For its 15 months of existence, the Darien Librarys building has always been green. Now, its officially gold. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification to the library Monday. It is the first public library in New England to receive such a high rating, and the first in the state to be certified at all.
The Green Building Council awards LEED certification to construction projects based on independent evaluations. The group looks for environmentally responsible measures in five categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. It also gives extra points for Innovation in Design and regional factors.
The library started earning points toward LEED certification from day one, by selecting an old gas station as its location. The contractors had to remove years of contamination from petroleum and other chemical spills before laying the foundation. In the construction process, they used only locally created materials with low levels of Volatile Organic Compounds, which means they will not harm the environment or human health. Today, the building has a number of green features, such as a geothermal heating and cooling system, a drainage system designed to catch storm-water runoff and sensors to turn off electricity in unoccupied areas.
When planning for the building began in 2006, Library Director Louise Berry promised that the structure would be environmentally sound, and said she hoped to gain some LEED certification. Now, the building has the one of the highest levels of eco-friendliness. She thanked the more than 1,650 local families who donated the $24 million to construct the 54,000-square foot building.
We are thrilled that Darien Library has received the USGBs LEED Gold certification, Berry said in a press release Tuesday. We are grateful for the enormous support the Library has received and LEED certification is an important validation of this commitment to the future of Darien.
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