San Diego Gains First LEED Platinum Certified Airport

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego International Airport is the first commercial airport in the world to be awarded LEED Platinum certification. The airport recently announced that the Green Build terminal expansion, which includes a 460,000-square-foot expansion of Terminal 2 West and 1.3 million square feet of new aircraft apron and taxiway areas, achieved the highest green rating offered by the USGBC.

“A minimum of LEED Silver certification is the standard for all new construction projects at the airport,” said Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the Airport Authority. “But Platinum for a project of this significance exemplifies this organization’s deep commitment to sustainable building practices.”

Construction for the $907 million design-build project was a joint venture between New York-headquartered Turner Construction Company; PCL Construction, headquartered in Denver; and Flatiron Construction, based in Firestone, Colo. The architect on the project was Kansas City, Mo.-headquartered HNTB.

“San Diego International Airport’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of the USGBC, in a statement. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and the Green Build serves as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish.”

In addition to the project being completed on time and approximately $45 million under budget, the construction team managed to divert 95 percent of construction material waste, approximately 54,000 tons, from landfills and used alternative-fuel equipment to reduce on-site fuel usage and emissions.

“From the onset, the Green Build was designed with an eye toward the environment,” said Dan McGuckin, operations manager for Turner Construction Company, in a statement. “Not only were we able to reduce our environmental footprint during the construction process, but we’ve constructed a new terminal that will be 32 percent more energy efficient than the standard code. We’re extremely proud of that.”

Sustainable features of the terminal expansion include a solar installation that will produce 12.5 percent of the terminal’s projected annual energy, low-flow water fixtures, drought-tolerant landscaping, daylighting, energy-efficient lighting and equipment, a reflective roof, an airfield storm drain filtration system and the use of low-VOC materials.

The airport also announced that another portion of the expansion, which included the terminal roadway system, new-dual-level roadway, curbside check-in and the USO building, achieved LEED Gold.

“The Green Build is the poster child for sustainability and environmental stewardship,” said Mike Lowe, project director for Kiewit/Sundt, which served as contractor on the design-build project, in a statement. “This project’s sustainability innovations, such as the use of previous pavements and recycling of construction materials, should be modeled by other airports, and we are proud to be a part of a project that is so committed to minimizing its impact on the environment.”

The Green Build accomplished many firsts in its sustainable efforts. The project is also the first airport in the U.S. to establish a sustainability policy, the first to publish a sustainability report to Global Reporting Initiative standard and is the first airport to sign the U.S. Climate Declaration.