Horizon at Playa Vista, a modern urban office development — 466,000 square feet in the west end of Playa Vista — has been awarded Gold Leed Core & Shell certification by the 17-year-old U.S. Green Building Council, the first ground-up office building construction in Los Angeles to achieve the distinction in this category.
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Horizon at Playa Vista consists of two, five-story buildings surrounded by pedestrian pathways and open courtyard spaces.
Two years into a recession that has choked development worldwide, more than 6,500 people live in Playa Vista, the first mixed-use community to be built in West Los Angeles in the last 50 years.
The office building’s proximity to the more than 3,100 homes already built in the urban community earned the project credits toward the certification, as it will bring new jobs close to where people live. The team also demonstrated a commitment to reducing car trips through an alternative transportation program that includes preferred parking for carpooling vehicles and bicycle storage facilities.
Winning Strategy
The project team implemented a comprehensive storm water management program capable of removing 80 percent of all suspended solids from storm water runoff around the building.
Horizon was developed by Lincoln Property Co., and ASB Real Estate Investments.
“Securing Gold Leed certification represents a significant milestone in our effort to transform Horizon into one of the greenest office buildings in Southern California,” said David Binswanger, Executive Vice President of Lincoln Property Co.
Leed is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the U.S. Green Building Council’s primary rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy-efficient and high-performing buildings. The Leed Core & Shell category is typically reserved for those projects where the developer does not control all aspects of the building’s design and construction. There is an understanding that some tenant-related systems are not determined by the building owner.
Horizon at Playa Vista will use renewable energy sources to power 70 percent of the building’s core and shell electricity needs, which will be minimized by the use of high-efficiency windows and reduced lighting density. The team was also rewarded for diverting nearly 95% of on-site generated construction waste from landfills, sending the waste instead to receiving agencies for recycled materials.
The building’s indoor air quality management program includes: adequate outdoor air ventilation and fresh air intake volumes; guidelines for smoking around building openings and intakes, a CO2 monitoring system; and indoor chemical and pollutant source control measures, all of which enhance indoor air quality and contribute to the comfort and well-being of future occupants.
For information, visit www.usgbc.org/LEED.
