| There's
always something GREEN going
on at TLC |
Vincent McNish is TLC's Newest
LEED AP
|
|

Vincent
McNish, PE, Project Mechanical
Engineer at the Miami Office,
has passed the U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become TLCs
newest LEED Accredited Professional.
He is Miamis 7th LEED
AP and TLCs 75th.
|
Jacksonville Division Director
Mark Gelfo Re-Elected to USGBC
North Florida Board
|
|

Jacksonville
Division Director Mark Gelfo,
PE, LEED AP, CxA, has been
re-elected to another term
on the board of the U.S. Green
Building Council North Florida
Chapter. Mark played a key
role in organizing the chapter
and is a former president.
This was the North Florida
Chapter's first election in
which all of the members could
participate in the growth
and development of the chapter.
|
UNF Parking Services Building
Earns LEED Silver
|
|
The
University of North Florida's
Parking Services Building
has achieved LEED® Silver
Certification in the U.S.
Green Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design green building rating
program. This is a remarkable
accomplishment, given the
projects small size
(3,000 sf) and budget, and
that it was not originally
intended to be a LEED building.
noted Jacksonville Division
Director Mark Gelfo, PE, LEED-AP,
CxA. Close coordination among
the team members, including
the universitys facilities
people, TLC engineers, project
architect Tom Norman of Ebert
Norman Brady Architects and
project contractor Ty Bliss
of W.G. Mills, helped keep
the project on track. TLC
provided mechanical, electrical,
plumbing, fire protection,
and LEED consulting services
for the building, which was
constructed at a cost of $1.2
million.
|
Lehigh Valley MOB Achieves
LEED Silver
|
|
Hot
on the heels of Peace River
Elementary School achieving
USGBC LEED Silver comes news
that Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest
Medical Office Building in
Allentown, PA, has achieved
USGBC LEED for Core and Shell
Pilot Silver certification!
The project achieved 33 points
one shy of Gold! TLC
served as LEED consultant
and commissioning agent on
the 4-story medical building.
Hearty congratulations to
Nashvilles Kim Shinn
and Victoria Robertson for
all of their hard work. This
is TLCs 14th LEED certified
building, second LEED healthcare
building, and first LEED certified
building outside of Florida.
|
Peace River Elementary School
is TLC's "Lucky 13"
LEED Building
|
|
Peace
River Elementary School in
Charlotte Harbor has achieved
U.S. Green Building Council
LEED® Silver Certification.
TLC teamed with Reynolds,
Smith and Hills of Ft. Myers
for the project. Some of the
sustainable features are high-performance
chillers and air handlers,
low-flow faucets and toilets,
motion-activated lights and
indirect lighting. In addition,
the ceiling and floor tiles,
the carpeting, the filters
on the air conditioning, ventilation
and heating equipment, and
the building's structural
steel framing are all recycled
or renewable materials.The
building is TLC's 13th LEED
certified building and the
third TLC-engineered Charlotte
County school to be LEED certified
since March. Hats off
to the Ft. Myers office, which
provided structural, mechanical,
electrical, plumbing, fire
protection design services,
and the Deerfield Beach office,
which commissioned the building.
|
Charlotte County Schools Laud
Ft. Myers Green Team
|
|

Shown left to right: Jeffrey
Stash, James Wing, James Koehane,
Brett Sands, and Michael Head
from TLC's Ft. Myers office
Members
of the Ft. Myers sustainable
design team are getting to
be regulars at Charlotte County
school board meetings. For
the second time in three months,
Ft. Myers engineers were special
guests at the meeting to receive
a crystal USGBC LEED plaque,
this one for Neil Armstrong
Elementary School in Port
Charlotte. With the March
certification of Baker Center
Early Childhood Center, Charlotte
County School District has
the distinction of having
the first public school and
the first elementary school
in Florida to be LEED certified
- and TLC provided engineering
and LEED consulting services
for both! Of the 34 LEED-certified
buildings in Florida, 12 of
them - 35% -- are TLC projects.
|
Deerfield Beach Expands its
Green Team with New Mechanical
Engineer
|
|

Alvaro
Gonzalez, EI, LEED AP, has
joined the Deerfield Beach
staff as a mechanical engineer.
With a bachelor's degree in
mechanical engineering from
America University in Bogata,
Colombia, and nine years of
MEP experience, Alvaro brings
strong HVAC design skills
to our Deerfield Beach team.
|
Charlotte
County's Neil Armstrong Elementary
School Becomes 1st LEED Certified
Elementary School in Florida
|
|

