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Turning a Green Vision into Reality

DPR Shares Sustainable Construction Expertise to Help Create First LEED®–Certified City Hall in Northern California

With a clear vision of a new city hall that would not only accommodate its growing infrastructure but also incorporate sustainable design and construction principals, the city of Rancho Cordova turned to DPR for its green building expertise.

DPR held a training session with the city and its architect, Calpo Hom and Dong , that included a Charrette and a review of the existing facility. During the session, the customer was able to see the potential value of using green building elements, many of which either had no initial cost difference over non-green materials or would produce cost savings in the long run—turning the city's vision into a reality. It was also important to the city, which is experiencing significant growth in its undeveloped areas, that it not only promote sustainable building in new development, but lead by example.

The city quickly adopted the goal of targeting LEED certification for the 40,000-sq.-ft. buildout of its new city hall, and with DPR's help both the architect and the owner began to drive toward implementing as many green building aspects as were possible for the project.

The end result of that effort, which culminated last summer, was the first LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) Certified city hall in Northern California and possibly statewide.

Incorporated just three years ago, the city of Rancho Cordova was interested in creating a city hall that would serve the community by being accessible and open. A one-stop service counter was installed that streamlines processes such as getting building permits or passports. Additional features include meeting and conference rooms, city council chambers and large community meeting rooms. All totaled, the project earned 24 LEED credits covering everything from building systems to educational signage. Just a few of the highlights include the following:

• A new white, single-ply roof was installed directly over the top of the existing built-up roof, lessening the need for cooling in the summer.
• More than 43 percent water savings were achieved due to the selection of water conserving plumbing fixtures.
• More than 77 percent of the construction waste generated from this site was recycled. That included more than 30 tons of existing materials that were removed and donated to Habitat for Humanity, while the existing HVAC units were removed and 98 percent of them were recycled.
• More than 53 percent shading was achieved by keeping the existing trees.
• All of the materials used were low emitting materials.
• The city has permanently installed building signage to point out various green aspects of the building. In addition, a building tour script has been written that includes details on the green aspects of the building and materials used in its construction, and the city in partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District set up an energy efficiency information display in the main lobby of the permit and business development area.

Serving as construction manager, with the subcontracts held directly by the city, DPR kept the project on track despite myriad challenges along the way. Recycling and donating materials from the demolition also proved challenging, as did management of the cumbersome LEED certification paperwork, which required multiple parties involved to maintain documentation of the products and processes used.

Ultimately, the efforts proved successful. At the October 2, 2006 City Council meeting, Rancho Cordova was presented with the official certificate and plaque that formally acknowledged that the new city hall had received LEED-CI certification.