CAMLS is a certified Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certified building. There are four levels of LEED certification: certified, silver, gold and platinum and building projects must accumulate points through various LEED certifications by using resources more efficiently than conventional buildings built to code. As an institution of the future, CAMLS was designed with sustainability in mind with building materials selected from local, renewable, recycled or recyclable sources. In addition, construction waste and foundations from previous structures found during excavation were recycled.
Sustainable Highlights
- The site was formally a paved parking lot and now includes green space, exceeding the local code requirements by more than 50%, to reduce heat island effect and promote biodiversity.
- Drought tolerant native plant species were planted and are watered through drip irrigation. This reduces potable water use by 52%.
- Low-Flow Plumbing Fixtures were installed.
- Fly Ash, normally just a useless byproduct of coal combustion, is recycled by mixing it with the concrete poured to help reduce waste and essentially re-purpose this waste product.
- The main lobby and staff workplaces are lit by natural sunlight also lowering electricity consumption. Spaces that require lighting use energy efficient bulbs.
- The exterior perforated metal panel screens manufactured by McNichols, a local Tampa company, wraps the exterior of the building and acts as a sun screen over the south, east and west glass curtain wall to prevent solar heat gain.
- High performance roof & wall insulation and high performance, low-e glazing help control cooling and heat loss.
- Low-e glazed windows were developed to minimize the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that can pass through glass without compromising the amount of visible light that is transmitted. When the interior heat energy tries to escape to the colder outside during the colder months, the low-e coating reflects the heat back to the inside, reducing the radiant heat loss through the glass. The reverse happens during warmer time periods.
CAMLS was built to sustain time and do so in a sustainable manner, a truly remarkable feat.