Vegetative roof building on Joint Base Andrews receives gold rating

  • Published
  • By Robert Ginsberg
  • AFCEE Capital Investment Execution Division
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  The Base Realignment and Closure/National Capital Region Relocation Administrative Facility here recently achieved a U.S. Green Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Program Gold rating.

The Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment managed construction of the project, which was completed in March 2011. The 380,000 square-foot facility boasts one of the Air Force's first vegetative green roofs, a feature that helped earn it the gold designation.

Gold is the second highest LEED rating, behind platinum. The ratings are determined by the USGBC's LEED Program which assigns points and overall ratings for sustainable features included in a building's construction. The rating system is organized into five environmental categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental.

"We were excited to manage the design and construction of this facility to include many sustainable features, and we hope this will pave the way for future sustainable projects at other installations," said AFCEE project manager Micah Shuler.

The facility's vegetative green roof design falls within the USGC's sustainable sites rating category, an area heavily factored in the rating process worth a possible 26 points out of 100.

A vegetative green roof provides an array of environmental benefits including reduced storm water runoff, decreased runoff-related pollution of natural waterways, reduced energy costs, decreased roof top temperatures and reduced noise pollution.
To achieve a gold rating in new construction, a project must earn at least 60 points in the USGC's LEED rating system.

The facility surpassed the contract requirements of a silver rating with the addition of such sustainable features as the use of low Volatile Organic Compound, or VOC, emitting finishes, water efficient landscaping, certified wood from managed forests, construction materials that contain 20 percent recycled content and an emphasis on recycling construction waste.