Audubon Center at Debs Park

The new Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles is the first project to receive a Platinum Rating - the highest possible - from the U.S. Green Building Council under the its new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ 2.1.

The design of the Audubon Center at Debs Park focuses on a number of key environmental issues that are at the heart of sustainable building, including renewable energy sources, water conservation, recycled building materials and native landscaping. The 5,023 square-foot building is the first in the city of Los Angeles to be entirely powered by on-site solar systems - functioning entirely "off the grid." The building also uses significantly less water than a conventional building of its size.

In order to meet the requirements for the Platinum Rating, a building must earn a minimum of 52 sustainability points out of an available 69. Points are awarded for everything from site selection and materials used, to innovative design and indoor environmental quality. The Audubon Center at Debs Park earned 53 LEED points, garnering particularly high marks for its efficient water system and renewable energy sources.

Virtually every aspect of the building - from the floor to the rooftop - was crafted to adhere to the LEED 2.1 requirements. Recycled materials were used wherever possible, included melted down handguns and scrap metal in the rebar that strengthens concrete blocks and floors. The use of organic materials was also key, and is demonstrated in everything from the carpeting of Mexican agave plant, to wheat board and sunflower board cabinets and desks.

The LEED program also stresses the importance of using locally harvested and manufactured materials, including wood, landscape plantings, sheet metal, concrete and paving materials. More than 25 percent of the building materials used in the Audubon Center were locally harvested, and more than 50 percent of the materials were locally manufactured - in both cases an amount 2.5 times that required to achieve LEED credits.

Located just ten minutes northeast of downtown Los Angeles, Ernest E. Debs Regional Park is 282-acres of urban wilderness. Debs Park hosts coyotes and 138 species of birds, yet is surrounded by some of the city's densest urban neighborhoods. Within two miles there are 50,000 young people, predominantly Latino, for whom the park and the Audubon Center will provide a lifetime of outdoor discovery.

Audubon assembled a team of Green Building Council affiliates to bring the Audubon Center at Debs Park to life. The building was designed by EHDD Architects, and built by TG Construction. The LEED documentation and submission was handled by Soltierra, LLC. BOVIS Lend Lease acted as owner's representative, and more than twenty other firms provided design and construction services. Campbell and Campbell created the architectural concept and landscape architecture designs. The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote environmentally responsible design and construction. The LEED rating system is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for evaluating high-performance, sustainable buildings.

Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them.Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.

Project Photos (click for a larger view)