The U.S. Green Building Council, which sponsors the program, pre-certified the Hines building based on submitted documents showing that plans already are underway to satisfy more than 30 green and high-performance requirements. Silver status means, in essence, that a company has gone above and beyond the minimum to gain LEED certification. Assuming, as expected, that Hines completes the development requirements, the building will become the first LEED Silver-certified high-rise office building in the world. The building is expected to top out next week.
The building's anchor tenant is Atlanta-based King & Spalding, L.L.P., one of the oldest and largest law firms in the southeast.
Among the green features included in the high-rise is a water-management system that will decrease storm water by covering half of the roof with absorbing vegetation. The remaining storm water, in conjunction with the condensation collected from the building's mechanical systems, will be channeled to an underground storage vault and used for irrigation, bypassing the need for city water.
In addition, the vegetation creates a "heat island effect," reducing the amount of heat gain throughout the building, and thus reducing operational expenses.
