We have become familiar with the notion of green building by now. Green building is, in point of fact, an outcome of a design which focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building’s lifecycle, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal. What is more interesting is that the same saga has almost mesmerized the whole of United States of America and developers are tying to grasp the idea increasingly.
In this context, the building housing the Mark Miller Toyota-Scion dealership in downtown Salt Lake City must be mentioned, as it has created a milestone. It has received a Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, only a year after its opening.
What does the certification indicate? It does signify the building, constructed at a cost of about $25 million on six acres at 730 S. West Temple, is one of the most eco-friendly and energy-efficient structures in the state. Speaking on this Miller stated, “It was always our goal to achieve a Gold LEED certification.” “Although if I had known at the time what was going to happen to the economy (and the automobile business), I might have thought a second time about making the investment.”
As per the estimation of Miller, constructing the building to Gold Leed standards added 10 percent to the cost.
What is LEED then? LEED symbolizes Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a program of the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council that provides an independent third-party verification that a building was constructed in an environmentally responsible fashion, and is a healthy place to work. As per Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Building Council, the ranking system goes from a basic LEED-certified building to silver, gold and platinum and each step or progression implies more effort and success in achieving environmentally friendly construction and energy efficiency.
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