SEATTLE, WA – GVA Kidder Mathews’ Sustainability Practice, in conjunction with SkB Architects, were appointed to design an effective green office for PATH, an international nonprofit organization. PATH’s new headquarters office, located in the South Lake Union area in downtown Seattle, has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.
The design team prioritized office layout and use of sustainable building materials. The space has an open floor-plan with extensive windows creating light-filled spaces, conducive to energy efficiency. Twenty-eight percent of the materials used in the building project came from recycled sources. To minimize toxins in the work environment, low volatile organic compound materials were used whenever possible. The office achieved a 35 percent water reduction when compared to similar buildings. Ninety-four percent of the equipment and appliances in the space are energy efficient.
Certification was established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. Rick Fedrizzi, the USGBC’s president, CEO, and founding chair said, “With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC’s vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation. As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, PATH is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement.”
About GVA Kidder Mathews: GVA Kidder Mathews’ Sustainability Practice has certified numerous LEED projects under the LEED Commercial Interiors designation and the LEED New Construction Designation. Projects have varied from high-rise apartment buildings to office tenant improvement projects and have been certified at all levels including platinum, gold, silver and certified.
GVA Kidder Mathews is one of the largest independently owned commercial real estate firms on the West Coast, with over 400 real estate professionals and staff in 9 offices in Washington, Oregon, and California. GVA Kidder Mathews provides brokerage, appraisal, property management, consulting, project and construction management, and sustainability consulting services. The firm performed $6 billion in transactions over the last 3 years, currently conducts 1,000 appraisals annually, and manages over 22 million square feet of space. For more information, go to: www.gvakm.com
About LEED: LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. For more information, go to: www.usgbc.org
For inquiries, please contact Karen Benoit at 206.296.9600 or email: kbenoit@kiddermathews.com
