Zachry Employment and Conference Center
LEED® Facts

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® program encourages design and construction practices that reduce buildings’ impact on the environment and on their occupants in five broad areas: sustainable site planning; safeguarding water and water efficiency; energy efficiency and renewable energy; conservation of materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality. Here are some of the steps Zachry took:

Sustainable site planning

• Renovated an existing warehouse rather than building a new facility.
• Restored adjacent impervious land to natural state by introducing pervious materials, including vegetation (grass and planting beds), crushed granite pathways and pervious concrete.
• Diverted 90 percent, or 679 tons, of demolished material from landfill through salvaging or recycling.

Safeguarding water and water efficiency

• Installed a rainwater harvesting system to collect water to flush plumbing fixtures.
• Installed a gray water system, which uses lavatory and shower runoff to irrigate plants.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy

• Harnessed free energy by using daylight harvesting system, high-R value insulation, low-emissivity insulated glass and a reflective roof finish.
• Increased the building’s efficiency with state-of-the-art equipment and fixtures, including a water-cooled chiller, energy recovery unit, variable volume devices, underfloor air distribution system, and direct digital controls.
• Installed photovoltaic solar arrays to generate 5.5 percent of the building’s energy.

Conservation of materials and resources

• Installed recycled materials, including fly ash (in concrete), metal walls and roof panels, door frames and glazing, metal studs, sheetrock, insulation, carpet, tile and terrazzo.
• Installed salvaged materials, including access flooring, stair treads, wood handrails, wood base, tongue and groove wood ceiling, wood acoustic ceiling.
• Installed renewable materials (made from plants harvested within a 10-year cycle), including Dakota Burl™, wheatboard, cork flooring, Marmoleum® flooring, and fabric wall coverings.

Indoor environmental quality

• Incorporated daylighting and views through interior and exterior windows and skylights.
• Reduced air contaminants by using low-emitting sealant, paint, carpet, wood and furnishings.