HOUSTON, Texas (April 27, 2006) The Astronaut Quarantine Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston has been awarded LEED Certification. This is the first JSC project to receive certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Three other projects at JSC are being designed with LEED Silver Certification as a goal.

The JSC has adopted a policy requiring LEED Certification for all new construction and major renovations because NASA views sustainability as an essential way to reduce mission risks such as regulatory threats, restrictions on activity, rising energy costs, and natural disasters, according to Ed Faircloth, a LEED Accredited Professional and Gilbane project manager at NASA/JSC.

The 12-bedroom Astronaut Quarantine Facility is a replacement building for one built in the early 1960s. It is equipped with private baths, kitchen and workout room, and features a medical exam room in which astronauts will receive pre- and post-flight exams. It also will be used as an isolation facility for flight crews in the three to four days prior to shuttle flights.

"The new facility was used by the Space Shuttle 114 crew prior to their last mission without any incidents or revisions. This is because of the extra reviews and coordination required to achieve LEED Certification," Faircloth says.

Gilbane provided design phase, bid and award phase and construction management services for this project. For the last 17 years Gilbane has been providing a variety of services for NASA, including LEED-NC Certification, supporting the ongoing facility management, construction management and new/renovated facility program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.