LEED Gold certified office building
Lauren Christ
The Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Center for Science Education, located at 301 Raccoon Rd. in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is the first LEED Gold certified new office building in the state.
The ORAU Center for Science Education was completed by Knoxville-based Partners Development in January 2009 and recently received LEED Gold certification.
“Receiving LEED Gold certification demonstrates our commitment to the environment and developing sustainable facilities,” said Harry Anderson (Andy) Page, president and CEO of ORAU. “It’s only appropriate that a project like the Center for Science Education that focuses on the technology of the future also focuses on protecting our future through environmentally conscious design.”
The ORAU Center for Science Education was created to support a fundamental, national need for improvements in science and technology education. The four-story, 75,000-square-foot building features a technology classroom and houses the ORAU executive offices. The prototype "classroom of the future" boasts a plasma display wall; Web-and video-conferencing capabilities; and a Smart Board to link with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) scientists a few miles away, colleagues across the country and experts around the world.
“For the last several years a focus of ours has been sustainable development,” said Russ Watkins, president of Partners Development. “Each of our eight additional LEED projects has received or is seeking some level of certification. We are proud to announce that the ORAU Center for Science Education is our first Gold certified project, but more notably it’s the first LEED Gold certified new office building in the state.”
Buildings receive LEED certification by complying with guidelines set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ from the U.S. Green Building Council, the national leader in setting sustainable design standards. There are four levels of LEED certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
As a full-service, diversified real estate development company, Partners Development has completed more than 100 projects in the Americas and Europe. Partners Development specializes in the commercial, educational, industrial and residential markets. For more information, visit http://www.partnersinfo.com.
