U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Promotes Sustainability With New LEED Gold Building

In another illustration of the U.S. army leading the private world into a much healthier and much less traditional energy reliant future, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is aiming to be eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold accreditation for the new energy efficient office complex at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The complex was initially built to meet a smaller standard but the Department of Defense has created a strategy of heading beyond minimum compliance with environmental restrictions, in order to stimulate more ambitious action on environmental security by the public area specifically in regard to climate change.

USACE Commanding General Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp recently blogged regarding the Corps's durability plan with a line coming from one of his predecessors: "Environmental honesty and beliefs must be more than an overlay. They must be a bone-deep part of our method of doing business." Van Antwerp has also noted that climate change is actually "a very real concern that could have extremely real outcomes all over the world." That doesn't give much wiggle room for helping our troops in the drill baby drill ethos but then again, that's the entire purpose.

The Durability Bridge from Military to Civilian

Partly, the brand new building will serve as a highlight for new energy and water preservation plans that benefit the bottom line and can be used by businesses, industry, and establishments like universities and health care facilities. One showcase is a visitor facility which will have an energy cost-efficient eco-friendly roof practically covered with greenery to supply padding and relieve the "heat island" consequence. Green roofs are becoming common at government properties such as military bases and prisons, but they have yet to make considerable inroads somewhere else in the U.S. With a comparable objective in sight, the military is additionally showing energy efficient microgrid and solar power technology at a couple of other bases inside California as well as Hawaii.

Durability for All

The new structure will make use of roughly 30 % less electricity as compared to conventional buildings, and about half the water. Even though some savings results from new construction methods, technology and materials, others derive from good sense answers which could effortlessly be used as retrofits on current buildings and grounds. For example, there's no need for outdoor irrigation, because the landscaping design makes use just of drought resistant native plants. Low-flow water system fittings and energy efficient light bulbs are utilized throughout, and the usage of natural daylight is maximized by simply putting in cubicles with lower walls, that also helps air to circulate more efficiently.

Durability together with Alternative Transportation

The modern complex will likewise test the ability of city planners to pull more people out of their cars and into mass transport and some other alternatives. The structure was created to satisfy recommendation #133 of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, and when finished in 2011 it will shift a large number of new workers in offices straight into Alexandria, an area which by now struggles with excessive congestion.