Neil
Armstrong Media Room/Photo
Courtesy of Reynolds, Smith
and Hills, Inc.
Charlotte
County's new Neil Armstrong
replacement elementary school
in Port Charlotte has become
the first elementary school
in Florida to achieve U.S.
Green Building Council LEED
certification. The certification
comes on the heels of Charlotte
County's Baker Center Early
Childhood Center becoming
the first LEED certified public
school. Neil Armstrong and
Baker were two of the six
Charlotte County schools destroyed
by Hurricane Charley in August
2004. TLC teamed with Reynolds,
Smith and Hills architect
and provided sustainable mechanical,
electrical, structural, plumbing
and fire protection design,
LEED consulting, energy modeling
and commissioning services.
Owens-Ames-Kimball served
as construction manager. Neil
Armstrong is TLC's 12th LEED
certified building; in fact,
of the 34 LEED certified buildings
in Florida, TLC has provided
engineering or commissioning
services for 35%.
|
Bob
Ricketts Is Named Tallahassee
Division Director
|
|

Robert
Ricketts, PE, LEED AP, CxA,
has been named Director of
the Tallahassee office. A
firm principal whose most
recent role was senior electrical
engineer, Bob has been a staple
of the Tallahassee staff for
more than 15 years. He has
lived in Tallahassee since
1981 and is well known in
the engineering and architectural
communities for his technical
excellence, responsiveness
to clients, and professionalism.
Bob has more than 36 years
of experience in all aspects
of electrical engineering
and project management. His
portfolio includes numerous
buildings at Florida State
and Florida A&M universities,
Pat Thomas Law Enforcement
Academy, the Tallahassee Memorial
Hospital campus, the Department
of Management Services, and
the Leon County School District.
He is a registered Professional
Engineer in Florida, Georgia,
and Oklahoma. As an avid proponent
of sustainable engineering,
Bob is an accredited professional
in the U.S. Green Building
Councils Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design program and is an ACG-certified
commissioning authority. His
sustainable projects include
the LEED Silver certified
City of Tallahassee Solid
Waste Facility and the Florida
State University Life Science
Research Center, which is
registered for certification.
|
Mark
Gelfo Appointed to ACG Board
|
|

Jacksonville
Division Director Mark Gelfo,
PE, LEED AP, CxA, has been
appointed to the board of
the American Commissioning
Group (ACG), the nations
leading association of certified
commissioning authorities.
Mark learned of the appointment
while attending the ACGs
annual conference in Las Vegas,
where he gave a well-received
presentation on Commissioning
of Emergency Power Systems.
Commissioning is an integral
part of todays high-performance
and sustainable buildings
because it verifies that the
complex building systems and
processes work as designed.
A leader in sustainable design
in Northeast Florida, Mark
is Immediate Past President
and Education Committee Chair
for the USGBC North Florida
Chapter.
|
Matthew
Craig Passes LEED AP Exam
|
|

Matthew
Craig, a structural EI in
the Cocoa office, has passed
the U.S. Green Building Council's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) exam to become
a LEED Accredited Professional.
Matt is the 7th LEED AP in
Cocoa and only the 6th structural
engineer at TLC to acquire
LEED accreditation.
|
John
Riner Acquires LEED AP
|
|

John
Riner, PE, MBA, LEED AP, electrical
project manager in Cocoa,
has passed the U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED
Accredited Professional. He
is Cocoas 6th LEED AP.
Johns projects include
the Toho Water Authority Administration
Building in Kissimmee and
the Cocoa Utilities Transmission
and Distribution Warehouse
in Cocoa, both of which are
seeking LEED certification.
|
Three
TLC Staffers Become Certified
Commissioning Authorities |
|

From Left: Ryan Fryman,
Richard Lindburg and Al LaPera
Jacksonville
Electrical Project Engineer
Ryan Fryman, Tallahassee Electrical
Project Engineer Richard Lindburg,
and Tampa Senior Project Manager
Al LaPera all passed the ACG
commissioning authority exam
to become certified CxA's.
The test was offered at the
Annual American Commissioning
Group (ACG) Conference last
week. TLC now has 16 certified
commissioning authorities.
The certification is especially
important because commissioning
is an integral part of the
U.S. Green Building Council's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) green building
certification.
|
Charlotte
County School Board Salutes TLC
Ft. Myers |
|
Tthe
Charlotte County School Board
at their April meeting recognized
the outstanding LEED contributions
provided by our Ft. Myers
staffers by presenting them
a framed U.S. Green Building
Council LEED for New Construction
Certificate and a USGBC glass
plaque for the recently completed
Baker Center in Punta Gorda.
Brett McKinstry, Jim Keohane,
Mike Head, Jacob Kaye, Lawrin
Ellis, and Jim Wing were on
hand to receive the certificate
and plaque.

