Top 10 LEED Projects

Until recently, we at Interiors & Sources had only second-hand knowledge of what it meant to design and build a “green” facility. Sure, we’ve reported on sustainable design for nearly 15 years and are now publishing our Top 10 LEED^® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Projects for the fourth year in a row; but for the first time in our history, the most difficult of circumstances provided us with the extraordinary opportunity to “walk the talk” by rebuilding our Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based headquarters to LEED standards, following the devastating floods of 2008.

While our entire staff worked tirelessly to ensure that our deadlines were met, despite having been displaced to temporary facilities or home offices, the real work of rebuilding was only beginning. Now, more than a year later, our headquarters has reopened and has been registered with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for LEED-CI certification at the Silver level. Efficiencies in water use, electrical consumption (including Energy Star appliances), and material sourcing within 500 miles have been key to our rebuilding effort. Innovation in Design credits for furniture reuse and recycling of major building components after the flood have also played a part. Throughout the project we have maximized opportunities to reuse and recycle, and are well within the VOC guidelines set by the LEED Rating System.

With this designation, Stamats Business Media (publisher of Interiors & Sources) will be the first member of the American Business Media to own and operate in a LEED-certified facility. It gives us a great sense of pride to join the more than 35,000 projects currently certified in the LEED system which comprises more than 4.5 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 91 countries, according to the USGBC. We are joining a truly diverse and global community of people and organizations dedicated to making green building a way of life that will ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

We are thrilled to join this list of exemplary projects that incorporate sustainable design strategies and features—including spaces like those featured in this year’s Top 10, which were selected by our editorial staff for meeting a number of criteria, including: innovative solutions to challenging design problems; performance in several key areas (human and environmental health, sustainable site development, water savings, energy savings, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality); and, of course, aesthetics. The following articles showcase 10 recent LEED projects—many the first of their kind to be certified— that demonstrate the ability and versatility of the rating system to forever alter the landscape of the built environment ... creating truly great places to work, learn, travel, heal, and play.