One Crescent Drive, a four-story office building constructed in the Philadelphia Naval Business Center, has received the LEED Platinum certification, and is now Pennsylvania’s best performing green building.

One Crescent Drive was designed by Robert A.M. Architects in New York and pre-certified as a LEED Gold building. Construction finished in November 2005. This summer, Liberty/Synterra Limited Partnership learned that they had achieved the additional points needed for Platinum LEED status, making it the first and only high-performance building in the Commonwealth to attain that rating.

This designation from the U.S. Green Building Council recognizes the environmentally friendly atmosphere of the building, along with the benefits of the cutting-edge design, which include higher productivity levels as well as lower employee turnover rates and operating costs.

Features of the 77,000-square-foot building that contributed to its ranking include considerations made in site selection, construction methods and building materials, as well as the use of alternative energy. One Crescent Drive was built on a brownfield, part of a 1,200-acre decommissioned naval base with existing infrastructure, which is easily accessed by public transportation.

During construction, 95 percent of the waste was kept out of landfills, and more than 30 percent of the total building materials --- such as structural steel, gypsum wallboard and acoustical ceiling tiles --- consist of recycled content.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning system uses 50 percent less energy than same-sized conventional buildings; heat and cooler air are conserved through the use of shades and a reflective roof. The electricity load needed to supply all common areas of the building will be powered by wind energy.

The environmentally-friendly design lowers water consumption 30 percent through high-efficiency equipment and handles stormwater on site with vegetated swales that allow rain to return naturally to groundwater.

One Crescent Drive was built in the 70-acre Corporate Center portion of the yard, next to the 167-acre Historic Core, a National Register Historic District that showcases structures built on the Navy Yard between 1873 and 1945.

Pennsylvania is among the national leaders --- second only to California --- in energy efficiency with more than three dozen buildings LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Eight of the certified buildings are state facilities. Another 129 Pennsylvania buildings are registered for LEED certification.

8/25/2006