LEED

Why Get LEED Certified?
Sustainability
Why Get LEED Certified?
June 23, 2021 at 2:53 pm 0

Regarded as the building industry’s gold standard, the U.S. Green Buildings Council LEED certification program offers a long list of economic, health and wellness benefits. From its introduction in 1998 to late 2019, the USGBC had already reached the milestone of registering and certifying 100,000 commercial projects.

The four-tiered system offers a basic certification, silver, gold and platinum, and is based on a 110 point system where buildings can earn credits in eight different categories.

Boosting an organization’s commitment to sustainability and public image, LEED-certified buildings have been proven to deliver significant energy efficiencies and cost savings.

In fact, after analyzing the monthly energy consumption data of more than 175,000 commercial buildings in Los Angeles over a period of seven years, in “The effectiveness of U.S. energy efficiency building labels,” UCLA and Georgia Tech researchers reported 30 percent more energy savings in LEED-certified buildings.

CENTRIA’s Formawall® insulated metal panels and EcoScreen® perforated panels contributed toward a LEED Platinum certification for Mission College’s Student Engagement Center in Santa Clara, Calif.

In another study, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports close to 20 percent lower maintenance costs for LEED buildings as compared to a typical commercial building.

Further, a Porter Novelli-conducted survey of more than 1,000 workers found that a high percentage of employees prefer LEED-certified facilities with 79% prioritizing a job in a LEED building and more than 80% reporting enhanced productivity in these settings.

“Studies have found that LEED-certified buildings can help companies attract talented employees,” states Don Catalano, president and CEO of the Melville, N.Y.-based commercial real estate consultant REoptimizer. “Plus, worker satisfaction in LEED-certified offices tends to be high, decreasing employee turnover.”

In one of these studies, “The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function,” Harvard and SUNY researchers found that occupants of high-performing green buildings showed higher cognitive function scores, fewer sick-building symptoms and higher sleep quality scores than workers in high-performing buildings without green certification.

"Green certification, thermal conditions and lighting influenced worker perception of their space as well as their cognitive function,” states Joe Allen, assistant professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health and co-author of the report. “Good companies know the value of providing a healthy workspace. Healthy buildings are a recruiting tool, after all.”

Metal Panels and LEED

While a number of green building materials, systems and strategies can help building owners qualify for LEED certification, high quality metal roofing and panels are particularly effective toward this end.

In a Metal Construction Association-sponsored continuing education unit on sustainability, Gloria D. Lee, principal, Swift Lee Office Architects, Pasadena, Calif., states, “Metal walls and roof systems contribute to a high-performing building envelope in so many ways.”

The panels are long-lasting, low maintenance, moisture and mold resistant, and thermally efficient, and the roofs offer a high solar reflectance index (SRI) to keep roofs and interiors cooler. Metal roofs can also be integrated with photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting systems for enhanced energy and water efficiencies.

                               CENTRIA’s Formawall® system played an important role in helping Pittsburgh’s Tower 260 achieve LEED Silver certification.

Breaking it Down

For LEED v4’s eight categories, metal walls and panels can directly contribute to credits in four main areas and indirectly in an additional two areas.

Sustainable Sites – By meeting designated initial and three-year aged Solar Reflectance Index values for steep slope and low slope roofs in the Heat Island Effect category, buildings can earn up to 2 points with cool metal roofs and coatings. Because prefabricated metal systems require a minimal staging area, they support the pursuit of an additional point through Site Development. In addition, metal roofs are a great platform for Rainwater Management which can help projects earn up to 3 points.

In turn, rainwater management can contribute to Outdoor Water Use and Indoor Water Use credits in the Water Efficiency category.

Energy and AtmosphereFor Optimize Energy Performance, metal systems can help buildings cash in on a windfall of LEED points. With its high insulating value and thermal performance, insulated metal panels (IMP), for instance, can contribute up to 18 points. As validated through energy models, thermal efficient building enclosures support downsized HVAC systems and reduced electrical loads. Though indirect, metal facades and roofs incorporate windows and skylights, which, along with perforated panels, support up to 3 points in Daylight credits. In addition, metal roofs support PV panels and solar thermal systems to garner up to 3 points for Renewable Energy Production.

