LEED Gold Certified to Georgia Tech North Avenue Apartments

Georgia Tech residential apartments that served as home to many Olympic athletes have now been awarded LEED Gold Certified EB: O&M by the USGBC

Largest student housing complex in the world to achieve LEED Gold Certified EB O&M

Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Apartments, which housed many Olympic athletes during the 1996 Summer Olympics, has now earned a distinction of its own. The USGBC awarded Gold certification in LEED EB: O&M category to the Georgia Tech North Avenue Apartments.

The project, headed by HADP Architecture, Inc., Ivy Group Consultants, Inc., with Jordan & Skala Engineers, Inc., contains 750,000 SF of heated and cooled space, accommodations for 2000 student beds in apartment-style housing, and over 500 apartments set within four buildings. Jordan & Skala Engineers was successful in working with the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in the building to allow the building to the LEED Gold standards Georgia Tech desired for its students.

Jordan & Skala contributed to the transformation of the North Avenue Apartments into a more sustainable living environment. In doing so, a LEED Policy Manual was developed in efforts to guide the operations of the complex in maintaining energy efficient practices. This manual was adopted as the material used in training maintenance staff.  It addresses six areas of focus in order to document and improve sustainable performance of the buildings and site:  Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Environment Quality and Innovations in Operations.

By following the guidelines of LEED Certification, the facilities will operate with greater energy & water efficiency, use more environmentally sustainable practices and result in a healthier building environment for student residents.

The LEED Gold distinction at Georgia Tech North Avenue Apartments was achieved through the implementation of the following initiatives:

• Adoption of LEED Policy Manual for facility operations
• Education, metering, and documentation of all water and energy usage and on-site irrigation for water  and energy awareness and conservation
• On-site collection and storage of rainwater and HVAC system condensate for irrigation and water conservation
• Water-saving devices installed on all lavatories, sinks and showers
• Efficient toilets installed for maximum water conservation and reduced levels of maintenance
• Sustainable sites and grounds maintenance and documentation
• Repairs made on all windows for less air leakage and tighter sealing building for greater energy efficiency
• Installation of a Cooling Tower Water monitoring system for greater water efficiency
• Improved air conditioning and heating systems that  run efficiently and can be monitored effectively
• The North Avenue Dining Hall features energy star appliances, and extensive composting efforts.

The LEED Certification process is administered by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which is the leading organization in the United States for the certification of buildings for sustainable operations.