The Berks County Community Foundation (BCCF), a nonprofit whose mission is to promote philanthropy and improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County, Pennsylvania, earned LEED Platinum (NCv2.2) certification for this headquarters and community conference center. The first LEED certified office building in the greater Reading area, this facility serves both to strengthen the Foundation’s presence in the community and to set an example of affordable sustainable building.

Utilizing 7group’s integrative design process, the Foundation’s new office facility was developed such that all sustainable features have a payback period of ten years or less. Facility owners, occupants, architects, construction managers and design consultants jointly created a blueprint that would be successful on paper and in action. According to BCCF President Kevin Murphy, “the integrated design process allowed us to bring in our mechanical engineers early...so we could make small changes to the design that would have a huge impact on the building’s environmental footprint without having a huge impact on the budget”.

Features include energy efficient lighting fixtures and appliances, external shading devices, reduced lighting power density, CO2 monitors, occupancy sensors and daylighting controls. The use of low-flow plumbing fixtures, waterless urinals and a 5,000 gallon cistern that collects rainwater for toilet flushing and tap water use reduced the building’s water consumption by 85%. A radiant heating and cooling system (left bottom image), energy recovery for the dedicated OA system and efficient boilers contribute to the building’s modeled energy savings projected at over 42%. 7group’s commissioning services were critical in identifying areas of the building during the first several months of occupancy that required further attention to reach their full potential. These final commissioning-based amendments facilitated the successful closeout of this project.