Shown left to right: Lawrin
Ellis, Jim Wing, Jim Keohane,
Mike Head, Jacob Kaye and
Brett McKinstry.

Ft. Myers staffers and other
members of the USGBC LEED-Certified
Baker Center design team received
framed LEED certificates and
a LEED plaque from the Charlotte
County School Board.
|
Baker
Center Achieves USGBC LEED Certification |
|

The
Baker Center Early Childhood
Center in Punta Gorda has
become the first public school
building in Florida to achieve
U.S. Green Building Council
LEED certification. The early
childhood center and home
of Charlotte County's Head
Start and Early Head Start
Program was destroyed by Hurricane
Charley in 2004 and was housed
in modular classrooms ever
since. "It's exciting
to know we have a beautiful,
state-of-the-art facility
that is not only safe for
our children but environmentally
friendly," said Baker
Center Manager Debi Bell.
TLC Ft. Myers teamed with
Parker/Mudgett/Smith Architects
and provided structural, mechanical,
electrical, plumbing, fire
protection, communications,
and technology design services
and LEED administration for
the building, while TLC Deerfield
Beach provided commissioning
services. Baker Center is
TLC's 11th LEED Certified
building.
|
Donia
Bessa Acquires LEED AP |
|
Mechanical
Engineer Donia Bessa has passed
her Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design exam
to become a LEED Accredited
Professional. Her business
card is filling up fast
shes also a registered
Professional Engineer, a Certified
Plumbing Designer and a Healthcare
Facility Design Professional.
Donia is the Healthcare Division's
fifth LEED AP.
|
Angel
Lorenzo a LEEDer at the Miami
Office |
|
Miami
Division Director Angel Lorenzo,
PE, passed the U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED
Accredited Professional. Angel
is the Miami Office's sixth
LEED AP and TLCs 75th.
Among the office's LEED-registered
projects is Biscayne Landing,
the $730 million master-planned
community in North Miami.
|
Brett
Sands Is TLC's Newest LEED AP |
|

Senior
Electrical Engineer Brett
Sands, PE, has passed the
U.S. Green Building Councils
LEED® exam to become a
LEED Accredited Professional.
Brett is the ninth LEED AP
at the Ft. Myers office and
the 73rd LEED AP firm-wise.
LEED stands for Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design.
|
|

|
Jacksonville
Staffers Live, Work and Even Dress
Green |
|

LEED Accredited Professionals
from TLCs Jacksonville
office show off their green
TLC LEED shirts. All 15 staffers
passed the U.S. Green Building
Councils Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to attain the
LEED AP credential. TLC rewards
each employee who becomes
LEED accredited with these
specially designed shirts.
The plaque in the picture
is for the offices Silver
LEED CI certification. Shown
above (from front row center
going counterclockwise) are
Emily Carrier, Rafi Wartan,
Leonard Spears, Harry Waller,
Dick Worth, Ben Cole, Ryan
Fryman, Mike Giordano, DJ
Parker, Mark Gelfo, Ben Roseborough,
Butch Tucker, Mark Murphy,
Mac Coble, and Gerald Versluys.
|
Rachel
Cook Kicks Off the New Year with
a PE |
|