Materials and Resources – IMPs can also make a significant contribution in a number of categories here. Starting with Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction, up to 5 credits are available for optimized environmental performance of products, materials and adaptive reuse. Another 3 points are available for performing a Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment with the assistance of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which many building product companies, particularly metal panel manufacturers have developed. EPDs can add another point for Building Product Disclosure and Optimization, a category which grants a second point for Sourcing of Raw Materials.

Another subcategory is Material Ingredients where projects can earn one point toward Building Product Disclosure and a second credit via Optimization. With its high recycled content, metal panels are a great advantage here.

For Construction and Demolition Waste Management, prefabricated metal systems significantly reduce waste, contributing up to 2 points.

Indoor Environmental QualityBy specifying products and systems, such as metal walls and roofs with Low-Emitting Materials, another 3 points can be collected here.

Making the Grade

As building owners and architects evaluate many materials, products and systems in their quest to design a LEED-certified building, high quality metal roof and wall panels are a great way to get there.

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Pittsburgh Mixed-Use Building Enhanced with CENTRIA Formawall®
Design Innovation
Pittsburgh Mixed-Use Building Enhanced with CENTRIA Formawall®
August 6, 2019 at 8:00 am 0

CENTRIA® Formawall® enhances downtown Pittsburgh’s Tower 260 mixed use building by contributing to striking asymmetrical design elements. The approximately

430,000 square foot development reinvigorates the downtown area with its visually-compelling profile and its capacity for new business, entertainment, and residences.

“The site shape is a classic result of an era when buildings were demolished to be replaced by parking lots wedged among the surviving buildings,” says Arquitectonica, the architecture and design firm responsible for this project. “This building exemplifies urban regeneration.”

Approximately 54,000 square feet of Formawall High Performance Building Envelope System aided in the final design of Tower 260. The panels were specified with a smooth finish in Sundance™ Mica. This enabled the firm to achieve its multi-prism design vision across several volumes.

“CENTRIA Formawall was a good fit for this project – the panels’ modular nature helped significantly with lay-out and installation,” says Tom Haught, Vice President, A.C. Dellovade, the CENTRIA dealer and installer. “The panel lengths were manageable - 12’-14’ – which made it very easy to move the material around the site while allowing A.C. Dellovade to keep our manpower down to basically 2- or 3-man crews.”

CENTRIA Formawall systems are durable, aesthetically-unique, and contain no red-list ingredients. Formawall consolidates up to six components found in common wall assemblies into just one, and its distinct profiles deliver unlimited design combinations.

Tower 260 has seven floors of Class A office space, a 330-car parking garage, and is home to the Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh Downtown. Restaurants in the building include Revel + Roost, Pizzuvio, and Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream. The building is LEED® Certified™ Silver, and tenants include JLL, the anchor tenant, and Merrill-Lynch.

The firm responsible for the design was Arquitectonica, and the general contractor was Turner Construction. The CENTRIA dealer and installer was A.C. Dellovade Inc. The building was completed in 2016.

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Trending Towards Sustainability
Expert Analysis, Sustainability
Trending Towards Sustainability
March 2, 2018 at 3:11 pm 0

Insulated metal panels are at the forefront of sustainable building materials.

From plastics to electronics, there is growing awareness about what goes into the products that make up our world. The built environment is seeing the effects as well, which are reflected in new, more holistic sustainable building standards.

According to the EPA, people spend about 90 percent of their lives in buildings, and until recently, building owners, architects, and designers have had very little say in what goes into the building materials. Today, however, the way we make decisions about designing and constructing is evolving. Design-build teams are recognizing that buildings are more than just places that we occupy; they are the spaces where generations of people live, work and play.

For years, insulated metal panels have been the go-to solution for highly efficient, cost-saving green building enclosures. Their superior thermal efficiency reduces moisture and mold, which can be harmful to occupants, as well as heating and cooling costs. As an all-in-one product, insulated metal panels offer faster installation, less construction waste, and reduced maintenance. These performance and sustainability benefits already lend insulated metal panels LEED credit opportunities.

Fueled by building owners, new sustainable ideas are raising the standards for design-build teams—as well as manufacturers. The sustainable building industry is now moving the needle even further toward healthy building materials. We are rethinking not only how our buildings can be more efficient, but also how every product we use can be more sustainable.

