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2019 chrysalis

Award Winners

In 2019 year, the awards listed below were available for application by the USGBC-Georgia community.  Projects were required to be located in Georgia, and where certification was required, projects were to have been awarded certification between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018.

NEW CONSTRUCTION TRANSFORMATION

Applied to projects certified under the USGBC’s LEED for Building Design and Construction rating system, including New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools, Retail, Hospitality, Data Centers, Warehouses & Distribution Centers, Mixed Use, and Healthcare.

EB TRANSFORMATION
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EXISTING BUILDING TRANSFORMATION

WINNER - Bank of America Plaza

Project Team
Address
Size
Certification
FTE

Envision Realty Services - LEED Consultant

Shorenstein - Property Management

600 Peachtree Street NE

Atlanta, GA 30308

LEED v4.1 Gold (Performance Score 73)

2450

Bank of America.jpg

1,490,112 SF

Daily Visitors

60

Notable Application Excerpts
  • The project has adopted the LEED v4.1 Arc platform for Recertification following its initial LEED certification in 2015 under the LEED v3 2009 rating system. 

  • Since the project's 2015 Certification, they have focused on continuous improvement with their tenants in the areas of waste and the human health experience within the building. 

  • Bank of America Plaza continues to grow its sustainability initiatives and accommodate changes in space use and tenant expectations, with the goal of a higher level of certification through measured performance via LEED v4.1 and Arc. 

WINNER - Atlanta United Training Center

Notable Application Excerpts
  • The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground achieved LEED Silver Certification under the LEED for New Construction v2009 Green Building Rating System, making it the first Major League Soccer (MLS) Training Facility to achieve LEED Certification. 

  • The training ground is a 33-acre site featuring a 30,000 square-foot headquarter building and six full-size fields and is the physical embodiment of the Atlanta United Football Club’s commitment to sustainability, health, wellness, and community. 

  • The project is located within a LEED Master Site to ensure that future expansion at the project site follows the same sustainability guidelines. 

Project Team

 Atlanta United Football Club - Owner
 Darden & Company - W13 Representative
 General Contractor - Holder Construction

 Architect - tvsdesign
 Sustainability Consultant - Ecoworks Studio

Size

30,000 GSF

Certification

LEED version Sliver ( Points)

FTE

57

Daily Visitors

150

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Address

861 Franklin Gateway

Marietta, GA 30067

Residential

RESIDENTIAL TRANSFORMATION

WINNER - Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School 

WINNER - AMLI Piedmont Heights Residential

  • AMLI Piedmont Heights received LEED Platinum® certification under the LEED for Homes 2008 rating system. This certification level was based on the project achieving 90 points. 

  • The success of the building’s sustainable design is clear. Whole-building energy data is measured and tracked through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Currently, the building has an ENERGY STAR Score of 99. This excellence in energy efficiency is attributed to improvements such as upgraded windows, high-quality insulation and air sealing the building. These initial upgrades are complemented by the robust resident engagement that includes guidance on how to save energy. 

  • Another area where AMLI Piedmont Heights excels is its success at enhancing the market demand for sustainability with building features such as LEED certification. We believe that the biggest barrier to increased market demand is a lack of education and that our best chance to create this demand is by educating prospective residents during their apartment search and sharing sustainability achievements with our investors. This is especially effective during leasing tours at our communities. 

  • One of the many challenges was designing and constructing an innovative approach to surface water management. During the construction of AMLI Piedmont Heights, we had to consider both the City of Atlanta’s rainwater retention requirements and our internal goals to manage surface water as part of our sustainability commitment. Finding a design that would allow for the right amounts of infiltration and retention challenged both AMLI and the design team. 

  • One of the key elements of sustainability where we’ve seen the most change is waste. Global changes to how waste is processed have had a ripple effect on the importance of reducing contamination and led to a shifting strategy in how to support residents diverting their waste from the landfill. 

  • AMLI Piedmont Heights also goes beyond LEED requirements to create a foundation for health and wellness. In the United States, chronic disease is the leading cause of preventable death. The best way to combat this is by living an active lifestyle. AMLI Piedmont Heights helps support residents living an active lifestyle through location, design and programming. 

