The (imaginary) sustainable city of LEED? Platinum buildings
What would a 100% sustainable city look like? What structures might we find on its streets? To imagine it, we can scroll through the list of buildings that have received LEED? Platinum certification, recently received by Casa Angelini for its environmental sustainability, for the use of recycled materials and for the measures to reduce energy and water consumption.
LEED? Platinum certification - where LEED? stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - is a certification created by the U.S. Green Building Council to rank buildings based on energy efficiency and carbon footprint. Buildings with a LEED? rating prioritize air quality, environmental comfort, and energy efficiency, seeking innovative solutions to reduce consumption and waste production.
In our city - unfortunately still imaginary - next to Casa Angelini, for example, there would be space for Taipei 101, the tallest green skyscraper in the world, equipped with an internal water recycling system that allows an annual saving of 30%. A few meters further on, we could admire the Facebook headquarters of Menlo Park, totally self-sufficient thanks to solar panels on the roof, interspersed with a garden housing 4,000 species of birds. Walking along the street on the right, we find the Vancouver Convention Centre, with the iconic green lawn that covers the entire roof, while on the left we can see The Crystal in London, an exhibition pavilion equipped with solar panels and automatic regulation of blinds in the rooms, to take advantage of all the light possible.
No city is complete without a noteworthy sports facility. The sustainable city would house Chicago’s Soldier Field American football stadium, home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears, with a self-contained waste recycling system to rival that of a small city. The stadium has recycling procedures in place for everything from beer cans to field dirt.
LEED? certification is awarded a score based on several macro-categories, including site sustainability, water and energy management, indoor environmental quality, and material reuse. There are four different certifications, which are assigned according to the score: basic, silver, gold, and platinum. Casa Angelini - which occupies an area of about 30,000 m2 and is the result of a major sustainable urban redevelopment - has received the latter, joining a special group of buildings and architectural projects that are leading the way in sustainable design.
This LEED? Platinum certification testifies to Angelini’s commitment to green building. Casa Angelini has been designed following innovative solutions right from the get-go, with the recycling of the waste produced by the construction site, as well as the use of totally renewable energy and a rainwater collection system reused for irrigation and the operation of the sanitary systems.