A major new downtown redevelopment project in Washington, D.C., has recently been awarded LEED® Platinum certification under the Core and Shell rating system by the U.S. Green Building Council. The renovation project, 1200 Nineteenth Street, is a 340,000-square-foot, 11-story office building developed by Hines. Located in D.C.'s Central Business District, 1200 Nineteenth Street was designed by SmithGroup with mechanical/ electrical engineering by TOLK, a Dewberry Company.
In addition to the LEED certification, the project has been recognized as Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR® with a design rating of 99 out of 100 points, placing it among the top two percent of buildings nationwide in terms of energy efficiency. The DEES program, established in 2004, encourages energy-efficient design in commercial buildings. Sustainable engineering features include:
- Efficient air handling units that manage the temperature and humidity of outside air entering the building and reduce energy loads
- Fresh-air ventilation rates designed to exceed the required ASHRAE standards by at least 30 percent
- Advanced lighting controls that minimize light pollution
- Highly efficient plumbing fixtures that will save 94,000 gallons of potable water annually
Among the most sustainable real estate companies in the world, Hines has repeatedly been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. TOLK has engineered numerous projects for Hines, including the Gannett/USA Today world headquarters in McLean, Virginia; Jefferson Square in Arlington, Virginia; One Franklin Square in Washington, D.C.; and Bridgewater Crossing in Bridgewater, N.J. TOLK is currently providing engineering services for phase 1 of Hines/Archstone's new CityCenterDC (City Center DC) development, a 1.3-million-square-foot mixed-use project at the former convention center site in northwest Washington, D.C.