(MUSCATINE, IA — MARCH, 2012) – The Allsteel New York City Resource Center, which recently celebrated its opening in the burgeoning Flatiron District, has been awarded LEED Interior Design+Construction (LEED-ID+C) Gold. Gensler, New York, designed the 17,000-square-foot space at 79 Madison Avenue at 28th Street. It is the fourth Allsteel showroom in North America to have achieved the Gold LEED rating issued by the USGBC, and one of seven Resource Centers that are LEED certified facilities.
“It’s naturally part of our corporate DNA to lead by example and create workplace environments that represent the highest level of sustainability,” said Kris Yates, Allsteel vice president of marketing. She acknowledged that the company had set a particularly challenging goal for itself with the New York City space. “Not only were we seeking to reduce our energy consumption and decrease our carbon footprint, but we were striving for the best possible indoor environmental quality, a commitment in sync with the value we place on the health and well-being of the Allsteel members who work there and the visitors we host. I’m proud to say we succeeded on both counts.”
A review of the company’s “score sheet” reveals several criteria where the company exceeded the LEED requirements. Among them:
- Diverted 81.47% of construction waste from landfills; 50% is the required amount.
- Optimized energy performance for lighting by reducing power by 35.99%; 15% is required.
Installed equipment and appliances that are Energy Star rated for 90% of the rated power in the space; 70% is required.
- Location is within access of 13 rail lines; 2 are required. Additionally, Allsteel received an ”innovation point” for exemplary access in public transport rides per day, with 3,242 rides per day vs. the required 200 rides per day minimum.
- 29.57% of project materials were sourced within a 500-mile radius of the project site; 20% is required. Additionally, Allsteel achieved the more difficult second point in the credit with 15.97% of materials used in the project extracted within 500 miles of the project; the requirement was for 10%.
- 40% reduction in water usage is yielded by low-flow fixtures and other plumbing improvements. Additionally, New York City is pursuing water conservation improvements, which earned Allsteel another regional “innovation point.”
Allsteel president Jeff Lorenger, who presided at the NYRC opening festivities where more than 400 a+d community guests, Allsteel dealers and press attended, added, “The impressive space is far more than an aesthetic achievement. It is exceptionally functional and now fully certified as among the greenest.”