Green Building Initiative™ Recognizes Two Sustainable Milestones

St. Louis – Headquarters of the Alberici Corp. recently celebrated a milestone by becoming the first U.S. building to achieve a rating of Four Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globes™ environmental assessment and rating system for commercial structures.GBI executive director Ward Hubbell presented the design team and company leaders with a plaque recognizing Alberici’s achievement. The project team, led by St. Louis-based sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, was recognized for its use of water conservation strategies, inCorp. of the integrated design process and selection of low-impact building materials. During the dedication ceremony, Hubbell also honored the Home Builders Association (HBA) of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri’s residential green verification building program—the Green Building Initiative (GBI)–St. Louis—on the occasion of its one-year anniversary. As a result of this program, nearly 20 green homes have been built in the region over the past year and 57 HBA members have been trained in sustainable building techniques. As part of the anniversary celebration, the local HBA also broke ground on the fourth home in its Vision Home community, which will be featured during next year’s National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) National Green Building Conference. This is the first time that St. Louis has been selected to host this national event.About Alberici Corporate Headquarters

The 110,000-square-foot building houses the corporate office headquarters of Alberici Corp., which is a family of companies providing construction and construction-related services worldwide. The building achieved a Green Globes score of 93 percent (or Four Green Globes) by incorporating sustainable design practices in the areas of project management, site, energy, water, resources, emissions and indoor environment.

Sustainable features of the building and site include a 65kW wind turbine for energy creation, use of materials with recycled content, and remediation of a brownfield site.

“As a company that works exclusively in the area of sustainable design and construction, it’s important to have a choice of tools,” says Thomas Taylor, general manager of Vertegy, which guided the development of the Alberici headquarters building. “Green Globes has earned a unique position in the market because it allows architects, builders and developers to easily assess and rate the sustainable attributes of their designs or existing buildings, and helps to create structures that are better for employees, the community and our environment.”

To achieve a verified rating, the project team from Alberici and Vertegy used the Green Globes tool to assess and rate the building, which was then verified by a third-party building science expert who reviewed the construction documents and conducted an on-site inspection.