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LEED Gold Hospital by ArchitectureWeek Because of unusually strict technical, mechanical, and air quality requirements, hospitals are one of the most difficult building types to design sustainably. Yet the Providence Newberg Medical Center by Mahlum Architects has achieved a LEED Gold rating — the first hospital in the United States to do so. It is also the first U.S. hospital to acquire enough renewable electric power to meet all its needs. The key to success was planning for environmental concerns from the beginning, at the earliest goal-setting stage. The architects held collaborative planning workshops with administrative and departmental focus groups and identified environmental and resource stewardship as one of Providence Health System's top five core values. They explored diverse green strategies and systems in the context of the hospital's business and facilities. The resulting 181,000-square-foot (16,800-square-meter) facility features high-efficiency building systems, site stormwater management, roof runoff detention, locally extracted and manufactured materials, occupant sensors and controls, daylighting throughout, and low-VOC interior finishes. Importantly, many of these "green" features, when integrated at the planning stage, offer double benefits. For instance, mechanical systems at Providence Newberg simultaneously achieve high energy efficiency and enhance infection control efforts by using 100 percent outside air. >>> Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum...
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