Aug 13 2008
Environmental Market Solutions, Inc. (EMSI), an environmental and green building consulting company, provided consulting services for the Beijing Olympic Village, the first project in China to achieve LEED(R) ND (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development) certification. The Olympic Village is a multi-building community that will house athletes during the 2008 Summer Games. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded the project LEED ND certification for the Olympic Village Master Plan at the Gold level. EMSI is part of Carrier Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
LEED is the internationally accepted standard for design and construction of high-performance, environmentally sound buildings and community scale developments. Earning LEED Gold certification helps the Beijing Games achieve its goal of being environmentally responsible. Carrier's expertise in providing innovative "green" products enabled it to capture about 70 percent of all HVAC contracts awarded.
"Carrier and EMSI are honored to have participated in the design of the Olympic Village," said Kelly Romano, president, Building Systems and Services, Carrier. "We are honored to support China's environmentally conscious theme of the Beijing Games, which is completely in line with Carrier's long-term commitment to develop and apply energy-efficient and environmentally sound building solutions."
Developed on a 160-acre site, the Olympic Village is the largest non-competition venue at the games. It includes 42 residential buildings, seven community centers, three commercial and retail center buildings, a health center, library, gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts, and a kindergarten. The Village is expected to house more than 16,000 athletes, team officials, and country delegations and accommodate meetings and cultural activities.
After the 2008 Games, the Guo Ao Investment Company will convert the development into a tourism site and residential area, available to Beijing residents in early 2009.
US-China Partnership
In 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy and China's Ministry of Science and Technology developed a "Protocol for Cooperation in Clean Energy Technologies for the 2008 Games in Beijing." The Protocol resulted in plans to seek LEED certification for the Olympic Village. EMSI served as sustainable design and LEED ND consultant as part of the United States' commitment to providing technical assistance to the project.
Sustainable Design Features
EMSI worked with the design team and developer to maximize the energy efficiency and environmental quality of the Olympic Village. "The project achieved significant energy savings by reducing energy consumption in all of the Village buildings by at least 20 percent (compared to the U.S. industry standard)," said Ken Langer, EMSI president. "We incorporated into the design high efficiency heating and cooling systems, higher levels of insulation, and energy efficient windows."
The design uses solar photovoltaic power and solar thermal to generate lighting and hot water for the community. On the Village grounds, drought-resistant native plants make up more than 90 percent of site landscaping and water-efficient irrigation systems will use collected rainwater.
The project also reduces stormwater runoff from the site through an extensive network of parks and green open space. Vegetated green roofs on more than 60 percent of the total roof area lower the amount of impervious surfaces, which further reduces stormwater runoff. Placing 95 percent of automobile parking underground created large green spaces.
A signature feature of the Olympic Village is the pedestrian and bicycle network that spans and connects the community with bikeways and multi-use trails within 1/4 mile of all buildings.
"EMSI is proud to have worked on this important project and appreciates the attention given to the Olympic Village," Langer said. "This community will contribute toward sustainable development in China by serving as a model and blueprint for future projects."