Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center Earns LEED Gold

DALLAS, Texas — The $154-million, 459,717-square-foot Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center on the campus of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas has achieved LEED Gold for Core & Shell certification.

The project was a joint venture of Duke Realty, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Inc., the general contractor was MEDCO Construction and the architect was Perkins+Will.

The facility earned the distinction after the project team submitted a detailed application outlining a variety of energy efficiency, environmental quality and sustainable strategies required for certification and scoring 38 LEED rating points. Some of the strategy highlights include:

● The cancer center is 14 percent more energy efficient than required by commercial building energy codes.

● The facility uses 30 percent less water than the Environmental Protection Agency’s baseline requirements.

● The facility used more than 90 percent green power during construction.

● Twenty-one percent of the building’s core shell was made of recycled materials.

● The facility features low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emitting materials, including wallpaper, carpet and adhesives for floor tiles. High exposure to VOCs can cause adverse health effects.

● The cancer center incorporates design elements, including underground parking and a white roof, to reduce urban heat island effects such as decreased air and water quality.

● More than 95 percent (14.4 million pounds) of construction waste material was recycled.

● Fifty-one percent of the construction materials were shipped from within 500 miles of the job site, which reduced the impact on the environment from lower vehicle emissions and promoted the regional economy.

The 10-story Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, which was completed this March, is the largest cancer care facility in North Texas and is anchored by Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and Texas Oncology. The facility houses a dedicated radiation oncology wing with four linear accelerators, as well as a diagnostic imaging center with MR, PET and CT scanners. It also includes an outpatient clinic; oncology, breast oncology, multi-disciplinary and transplant clinics; infusion therapy and blood and marrow transplant areas; and space for research and clinical trials.

Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center occupies nearly 5 acres across from Baylor’s former inpatient and outpatient cancer care complex, which is being converted to a 100 percent inpatient facility and support areas as part of a separate $37.4 million, 181,432-square-foot renovation project. That project is expected to be complete in early 2013.