LEED Certification
A Sustainable “Green” and
LEED Designed Project
At Sutter, concern for people and the environment extends beyond building a “Green” new hospital, it also includes finding creative ways to address local community and regional sustainability concerns.
A year before site preparation work got underway, an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) team of architects, engineers, and contractors met with the owners to evaluate and state the goals of the project and to establish a systems-oriented approach to green project design.
“The new hospital incorporates sustainable building strategies from the ground up to comply with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria,” according to Creed Kampa, Lead Project Designer with HGA, an integrated architecture, engineering and master planning firm. “LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system used to transform the built environment to sustainability using a 100-point checklist.”
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability that measures compliance in nine key areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, location and community linkages, awareness and education, as well as innovation in design and regional priorities.
For example, as a regional priority, Sutter upgraded residential plumbing fixtures in the Cripple Creek housing area near the hospital site with low flow alternatives to reduce water usage in the area. At the same time, Sutter will be supplying its own water for the hospital from a well on the property.
Other unique and LEED-compliant innovations include:
- A transportation systems master plan has been designed to increase carpooling and the use of high occupancy vans, as well as to reduce traffic impact on local access roads.
- A dedicated lane will allow patients to bypass the Wells Fargo access road to reach the emergency room and there will be a separate entrance for ambulance traffic.
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during construction are being reduced by powering down vehicles idling more than 10 minutes, helping to reduce the carbon footprint
- Recycled content in flooring and other building materials will provide minimal impact on landfills at the end of the structure’s life cycle
- The selection of a sustainable building site and using compacted earth, rather than pilings, provides a solid foundation for the structure while eliminating noise pollution
- Special parking areas will be reserved for low GHG emitting vehicles
- Overall hospital parking requirements will be minimized, along with the use of asphalt pavement, by sharing parking spaces. with the adjacent Wells Fargo Center for the Arts during peak times
- Bio-swales will be built to channel runoff water into landscaped areas for collection and natural filtering before entering the storm drain system
- Cool roof technology, comprised of white solar-reflecting products, will be deployed that do not add to the heat sink of the building. A heat sink is physically designed to increase the surface area in contact with the cooling medium surrounding it, such as the air
- A highly efficient outdoor water system will reduce usage by 50 percent, aided by the selection of drought-resistant plants
- Low-flow indoor water fixtures will reduce internal water consumption by 34 percent
- Recycling storage areas will divert up to 75 percent of
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products, obtained from socially and environmentally responsible sources, will be used throughout the building. FSC is a non-profit international organization that sets standards and promotes responsible management of the world’s forests.
- An electric vehicle (EV) recharging station will be installed at the site
- The energy efficiency of the building will reduce the load off baseline. Baseline is defined as the amount of energy that would be consumed annually without implementation of energy conservation measures based on historical metered data.
- The north facing positioning of the structure will reduce heat gain and the load on mechanical systems
- South and east-facing portions of the building will use high performance glazing on exterior surfaces to reflect heat (20 percent better than baseline while also using 20 percent less energy than a typical hospital of comparable size)
- Internal envelope air quality will be enhanced through the use of low volatile organic compound (VOC) adhesives, paints and coatings
- Natural lighting will be maximized in public spaces and corridors, further reducing energy needs while increasing the aesthetic beauty of the building
- Interior noise will be reduced using Quiet Rock gypsum wall board delivering higher noise reduction between rooms, as well as by installing sound-absorbing ceiling tiles and wall panels in areas adjacent to patient rooms
- High efficiency fans and motors, with variable air volume controls, will provide 100 percent ventilation without a continuous flow, reducing energy requirements
