Wounded Warrior Headquarters and Hope and Care Center at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. is known for being a place Marines go to get help recovering from combat-related wounds and for much-needed services. Now, the two buildings will also be known for being built using the latest sustainable building practices. The center recently received its LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which is one of the highest green building designations out there.
Located just north of San Diego, the 30,995 square-foot Hope and Care Center is an oasis for returning veterans. The buildings and surrounding grounds include a weight room, an outdoor amphitheater, therapeutic gardens, indoor therapy pool, outdoor lap pool, climbing wall and a covered track. Veterans can also take part in counseling sessions on site and find employment support and outreach programs. Also included in the green building project was an adjoining facility of 9,354 square feet being used for administration and operations, among other functions.
image via Balfour Beatty Construction
The buildings, constructed by Balfour Beatty Construction, are 100-percent ADA-compliant and designed to complement the nearby Wounded Warrior Barracks, which was the first facility ever to receive LEED Platinum certification for a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps project worldwide. The sustainable design features incorporated in the building’s design help to reduce the overall water usage by more than 84,000 gallons per year. In addition, more than $52,000 in energy costs are saved each year thanks to energy-saving features.
“Our primary focus was to create a holistic, integrated design process which provided the highest level of sustainable quality and a healing environment to the wounded warriors,” Sean Hulen, Balfour Beatty Construction vice president and project executive said in a statement. “Combined with a design-build delivery method, the use of Building Information Modeling, or BIM, enhanced the LEED process by allowing the project team to quantify materials, minimize contingencies, and reduce waste generated on site.”
[source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Earthtechling/~3/F1s3wte9S7E/]
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