Overview of LEED for Homes
As part of the effort to minimize the environmental impact of the Element building, the Mount Vernon Company has elected to pursue a certification for the building under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes program. This program addresses many components that contribute to a high-performance, sustainable building including location and access to amenities, site and landscape design, energy and water efficiency, selection of building materials, indoor air quality, occupant comfort and green living. The team is pursuing a silver level certification under the LEED for Homes program.
The LEED for Homes rating system was initially developed and released in 2008 and is tailored to the particular design, construction and operations considerations for residential buildings and provides guidance to project teams in their effort to design and build greener homes. A unique component of the LEED for Homes program is the third-party verification that every project receives, to ensure that the building is actually being built to the LEED standard it was designed to. This is an important quality control measure and results in a higher performing, greener building. In addition, the project participated in the Massachusetts New Homes with Energy Star utility rebate program which provides further verification of energy efficiency measures.
To learn more about the LEED for Homes program visit http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=147
Overview of The Element’s Green Features
Location
The Element is located within walking and biking distance to a number of amenities that tenants can take advantage of without using cars. This encourages both healthier living as well as a reduction in overall vehicle use. These amenities include:
- MBTA bus and train lines
- Stores, restaurants, pharmacies, banks, and more
- Public park space (Ringer Playground)
Site
The entire site around the Element has been thoughtfully designed to provide tenants with a beautiful outdoor environment while minimizing the potential negative effects of landscaping and site design on the environment. These measures include:
- No invasive species or water-intensive turf grasses
- The incorporation of a large percentage of drought tolerant plantings
- Water-efficient drip irrigation system with smart controls
Building Features
The Element has been designed by a team with expertise in high-performance buildings. The team emphasized green design in many aspects of the building systems and components which will help reduce energy usage and bills, provide a comfortable, healthy indoor environment and facilitate greener living for tenants. These measures include:
- Very well insulated and air sealed building envelope
- High-efficiency systems for heating and cooling
- Filtered supply air into each unit for a healthy indoor environment
- Water-efficient plumbing fixtures including toilets, showerheads and faucets
- Energy efficient appliances in the units including clothes washers
- High-efficiency lighting in units and common areas
- Environmentally preferable building materials, including local and recycled content products
- Flooring with recycled content and no harmful chemical emissions
- Low VOC paints and adhesives for a healthy indoor environment
- Covered, secure bicycle storage for tenants
- Recycling receptacles in the building
Construction Process
The Element was not just designed to be a greener building during occupancy and operations; careful attention was paid to minimizing the environmental impact during the construction of the building as well. These measures included:
- Responsible construction waste management to maximize recycling and reduce landfilled waste
- Off-site panelized construction to minimize the amount of waste produced on-site
- Management of run-off from the construction site to avoid erosion and sedimentation in surrounding areas
