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Two distinct tours of the LEED Platinum buildings are now eligible for 1 or 1.5 credits
Malvern, Pa., Sept. 29, 2016 – Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies, and its largest construction materials brand CertainTeed, today announced tours of their LEED Platinum North American Headquarters have received official accreditation from The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI).
Both tours, titled “A Living Laboratory: Explore Saint-Gobain’s North American Headquarters,” focus on the relocation of Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed’s prior headquarters from Valley Forge to Malvern, Pa., and the retrofitting of the 65-acre Malvern campus into a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum certified open plan commercial office. The tours, which are eligible for 1 or 1.5 AIA or GBCI credit(s), provide insight into the integrated design, construction and operations of the state-of-the-art Headquarters. Specific learning objectives include:
- Identifying design elements intended to improve thermal comfort and indoor environmental quality
- Understanding how LEED certifications were achieved with particular exploration of the thermal and visual comforts of electrochromic glazing
- Understanding how the performance of the structure is monitored and examined to continually enhance occupant experiences
"We are proud the Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed North American Headquarters serves as a model of sustainability in the Greater Philadelphia region, and that the educational value of our curated tours has been recognized with official accreditation from two of the industry’s most respected accrediting organizations,” said John Crowe, President and CEO of Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Corporations. “We’ve already opened our doors to more than 14,000 visitors over the past year, and with accreditation, we are eager to welcome even more architectural and design professionals from across the region so they may experience the design elements intended to improve thermal comfort and indoor environment quality, specifically acoustics, air quality and natural daylighting.”
Opened in October 2015, the Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed North American Headquarters in Malvern is home to 800 employees. The use of more than 50 products from the Saint-Gobain family of companies created an effective testing ground for its researchers and building scientists to measure the efficacy of those products in a real workplace relative to improved air quality, moisture management, acoustics, energy efficiency, thermal management and ergonomics. The building has raised the bar for sustainable workplace design and will be recognized this evening by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council with the prestigious Groundbreaker Award.
To learn more about the Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed North American Headquarters and to schedule a tour, please visit http://livinglaboratory.com/ .
About Saint-Gobain in North America
Saint-Gobain, the world leader in sustainable environments, has designed and manufactured high-performance building materials that improve the lives of people all over the world. From the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles and the glass pyramid at the Louvre, to the Statue of Liberty and World Trade Center, and even components that allow the Mars rover Curiosity to seek out life on another planet, Saint-Gobain has been a part of the fabric of human history, advancement and improvement.
In North America, the company upholds this rich history of innovation by making a material difference in the spaces where people work, live, play, heal and learn. Along with its North American headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Saint-Gobain has more than 150 locations in North America and approximately 14,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately $5.7 billion in 2015. Learn more about the headquarters at livinglaboratory.com or saint-gobain-northamerica.com, Facebook.com/SaintGobainNA and on Twitter @SaintGobainNA.
Media Contacts
Saint-Gobain in North America:
Tamara Mueller
610-893-5590 (office)
610-451-4390 (mobile)
tamara.s.mueller@saint-gobain.com
Brownstein Group for Saint-Gobain in North America:
Shari Rosen
267-238-4132 (office)
609-230-7561 (mobile)
srosen@brownsteingroup.com
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