Chatt Tech Receives Gold Certification

Less than one year old, the is already receiving recognition by the U.S. Green Building Council. Officials announced last week that the college's eighth campus has been designated LEED Gold certified.

"This designation puts this campus in the upper echelon of construction projects in the state and in the country," said Vice-President of Facilities David Simmons. "The LEED Gold certification proves that the facilities leadership is committed to helping preserve the global environment for generations to come."

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in March 2000, LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. There are four levels making up the tiers of the LEED program, including certified, silver, gold and platinum. Approximately 60 of the more than 200 LEED certified projects in Georgia are at the gold level.

Originally the goal of the project was to attain a silver level certification, Matt Walsh, project architect with BRPH, told the Chattahoochee Technical Board of Directors. However, as the project was analyzed and points awarded for specific practices and features, the result was a coveted gold level certification. LEED certification of the campus was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively affect the project itself and the community.

The building achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. According to Simmons, features of the building that pushed it toward the gold certification level include, water use reduction, water efficient landscaping, light pollution reduction, reduced site disturbance, overall site selection, storage and collection of recyclables, innovation in design with green power and green cleaning and optimized energy performance.