The 29,000 s/f office for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has earned the Platinum certification for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is the highest level attainable under USGBC's energy conservation program, according to Tom Gallin, LEED-AP, principal in John Gallin & Son, Inc., the construction manager and general contractor for the project.
Construction of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's office, located at 475 Riverside Dr., began in February 2009 and was completed in June 2009. Project management for the Fund's green build-out was handled by Levien & Co., while the open and eco-friendly office was designed by FXFowle Architects, LLP.
"It's a wonderful honor to be recognized for achieving the highest LEED benchmark in sustainable construction," said Gallin.
Kenneth Levien, president of Levien & Co., said, "Throughout the job, we had to work closely with many sub-contractors and consultants to make sure we were staying on task and meeting LEED's admittedly high standards. It was a very collaborative effort, and everyone stayed extremely focused, from day one until completion."
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund space is one of eight publicly reporting projects in New York City to receive LEED Platinum certification for commercial interiors. The Fund's green build-out was captured in Moving to a Sustainable Future and is available at www.rbf.org and www.youtube.com. It features Tom Gallin; Richard Rockefeller, chair of the Fund's board; Wendy Gordon, RBF trustee and founder and general manager of National Geographic Green Guide; and Stephen Heintz, RBF president.
This is the second time that Gallin has been involved in a project that achieved a platinum designation. One of the oldest family-owned construction firms in New York City, John Gallin & Son, Inc. was founded in 1886 as a small masonry and concrete company, and now specializes in interior construction. The firm has completed projects for Boston Properties, Studley, Sage Realty, Verizon, Ann Taylor, The Research Foundation of CUNY, Tishman Speyer Properties, The Durst Organization, Vornado Realty Trust, and Wachovia Corp.
Levien & Co. was founded in 1992 by Kenneth Levien, AIA, to satisfy the need for the highest-quality project management services for complex projects. During the past 18 years, the firm has completed more than 300 assignments of various types for more than 100 clients, serving not-for-profit educational, cultural, and religious institutions; property owners and tenants; public corporations; and private firms. Other Levien & Company assignments include: Randall's Island Sports Complex, Union Square Park North End Reconstruction, The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, Donald Judd Foundation Building, The Harvard Club, Sherry-Lehman Wine & Spirit Merchants, The Ethical Culture Fieldston School's expansion and renovation, construction of the new 162-room Reingold Pavilion at the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, renovation of the French Institute Alliance Française's beaux-arts buildings, the Sephardic Community Center, the UJA Federation Headquarters building renovation and interiors, and the American Red Cross of Greater New York Headquarters Building.
About LEED
Awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
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