ATLANTA, GA, August 5, 2004 ­ In an announcement by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) this week, the Arthur M. Blank Family Office building in Atlanta received recognition for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and was named Georgia’s first LEED Gold-Certified building and the Southeast region’s first Gold-Certified office building.

The family office building is home to The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and AMB Group, LLC, the investment management and support services arm and the parent company of the Blank-owned businesses.

"In designing and constructing our family office, we challenged our entire team to deliver a building that would provide a healthy work environment with both psychological and physiological benefits to its occupants,” said Arthur M. Blank, chairman of the family foundation and chairman and CEO of AMB Group. “We wanted to do the right thing for our associates, community and environment, and to hopefully cause others to follow our example. This award is a tribute to the group of committed professionals who helped us achieve our goals, and it is a wonderful culmination of our dreams, plans and efforts.”

The environmental focus of the family office building is also in keeping with the work of the family foundation, which supports nonprofit programs to protect the environment.

The family office building, located at 3223 Howell Mill Road NW in Atlanta, was designed and built following principles of stewardship by minimizing environmental impact and perpetuating innovation in sustainability (preserving resources for future generations) within the building industry.

LEED certification distinguishes building projects that have demonstrated commitment to sustainability by meeting the highest performance standards. The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution. A rating is awarded after an independent review by the U.S. Green Building Council verifies the project sustainable goals were attained. “It is because of the high level of commitment shown by these types of projects that the USGBC is progressively realizing its goal of transforming the nation’s building practices,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president, CEO & founding chairman.

"Mr. Blank assembled a world-class team that he directed not only to deliver his unique building, but also to provide a practical, cost-effective approach others could follow to integrate sustainable development principles,” said Bill Darden of Darden & Company, manager of the project.

Darden retained H. Jay Enck of Commissioning & Green Building Services (CxGBS) to guide the team in the application of sustainable development principles and for commissioning of the building. Commissioning is a systematic process that defines the project goals, roles and responsibilities of team members in integrating sustainable development principles and facilitates better communication and problem resolution from the predesign phase through warranty.

Enck said that thanks to Blank’s foresight in beginning the commissioning in the early design stages, the process provided early identification and resolution of potential problems, minimized risks and will lead to improved financial performance in coming years.

"Ultimately, the process will lower the total cost of ownership for the life of the building," Enck said.

Among the outstanding sustainable development features the team’s efforts provided are:

• Southface Energy Institute initiated the discussion and education process regarding LEED certification.
• The design by Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein Architects integrated energy efficiency, and utilized materials with recycled content and certified wood from Forest Stewardship Council certified forests.
• Interiors designed by Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, Inc. used reclaimed wood flooring and low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, sealants, carpets, and adhesives.
• The mechanical and electrical design by Barrett Woodyard & Associates is 40 percent more efficient than current code requirements.
• HighGrove Partners, using Xeriscape™ principles and high efficiency irrigation systems, reduced watering requirements by 80 percent
• Combined with those Xeriscape principles, the rainwater harvesting system designed by PBS&J and Barrett Woodyard & Associates meets 100% of the landscape irrigation requirements, eliminating the need for city-supplied irrigation water and reducing the load on storm water and sewer systems.
• Constructed by Hardin Construction Company, LLC and Humphries and Company in a joint venture, the construction team recycled over 72 percent of the construction waste, utilizing crushed concrete from the demolition work for soil stabilization, structural fill and infrastructure backfill. In addition, they implemented construction indoor air quality management to minimize construction employee exposure and potential of indoor air quality concerns after occupancy.

Construction of the Arthur M. Blank Family Office building began in September 2002 and was completed in March 2004. The building, which includes common meeting areas and a fitness center, currently houses 40 associates.

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