Designation makes Alberici headquarters one of only nine platinum-rated “new construction” buildings in the world

St. Louis, MO (July 11, 2005) – Alberici Corporation announced today that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded the company’s new headquarters, located in St. Louis, Missouri, with a LEED® v2 Platinum rating under the category of New Construction.  Alberici’s headquarters is the only LEED® Platinum building in Missouri. There are only nine platinum-certified “new construction” buildings in the entire world – two of these buildings are located in India and six in the United States.   

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a standard that measures sustainability.  In this context, the term describes how well the design and construction process reduces life cycle costs, conserves natural resources and enhances the quality of work life for its occupants.  There are four levels that companies can achieve from the LEED® rating system:  Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. From the start, Alberici had sought LEED® Platinum certification. 

“We aimed for platinum from the very beginning, and felt it was the right thing to do.  We are very proud of this designation but more importantly, we are extremely proud of the Alberici team that made this possible,” said Bob McCoole, president, Alberici Group.

Achieving platinum certification meant that Alberici had to accumulate a total of 52-69 points under six categories:

• Sustainable Sites. Credit points in this category address such issues as impact on local geology, hydrology, and microclimate; occupant effects such as automobile use; stormwater control, and utility infrastructure.
• Water Efficiency. LEED® rewards those projects which conserve water resources, and those which lessen the impact on the discharge and treatment of what water they do use.
• Energy and Atmosphere. Credit points result from efforts to improve the envelope, electrical, and mechanical systems in order to conserve the use of energy, predominately served by non-renewable sources.
• Materials and Resources. Credit points result from the reuse or specification of products that are made from recycled content, shipped from nearby, constructed from responsibly-forested wood, or made from rapidly renewable resources (such as bamboo, cork and linoleum). Construction waste is addressed here as well.
• Indoor Environmental Quality. This category addresses the issue of occupant health and safety as related to the circulation of air and off-gassing of harmful pollutants common in building materials and furnishings. Credit points are also achieved for providing daylight and views to the outside for occupants.
• Innovation and Design Process. This category covers performance not addressed in any other area and rewards innovative strategies, exemplary performance, and team expertise in sustainable design.

Alberici had accumulated a total of 60 points, the most points ever accrued to date for any newly constructed building seeking LEED® platinum certification.  Ironically, the 9 points that would have given Alberici a perfect score were credits that the company elected not to pursue, or were impossible to achieve on the site.   “Some credits had to do with reusing the original envelope or 'skin' of the building, and it was corrugated metal siding.  We wanted openness to the building and that meant replacing the siding with windows and glass,” said Thomas Taylor, LEED-AP and vice president of Alberici Group.

Taylor was also the project director in charge of the new headquarters project, and now heads a new business unit called Vertegy that provides clients with procurement and construction strategies on green and sustainable building. 

Alberici’s new corporate campus has attracted many facility tours, and has been instrumental in raising awareness for sustainable, green construction.

Click here to read more about the Alberici Corporate Headquarters in St. Louis.