The Florida Green Building Coalition has certified Brickell Heights residential condominiums in downtown Miami at “gold” level for the Florida Green High-Rise Residential Building Standard.
The Related Group registered the project with FGBC on May 5, 2014, and officially broke ground on July 31, 2014. Brickell Heights was designed by the Miami-based global architecture firm Arquitectonica and features 690 luxury residential units in two towers. The project also includes amenity spaces and rooftop pool designed by David Rockwell and a 30,000-square-foot Equinox Fitness Center and SoulCycle workout studio on the ground floor.
Among the many green features achieved at Brickell Heights according to the Florida Green Building Coalition:
- All building HVAC&R systems are free of CFC’s and Halons
- Provides a design that is 4% more energy efficient than FL Code
- Energy Star qualified refrigerators are installed in each unit
- Energy Star qualified dishwashers are installed in each unit
- Common areas have all Energy Star appliances installed
- All installed lavatory fixtures comply with the low flow requirements
- All installed kitchen fixtures comply with the low flow requirements
- All installed shower heads comply with the low flow requirements
- Project utilizes tankless, boiler, or recirculating hot water heaters
- Landscape comprised of 100% of drought tolerant plants
- 100% of installed turf is drought tolerant
- No Cypress mulch is used and volcano mulching is avoided
- 100% of stormwater is collected using Low Impact Development alternatives (LID)
- 80% or more of the roof incorporates Energy Star roof-compliant, high-reflective and high emissivity material, thus reducing the heat island effect
- Provides natural day lighting to at least 75% of interior spaces
- Individual unit designs uses a mechanical ventilation system which includes a minimum MERV 8 air filter
- All adhesives and sealants are low Volatile Organic Compound and meet VOC limits
- Interior paints and coatings are less than 100 g/l for non-flat paint and less than 50 g/l for flat paint
- All carpets and carpet products meet the Carpet & Rug Institute Green Label Certification Program
- All composite wood and agrifiber products contain no added urea-formaldehyde
There is also an hour of “green maintenance” training provided to homeowners prior to move-in.
FGBC’s Florida Green High-Rise Residential Building Standard uses a tiered rating system with certification awarded at different levels according to points achieved over the project’s adjusted minimum required points. The project must achieve a minimum of 100 credit points, and reaching the minimum credit points required in each category, and by complying with all prerequisites in each category. The certification levels are:
- Bronze = 0 – 30
- Silver = 31-60
- Gold = 61-90
- Platinum = 91 >
Projects are reviewed by an accredited FGBC Project Evaluator to confirm they have reached or exceeded minimum standards. Brickell Heights achieved a certification score of 163 (or 63 points over minimum), earning the luxury condominium project “gold” level.
The Florida Green Building Coalition “is a nonprofit 501(C)3 Florida corporation dedicated to improving the built environment.” Their mission is “to lead and promote sustainability with environmental, economic, and social benefits through regional education and certification programs.” The Florida Green Building Coalition administers certification programs based upon green building standards specific to our Florida climate. In addition, the organization is dedicated to encouraging “housing affordability by increasing building sustainability” and educating “the general public, businesses, institutional and governmental bodies of the long term benefits of sustainable development and green building practices”.
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