Cardozo Education Campus Receives LEED Gold Certification

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) August 28, 2014

The Francis L. Cardozo Education Campus received LEED Gold Certification for Schools this week from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Department of General Services (DGS) announced today.

The Department of General Services is honored to receive this prestigious certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and I would like to congratulate our entire design, construction and project team for achieving this distinction, said Brian J. Hanlon, DGS Director. This certification showcases the agencys dedication to build high quality, sustainable schools here in the District of Columbia that can serve as national models of excellence.

According to the USGBC, LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. The LEED program provides third-party verification of green buildings. Building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for the project.

The new Cardozo Education Campus, which was first designed a century ago, houses the Academy of Construction and Design, and the TransSTEM Academy. Both academies have expanded and enhanced classroom and laboratory spaces, including a two-story aviation lab, a two-story masonry construction lab and several computer lab spaces. The newly modernized and expanded historic campus in Ward 1 also features two specialized learning academies and a fully restored historic auditorium.

The modernization project marries both high tech advancements such as interactive whiteboards, classroom sound enhancement systems, and computer labs with major renovations to many of the celebrated period features of the original Cardozo, including stone carvings and decorative tile work, an historic lecture classroom, auditorium, and indoor pool.

Some of the design features of the Cardozo Education Campus which lead to the LEED certification include: Design Features:

The modernization of Cardozo also incorporates a number of energy-efficient elements including new mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems designed to reduce the energy consumption of the building, along with a green roof to aid with stormwater management. The school was designed to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver for Schools rating.

LEED is a point based system where building projects earn LEED points for satisfying specific green building criteria. Within each of the LEED credit categories, projects must satisfy particular prerequisites and earn points.

The categories include: Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Energy and Atmosphere (EA), Materials and Resources (MR) and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). An additional category, Innovation in Design (ID), addresses sustainable building expertise as well as design measures not covered under the five environmental categories. The number of points the project earns determines the level of LEED Certification the project receives. LEED certification is available in four progressive levels: Certified; Silver; Gold and Platinum.

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Cardozo Education Campus Receives LEED Gold Certification