Mechanical
Engineer Rachel Cook got a
nice gift for New Years
she passed Floridas
professional engineering exam
to became a registered PE.
Rachel, who is also a LEED
Accredited Professional, joined
TLCs Orlando Division
in 2005. Last summer, her
commitment to green building
design spurred her to transfer
to Green Guides Sustainability
for Architecture, a TLC company
specializing in sustainable
design and LEED® consulting.
|
Ft.
Myers' Carmine Rende Earns LEED
Accreditation |
|
Associate
and Senior Mechanical Project
Engineer Carmine Rende of
the Ft. Myers office has passed
the U.S. Green Building Council
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED
Accredited Professional. Carmine
is the eighth LEED AP in TLC-Ft.
Myers and the 72nd firmwide.
|
Ft.
Myers Division Gets Greener |
|
Jacob
Kaye, PE, an Electrical Project
Engineer in Ft. Myers, has
passed the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design exam
to become a LEED Accredited
Professional. Jacob is Ft.
Myers seventh LEED AP
and TLCs 71st.
|
Parrish
Port St. John Health Center Achieves
LEED Silver |
|
Parrish
Medical Centers Port
St. John Health Center and
Nature Preserve has achieved
USGBC LEED Silver Certification.
The medical office building
is the first health care facility
in the state to achieve LEED
certification. Congratulations
to Director of Healthcare
Engineering Michael Sheerin,
Parrish-PSJ Project Manager
Bob Danner, and the entire
design team. TLC teamed with
RTKL Architects of Dallas
for the project, which is
TLCs 9th LEED certified
building. Of the 24 LEED certified
buildings in Florida, we have
provided design and/or commissioning
services for 37.5% of them!
|
Jacksonvilles
Emily Carrier Earns LEED AP |
|
Jacksonvilles
Marketing Specialist Emily
Carrier has passed the U.S.
Green Building Councils
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED
Accredited Professional. Emily
is the 15th LEED Accredited
Professional in the Jacksonville
office and the 71st firm-wide.
|
John
Rippel Will Present on Ground
Source Heat Pumps |
|
John
Rippel, PE, CGD, LEED AP,
CxA, will give a presentation
on the Fundamentals
of Ground Source Heat Pumps
at an educational forum hosted
by the American Ground Water
Trust on Jan. 17 in Tallahassee.
The forum, entitled Using
the Earths Renewable
Energy, is aimed at
engineers, architects, planners,
and professionals in related
fields. John, who is a mechanical
project engineer in the Tampa
office, is one of only two
certified geothermal engineers
in the State of Florida. For
more information or to register
for the conference, click
here.
|
TLC's
Jacksonville Office Gains Another
HFDP |
|
Dick
Worth, PE, LEED-AP, senior
mechanical engineer in Jacksonville,
just added another credential
to his name Healthcare
Facility Design Professional.
Dick is TLCs second
engineer to earn the HFDP
credential, which is offered
by the American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating, and
Air-Conditioning Engineers
in conjunction with the American
Society of Healthcare Engineering
and the American Hospital
Association.
|
| TLC's
Green Team Keeps on Growin' |
|
Orlin
Velinov, PE, mechanical project
engineer in Miami, has passed
the U.S. Green Building Council
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED
Accredited Professional. Orlin
is Miamis 5th LEED AP
and TLCs 70th.
|
| Senior
Project Engineers Earn CSDP
Credential |
|
Carmine
Rende, PE, (left) and Nick
Mancuso, PE, (right) both
senior project engineers in
Ft. Myers, have become Certified
Sustainable Development Professionals.
The credential, offered by
the Association of Energy
Engineers (AEE), identifies
individuals who have demonstrated
high levels of technical expertise
in energy management and environmental
practices. Nick and Carmine
are lifetime members of the
AEE.
|
| Jacksonville's
DJ Parker Becomes LEED AP |
|
Mechanical
Project Manager Donald J.
Parker, CPD, LEED AP, is now
the 14th LEED Accredited Professional
in Jacksonville. With DJ joining
TLCs green team, Jacksonville
has become the first division
to meet the goal of having
all PMs and above become LEED
Accredited. TLC now has 70
LEED Accredited Professionals.
|
| John
Hardesty Adds Another Credential |
|
Tallahassee
Division Director John Hardesty,
who is already a registered
Professional Engineer, LEED
Accredited Professional, Certified
Commissioning Authority, and
Certified Energy Manager,
has added another certification:
Certified Sustainable Development
Professional. This new credential,
offered by the Association
of Energy Engineers (AEE),
identifies individuals who
have demonstrated high levels
of technical expertise in
energy management and environmental
practices. Certification requires
a three-day mandatory AEE
training course and passage
of a four-hour exam. Applicants
must be a PE, CEM, have a
bachelor of science degree
plus more than six years of
engineering experience, or
be an engineering technician
with more than 10 years of
experience.
|
| Lucky
13 |
|
Ben
Cole, PE, HFDP, a firm principal
