First “green-rise” commercial office building announced for Los Angeles

High-rise buildings tend to evoke a love-hate response, and being green is usually not a strong feature. However a new high-rise is being planned in California which aims to join the handful of tall buildings in North America to achieve the U.S. Green Buildings Council’s LEED Platinum certification. The 37-storey Century City Center will integrate the best new engineering and technological practices and innovations to deliver the first new build LEED Platinum “green-rise” in Los Angeles and Southern California. It promises, say developers JMB Realty Corporation, to effectively create a new benchmark in sustainable performance for the commercial office market in America’s second-largest urban region.

When completed, the project will maximize daylight, minimize solar heat gain, and reduce mechanical air conditioning use by the installation of one of the country’s largest double skin facades, a high-performing central plant that produces ice at night to melt during the day for cooling, and a passively cooled lobby using fresh air and a high-tech chilled lobby floor. It will also feature one of the largest habitable green roofs in the U.S. to minimize the heat island effect that is a major cause of energy usage and waste associated with the operation of commercial buildings as well as recapture storm water for landscape irrigation.

Various innovative techniques will be used to minimize excess water use, including the reuse of greywater for non-potable demands, which translates into high levels of energy and water efficiency and will serve as a demonstration project for Southern California buildings.

Additionally, the project will reduce emissions through a Mobility Hub and a smartphone mobile application to encourage and connect public transportation, rideshare and alternative means of commuting to the entire community.

The project is JMB Realty Corporation’s Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) Commitment to Action, explained JMB Senior Vice President Patrick Meara at the recent 2013 CGI America meeting: “JMB is proud to join the Clinton Global Initiative with its model for green development that will benefit the environment and the economy while putting people back to work,” he said.

“The commitment includes a partnership with two of the largest construction trade unions in the country to provide a green construction-training program that will help support future projects and employ 4,600 construction workers, demonstrating that sustainability and economic development are possible when people work together towards a shared prosperity.”