The Greenest Building in Texas: LEED Double Platinum TreeHouse Memorial City

HOUSTON - May 15, 2015 - PRLog -- The TreeHouse Memorial City commercial office building has earned a number of accolades due to its successful sustainable design attributes. Designed by Studio RED Architects, The TreeHouse Memorial City is now LEED® certified to the Platinum level by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). With a score of 95 points, this project has achieved LEED® for Building Design and Construction: Core and Shell Development (LEED® BD+C: Core and Shell) at the Platinum Level, marking this project as the highest credit point total in Texas, and the second highest in the U.S. for this rating system. In addition, The TreeHouse received LEED® for Interior Design and Construction (LEED® ID+C) at the Platinum Level.

"The TreeHouse Memorial City is a great example of a client's commitment to the environment through both their corporate culture and their actions," says Micah Simecek, Principal, Studio RED Architects. "This high profile double LEED Platinum designation further validates that."

This LEED® Platinum project employs multiple green design strategies to achieve a healthy building for its habitants, while also reducing energy and water waste. The energy saving strategies, which reduce the building's energy costs to nearly 50 percent of a baseline office building, include geo-thermal wells, solar panels, energy efficient lighting, high performance glazing, building automation, and a vegetated roof. In addition to insulating the building, the planted roof mitigates the "heat island" effect created by traditional roofs and site paving. Water-saving features include reduced irrigation requirements and low-flow plumbing fixtures.

Kristi Byers of Studio RED Architects served as sustainability manager on the project, which was completed in just 10 months. Byers describes what the architectural firm totes to clients as a multi-faceted benefit to sustainable design, The Triple Bottom Line: people, planet and profit.

"This building is going to be great for the people who work there and visit the project. It's great for the environment because of the way that it utilizes resources, it's going to be a great neighbor and it's going to cost the owners 50 percent less to operate because of the energy saving aspects we incorporated into the building," Byers says.

Projects with sustainable efforts and strategies of this scale are due to a whole-hearted commitment to green design on the part of the client and all members of their selected team. "It took everyone on this team committed to seeing this through," Byers says. "From a very strong passion on the part of the owner, to bringing in a great contractor and engineers who were able to complete their work to specifications, we are so ecstatic with the end result."

While the building has gained publicity for its sustainable features and extremely low impact, it has also caught the attention of spectators because of its unique design. The 14,700 sf TreeHouse name reflects the owner's ideology, describing a place of creativity and networking for employees, potential tenants, consultants and investors. The highly refined environment is playful and encourages productivity in a user-driven environment. The building exterior is clad with rich wood siding, limestone, natural vegetation and fritted glass resembling the lower branches of a tree canopy. The building is even connected to an adjacent high-rise office building by a bridge resembling a swaying rope bridge.

"The level of this building's sustainable strategies should lead the way for other commercial developments in large cities," says Pete Ed Garrett, Partner, Studio RED Architects. "The TreeHouse serves as a leading example of how commercial buildings can be environmentally sustainable while providing a high quality experience to tenants."

Watch the TreeHouse Memorial City overview video released by the Houston architectural firm at https://youtu.be/-nCPWF9EsuU



View project specs and images here: http://studioredarchitects.com/treehouse-memorial-city


About Studio RED Architects

Studio RED Architects is a Houston-based architectural firm with a reputation for design and excellence in entertainment, commercial and worship facilities. Notable projects include worship centers such as Lakewood Church, performing arts centers such as the Texas Southmost College Music Education Building, and LEED certified projects such as the LEED Platinum TreeHouse Memorial City, LEED Gold award-winning City of Houston Permitting Center and LEED Silver award-winning Amazing Place.