Science And Technology Facility, Golden, Colorado, USA

The first federal building awarded LEED Platinum certification, Science and Technology Facility, is situated in Colorado and occupies about 6623 square meters (or 71,300 sq feet). The architect of the project is SmithGroup, based in Phoenix, Arizona. Construction works of this government building were finished in August 2006. Project cost $29,8 millions. The main challenge for the creators of this Renewable Energy laboratory - a leader in advocating clean energy technologies (particularly solar and hydrogen power), was to cut down carbon emissions and energy consumption (up to 41 %). The main contractor was MA Mortenson, the structural engineer - Paul Koehler Leffler. The laboratory is owned by US Department of Energy. The building provides its employes with clean and light working space and perfect indoor conditions. More than 11% of construction materials was made from recycled raw materials.

By Astghik Atabekyan, www.building.am