SkySong 4 has joined its fellow office buildings in the project in a very “green” club — and continues to set the standard for office work space innovation.
The four-story, 141,000-square-foot office and research building at the intersection of SkySong Boulevard and Innovation Place has achieved Silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable design and construction.
LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—is a certification program that sets the standard for environmentally responsible construction in the U.S. Buildings are measured based on the number of points they earn across the categories of green building, such as energy, water, indoor environment, location and materials.
SkySong in 2009 earned environmental plaudits for the first three completed buildings on the site, SkySong 1, 2 and 3, joining only a handful of projects in the Valley to have achieved Silver Certification of higher, and one of the few non-governmental projects to achieve such status.
“With some careful planning a touch of ingenuity, the SkySong 4 building is not only a beautiful property but an environmentally healthful one,” said Sharon Harper, President & CEO of Plaza Companies, the master developer of the SkySong project and SkySong 4. “A LEED Silver award confirms that Sky Song 4 tenants will work in a high-performance, energy-efficient building.”
Plaza Companies is the master developer of SkySong, in partnership with the ASU Foundation, City of Scottsdale and Holualoa Companies.
Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, Executive Vice President for Knowledge Enterprise Development at Arizona State University, said the LEED certification is consistent with ASU’s commitment to sustainability.
“ASU has a standard for its new buildings of achieving LEED certification, and we are pleased to see this standard continue at SkySong,” Panchanathan said. “The commitment to sustainability at SkySong is an important part of the vision for an exceptional environment for innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The path to the LEED award began with the design process. The SkySong 4 project features sustainable strategies that were implemented, including:
· Use of native plant species and high-efficiency irrigation technology to achieve more than 82.1% reduction of water consumption for irrigation
· High efficiency design and systems technology to achieve an energy cost savings of 22.59%
· Over 31% of the total building materials were specified and manufactured using recycled materials.
· Over 26.88% of the total building materials include materials and products that were manufactured and extracted within a 500-mile radius of the project site
· Use of low-emitting materials like adhesives, sealants, paints, flooring, and composite wood to provide healthy indoor air quality
· Implementation of a Green Housekeeping Policy provided by the Plaza janitorial service contractor to optimize health indoor air quality for tenants and occupants during the building’s operational period
· Dedicated areas for collection and storage of recyclables within the building and onsite, including a tenant recycling waste disposal program provided by the janitorial service of the building
· Diversion of 37.5% of the on-site construction waste from the landfill
· Use of low-flow plumbing fixtures to achieve more than 42.91% water use reduction for the project
· Preferred parking reserved for sustainable vehicle transportation, like low-emissions vehicles, and even carpooling
· Sourcing of sustainably harvested and managed wood products, verified by the Forest Stewardship Certification program
SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center is home to a global business community that links technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and education to position ASU and Greater Phoenix as global leaders of the knowledge economy.
SkySong is a 42-acre mixed use development designed to:
• Create an ecology of collaboration and innovation among high-profile technology enterprises and related researchers;
• Advance global business objectives of on-site enterprises;
• Raise Arizona’s profile as a global center of innovation through co-location of ASU’s strategic global partners; and
• Create a unique regional economic and social asset.
Companies located at SkySong enjoy a special relationship with Arizona State University, which has more than 90,000 students studying across four metropolitan Phoenix campuses, in Lake Havasu and online. ASU is one of the largest public universities in the nation, with the majority of its students attending its campus in Tempe, Arizona, less than three miles from SkySong.
In addition to locating its own innovative research units at the center, through ASU’s on-site operations, tenant companies have a single point of contact for introductions to researchers, faculty and programs to address their specific needs.
For more information on SkySong, visit www.skysong.com or www.facebook.com/skysongcenter.