and Senior Mechanical Project
Engineer in Jacksonville,
has passed the U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED
Accredited Professional. He
is TLCs 69th LEED AP
and Jacksonvilles 13th.
Ben, who is a Professional
Engineer and a Healthcare
Facility Design Professional,
can now add LEED AP to his
growing list of accreditations.
|
| Tallahassee
is Getting Green |
|
Tallahassees
Green Team was out in force
at the 2nd Annual Campus and
Community Sustainability Conference
Oct. 15 and 16 at Florida
State University. The conference
drew more than 250 attendees
from across Florida. Senior
Electrical Engineer Bobby
Ricketts, Electrical Project
Engineer Richard Lindburg,
Mechanical Project Engineer
John Fortenberry, and Mechanical
Project Engineer Doug Law
manned TLCs booth while
Division Director John Hardesty
worked the room as only he
can in fact, Division
31 picked up a commissioning
job from the City of Tallahassee.
Marketings Mike Miller
did such a great job on the
booth that the other exhibitors
were green with envy. The
conference was presented by
LLT Building Corporation and
hosted by FSU's Sustainable
Campus and Community Committee
and the Council for Sustainable
Florida.
|
| Broward
County South Florida Library
Achieves LEED Silver Certification |
|
Congratulations
to Brian Lomel and the Deerfield
Beach office, whose Broward
County South Regional Library
just achieved U.S. Green Building
Council LEED® Silver certification.
TLC commissioned the HVAC,
lighting dimming control,
and domestic water systems
for the $13.8 million library,
which was designed by Marvin
Scharf & Associates of
Ft. Lauderdale. Our commissioning
services included review of
DD and CD submittals, production
of Design and Construction
phase commissioning plans,
shop drawing reviews, and
reviewing pre-functional and
functional testing results.
The library features a multi-purpose
room, a computer library,
and several collections including
the largest collection of
childrens books in the
county. Florida now has 22
LEED-certified buildings and
TLC has provided sustainable
design, LEED consulting and/or
commissioning services on
eight of them or 36%!
|
| John
Alford and Clark Hunt Join TLC's
Green Team |
|
Senior
Plumbing/Fire Protection Engineer
John Alford, PE, CIPE, and
Mechanical Project Manager
Clark Hunt Jr., both from
the Orlando Division, have
passed the U.S. Green Building
Council LEED exam to become
LEED Accredited Professionals.
This makes six LEED APs in
the Orlando Division and 69
firm-wide. LEED, which stands
for Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design, is the
USGBC's green building rating
system.
|
| Dunedin
Community Center Achieves LEED
Silver |
|
The
City of Dunedins new
Community Center has received
LEED Silver certification
from U.S. Green Building Council.
TLC teamed with Collman &
Karsky of Tampa for the $8.2
million building. The engineering
team, including project manager
Ray Stacey, Kevin Keiter,
Jon Milam, Rob Shorey, Ron
Schleich, Gerry Crnkovich,
Erin Gessner Harvey, and Santiago
Beron, designed the MEP/FP
systems to be eco-friendly
and efficient. Environmental
and cost savings were achieved
by optimizing energy performance
with glass, insulation and
sun control for an annual
savings of at least $35,000
per year; reducing water use
by more than 20%; achieving
zero light pollution; complete
remediation of the former
brownfield site; recycling
more than 70% of the construction
waste; and using recycled
building materials. The additional
cost for the LEED portion
of the design and construction
was an estimated 2% of the
total, or $160,000, with a
payback of five years. Dunedin
Community Center is TLCs
seventh LEED-certified building.
|
| Mark
Gelfo Maintains A High Profile
at Sustainability Conference |
|
Jacksonville
Division Director Mark Gelfo,
PE, LEED-AP, CxA, served double-duty
at a sustainability conference
Sept. 20 hosted by the Jacksonville
Electric Authority (JEA).
He and Susan Cleveland, LEED-AP,
from ASD in Jacksonville,
presented a case study of
TLC Jacksonvilles new
office, which achieved LEED-CI,
Silver certification. Mark
also served as moderator for
a panel discusson on sustainabilitys
impact on design decisions.
|
| Mark
Murphy Brings Jax Green Team
to an Even Dozen |
|
Mark
Murphy, PE, electrical project
engineer in Jacksonville,
has passed the U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED-Accredited
Professional. This makes 12
LEED-APs in the Jacksonville
office and 69 firm-wide.
|
| Beth
Tomlinson Speaks About LEED
Design Before Packed House |
|
Beth
Tomlinson, PE, LEED-AP, mechanical
engineer in the Miami Division,
gave a one-hour presentation
to the AIA (American Institute
of Architects) Building Enclosure
Council on Sept. 11 about
the USGBC LEED program and
its impact on architecture.
She presented before a packed
house of more than 50 people,
most of whom were South Floridia
architects. Beth is the new
president-elect of the Miami
Chapter of ASHRAE.
|
| Mark
Murphy Brings Jax Green Team
to an Even Dozen |
|
