Another Green Skyscraper in Los Angeles

Got another note from Hines again today letting us know that yet another one of its skyscrapers has been LEED certified.

This time it's the blandly-named 26-story 10100 Santa Monica in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Here's the complete press release:

A Seattle Hines Skyscraper Goes LEED

One of Seattle's more anonymous skyscrapers has a reason to make some noise.  The cumbersomely-named Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza has been awarded LEED Gold certification.  The entire press release from Hines follows:

One Victory Park Greenlit

Got a note from Hines today about One Victory Park in Dallas.  The 17-sotry skyscraper has been granted LEED Silver status.


The full press release follows:

Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis Goes Green

We got a note from the people down at Hines today, letting us know that the iconic Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis has been given LEED-EB Gold status.

• You can read more about the Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis here.
• And you can click here for more buildings in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area.

The press release follows:

330 North Wabash Gets LEED Gold

Chicago architecture firm DeStefano Partners is celebrating LEED Gold status for one of its latest projects -- its office at 330 North Wabash Street (formerly I.B.M. Plaza).  You can read more about 330 North Wabash at Chicago Architecture Info.  Here's the press release it sent over:

February 17, 2010 (Chicago IL) – DeStefano Partners (DP) announced that its new office at 330 North Wabash in Chicago IL has been awarded LEED® Gold certification for Commercial Interiors. Established by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED® is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

                The office earned credits for such features as regional materials, high recycled content in materials, furniture re-use, light sensor controls, reduced-flow water fixtures, material installation methods, high levels of daylighting and views for 90% of the spaces, and downtown location with proximity to public transit.

                Scott Sarver, AIA, DeStefano Partners’ Chief Executive Officer, noted that “DeStefano Partners is committed to sustainable building technology, emphasizing transit-oriented development and design elements that respond to local climate, culture and context.  We selected the location and designed our offices to reflect this commitment.”

As a component of this commitment, DP’s Materials and Technologies Research Group includes a Specifications Writer and a Materials Research Specialist specializing in sustainable design; they work closely with the firm’s design and technical architects to research and identify products and technology that are legitimately “green” and durable.

                The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) developed LEED® as an internationally recognized rating system to evaluate sustainable and environmentally-friendly design.  LEED® provides building owners, operators, designers, and contractors with guidelines for building in practical and measurable ways to reduce environmental impact.  The rating system applies to all kinds of construction projects and covers the many stages of a building’s life cycle, including design, construction, maintenance, and tenant use.  The Commercial Interiors category was created to allow building tenants who may not have control over an entire building to make sustainable choices in improving their workplaces.

About DeStefano Partners (www.dpdesigns.com)

    Established in 1988, DeStefano Partners is an internationally acclaimed architecture, urban planning and interior design firm serving both public and private sector clients in the United States, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.  Inspired by the cultural, geographic and organizational diversity of its clients, the firm’s mission is to realize environments that are conducive to daily living, supportive of commercial enterprise and engaging to the human spirit.  DeStefano Partners’ teams respond creatively and professionally to a challenging array of design, planning, programming and assessment needs in new construction and renovation in commercial, mixed-use and multifamily residential sectors.  For more information, please visit the DeStefano Partners web site, www.dpdesigns.com.     

Texas' Tallest Building Goes Green

The tallest building in Texas is now a green building.

Hines put out a news release this week stating that its JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston is now LEED Gold certified.

If you haven't been to the JPMorgan Chase Tower, it's a nice building.  Visually, it's not all that compelling, but it does have a free observation level, which is becoming more and more rare these days.

Read the news release after the photograph from Houston Architecture:

JPMORGAN CHASE TOWER AWARDED LEED^® GOLD

Tallest Building in Texas Goes Green

(HOUSTON) – The Houston office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that JPMorgan Chase Tower has received Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED^® for Existing Buildings Rating System.

Chase Tower is a 1.6 million-square-foot, 75-story office building that was designed by I.M. Pei & Partners and was developed by Hines in 1982.  It remains the tallest building in Texas.

With a current ENERGY STAR rating of 91, the building is 46 percent more energy efficient and annually saves $1.48 per square foot in energy costs when compared to the national average office building.  This translates into estimated greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing 3,670 cars from the road.

Green features and programs include: reduction of indoor potable water use through low-flow fixtures; reclamation of non-potable water for irrigation; the use of energy efficient lighting with reduced mercury content; environmentally sensitive cleaning products; a comprehensive recycling and waste diversion program; green build-out guidelines for tenants; and the implementation of a comprehensive and ongoing retro-commissioning program, among other things.

Hines Senior Vice President John Mooz said, “JPMorgan Chase Tower represents Hines’ ninth LEED certification in Houston.  We are hearing a clear message from major tenants that LEED is a significant decision point in leasing.”

Hines worked closely with Kirksey’s EcoServices group, which played an instrumental role in managing the administrative aspects of the LEED certification process.

JPMorgan Chase Tower is 92 percent leased to a number of world-class companies, including: Andrews Kurth LLP; Cooper Industries; JPMorgan Chase & Co; LINN Energy; Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP; Morgan Stanley; Sanders Morris Harris Group; and Winstead PC, among others.  The property is owned by Texas Tower Limited and managed and leased by Hines.

 Globally Hines is responsible for 145 projects, representing more than 89 million square feet that have been certified, pre-certified or registered under the various LEED rating systems.  Hines was a founding member of the German Sustainable Building Council, and is active in the BRE Environmental Assessment Method program in the United Kingdom and the Haute Qualité Environnementale program in France.

In 2009 Hines was recognized by the EPA, for the second time, with the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award; Hines has 138 buildings, representing approximately 77 million square feet that have earned the ENERGY STAR label.  Twelve Hines development or redevelopment projects, representing more than six million square feet, have been designated as Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,111 properties representing more than 449 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.  Hines has offices in more than 100 cities in 17 countries and controls assets valued at approximately $22.9 billion.  Visit www.hines.com for more information.  To learn more about sustainability at Hines, visit www.hines.com/sustainability.