Dec 19 2009
Carrier Corp.'s Environmental Market Solutions, Inc. (EMSI®), an environmental and green building consulting company, worked with Siemens Real Estate to provide sustainable design and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification consulting to the Siemens production facility in Gebze outside Istanbul, Turkey.
The facility is the first manufacturing and office building in Turkey to be awarded LEED Gold for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). EMSI is a subsidiary of Carrier Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp. ( UTX).
The initial phase of construction at Siemens Gebze includes a 350,000 square foot mixed use building, which will be used to produce a variety of electronic equipment. "The design of the Siemens Production Facility is another significant first in LEED certification for EMSI," commented Ken Langer, president, EMSI. "It was a privilege to support the first LEED gold certification in Turkey."
Following EMSI's recommendations, Siemens incorporated many green building strategies into the project to conserve energy and water and to optimize the workplace environment. "Energy use reduction was a primary goal for the project; the facility will use almost 30 percent less energy than a comparable building," explained Langer. "A sophisticated heat-recapture system, coupled with high efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, intelligent lighting design, and solar-domestic hot water are key features of the Siemens facility."
One of the most environmentally responsible features of the building is the nearly closed-loop water use system. Rainwater falling on the roof is directed into a large cistern to be used for the building's non-potable water needs. From the holding tank, the water is directed to an on-site wastewater treatment plant, where it is treated to secondary standards, and then used for landscape irrigation needs, resulting in 72 percent less water consumption than a comparable building. The facility grounds are planted with native and adapted species that require a fraction of the water of a traditional landscape plan. All other rainwater falling on the site is directed into "bio-swales" - special vegetated depressions in the landscape - where runoff is infiltrated into the ground and naturally filtered.
Other highlights of the green design include measures to promote employee health and safety. High air ventilation rates, low volatile organic compound (VOC) materials, and rigorous carbon dioxide monitoring are employed. EMSI also helped Siemens achieve its goals of reducing the site's heat-island effect and increased vegetated "green space" around the building. According to Cemil Yaman, the LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional) at Siemens Real Estate who worked with EMSI on this project, "Siemens will use the Gebze project as a model for future facilities in Turkey."
"For nearly twenty years, Carrier has been incorporating sustainability into its products and operations. We are pleased to leverage that expertise together with EMSI to offer innovative green building design services," said John Mandyck, Carrier's vice president for sustainability & environmental strategies. He noted that Carrier is the only company in the world to be a founding member of the U.S., China and India Green Building Councils.
Source: http://www.carrier.com/