Perkins+Will recently announced that its project at Arlington Free Clinic has been awarded a trio of firsts – becoming the first LEED® Gold Certified Free Clinic in Virginia, as well as the nation, and the first LEED Gold healthcare facility in Arlington County. Tama Duffy Day, design principal at Perkins+Will said, “We hope the success of this project will educate and encourage many healthcare providers to commit to achieve spaces that truly serve the health and emotion needs of clinic populations while operating more effectively and sustainably.”
Nancy Sanger Pallesen, Executive Director of Arlington Free Clinic (AFC), said, “We knew sustainable design was the right thing to do.” From the moment they heard of the idea, AFC understood that a sustainable design approach would mean a healthier environment for patients, volunteers and staff. AFC realized at their first meeting with the architects, Perkins+Will, they had found a design partner equally committed to this goal. Once the Clinic understood it could achieve a “green” space that was beautiful, functional and cost effective, “nothing could have stopped us,” Pallesen emphasized.
Perkins+Will’s approach is that health and sustainability naturally go hand in hand. A key driver is Evidence Based Design (EBD), a practice of architecture and interior design illustrating, through rigorous research, that the built environment does have a positive influence on health. Since
Arlington Free Clinic invests daily in human health and wellbeing, they wanted to incorporate systems, materials, lighting and controls to create an indoor environment that would increase patient, staff and visitor wellness and satisfaction. Water use was reduced by 31.58% through the use of low flow fixtures, flush control values and motion sensor faucets. The HVAC system was designed to increase comfort for occupants by monitoring carbon dioxide levels in high density spaces. Many EBD strategies align directly with designing a facility to meet LEED criteria. In an ongoing program, AFC implemented a Sustainable Building Education Outreach and Signage Program. With over 500 staff and volunteers and thousands of patients, sustainable education is
widely visible in the Clinic. AFC also elected to contract with an organization that practices green housekeeping in efforts to bar harmful chemicals from the facility during routine cleaning and maintenance.
All project team members focused on one shared vision: to design and construct a clinic through open, honest collaboration that was efficiently planned, completed within a modest budget, utilizing recycled, regional, renewable and non-toxic materials to create a space that inspires healing. As Perkins+Will’s initial research discovered, the parallel goals of “dignity” and “respect” are the attributes that patients most wanted to see reflected in the design of the Clinic. These patients, low income uninsured residents of Arlington County, have received quality healthcare services at AFC
from volunteer professionals and community partners for the past 15 years.
The design team also included Integral Group for mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems as well as LEED commissioning, Washington Workplace for furniture and equipment and Bognet, the General Contractor. Perkins+Will’s exploration of the effect of the design has continued through post occupancy evaluations and related research studies. To arrange a tour, please contact Ms. Duffy Day at – Tama.DuffyDay@perkinswill.com
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About LEED® Gold
The LEED® Gold level certification is recognition that the project met more than 32 of 57 available credits under the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) evaluation system for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI). Each credit indicates the successful implementation of a sustainable design strategy. Due to the perseverance of AFC and the team throughout construction, the final certification level was actually a level higher than the original team goal of Silver (i.e. more than 27 of 57 credits).
About Arlington Free Clinic
Arlington Free Clinic provides free, high quality medical care for low income uninsured Arlington County adults through the generosity of private donations and volunteers. Last year, AFC provided almost 10,000 patient visits including primary care, specialty care, acute care, mental health, physical therapy and patient education. The pharmacy provided over 15,000 prescriptions.
About Perkins+Will
Celebrating 75 years of design innovation, Perkins+Will (www.perkinswill.com) is an integrated design firm serving clients from offices in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, Hartford, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Research Triangle Park, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Vancouver, and Washington, DC. In May 2010, the firm was honored by the National Building Museum for “Civic Innovation,” and was cited for having advanced the quality of our built environment through unique civic and social innovations. With more LEED(r) Accredited Professionals than any firm in North America, Perkins+Will is recognized as the preeminent sustainable design firm in the country. The firm practices architecture, interiors, branded environments, planning + strategies and urban design with clients in aviation, corporate + commercial + civic, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, and science + technology markets. Perkins+Will routinely ranks among the world’s top design firms and has
received hundreds of awards, including the prestigious American Institute of Architects’ “Firm of the Year Award.”
AFC Sustainable Design Fact Sheet
Sustainable Sites
– Locating within an urban community allows users access to public transportation and existing community infrastructure.
– Bicycle storage racks, a changing room and shower were provided to promote biking to work.
– A new Car Pooling Program for staff encourages transportation sharing.
Water Efficiency
– Water use was reduced by 31.58% through the use of low flow fixtures, flush control values and motion sensor faucets. A significant accomplishment, as all exam rooms have hand washing sinks and code required 4 rest rooms for the space.
Energy + Atmosphere
– The HVAC system was designed to increase comfort for occupants by monitoring carbon dioxide levels in high density spaces to reduce the amount of unnecessary cooling when unoccupied.
– Lighting Power was reduced by 32% over that allowed by ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004.
– The HVAC equipment exceeds the efficiency requirements outlined in the New Buildings Institute’s E-Benchmark by 15%.
– The Clinic purchased Certified Renewable Energy Credits to offset 50% of their energy use.
Materials + Resources
– 85.51% of all construction waste was recycled, resulting in reductions of trips to a land fill.
– Of all construction materials, furniture and furnishings specified, 79.86% were regionally manufactured (within 500 miles), reducing transportation and shipping effects on the environment.
– 11.3% of construction components and furniture were extracted locally (within 500 miles).
Indoor Environmental Quality
– All construction products used were below the thresholds for the release of Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) as defined by the USGBC.
– The HVAC system offsets the energy required to provide 50% more outside air to the occupants than prescribed by ASHRAE 62.1-2004.
– Outdoor air qualities delivered to the space are constantly monitored and maintained through an airflow measuring station.
– Staff were provided with individual task lighting to adjust their immediate environment to specific task needs.
Innovation + Design
– The Clinic purchased an additional year of Certified Renewable Energy Credits to offset 50% of their energy use for a total two-year contract.
– AFC implemented a Sustainable Building Education Outreach and Signage Program. With over 500 staff and volunteers and thousands of patients, sustainable education is widely visible in the Clinic. There are 25 signage plaques describing and illustrating sustainable components within the Clinic. English and Spanish are both showcased to describe topics such as recycled material, energy efficiency, water use reduction, green power and indoor air quality.
– AFC elected to contract with an organization that practices green housekeeping in efforts to bar harmful chemicals from the facility during routine cleaning and maintenance.
