TLC Engineering for Architecture – LEED Silver
Jacksonville, Florida

Dunedin Community Center – LEED Silver
Dunedin, Florida

Dunedin’s new Community Center is the largest building the city has ever constructed. It’s also the greenest, having been designed to USGBC LEED Silver specifications. Located in Highlander Park and overlooking the lake, the center houses indoor and outdoor theater stages, a banquet hall that can seat 300 people, a mirrored dance studio, a fully-equipped fitness center, a branch library, and a recording studio There are also classrooms, offices, and administrative spaces. Flexibility and sustainability were two of the project team’s key design goals. Before and during design, the building systems were evaluated and the construction materials were carefully chosen to make the center as environmentally friendly as possible. High-efficiency lighting, the use of variable fan drives on air-handling units and pumps, and high-efficiency chillers. The heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems are both energy efficient and low in toxicity. The building is also equipped with a monitoring system to detect dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide.

Stetson University's Lynn Business Center – LEED
DeLand, Florida

TLC designed the mechanical, electrical, communications & technology systems for Lynn Business Center, the first LEED-certified building in Florida. The project included extensive renovation of the existing six-level building and construction of two adjacent administrative office buildings and an adjacent high-tech auditorium. Energy-efficient features include high-efficiency natural gas boilers, temperature and humidity monitoring, HCFC-free, halon-free HVAC and refrigeration equipment, CO2 monitoring, and 25% energy-use reduction compared with ASHRAE minimum standards. Over the life of the building, the energy savings is projected to be $15,000 -$20,000 per year, which equates to 1.2 million pounds of CO2 per year. Approximately 1.2% of Lynn Business Center's $9 million construction cost is attributed to LEED  design components, with a payback of 5-8 years.

University of Florida's Mary Ann Harn-Cofrin Pavilion – LEED
Gainesville, Florida

TLC provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design services and commissioning for this 19,240-sf addition to the university's Harn Museum of Art. The building houses a kitchen, cafe, classroom, office and support space on the first floor and exhibit space on the second floor. A second-story connector links the exhibit space to the adjacent museum. The primary efficiency measures included an improved building envelope (both walls and glazing) over the minimum ASHRAE 90.1; reduced lighting and added lighting controls; a highly efficient boiler system, and variable air volume air handling units. Harn Pavilion is approximately 40% more efficient than the minimum requirements and is well above Florida’s energy code requirements. In water use reduction, two credit points were awarded as a result of reducing potable water usage by 39% below the standard established by the 1992 Energy Policy Act. Waterless urinals and sensor-operated, low-flow faucets and toilets provide an annual savings of 657,000 gallons of potable water. The project achieved basic LEED certification.

University of Florida McGuire Center for Lepidoptera Research – LEED
Gainesville, Florida

This 32,600-sf addition to Powell Hall includes lab, office and support space, a 2-story exhibition collection, and a butterfly conservatory. Serving the different types of spaces are variable-air-volume air handlers with variable frequency drives. The library and museum spaces are served by a system that keeps keep humidity low and prevents sudden swings in humidity levels, both of which are critical for preventing formation of mold and mildew. The open-air conservatory is not air conditioned. In the laboratories, fume hoods exhaust potentially hazardous chemicals. The hoods maintain a constant volume of exhaust when they are on and are equipped with a manual control switch.  If the hood is turned off after normal business hours, the DDC system will reset the ventilation quantity back down to its minimum position. The operator is able to change the system parameters and monitor system components from a central computer workstation.  The southwest chilled water plant was expanded to serve the additional load.  TLC provided mechanical and electrical systems design, structural CA, and commissioning services.

University of North Florida Social Sciences Building – LEED
Jacksonville, Florida

The new Social Sciences building is the first building at the University of North Florida to be LEED certified (LEED-NC 2.2). TLC provided mechanical, plumbing, LEED consulting and CxA commissioning services for this three-story, 70,000-sf building, which has theater-style and traditional classrooms, teaching labs, offices and an auditorium, all with state-of-the-art technology. The project budget was $10 million. It was determined that premium hard and soft costs for the green building items required for LEED certification were just below 1% with a payback of 2.3 years. The building is approximately 34% more efficient than the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 90.1. It also uses 31% less water than a standard building and uses no potable water for irrigation, resulting in an annual savings of 800,000 gallons of potable water.

Broward County/BCC South Regional Library - LEED Silver
Pembroke Pines, Florida

TLC commissioned the HVAC, lighting dimming control and domestic water systems on this $13.8 million, 75,000-sf library, designed by Marvin Scharf & Associates of Ft. Lauderdale, which achieved USGBC LEED Silver certification. 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 children’s books in the county.

Parrish Medical Center's Port St. John Health Center and Nature Preserve- LEED Silver
Port St. John, Florida

Through environmentally sensitive planning and design, Parrish Medical Center's Port St. John Health Center offers a healing environment in every sense of the word. Four acres have been set aside permanently as a nature preserve complete with nature trails that will be available for use by everyone. The project is the first phase in a long-range program that combines concern for the environment with a much-needed array of advanced healthcare services delivered with skill and compassion. The building has achieved USGBC LEED Silver certification. It is the first health care building in Florida to be certified in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating program. TLC provided sustainable mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection design and energy modeling services for the building.

City of Tallahassee Solid Waste Facility- LEED Silver
Tallahassee, Florida

The City of Tallahassee's Solid Waste Facility is the first building in Tallahassee to receive LEED certification. TLC teamed with Rolando J. Gutierrez Architects of Tallahassee on the 9,000-sf building and provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection, LEED design, consulting, administration and energy modeling services. The project consisted of the addition of a second story to the structure, which was not originally designed to support it, and the total renovation of the first floor. The renovated building houses administrative offices, conference and meeting rooms, training rooms, lockers, showers, building support areas including an area for rescue assistance, an elevator, and a staircase. The original roof structure consisted of structural concrete tees pitched to the north for water flow which had to be "lifted" six inches to obtain a level surface for the new 2nd floor. The new elevator and a single staircase were added to the building for vertical circulation and accessibility. Some of the sustainable design features were water-use reduction, optimal energy performance, fluorocarbon and halon elimination, systems controls for measurement and verification, storage/collection of recyclables, de-construction, resource reuse, use of regional materials with recycled content, minimum indoor air quality standards, elimination of tobacco smoke, low emitting materials, systems control, and enhanced use of daylighting.

Baker Pre-K Early Childhood Center - LEED
Punta Gorda , Florida

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.

Neil Armstrong Elementary School - LEED
Port Charlotte, Florida

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%.

Peace River Elementary School - LEED Silver
Charlotte Harbor, Florida

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. Hat’s 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.

Lehigh Valley Medical Office Building - LEED Silver
Allentown, Pennsylvania

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 Nashville’s Kim Shinn and Victoria Robertson for all of their hard work. This is TLC’s 14th LEED certified building, second LEED healthcare building, and first LEED certified building outside of Florida.

University of North Florida Parking Services Building- LEED Silver
Jacksonville, Florida

UNF's LEED Silver Certification is truly remarkable given that the project is only 3,000 sf, that UNF didn’t decided to seek LEED certification until about half-way through the design, and that the University had no budget increase for certification. The building is Jacksonville’s 3rd design project to achieve certification and TLC’s 15th LEED certified building. TLC provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and LEED consulting services for the building, which was constructed at a cost of $1.2 million.