By Julie Lundin, Founder, LEED AP ID+C, NCIDQ, ASID
Director of Sustainable Interior Design for Emerald Skyline Corporation

Emerald Skyline Corporation in conjunction with Golden Spiral Design, is designing, renovating and repurposing an unoccupied industrial building located in Boca Raton, FL. This building was formerly an auto garage that stood vacant for several years and was environmentally contaminated. Our renovation includes many sustainable features with the intent to obtain LEED certification from the USGBC.

The above paragraph still holds true months later. However, we have had to re-think the project scope and move forward on a smaller scale. We spent months working on the design and drawings in preparation for submission as a development project. In our original design concept we envisioned a larger building footprint and a second floor addition. Vision often becomes qualified by reality, and our project is no exception. The property size cannot accommodate a larger building footprint and the FAR (floor area ratio) requirements limit the building size allowed. An addition of a partial second floor (FAR compliant) was our solution to the lot size and FAR restrictions. Although only a partial second floor was now being considered it would still require stairs and ideally an elevator. Also, the limited first floor square footage available to accommodate the new stairs and an elevator almost negated the second floor addition. Our conclusion was that adding the partial second floor was not adding the square footage desired, and the cost of construction and engineering did not make economic sense.

In January we made the decision to proceed with the project as a renovation of the existing building only. No additional square footage is being added. Our intent is to repair and replace what is there. The building will visually retain the auto garage industrial look but will be transformed into a sustainable, repurposed space.   As a sustainable consulting firm, it makes sense for us to not increase the size of the building. Our society often believes that bigger is better and we briefly fell into this way of thinking. Now we are committed to working within a limited space and we are re-focusing on creative design and the best use of that space.

As stated in our previous post, this project is a proposed LEED certified building. A key component of a LEED project is its reduced energy use. We have replaced the existing flat roof which was old and leaking with a new roof that has a high SRI (Solar Reflectance Index). We are also designing a high efficiency HVAC system and building envelope to optimize the energy performance of the building. All of the existing windows are being replaced with product that exceeds the Florida Code and are High Velocity, Hurricane Zone approved for Miami-Dade as our project is located in South Florida. In addition, to optimize energy performance in a hot climate our windows have a high VT (visible transmittance) and low SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient) to ensure adequate daylight is being admitted while still blocking significant quantities of solar radiant heat gain.

LED lighting fixtures designed with specific task usage will be installed on both the interior and exterior of the building. The existing concrete floors of the auto garage are going to be polished and used as they are. The specifications of the interior finishes are just beginning and as an interior designer, this is the fun part. Low VOC products, adequate air ventilation, and controlled air temperature and humidity will be utilized to protect the buildings IAQ (Indoor Air Quality). Low flow toilets and faucets, and Energy Star appliances will all be specified to reduce the amount of water and energy that is consumed.

We hope to be in our new location by early fall. Once our building is completed we will post descriptions of the renovation details and photos. This project has been a long journey. We are proud that it is a shining example of a correct decision to repurpose a building that might have otherwise been overlooked.