Environmentally Sustainable Aspects
Of the new EAPD Hartford Office on 20 Church Street
Healthy Environment for Construction Workers:
From the start, steps were taken to improve the air quality for construction workers during the build-out.
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Use of low VOC Fire Proofing and Duct Sealant adhesives
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Provided staging areas for materials to off-gas prior to installation
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Sticky mats at entryways to minimize tracking in dirt
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Strict clean-up rules using only HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners
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Creation of an Indoor Air Quality Management Plan
Recycling Construction Debris:
Construction and Demolition (C & D) waste is the largest single source of waste debris brought to
landfills, totaling over 136 million tons per year. Much of this waste wood, cardboard, steel and sheetrock
is recyclable. We recycled at least 50% of the C & D waste.
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Developed a written management plan for all C & D waste
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Trained all contractors on recycling protocol
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Created separate collection bins and storage areas
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Supervised waste disposal
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Dedicated recycling areas
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Source separation
Heating, Cooling and Lighting of the Space:
LEED certification requires a minimum level of energy efficiency for the lighting and the heating and
cooling (HVAC) systems. The standard used to measure this comes from the American Society of
Heating, Refrigeration and Air conditioning Engineers, Standard 90.1. Using less energy than stated by
standard 90.1 achieves more LEED credits.
“Green” aspects for the HVAC systems include:
• No use of CFC refrigerants due to their depletion of the ozone layer and contribution to global
warming
• Commissioning plan to verify performance of the designed system
• Efficient lighting system that uses motion detectors and can reduce lighting power density by 15%
below the ASHRAE 90.1 standard
• Separate heating and cooling zones for perimeter and interior offices
The Walls:
Framing the walls with Steel Studs instead of wood 2x4’s provides many advantages:
• Provides added fire resistance compared to wood
• Conserves trees
• Contains 36.5% recycled steel content from scrap metal
• Studs are valuable as scrap metal at the end of their current life
• Can be melted down to become another useful product.
EAPD Hartford – 20 Church Street
Plyboo is a rapidly renewable bamboo product that can be used in a variety of
components including veneers, countertops, flooring, furniture.
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Bamboo grows three times faster than traditional hardwoods and has been used in Asia for
centuries as their main timber source.
Wall board:
The sheetrock used on this project contains 99.5% recycled content.
• Paper facing is 100% post-consumer newsprint and cardboard
• Gypsum is 94.5% post-industrial waste material from coal fired power plants which saves landfill
space
Paint:
Paints and stains can be a major source of Indoor Air pollution. Our project used only LOW VOC
(volatile organic compounds) paints from Benjamin Moore. The popularity of green remodeling has
grown so much in the last five years that all major paint companies feature at least one “eco-paint.”
Lacquered wall panels:
The wood veneer chosen for the conference room entry-ways is Walnut. Care was taken to select wood
that is not hardwood from endangered rainforests. The panels were manufactured in New Jersey and
qualify under LEED criteria as locally manufactured.
Bioglass Panels:
This unique product from Europe is created from 100% post-consumer recycled bottles. The architects
chose to highlight this eco-friendly material as a wall panel instead of its more common use as a countertop.
Wall Panel Fabric:
Knoll Textiles has created a metallic fabric for wall coverings that contains 62% recycled polyester fibers.
In addition, these fabrics are Green Guard Certified as not contributing to indoor air pollution (i.e.
Formaldehyde, VOC’s, phthalate resins)
Drape Fabric:
The Breakroom has a woven metal drape from Cascade Coil Drapery. The steel from which the wire mesh
is woven contains 90% recycled scrap steel of which 25% is post-consumer metal.
Casework:
All the bookcases, shelving and storage cabinets were locally manufactured using Low VOC glues and no
urea-formaldehyde resins.
Plyboo is also used here.
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Plyboo is a rapidly renewable bamboo product that can be used in a variety of components
including veneers, countertops, flooring, furniture.
Flooring (Prep):
All materials used to prepare and level the floor were selected to have the lowest possible amounts of
VOC’s and are compliant with LEED standards.
EAPD Hartford – 20 Church Street
Flooring (Bamboo):
Bamboo is considered a rapidly renewable resource that can be used for flooring, counters, cabinets and
furniture. It grows 3 times faster than hardwoods such as oak, yet has many of the same properties
(hardness, wear resistance). The vertical end-grain style used for flooring at EAPD is a unique
woodworking technique rarely seen in flooring. We selected Smith & Fong Plyboo because it has no added
Formaldehyde as part of its manufacture.
The glue used to hold the floor down has very low VOC’s helping to improve the air quality of the office
environment.
Flooring (Base coving):
The trim between the floor and wall is called base coving. Rather than using conventional PVC-based
coving, which releases Vinyl Chloride gas as it ages, we used two types of non-toxic base coving.