Project Team
  • AMLI Residential (owner and general contractor)  

  • Smith Dalia Architects (Architect)  

  • Jordan & Skala Engineers (MEP)  

  • US Ecologic/ Tex Energy (Sustainability) 

Size
Certification

468,611 SF

LEED version Platinum (90 Points)

Energy Star 

FTE

475

Daily Visitors

30

Notable Application Excerpts
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Address

2323 Piedmont Rd NE

Atlanta, GA 30324

WINNER - SK Collaborative

Notable Application Excerpts
  • Kruger and Seville co-authored Green Building, Principles and Practices in Residential Construction, the first college textbook on the subject published in 2013. They also served as key contributors to the LEED for Homes Version 4 Reference Guide. 

  • In 2014, Kruger Sustainability Group and Seville Consulting joined forces to found SK Collaborative. SK Collaborative provides green building certification services for single and multifamily projects, for affordable and market rate developers under LEED, EarthCraft, NGBS, Enterprise Green Communities, Fitwel, and Green Globes. SK Collaborative certified over 4,000 multifamily units and single-family homes in 2018. To date the firm has certified over 10,000 dwelling units in 17 states and the US Virgin Islands, as well as the 2nd LEED Home in Mexico, and have over 15,000 units in the certification process. 

  • SK Collaborative principals and staff have provided training to thousands of industry professionals across the country. Classes and seminars including continuing professional education for architects and builders, energy code compliance training, primers on green building and renovation, HVAC, healthy housing, high performance affordable housing, and other related subjects, presented at conferences, businesses, and professional associations throughout the country. 

  • SK Collaborative distributes regular informational white papers on sustainable building subjects including state Low Income Housing Tax Credit sustainability requirements, Green Building Certification Programs, and Healthy Affordable Housing for industry professionals. The firm developed a custom green building program for Pinewood Forrest, a new sustainable community in metro Atlanta. This prescriptive certification path was used as the model for the 2017 EarthCraft House update that led to increased builder participation in the program. 

  • SK Collaborative has shown a consistent dedication to promoting high performance residential green building for almost two decades and looks forward to continuing this important work for years to come. 

Project Team

Carl Seville

Abe Kruger

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Community Impact

COMMUNITY IMPACT

WINNER - Peggy Whitlow Ratcliff

Notable Application Excerpts

​CHaRM stands for The Center for Hard to Recycle Materials. It is a permanent drop-off facility that aims to improve our environmental health by encouraging reuse and diverting thousands of pounds of household hazardous waste, bulky trash and other hard to recycle items from Metro-Atlanta landfills and water systems.

CHaRM’s Benefits to the Community

  • Easily accessible and convenient location.

  • Accepts a wider range of items than typical curbside recycling.

  • Provides educational sessions about the importance of proper disposal of hard to recycle materials.

  • Keeps hazardous materials out of our air, water, and soil.

  • 2019 CHaRM Impact

    • 104,725 lbs of Hazardous Materials​

    • 188, 532 lbs of Electronics

    • 238,048 gallons of Paint

    • 184,000 lbs of Glass

    • 56,662  lbs of Textiles

Founder and Executive Director of Live Thrive Atlanta, Live Thrive Atlanta is the nonprofit that operates the CHaRM facility, Center for Hard to Recycle Materials
Peggy Whitlow Ratcliff.jpg

WINNER - K. Rashid Nuri

Accolades
  • Graduate of Harvard and the University of Massachusetts

  • National Association of Black Social Workers 2019

  • American Community Gardening Association Presidential Award 2019

  • Atlanta City Council Proclamation 2018

  • The Original Collard Greens Cultural Festival 2018

  • WABE ATL68 Honoree 2018

  • City of East Point Office of the Mayor 2017

  • GMEN Agricultural Program of the Year 2017

  • Georgia Organics Barbara Petit Pollinator Award 2017

  • Georgia Organics Land Steward Award 2017

  • The Links, Inc. Trail Blazer Award 2017

  • The Nat Turner African Resistance Award 2016

  • Distinguished Leadership, Service and Contribution to Urban Agriculture 2015

  • Fulton County Citizens Commission on the Environment Mr. Rashid Nuri Day 2013

  • GBE Community Sustainability Award 2013

  • Atlanta Magazine Groundbreaker Award 2012

  • Atlanta Tribune Men of Excellence 2012

  • Hosea Williams Award for Community Activism 2010

  • Atlanta Fine Dining FARMER Profile 2009

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Author Growing Out Loud: Journey of a Food Revolutionary
Founder, Truly Living Well
Notable Application Excerpts
  • 50-year history managing agricultural operations in the U.S. and 35 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe

