PEORIA, Ariz. (October 18, 2011) –Since 2008, the city of Peoria has been
working towards a vision of being sustainable through financial stewardship and
environmental responsibility. One of the key initiatives was to credential staff
members within the Planning and Community Development, Engineering, and Public
Works/Utilities Departments under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED
(Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) system. To date, eleven staff
members have been certified as LEED Green Associates, and one staff member has
been certified as a LEED Accredited Professional, with the specialization of
Building Design and Construction.
LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in March 2000, LEED
provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and
implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction,
operations and maintenance solution.
“For Peoria, it means having individuals on staff who know how to plan
sustainable development, and to design, build, and operate buildings which will
be more resource efficient,” said Ed Striffler, design and construction manager
for the city. Striffler is a LEED Accredited Professional and licensed
Architect.
Having a building LEED certified provides independent, third-party verification
that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at
achieving high performance in five key strategies: sustainable site development,
water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental
quality.
LEED-certified buildings are designed to provide lower operating costs; reduced
waste to landfills; conserve energy and water; healthier and safer for
occupants, and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Last June, the city completed the renovation of the Peoria Municipal Court. The
project goal for the $11 million expansion was to do the renovation sustainably
and achieve LEED Silver Certification. The project team was able to surpass this
goal without increasing the budget to achieve LEED Gold.
“Having resources within the city that were well versed in the LEED rating
system, allowed us to make fully informed design decisions when evaluating
‘greener’ alternatives alongside our design team and contractor,” said Striffler.
The Court project was able to demonstrate a 28 percent energy use reduction, 32
percent water use reduction, 86 percent of the construction waste was diverted
away from landfills and 22 percent of the construction materials were recycled
content.
Photograph
City of Peoria LEED Certified staff. (Left to right)
Jared Spangler, Adam Pruett, Shawn Kreuzwiesner, Chris Jacques, Ed Striffler,
Dan Davis, Ed Boik, Rob Gubser, Kathy Sponsel, Seth Blumen, Melissa Sigmund,
Bill Beaudoin (absent)
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