Raising the Bar

The latest LEED standards are primarily driving this more holistic approach to measuring a building’s overall effect on health and the environment. The U.S. Green Building Council released LEED v4 in 2013, and the changes are taking the healthier material trend mainstream.

Overall, LEED v4 raises the bar on sustainable building. Some of the major changes are an expanded focus on energy and materials. With high R-values, many insulated metal panels produced today can offer build teams more credit opportunities for whole-building energy efficiency. Prerequisites also require greater transparency of product material contents as well as the manufacturing process to help building owners, architects, and designers make more informed decisions about what goes onto — and into — buildings.

To achieve LEED v4 credits, environmental product declarations and health product declarations are two voluntary tools that can help building owners, designers, and architects identify a more sustainable insulated metal panel. An environmental product declaration states the environmental impact through the product life cycle, from manufacturing to recycling. A health product declaration discloses any potentially harmful chemicals in a product. It compares product ingredients to a set “hazard” list based on information from government agencies.  

Building product manufacturers are beginning to take steps to reduce and eliminate these chemical ingredients from their products. One specific ingredient is halogen: a chemical compound that consists of five elements on the periodic table that can be harmful to human health and the environment over time. In insulated metal panels, the ingredients are often used within the foam core as an economical and effective fire retardant.

Halogenated flame retardants were historically added to products to inhibit ignition or spread of flames. Flame retardants delay the spread of fire by suppressing the chemical reactions in the flame by the formation of a protective layer on the material’s surface. Halogenated flame retardants are compounds that contain chlorine and bromine (halogens), which are classified as persistent bioaccumulative toxins. These toxins can build up in organisms and the building environment, and have been shown to negatively affect the following biological functions: neurological development, reproductive system, thyroid hormone disruption, and liver toxicity.

Where Do We Go from Here?

We are already seeing restrictions on products containing halogen throughout Europe and in parts of the United States. Looking at these trends, the use of halogen-free building materials is on the horizon for insulated metal panels. Already earning high marks in sustainability, insulated metal panels with halogen-free foam will provide building owners with a safer occupant environment and offer architects enhanced performance and sustainability metrics.   

Kim Rager, CENTRIA product manager – insulated metal panels, oversees strategic product planning, sales strategy, and market analysis for Formawall with halogen-free foam, CENTRIA’s premier line of insulated metal panels, as well as industrial/commercial foam products.

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Future-Forward Aesthetic
Design Innovation
Future-Forward Aesthetic
June 17, 2017 at 3:00 pm 0

TreanorHL Architects link exterior design with interior purpose. 

It’s amazing what nearly one million pounds of bi-directional pressure is capable of.

To learn exactly what that kind of stress can – or can’t do – to a concrete structural component is what the University of Kansas School of Engineering’s new 26,055 square foot, $15.6 million High Bay Research Facility is all about.

The futuristic building, sleekly-clad in CENTRIA Formawall Dimension Series 3-inch horizontal panels, presents a visually-striking image to visiting KU alumni and friends. Long ribbons of small windows help break-up building mass, while the front of the structure presents a large glass-enclosed exposure that showcases current engineering projects. (more…)

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Aesthetic and Technological Advantage
Design Innovation
Aesthetic and Technological Advantage
July 13, 2016 at 5:46 pm 0

Mon Power Regional Headquarters showcases creative spark.

Round the bend on southbound Interstate 79 just past the Highway 250 interchange in Fairmont, W.Va. and prepare to be amazed: A futuristic, high-tech citadel suddenly towers over the rolling West Virginia countryside.

The Mon Power Regional Headquarters is a dazzler. The $50 million, 148,000-square-foot data center “looks like you’re going to run into it. By design, it’s perfectly situated for maximum visibility from the interstate,” explains Richard T. Forren AIA, NCARB, principal/senior project architect, of Omni Associates Architects, Inc., the building’s designers.

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Transparency in Manufacturing
Sustainability
Transparency in Manufacturing
January 9, 2016 at 1:38 pm 0

CENTRIA’s environmental product declarations set a trailblazing path for product life cycles.

CENTRIA released its first series of environmental product declarations (EPDs) in 2014 to review five of the company’s high-performance insulated metal wall panels. The continuing trend toward EPDs offers a major advantage to not only the customers, but the industry as a whole.   (more…)

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