Haworth’s showroom in Beijing’s Parkview Green building has been recognized as the world’s first certified LEED project under the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) new LEED version 4 beta program, the furniture and office space manufacturer says.
The USGBC awarded LEED Gold status after the project earned 71 out of the possible 110 points.
To achieve the green building certification, USGBC reviewed everything from the location of the building and its energy performance to water efficiency and indoor air quality.
Parkview Green (pictured) is located in the Chaoyang District of Beijing and provides tenants with access to quality transportation and bicycle facilities. The LEED Platinum (version 3) building is also home to a boutique hotel, commercial offices and premium retail.
Inside Parkview Green, Haworth has created the Club, a workspace concept that offers co-working and lounge spaces that can be used by the building’s tenants, hotel guests and members in the community. Everything from partition walls, meeting rooms, huddle spaces and private focus areas can be rearranged to meet the day-to-day needs of its users.
Steve Kooy, Haworth’s global sustainability manager, says this workspace flexibility saves money and time, and reduces waste.
Throughout the construction process, approximately 60 percent of nonstructural interior elements were reused, the company says. Additionally, 93 percent (by value) of the furniture in the space is either Greenguard certified or has been transferred from an existing showroom.
Fresh air within the Beijing showroom exceeds the required indoor environmental quality by 35 percent. All interior paints and coatings meet the applicable VOC limits of the California Air Resources Board (CARB 2007) and all adhesives and sealants applied onsite meet the applicable chemical content requirements.
The showroom also contains variable air volume (VAV) air diffusers under the floors while cold radiation ceilings provide separate individualized controllability for each solar exposure and interior space, which ensures individual occupant comfort and reduces overall energy use.
Through the optimization of the HVAC system as well as efficient LED lighting design, fixtures and controls supplied by Philips, one of Haworth’s partners in the region, the project reduced energy consumption by 59 percent (compared to ASHRAE energy requirements).
The showroom also uses a greywater recycling system and efficient fixtures to reduce up to 53 percent of water usage when compared to the baseline calculation.
Haworth partnered with BEE, a Shanghai- and Hong Kong-based specialist for green materials and LEED consulting.
For the Beijing project, Haworth purchased renewable energy credits equivalent to five years of energy use at the showroom. Haworth continues to buy renewable energy credits or carbon offsets for its LEED projects globally.
During the 2008 renovation of its corporate headquarters in Holland, Mich., Haworth says it was the first in the world to accept offsets in place of RECs for the USGBC’s LEED program.
In July, USGBC members voted to adopt the latest update to the green building rating system, LEED v4. The newest version of LEED will officially launch next month the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Philadelphia.