• Roppe brand rubber base cove containing 10% recycled content rubber. It is completely recyclable
if the wall is disassembled and contains no Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC).
• Wood base coving was also used and finished with a low VOC coating
Flooring (Tile): - All the bathrooms have Stone Source’s Trend Q line of tile made from a high
percentage of recycled material (45% for this particular color). In addition the grouting compound does
not contain any VOC compounds.
Flooring (Carpet): This project used two types of carpet, both containing recycled fibers from used
carpet. The carpet also has the Carpet & Rug Institute’s CRI GReen Label +Plus certification as an
additional environmental certification.
• Atlas Koari - carpet backing has 6% post-industrial recycled content
• Bolyu - 6.75% post-consumer recycled content
Flooring (Marmoleum): Areas of the office that require durable, low maintenance flooring such as the
Office Services area, the Servery of the main conference room, and the copy pods, feature Marmoleum, a
100% all natural linoleum. Marmoleum is made from jute fiber, pine tree resin, natural pigments and flax
flour.
Counter Surfaces:
Alkemi - This unique product was be installed in the Breakroom as a countertop surface. It contains
Aluminum scrap metal bonded to a resin base and milled to a desired design. There is a minimum of 35%
post-industrial scrap aluminum and no VOC’s. Alkemi is manufactured in Maryland and the scrap metal is
extracted from Maryland industries, all counting toward “Regional materials” credits for LEED
certification.
Ice Stone - This product was installed in the conference rooms and lounge as a countertop surface. This
solid surface aggregate contains 70 - 75% recycled material and is manufactured in the Bronx, NY.
Furniture:
Our selections for furniture are as discriminating as the wall and floor finishes. Alliance Architecture
specified no Formaldehyde or VOCs in the furniture products. In addition, some furniture from the
previous office were brought over and continue to be used, which conserves natural resources required to
make new furniture. The purchase of new audio / visual, computer and kitchen appliances are specified as
U.S. EPA Energy Star compliant to conserve electricity.
EAPD Hartford – 20 Church Street
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No Added Formaldehyde in particle board of desks, and cabinets
Low VOC glues
Using furniture from existing office for some locations
Energy Star appliances and computers
Water Conservation:
The restrooms have been outfitted with the latest in water conserving technologies. The Men’s room
features waterless urinals that should save 75,000 gallons of water per year. All restrooms also have dual
flush toilets – lifting the handle (1.1 gpf) eliminates liquid and paper waste, saving ½ gal of water and
pushing the handle down eliminates solid and paper waste. The sink faucets all have water conserving
aerators to reduce the amount of water without reducing the force of the stream.
• Dual flush toilets (1.1 or 1.6 gal / flush)
• Waterless Urinals (0 gallons per flush)
• 0.5 gpm faucets for restroom sinks
Commuting:
Commuting has a large environmental impact in terms of noise, pollution, resource use and wasted time.
Our green office is located within 1/4 mile of six major commuter bus routes and within 1/2 mile walk to
the Amtrak train station. In addition there are:
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Bike racks for biking to work
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Shower facilities and lockers
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Parking spaces for carpoolers
Commissioning:
Prior to construction an independent consultant reviewed design documentation in order to limit potential
corrections during construction. This reduced costs associated with changes. During construction all
heating, cooling, plumbing and lighting systems were reviewed for completeness and then tested to ensure
they perform as designed. Commissioning ensures the energy efficient equipment is operating at its peak.
As part of the Enhanced Commissioning credit for LEED, the occupants were trained on how the systems
work and what to expect from them.
EAPD Hartford – 20 Church Street
Glossary
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PVC - Poly Vinyl Chloride - a common form of plastic used in many interior (vinyl upholstery)
and exterior (vinyl siding) building materials. When new it “off-gasses” releasing vinyl chloride
vapors and phthalates into the surrounding air. When vinyl objects are burned, for example, in a
trash-to-energy plant, dioxins are created. Dioxin is known to cause more types of cancer than
any other man-made chemical, and to bio-accumulate in all lifeforms on the planet. Dioxins have
even been found in seals living in the Arctic Circle.
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Formaldehyde - Formaldehyde based glues and resins are commonly found in particle board
furniture, countertops and carpeting. These products also off-gas and release formaldehyde to
the air. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause sore throats, headache, vision changes, asthma and
in some cases cancer of the nose.
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VOCs - Volatile Organic Compounds are substances used to help make paints, glues, coatings,
sealants spread more easily and dry more quickly. Their main purpose is to evaporate into the air.
Toluene, Acetone, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, and Stoddard Solvent are chemicals considered to be
VOC’s. Many VOC’s have been shown to cause cancers such as leukemia, and liver cancer.
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LEED - Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is a third party certification
program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of
high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they
need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED
promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key
areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy
efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
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USGBC - The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders
working to make green buildings accessible to everyone within a generation. This organization
certifies green buildings according to a consensus based set of guidelines.