McKinney Green Building

The McKinney Green Building is a 59,000 square foot, three story office building designed and constructed with sustainability in mind.  In 2007, the building was awarded a LEED Certified Core and Shell LEED Platinum distinction.  The first of its kind in the US, for a privately owned building. 

The McKinney Green Building is owned by Wereldhave NV, a publicly traded, Dutch based company focused on commercial real estate and property management, in Belgium, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.   Wereldhave has embedded it business principals in sustainability and “invests in durable innovative measures which lower total costs and raise tenant flexibility,” while “ simultaneously relieving the pressure on the environment.” 

Some of the key sustainable features of the building which contributed to highly coveted Platinum status were...

Reduced Energy Use - a 62% reduction in energy (as compared to a similar building to code) as a result of a highly efficient envelope, efficient windows, sun shading devices, and high efficient insulation in the roof

Light Pollution Reduction - light trespassing is minimized, reducing night glare and disturbance to nocturnal creatures

Rainwater Harvesting - two 9200 gallon cisterns to capture roof top rainwater are installed on either side of the building and provide landscaping irrigation 

Daylighting Design - the open plan design provides up to 90% of all occupied spaces have access to daylight and views.  Building shading devices are installed to reduce glare.  The need for indoor artificial illumination is reduced, saving energy.

Stormwater Treatment - pervious pavers are used in the parking lot with sand and gravel underneath to filter and slow down stromwater run off.  The water is returned to the municipal water system clean. 

Environmental Indoor Air Quality - low VOC paints and stains were used, smoking areas are located outdoors at least 20 feet away from the buildings entrance

Local and Regional Material -  over 50% of the products used were harvested, manufactured and transported within a 500 mile radius of the site

Renewable Energy - Roof mounted Solar Hot Water System, and 8 miles of Geothermal piping below the parking lot

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) - certified wood products are used throughout the building

Water Reduction - low flow toilets and shower heads are installed in the building as well as a water cisterns for landscaping.  Water for the building is reduced by 50%

Ventilation System - underfloor air distribution system installed to increase occupant comfort and indoor air quality

Recycled Content - at least 10% total of all products used on the project contain recycled material

On a personal note, it appears to me that the building is not fully occupied, and that may be because of a combination of factors from the cost of rentals to the economy.  It is a beautiful building and I applaud Wereldhave for its efforts in building a sustainable office space.  The norm for most commercial developers is to build as cheap as possible and maintain code, certainly not with the comfort or health of the occupants in mind.  Sometimes the pioneers get the arrows, but if they preserver, they might just be starting a new frontier. 

McKinney Green Building: http://www.igreenbuild.com/cd_2876.aspx

Wereldhave NV: http://www.wereldhave.com/