The New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) hired e4, inc., in conjunction with Horizon Engineering, to conduct a three month study of the feasibility of achieving a LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (EB: O&M) Silver Rating for three City cultural buildings and evaluating the approach as a way to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across the City portfolio of buildings. In addition to these three buildings, e4 also evaluated which credits could be addressed portfolio-wide. This was the first time that the City had commissioned a comprehensive study of applying LEED EB: O&M to their existing building stock.
The Peter Jay Sharp Building at the Brooklyn Academy of Music is a 119,000 square foot cultural and entertainment facility that boasts a 2,000 seat opera house, practice spaces, a café, a four screen cinema and staff office space. Completed in 1908, BAM receives more than half a million visitors per year.
The Flushing Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library (completed 1998) is a 76,000 square foot building that houses a branch library, an adult learning center, the International Resource Center and a state-of the-art auditorium and exhibit space.
The Administration West Building at the Bronx Zoo was originally built at the turn of the century to house the bird exhibit. In the early 90’s the building underwent a comprehensive renovation which turned the building into a 27,720 square foot administration building.
