Moseley Architects, a pioneer in the design of justice facilities, declared that the Green Building Certification Institute has presented LEED Gold certification to the firm’s new Judicial Center in Rockingham County. This new facility is distinguished as the first LEED Gold justice facility in the Eastern United States.
Located in Wentworth, North Carolina, this 175,400 sq.ft facility is designed to offer sophisticated court facilities with spacious, featured accommodations for the county's law enforcement departments. The maximum and minimum detainees can be lodged in the 300-bed detention facility.
High performance design principles have been devised by Rockingham County, in order to make this facility more efficient, in terms of cost and water. This will facilitate the progress of the building’s operational costs.
Green building strategies were carefully considered by the company and the strategies were integrated in the building’s design, which facilitated LEED Gold certification. In association with the eminent Branch & Associates, the project's general contractor, the building has been designed with outstanding features such as lighting, envelope strategies to minimize energy expenditures by 28%, rainwater cisterns, and energy-efficient HVAC systems. Energy Star compliant roof membrane is installed to reduce the local heat island effect, thereby maintaining the building’s temperature. The local building materials help in maintaining the state economy and also minimize transportation impacts on the environment.
According to the company’s sustainability coordinator on the project, John Nichols, the achievement of LEED certification owes to the hard work and support offered by team members in the development of facility in terms of construction, design, and operations in a cost-effective way.
Source: http://www.moseleyarchitects.com/