Page 113 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

90 BARRIERS TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS

6 Some people we interviewed said that there are institutional clients who are begin-
ning to express the opinion that once they’ve designed and certified a couple of proj-
ects, they don’t have to do it anymore, because they’ve proven that their design and
construction process really is very green. This attitude, akin to “been there, done
that,” is a sure recipe for backsliding to the “pre-LEED” world. An owner without a
responsibility to third-party documentation and certification doesn’t demonstrate
commitment to achieving higher-performance results and probably won’t get them.
7 Owners and developers should hire those building teams with the most LEED expe-
rience if they want the best results. While obvious to many, this conclusion is often
at odds with the tendencies of institutional owners to hire the teams they know best
from previous (non-LEED) projects.

PLATINUM PROJECT PROFILE

Standard Refrigeration Company, San Juan, Puerto Rico
This two-story, 19,500-square-foot building serves as the headquarters for the
Standard Refrigeration Company. Compared to a building built to ASHRAE 90.1-
1999 standards, Standard’s building was designed save over 70 percent in electric-
ity costs. An 85 percent efficient enthalpy wheel capable of handling 125 percent
of the required outside air is a major component in the heat recovery system.
Standard estimates that the electrical cost savings alone will pay for the cost of the
new building in 10 to 15 years based on today’s electricity rates.*

Courtesy of Standard Refrigeration Co., Inc.

∗ http://envirotechnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/greening-caribbean.html, accessed April 2008.