SMDC is a leader in healthy, sustainable design

The United States Green Building Council has awarded SMDC Health System’s new Duluth Clinic 1st Street Building the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification.

SMDC is the first health care organization in Minnesota — and among the first 10 in the United States — to certify their facilities using the LEED Green Building Rating System, a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance, healthy buildings.

 

“LEED Gold certification is very difficult to obtain and demonstrates our commitment to providing patients, employees, and visitors with the healthiest environment possible,” said SMDC Vice President of Facilities Planning Harvey Anderson. “It also establishes SMDC as a leader in promoting environmental stewardship and the responsible use of material, financial, and natural resources.”

Every aspect of the Duluth Clinic 1st Street Building is designed to be healthy and resource efficient. Here are a few interesting facts:

• ·The building maximizes natural daylight, reducing the use of artificial light.
• It uses 32% less energy and 35% less water than a code-compliant clinic of comparable size.
• Low volatile organic compound (VOC)-emitting building materials and furnishings were selected to improve indoor air quality.
• More than 75% of the wood used came from sustainably managed forests.
• More than 1/3 of the materials used in construction came from within a 500-mile radius to reduce fuel consumption and transportation-related emissions.
• More than 15% of materials used in construction contain recycled content.
• About 5,700 tons (77%) of construction waste was recycled and diverted from area landfills.
• More than 2,200 truckloads of rock removed from the site were reused as fill for area highways.

SMDC’s partners in this project included Kirk Program Management, Inc., M. A. Mortenson Company, HKS, Inc., and LHB Engineers and Architects.