  • Growing Out Loud drops precious gems about the history, principles and organizational processes for building sustainable communities through urban agriculture

  • In 2006, Rashid founded Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture (TLW) in Atlanta

  • Trained over 200 urban farmers and taught hundreds of school children and adults

  • Since the founding of TLW in 2006, Metro Atlanta has developed 52 urban farms, 63 farmer’s markets, 300 community gardens, two locally sustained food hubs and 524 farm-to-school programs

  • 2017-18, Rashid took TLW moved to a seven acres of urban farmland that will someday be owned by the organization

  • The Nuri Group promotes justice, equity and health, three of the guiding principles of Rashid’s approach to building strong communities through food self-sufficiency

  • Spearheading Atlanta’s New Food Movement

  • Documentary, Seed: One Man’s Journey to Grow Food, People and Community, a film about Rashid’s work.

Legacy

LEGACY

WINNER - Howard Wertheimer

Notable Application Excerpts

Howard was the first LEED AP on staff at Georgia Tech and helped establish the Office of Campus Sustainability as a centralized resource for the campus community and other universities.  

 

Before Howard arrived at Georgia Tech in 2006, the campus had one LEED-certified building. Howard provided the leadership, vision, and expertise for leading the transformation and commitment to sustainable campus development. Georgia Tech now has 20 LEED-certified buildings, including 4 LEED Platinum buildings and others in the works.  Including the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, which is targeting full Living Building Challenge 3.1 certification and LEED Platinum certification.  

 

“At the core of every successful project is understanding ‘why’ we are doing something. For me, it is always about the human experience. It’s about creating meaningful and appropriate teaching, learning, research, and recreational spaces- both indoors and out - that inspire people to do their very best. Access to natural light, ergonomics, thermal comfort, flexible and comfortable furniture solutions, safety and security, proper lighting and acoustics, sight lines, healthy food and beverage options, and appropriate and well-functioning technology are all key factors in integrating health and well-being into every project.”   

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer  
Piedmont Park Conservancy 
  • Fellow of the American Institute of Architects 

  • LEED Accredited Professional 

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Accolades

WINNER - John McFarland

Notable Application Excerpts
  • Known for his modesty and sense of humor, he is a quiet but strong leader not only in engineering circles, but in the Atlanta community at-large. He readily shares his knowledge on engineering and sustainability subjects, always trying to help others do better.

  • He has cultivated WorkingBuildings into one of the leading commissioning and sustainability consulting firms in the nation, overseeing over 65 sustainable projects have been LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ranging from Certified to Platinum.

  • He is serving as the Donor’s Representative for the The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech. The Kendeda Building is expected to become Living Building Challenge Certified and the most environmentally advanced educational and research facility of its kind in the Southeast.

  • “We build buildings for people to use to do great things...and we must continue to design and build buildings even better, continually striving to the vision of a truly regenerative building that cleans the air and water.” (John McFarland, 2015)

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WorkingBuildings, LLC  

Principal 

  • Certified Commissioning Association 

  • Professional Engineer 

  • Certified Energy Manager 

  • LEED Accredited Professional 

Accolades

WINNER - Connie Hensler

Notable Application Excerpts

Through Connie, Interface has influenced the industry to lower manufacturing footprints. Her publication, Shrinking Footprint with Journal of Industrial Ecology, identifies the impact Interface has had on its own portfolio, overall achieving more than a “90% [reduction] in carbon footprint” for the company. 

 

Her leadership at Interface has influenced the industry to adopt LCA as a tool to measure the environmental impact of product portfolios. Interface’s pressure on the flooring industry has revolutionized the modular carpet industry and had direct impact on global carbon footprint reduction. 

 

As Interface explored entering the Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) market, a very common resilient flooring offering in the industry, Connie was a key player in differentiating Interface’s product composition to eliminate the use of orthophthalates as plasticizers for the product. Orthophthalates are a proven and dangerous endocrine disruptor and carcinogen. Shortly after Interface entered the LVT market with no phthalates in the product, the industry followed and virtually no new LVT is produced including phthalates. 

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Global Director Environmental Management and Product Stewardship  

Interface 

  • Life Cycle Assessment Certified Professional 

  • Contributing author to four research publications 

  • 2 Peer reviewed publications 

  • 11 Patents concerning material production 

Accolades
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