LaGuardia Terminal B Receives LEED v4 Gold Certification
The airport terminal is the first in the world to meet LEED v4 requirements
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced that LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B has been awarded LEED v4 Gold certification for the completed phases of the new terminal. Terminal B, which opened in June 2020, is the first airport terminal building in the world to meet the more stringent LEED Gold version 4 standards for building design and construction.
The certification recognizes specific benchmarks the project meets for energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, and waste reduction. The completed phases of the project are the Arrivals and Departures Hall, Eastern Concourse, Eastern Pedestrian Bridge and the Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant.
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification was developed by the US Green Building Council and has become recognized internationally as the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Buildings earn one of four LEED rating levels – Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum – based on the number of sustainability and design construction criteria they meet.
LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the private entity managing and redeveloping LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B, along with partners, Vantage Airport Group, Meridiam, Skanska, Walsh Group, HOK, and WSP, kept sustainability at the forefront in both the design of the terminal and during construction.
Following the demolition of the old parking garage, 99 percent of debris was recycled into materials for new construction. To reduce summer cooling loads and greenhouse gas emissions, Terminal B’s roof was covered with a light-colored aluminum membrane that reflects solar heat more effectively than conventional materials.
A technology-based Building Management System allows optimization of heating and cooling by supplying the right amount of fresh air when and where it’s needed. Additionally, the baggage handling system moves only when bags are present on the system and goes into ‘sleep mode’ when not in use, saving at least 37 percent of energy compared to airports using older technology.
“Achieving LEED v4 Gold status at Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport under the stringent version 4 requirements underscores our commitment to live up to ever higher sustainability targets as we completely transform LaGuardia from the ground up,” said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Stewart Steeves, CEO, LaGuardia Gateway Partners, added, “LaGuardia Gateway Partners prioritized sustainability throughout the redevelopment project by building Terminal B to be as energy-efficient as possible. As the long-term operators of Terminal B, we continue to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint.”
In addition to earning the LEED v4 Gold designation, the Terminal B redevelopment project was also awarded the first Envision Platinum Award for commitment to sustainable practices and resiliency from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) in 2019. laguardiaairport.com
