Sustainable Designs

Gorges State Park Visitor Center  LEED Gold®

Sustainable Sites

  • 100% of stormwater and wastewater managed on-site
  • Light pollution eliminated to prevent disruption of animal migration patterns

Water Efficiency

  • 44% reduction of potable water use
  • Gray water used for toilets and water features
  • No potable water use for landscape irrigation

Energy & Atmosphere

  • The building uses 52% less energy than a baseline visitor center building
  • Predicted Energy Use Intensity (pEUI) = 40
  • Geothermal heating and cooling system

Material & Resources

  • Regional materials used in construction including stone, steel, and insulated roof panels
Joel Helms Architecture
Gorges State Park Visitor Center

Indoor
Environmental Quality

  • Low-emitting materials used- including wood products, carpet, paints, and sealants
  • Daylight and views provided for 90% of interior spaces

Asheville Power Plant Administration Building  LEED Certified®

Location & Transportation

  • Project site is a brownfield remediation of an existing coal ash basin
  • Reduced parking footprint
  • Charging stations provided for electric vehicles

Sustainable Sites

  • 100% of rainwater managed on-site
  • Heat islands reduced with reflective coated asphalt paving and planting canopies
  • Light pollution eliminated

Water Efficiency

  • 40% reduction of potable water use
  • Water sub-meters installed to track domestic hot water and process water usage
  • No potable water use for landscape irrigation

Energy & Atmosphere

  • Energy performance optimized by 15%

Innovation

  • Educational signage and guided building tours to highlight sustainable features of site

Indoor
Environmental Quality

  • Increased outdoor air ventilation rates by 30%
  • Carbon dioxide monitoring
  • Low VOC-emitting materials and coatings used throughout interior spaces

Peele Dental Wellness Adaptive Reuse

Environmental Benefits

  • Adaptive reuse avoids impacts from demolition and landfilling
  • Keeps in place all the natural resources that have been withdrawn
  • Extends the life of materials and resources

Resilience Benefits

  • Keep simple, durable, low-maintenance materials like the brick exterior
  • Durable exterior materials help the building stand up to the forces of nature which are becoming stronger due to climate change

Community Benefits

  • Reducing the need for new construction is a win for the neighborhood
  • Adaptive reuse takes less time and causes less disruption than new construction

Strategies

  • Preserve clear spans to create wide open spaces that allow interior changes without costly structural alterations
  • Separation of systems from one another and from the envelope of the building allows easier maintenance and replacement
Peele Dental Wellness

Strategies

  • Low partitions allows for flexibility of building heating and cooling systems
  • Keeping elements on regular spacing facilitates easier changes
  • Use of durable materials goes a long way toward ensuring longer building life

Learn About Sustainable Building Design & Construction

Joel is a U.S. Green Building Council Member, a LEED AP® Building Design + Construction Professional, and a WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP™)

Learn how better buildings equal better lives at U.S. Green Building Council and LEED

Learn how spaces you enter put your health first at International WELL Building Institute

USBGC
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