Phipps Conservatory's Center for Sustainable Landscapes Attains BREEAM Outstanding

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory has attained BREEAM Outstanding certification. The 24,350-sf research, education, and administration facility is the first project in the United States to be awarded the rating, and is the first in the world to meet four other sustainability standards, including The Living Building Challenge, WELL Building Platinum, SITES Platinum, and LEED Platinum. Generating all of its own energy while treating and reusing all water captured onsite, the net-zero structure features geothermal wells, a vertical axis wind turbine, a high-performance building envelope, photovoltaic arrays, a rooftop energy recovery unit, and passive cooling, heating, and lighting technologies. The Center for Sustainable Landscapes, which stands on a former brownfield site, optimizes occupant wellbeing with an integrated air quality monitoring and conditioning system, operable windows, biophilic art, and abundant indoor greenery. The project team included The Design Alliance Architects, SmithGroup, structural engineer Atlantic Engineering Services, civil and water engineer Civil & Environmental Consultants, MEP engineer CJL Engineering, commissioning agents H.F. Lenz Company and Pitchford Diversified, and pre-construction manager Massaro Corporation. Energy and sustainability consultants included evolveEA, 7group, and Sundrive.