco sent nothing to a landfill. The company recycled, reused or burned for energy more than two million pounds of construction debris.
“The renovation of our 46,000-square-foot headquarters, which was outdated, uncomfortable and wasted energy, set the foundation for our vision of Global Sustainable Growth,” added Korach. “Achieving LEED Gold certification is not only an honor, but it is also a testament to our commitment to this vision, which focuses on the impact each business decision has on people, planet and prosperity.” BD+C
Related Stories
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 7 When Modern Becomes Historic: Preserving the Modernist Building Envelope
This AIA CES Discovery course explores the special reconstruction questions posed by Modern-era buildings.
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 6 Energy Codes + Reconstructed Buildings: 2012 and Beyond
Our experts analyze the next generation of energy and green building codes and how they impact reconstruction.
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 5 LEED-EB and Green Globes CIEB: Rating Sustainable Reconstruction
Certification for existing buildings under these two rating programs has overtaken that for new construction.
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 4 Business Case for High-Performance Reconstructed Buildings
Five reconstruction projects in one city make a bottom-line case for reconstruction across the country.
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 3 How Building Technologies Contribute to Reconstruction Advances
Building Teams are employing a wide variety of components and systems in their reconstruction projects.
| May 10, 2012
Chapter 2 Exemplary High-Performance Reconstruction Projects
Several case studies show how to successfully renovate existing structures into high-performance buildings.
| May 9, 2012
Chapter 1 Reconstruction: ‘The 99% Solution’ for Energy Savings in Buildings
As a share of total construction activity reconstruction has been on the rise in the U.S. and Canada in the last few years, which creates a golden opportunity for extensive energy savings.
| May 9, 2012
International green building speaker to keynote Australia’s largest building systems trade show
Green building, sustainability consultant, green building book author Jerry Yudelson will be the keynote speaker at the Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Systems (ARBS) conference in Melbourne, Australia.
| May 9, 2012
Tishman delivers Revel six weeks early
Revel stands more than 730 feet tall, consists of over 6.3 milliont--sf of space, and is enclosed by 836,762-sf of glass.
| May 9, 2012
Stoddert Elementary School in DC wins first US DOE Green Ribbon School Award
Sustainable materials, operational efficiency, and student engagement create high-performance, healthy environment for life-long learning.
