Boise, ID -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/10/2006 -- The U.S. Green Building Council has Certified the Front 5 Building under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System® for New Construction and Major Renovations. This distinctive renovated warehouse adapted for office use in downtown Boise is the first building in Idaho to achieve LEED-NC Certification.*

The LEED Green Building Rating System for New Construction and Major Renovations (LEED-NC) is a rating system designed to guide the design and construction of high-performance commercial projects according to a set of environmentally conscious and energy efficient standards.

Located in downtown Boise, the team of Oaas Laney, LLC, cole + poe architects, and Petra, Inc. transformed this vacant 16,500sf warehouse originally built in the 1970s into an office space. Achieving LEED Certification was always a goal of the design team.

"After attending a conference in which Rick Fedrizzi [President/CEO of the USGBC] argued the business case for building green, I knew immediately the Front 5 Building would be a perfect test case for us to try LEED Certification in Boise," says Erik Oaas of Oaas Laney, LLC, developer of the Front 5 Building.

The LEED-NC Certification means the Front 5 Building received credit for complying with the following requirements:
- Efficient and sustainable use of the building site
- Water efficiency
- Energy efficiency
- Use of recycled, local and regional materials and resources
- Improved indoor environmental quality
- Innovation and design process

Specific examples of these credits include:
- Building reuse of 76% of the building shell reduces the development footprint & increases urban density.
- Mechanical systems are designed to improve energy efficiency by 25% over a standard building.
- Use of a high albedo (highly reflective) roofing material reduces heat-island effects often found in urban settings and assists with the energy efficiency of the building.
- Large windows provide daylight and views to over 75% of all indoor spaces, reducing the need for electrical lighting and improving the indoor environmental quality.
- Extensive use of construction materials with recycled content, such as cocoon insulation made up of 80% post-consumer content, tile with 50% post-industrial content and carpet with 10% post-industrial content and suspended ceiling tiles with 3% post-consumer and 24% post-industrial content.
- Resource reuse of 10' long Douglas Fir beams found in the existing warehouse that were creatively reused in the construction of the mezzanine areas.

It is expected that up-front costs to construct this "green" building will be absorbed over the building's lifecycle due to savings in reduced maintenance costs, lower utility bills and higher tenant occupancy rates.

"We wanted to design a space that would make a statement that sustainable design can be attractive, forward thinking and most of all practical," says Stan Cole, Principal Architect and LEED Accredited Professional of cole + poe architects.

The building is designed to improve productivity of it occupants, create value and savings for tenants and benefit the Boise community through urban redevelopment and environmental awareness.

*The Front 5 Building is the second LEED Certified building in Idaho after the Ada County Courthouse and Administration Building which was Certified using LEED for Existing Buildings.

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