Member`s News
The Anglo-American School of Sofia awarded LEED® EBOM Green Building Certification
April 24, 2012
The Anglo-American School of Sofia (AAS) announced today that it has been awarded LEED EBOM Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). AAS is the first school building in Bulgaria and the third K-12 School outside of the US to gain LEED EBOM Gold Certification. LEED is the USGBC’s leading rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient and high performing buildings.
The Anglo-American School was designed by Hillier according to green building principles although it was not initially intended to undergo LEED certification. The original design aimed to save energy, water and materials, as well as incorporate a variety of other sustainable strategies in the construction of the school building. The 9,500-sq.m three-story school building was completed in 2006. Currently it serves 380 students and has been a catalyst for the school to enhance the environmental focus in its curriculum.
The LEED certification process of The Anglo-American School of Sofia began in 2011 and involved a complete assessment of the building as well as a thorough energy audit of all mechanical and electrical systems. Certification was awarded based on the quality of the existing building, the implementation of high performance operations and maintenance strategies, as well as a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community. These features include, but are not limited to: strictly controlled energy and water consumption, solar energy usage, usage of natural light in classrooms, water purification and re-usage cycle, sustainable building materials, recycling policy and reuse of materials, comprehensive transportation planning. The LEED certification review for the existing school building gave AAS 62 points thus awarding the institution with a LEED EBOM Gold Certification.
Said architect Vessela Valtcheva-McGee, LEED AP Principal from Triple Green Building Group, LLC, the company responsible for LEED certification documentation: “Working with a well constructed building where the team intended energy and water saving features and environmentally conscious design all along, made a big difference in the certification of the existing school building and allowed us to reach Gold level. Due to the certification process the school management has an actual idea of how they perform compared to other green buildings and they also have the facility management tools necessary to maintain and operate the building to its optimal potential.”
“Being LEED certified is the result of a team effort, but it is just the beginning. We now have the opportunity and obligation to ensure our building itself is an interactive environmental learning tool to assist the AAS community in its continued pursuit of global citizenship and life-long learning.” Said the AAS Director, Mr. James Urquhart.
The Anglo-American School is currently building a 9,300 sq.m High School extension to its existing campus which is also registered under the certification procedure of LEED for Schools. In August 2012 when the Phase III project is completed AAS will receive LEED certification for its entire campus.
