USGBC said 7 World Trade Center was recognized for its pioneering approach to providing occupants with cleaner air and more natural light, while conserving energy and other natural resources.
"The rebuilt World Trade Center site will reflect a new model of a business district - one that breaks new ground in environmental standards and creates a true mixed-use diverse community,” Governor George E. Pataki said. “The certification of World Trade Center 7 as LEED Gold is confirmation that economic development and environmental responsibility can work hand in hand.”
The LEED Gold designation was based on a number of green design and construction features at 7 WTC. These benefits include:
• More open space, through the creation of a public park on a 15,000 square feet parcel of land which was created when Mr. Silverstein elected to make 7 World Trade Center sleeker than its predecessor in order to reintroduce Greenwich St. through the WTC site;
• More natural light achieved through the use of state-of-the-art ultra-clear glass technology that also conserves energy;
• Improved indoor air quality through the installation of outside-air ventilation treated with a high-efficiency filtration system;
• Increased energy conservation achieved via a host of new technologies, including steam-to-electricity turbine generators, variable speed fans and natural daylighting;
• Water conservation achieved by harvesting rainwater for reuse in cooling the building and irrigating the park;
• Waste reduction through diversion of more than 75 percent of construction waste and use of recycled-content materials
• Cleaner air due to use of ultra-low sulfur fuels and particulate filters on construction vehicles, a program which earned Silverstein Properties an EPA Environmental Quality Award.
7 World Trade Center was one of the first projects accepted as part of the USGBC's Core and Shell Development program (LEED-CS), a category of LEED that evaluates and recognizes environmentally sustainable building projects where the owner does not control the interior design and fit-out. It is for designers, builders, developers and new building owners who address sustainable design for new core and shell construction. Broadly defined, core and shell construction covers base building elements, such as the structure, envelope and building-level systems.
