For the city hall project, contractors recycled what they could from demolition of the building that was located at the site and have reached a 98 percent recycle reuse rate of materials used on the project.

We started from the very beginning of the process. Everyone being on the same page is a big reason why the new city hall has been able to make the leap from tracking Silver to Gold certification.

As the project progressed, ways to improve the energy use and environmental impact were realized from contractors to the project managers. They all came up with their suggestions and those choices as the project went on contributed to tracking Gold.

Throughout the city hall project there are examples of how smart building can minimize an environmental impact. The building has three different roof types: one being a typical impervious roof, the second incorporating growing material and the third as using special plants and soils. Any water runoff will trickle down a tube with lights that indicates the level of water runoff each roof type creates.
Water sources won?EUR??,,????'???t simply come from city pipes to maintain the campus. An irrigation system is in place to draw water runoff to water plants throughout the landscape. And the building has a water vault underground to filter the runoff for irrigation use at the site and minimize water runoff from going into storm water systems. Also, throughout the campus there will be art pieces from the downtown arts program. It will help tell the story of reusing water and using trees and grasses to help retain water, says McLean.

In city hall, the building is designed to be narrow, so natural light can be maximized. It?EUR??,,????'???s deliberately designed with a narrow footprint. It saves power and it saves the expense of building materials. The windows open and close to be able to create more natural ventilation when it?EUR??,,????'???s hot out and keep the heat in when it?EUR??,,????'???s cold. A computer alert will go to city hall computers that tell employees when the system shows its time to have windows opened or closed.

A faux floor is in place to cover the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s a much more efficient way to have the heat rise up from the foot level,?EUR??,,????'?? McLean said. The faux floor also allows for more efficient use of re-configuring office space without having to remove walls.

The contractors for the Patient Care Tower project at Good Samaritan have been able to reach an 80 percent recycle rate for demolished materials on the project. By reaching those rates it keeps a vast majority of material out of local landfills. Because construction on the Patient Care Tower isn?EUR??,,????'???t as far a long as city hall the recycle reuse rate for construction of the building is not yet known, but the goal of maximizing use is clearly in the minds of everyone involved. It?EUR??,,????'???s a mind set thing, said Allison Garr, Administrator for Campus Development at Good Samaritan Hospital.

And Pierce College Puyallup is rapidly expanding its campus. Just recently the campus completed its Health Education Center and last week had its groundbreaking ceremony for the Arts and Allied Health building. ?EUR??,,????'??We feel that this building will be at the LEED Gold standard,?EUR??,,????'?? said Tana Hasart, Pierce College – Puyallup president.

When the college was in the design phase of incorporating LEED standards into their buildings they didn?EUR??,,????'???t have to teach city staff the vocabulary because they had already been familiar with the standards. They understand it. We share not only common values but common vocabulary.