Taking the LEED
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This photo shows the interior of the first LEED-certified building in Rutland County. The building on Allen Street in Rutland houses Central Vermont Eye Care along with Vermont Optical Corp. ALBERT J. MARRO / RUTLAND HERALD |
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Published: January 20, 2010
Rutland eye care building becomes first
in county to gain green certification.
By STEPHANIE M. PETERS
STAFF WRITER
Central Vermont Eye Care's new building on Allen Street has earned distinction as the first LEED-certified green building in the county.
Designed by NBF Architects and built by Russell Construction Services, the building at 69 Allen St. is one of many LEED projects in the county, however it was the first to pursue certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, which was verified last month by the Green Building Certification Institute.
The distinction, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building rating system developed by the USGBC that is earned by meeting a certain number of criteria that can include water and energy conservation, recycling and the building's impact and placement in the broader community.
For Dr. Praveen Keshava, an ophthalmologist who owns the building and the practice, it was quite a leap into environmentalism.
"To be honest, I wasn't the most environmentally friendly guy before moving to Vermont," said Keshava, who has worked in Rutland since 2006. "But I liked the idea."
When Keshava decided to move from his building on Stratton Avenue, he approached NBF Architects to design his new facility. It was Edward J. Clark, a partner and project architect for the firm, who suggested pursuing LEED certification to Keshava.
"At one time I think it was a really esoteric idea, but now it's becoming more commonplace," Clark said. "I've noticed more projects in the public sector that mention designing to LEED standards if not pursuing certification.
"In our future projects, it will be engrained in the way we do things," he said. "We should be designing to these standards anyway."
The new, red brick, one-story building, which also houses Vermont Optical, features a warm interior filled with natural light and painted in warm earth tones. At 4,900 square feet, the building includes a large waiting area, as well as offices, eight exam rooms and two treatment rooms, the second of which Keshava said he hopes to soon set up for Lasik eye surgeries.
Helping to earn Central Vermont Eye Care its 28 points toward LEED certification were its location within an existing development, a 41 percent reduction in water usage, 36 percent reduction in its energy consumption and use of recycled and regionally produced construction materials, according to Clark. Additionally, more than 96 percent of the project's construction waste was recycled - to the point where the construction crews took home scrap wood generated from the project for burning, he said.
Although the ophthalmology practice moved into the building during the summer, Keshava said he won't have an idea of how much the design has helped save on his utility bills. However, he said it's not difficult to notice the building is a lot less drafty than his old practice.
"I definitely believe (building a LEED-certified building was) the right thing to do and I believe more people will be doing this with their buildings in the future," he said.
stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com
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