Columbia University's Northwest Corner Building Achieves LEED® Gold

NEW YORK, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Green Building Council has announced that Columbia University's Northwest Corner Building has achieved LEED® Gold certification.  LEED®, or Leadership in Energy and Engineering Design, certification provides third-party verification that a building or community has been designed and built to meet key areas of environmental and human health, including energy efficiency, materials selection and water savings.

This LEED® Gold certification is particularly noteworthy due to the large number of laboratories in the 14-story building, which houses several science departments.  Since laboratories typically consume a great deal of energy, Arup's multidisciplinary design team created thoughtful solutions for conserving resources, including centralized heat recovery of laboratory air systems, a fast-response variable air volume system, and controls coordination with high performance fume hoods.

"We are committed to evaluating and reinventing how buildings impact the people and communities who use them.  By improving the energy consumption and environmental impact of Columbia University's Northwest Corner Building, we are improving the experience of the faculty and students who use it," said Ashok Raiji, Arup Principal and Project Director.  "We are thrilled to announce that the finished building is over 13% more energy cost efficient than a baseline design for the same laboratory program."

Additional sustainable design features include intelligent daylighting controls, high-efficiency light fixtures, low-flow water fixtures, and a measurement and verification system that allows building staff continually to adjust settings to improve performance.

Other partners in this project included:

• Columbia University Capital Project Management (owner/project manager)
• Rafael Moneo Valles Arquitecto (design architect)
• Davis Brody Bond, LLP (executive architect)
• Moneo Brock Studio (design project architect)
• Turner Construction Company (construction manager)

About Arup

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world's most prominent projects in the built environment industry.  From 92 offices in 37 countries, Arup's more than 10,000 designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists deliver innovative projects across the world.

The firm was founded in 1946 with an enduring set of values and has a unique trust ownership that fosters a distinctive culture, intellectual independence and collaborative approach.  Opening its first North American office 27 years ago, Arup in the Americas now employs 1,000.  The people at Arup are driven to find a better way to deliver better solutions for their clients.  For more information, visit http://www.arup.com.

SOURCE Arup