Mark
Murphy, PE, electrical project
engineer in Jacksonville,
has passed the U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED-Accredited
Professional. This makes 12
LEED-APs in the Jacksonville
office and 69 firm-wide.
|
| Jagdish
Prasad Joins TLC's Green Team |
|
Jagdish
Prasad, senior mechanical
project manager in the Orlando
Division, has passed the U.S.
Green Building Council Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design exam to become a LEED-Accredited
Professional. He is TLC's
68th LEED-AP. Jagdish has
more than 32 years of mechanical
engineering experience and
is a lifetime member of the
American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning
Engineers. He earned his bachelor's
degree in mechanical engineering
from BIT
Sindri, India, and his master's
degree and Ph.D. in mechanical
engineering from the Polytechnic
Institute of Brooklyn, N.Y.
|
| FAU
Lynn College of Nursing is Green
and it's Gold! |
|
Florida
Atlantic University's Christine
E. Lynn School of Nursing
has been touched with gold
- LEED Gold. After initially
achieving Silver certification
last month, the project was
resubmitted to the U.S. Green
Building Council for review
and recertification. This
is FAU's first LEED Gold-certified
building. "Everyone at
TLC was confident we could
achieve LEED Gold for this
building. We're thrilled for
the University and honored
to be a part of such an important
and ground-breaking endeavor,"
said Vince Briones, PE, LEED-AP,
manager of TLC's sustainable
design services, who spearheaded
the effort to gain Gold certification.
TLC's
Deerfield Beach office teamed
with SchenkelShultz Architecture
of Orlando on the new three-story,
75,000 sf building. "The
certification reflects the
university's commitment to
the environment and to the
comfort, health and well-being
of its staff and students,"
said Brian Lomel, PE, LEED-AP,
director of TLC's Deerfield
Beach office, who led the
engineering team that provided
mechanical and electrical
design and LEED consulting
services.
The
building has CO2 monitoring,
indoor chemical & pollutant
control, low-emitting material,
25% recycled content &
reduced energy consumption
saves over 17% in cost compared
to a traditional building.
|
| TLC
is Getting Greener All the Time |
|
TLC
Engineering for Architecture,
already a leader in sustainable
building design services in
the Southeast, is becoming
a greener organization in
practice as well.
John Douglas Benz, AIA, Chairman,
announced that the board of
directors has approved a series
of sustainability policies
aimed at helping the environment.
One key initiative is for
TLC to become to become carbon
neutral by purchasing renewable
energy credits (RECs) to offset
the energy used for power,
lighting, heating and cooling
in the firm's nine offices.
The credits will go to a portfolio
of small landfill gas-to-energy
projects throughout the U.S
that are certified by "Green-e",
the nation's leading independent
renewable energy certification
and verification program.
We use these projects because
the methane they destroy for
fuel has 21 times the global
warming potential than carbon
dioxide. Most of the world's
climate scientists agree that
the emission of greenhouses
gases has a significant negative
impact on the climate and
global warming.
We
will also purchase renewable
energy credits for all travel
associated with green projects,
green design services and
commissioning. Employees are
being asked to do their part
by turning off lights in work
spaces and conference rooms
when they aren't in use and
shutting down computers and
other electronic equipment
at night and on weekends.
Water-conservation measures
are also being initiated.
Several of TLC's offices have
had water- and energy-saving
policies in place for some
time with much success.
"This
endeavor illustrates TLC's
firm belief that we are all
stewards of the environment.
As a firm, we are passionate
about sustainability, not
just in green building design
but in the way we live our
lives," said Chief Executive
Office Debra Lupton, AIA.
A
member of the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC) and a leader
in Florida's green building
design movement, TLC has provided
sustainable engineering services
for six of the 19 buildings
in Florida that are certified
by the USGBC Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED®) rating program.
One of those six is TLC's
new office space in Jacksonville,
which recently achieved USGBC
LEED Silver certification
to become the first LEED for
Commercial interiors project
in Florida. All of TLC's new
regional offices will be designed
to meet LEED certification
requirements; in fact, our
new office space in Nashville,
which is currently under construction,
is being designed for LEED
Silver certification.
|
| Victor
Diaz Becomes LEED-AP
|
|
Victor
Diaz, PE, electrical project
engineer in the Orlando Division,
has passed the U.S. Green
Building Council's Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED®) exam to
become a LEED-Accredited Professional.
|