Phipps CSL on Its Way to Achieving Living Building Challenge

Phipps boasts the title of “most energy efficient conservatory in the world”, and their ongoing commitment to sustainability is evidenced by their most recent project, the Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL). This 24,000 sf project has earned four stars under the SITESTM 2009 landscape rating system (the first project to achieve this level of certification), LEED NC v2.2 Platinum certification and the International Living Building Institute’s Net Zero Energy Building certification, and is anticipating achieving “living” status under the Living Building Challenge (LBC).  A series of integrative design charrettes, materials choices optimization informed by the ATHENA® Impact Estimator for Buildings, energy modeling, daylighting analysis, and measurement and verification services provided by 7group assisted CSL in its efforts to meet these standards.  As the centerpiece of Phipps Conservatory’s expansion project, CSL was designed by The Design Alliance Architects to maximize efficiency and sustainability. To learn more about the strategies and technologies engaged by CSL, please visit the CSL webpage. This project and its design process are also highlighted in several videos by 7group partner Tom Keiter, including Performance by Design, Phipps Conservatory: Sustainable Building and The Evolving Green Story of Phipps: A Living Building Takes Shape, which can be found at the link above and in 7group’s video resources.