International Place is an urban center development located at 90 and 150 Oliver St. The buildings were developed, and continue to be owned and operated by Chiofaro Companies. Phase 1 is 46 floors, and Phase 2 is 35 floors, and they comprise almost 2 million s/f of class A office space and underground parking. The buildings, originally constructed in 1986 and 1988, received LEED EB Silver Certification in 2012.
The project achieved a WalkScore of 100, and is located within 1/4 mile walking distance of several bus stops, and the MBTA stations. Other sustainable aspects of this project include but are not limited to exceeding 50% recycled waste on an ongoing basis, and reducing the indoor water use by 21% as compared to the EPAct 1992 by using Low-flow fixtures.
International Place is a significant LEED for Existing Buildings Project for the city and the state of Massachusetts as it exemplifies what can be done with our existing legacy buildings to reduce their impact and create an efficient and livable urban infrastructure. Energy reduction was an important goal in the LEED certification process, which was achieved by improvements to the HVAC systems, and lighting systems by replacing the light fixtures and installing occupancy sensors. The current Site Energy Utilization Index is 68 and 77 kBTU/SF respectively; the National Median Site EUI for the same category (Office) is 97 kBTU/SF, which means that the buildings are using 20.6% less energy than the median office building.
This is a testament to what can be done to older existing buildings in order to make them more energy efficient. It also serves to show that even small improvements in larger buildings can make a difference; a small percentage improvement in a large amount of energy use is a large amount of energy saved.
Project Team:
Owner/Developer: The Chiofaro Company
Architect: Johnson/Burgee Architects (original building)
MEP Engineer: AHA Consulting Engineers
LEED Administration: Robert G. Andrews, Jr., PE, CEA, LEED AP BD+C