Building Science Consultants

Due to a tremendous interest in sustainability in Scottsdale, AZ, the popular podcast “Today and Tomorrow in Scottsdale” invited Green Ideas President Charlie Popeck to join the show. Charlie talked about his involvement in the founding of the Arizona Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council in 2002. And he shared several applied building science principles that he uses daily. The podcast is live on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube

Introduced over 25 years ago, the LEED green building rating system has provided a concise guideline for project teams targeting high-performance design, construction and operations practices for their developments and is the most widely recognized system in the marketplace. With the introduction of LEED v5, the USGBC promises to raise the bar for sustainable design by further defining and evolving best practices by providing stakeholders across the building industry clear pathways to address today’s challenges to our health, climate, and communities. LEED v5 focuses on impact areas that affect today’s building challenges like decarbonization, human and ecological health and resilience. The new version further defines what it means to be a high-performance building today, creating even greater investment potential. The new rating system provides clear, actionable steps to deliver ultra-low-carbon buildings by targeting emissions reductions across all aspects of the building lifecycle, including operations, embodied carbon, refrigerants, and transportation. LEED v5 will focus on quality of life and human health and well-being of building occupants and the surrounding communities, as well as various strategies to reduce risk and enhance resilience. USGBC chief products officer Sarah Zaleski stated that “LEED v5 provides the best practices and accountability to drive performance across all these dimensions, delivering tangible benefits to building owners and their stakeholders.” Registration is now open for three LEED v5 rating systems:1-Building Design and Construction2-Interior Design and Construction3-Building Operations and Maintenance You can learn more about the new LEED v5 rating system by visiting Green Ideas Building Science Consultants website or the USGBC website.

Green Ideas® Building Science Consultants has supported McCarthy Building Companies with their LEED General Contractor responsibilities for the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport T4S1 project which was recently certified at the LEED® SILVER level by the U.S. Green Building Council. Designed by Smith Group JJR and Corgan Architects, the T4S1 project is the eighth and final concourse at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal 4. The 129,636 SF project is a 3-level concourse with a basement, apron and passenger levels. The project also includes connector and transfer bridges, an expanded security checkpoint, eight new gates, an expansion of the ticketing area, baggage handling upgrades, concessions and retail facilities. The design provides modern passenger amenities and outbound baggage handling processing capacity to support Southwest Airlines’ future growth. McCarthy engaged Green Ideas to work with their onsite construction team to drive the high-performance building elements and complete the General Contractor required documentation for achievement of LEED certification for the project. T4S1 marks the 120th LEED certified project that Green Ideas Building Science Consultants has completed since its Arizona founding in in 2002. The company has also just completed the final LEED documentation for the Chase Sapphire Lounge project located within T4S1 with Alston Construction, which is on track to receive it’s LEED certification within the next month. Being at the forefront of sustainable building science, green building, and LEED certifications for over 22 years, Green Ideas is proud of its integral role at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and many other projects across the nation. The T4S1 project demonstrates sustainability leadership and innovation in many ways. Upon completion of the T4S1 project, Green Ideas’ President Charlie Popeck stated “It was a pleasure to  work with McCarthy Construction Company, Smith Group JJR and Corgan Architects on this project. We look forward to working with McCarthy on more  projects in the future. The General Contractor support services we offer to companies like McCarthy help to streamline the LEED certification process for many GCs across the country”.