June 23, 2008 —
Retail-design firm
Callison has partnered with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), to develop two groundbreaking sustainable models designed for retailers: LEED for Retail and LEED Portfolio, also referred to as LEED Volume.
Callison led architectural development for both pilots simultaneously to develop a prototype for Wachovia’s regional financial centers, helping to establish the tools and guidelines for the LEED for Retail rating system. The Wachovia prototype received the first LEED Silver Commercial Interiors (CI) and Portfolio certification under the new system.
The LEED Portfolio pilot allows retailers and other volume builders to certify all subsequent projects once an initial prototype has met the established criteria. The pilots are conducted through a rigorous, multi-step process designed to gather feedback, draft, test, and ultimately document point modifications and/or alternative compliance paths in new application guides.
“Up until now retailers have been slow to adopt sustainable practices. For the first time, national retailers can build to LEED standards across their portfolio of stores without having to go through the certification process for each individual site,” says Chris Hamilton, principal at Callison. “This results in an efficient, streamlined process for building sustainable on a large-scale, thus saving time, money and manpower for retailers that want to go green.”
Callison plans and designs retail, hospitality, mixed-use, residential, corporate, and healthcare projects worldwide. Based in the U.S., Callison has 800 professional staff throughout its Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Shanghai, London, and Mexico City locations.
