News Release
For more information, contact:
Jill Bonamusa, (212) 614-3354
jill.bonamusa@stvinc.com
Axel Bang, (914) 234-5433
abang@axelbang.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL APPLIES FOR A SILVER LEED, BRINGS HOME A GOLD
Meticulous Documentation is the Key to Upgrade
PHILADELPHIA July, 2009 – When you go for the silver, but bring home the gold, it is cause to
celebrate. That’s what happened when STV, the construction manager for a sleek, new $28-million
elementary school called the Commodore Barry School in Philadelphia, checked off all the application
requirements for what it and the architects hoped would merit a Silver Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
To everyone’s delight, however, when the application was returned, the 94,000 square foot school had
been awarded a Gold LEED certification, the highest ranking ever in the School District of Philadelphia
(SDP).
George M. Gottuso, STV senior project manager, said, “This project proves that if you document well,
you can upgrade your LEED certification. We accomplished better documentation by offering
contractors financial incentives to submit purchase orders and invoices on an ongoing monthly basis,
rather than after project completion.” Architectural design of the school was provided by The Sheward
Partnership with RBJ Architects.
That documentation incentive applied whether for a bicycle rack (one sustainable site category LEED
point), the entire heating and cooling system (multiple energy and atmosphere points), green materials
for the project’s interiors, or for recycled concrete, steel, paper and other materials. When it came time
to submit the LEED application, STV, the Seward Partnership and the SDP had the documents and
details that helped earn points in all six LEED categories.
The angular, cheerfully colored yellow and grey Commodore Barry School has special significance to
Philadelphia. The original school tragically burned in 2006, and the school district wanted the 650 preK through 8th grade students back in their seats and learning their ABCs by September, 2008. This put
the building team under intense pressure to complete the project in a very tight 18 months.
The project was completed on time and under budget. The school children were using the classrooms,
library, gym and cafeteria, as well as the art, vocal, computer and science labs at the beginning of the
2008 school year.
(more)
News Release
For more information, contact:
Jill Bonamusa, (212) 614-3354
jill.bonamusa@stvinc.com
Axel Bang, (914) 234-5433
abang@axelbang.com
Several years ago, the SDP – the fifth largest school district in the nation with more than 220,000
students – embarked on an aggressive $1.5 billion five-year capital improvement program. Some 71
percent of the district’s schools were more than 50 years old. STV has been overseeing 13 school
projects in Philadelphia worth over $212-million. Robert McAllister was STV’s project manager for the
Commodore Barry School.
There are six LEED categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and
resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design. Each category has a check list of
topics and points, and the Commodore School earned 45 points, which merits Gold certification. Only a
Platinum LEED certification is higher, and it requires a minimum of 52 points. STV has more than 150
LEED accredited professionals on staff.
With more than 1,600 employees in 31 offices, STV is a leader in providing construction management,
engineering, architectural, planning and environmental services for buildings and facilities,
transportation systems, and infrastructure. STV is ranked 49th in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500
Design Firm survey. STV is 100 percent employee-owned and maintains a web site at www.stvinc.com.
###