The Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC) is a multi-institutional product development and commercialization consortium made possible through a $60 million grant from the State of Ohio’s Third Frontier Project. Led by the Cleveland Clinic, GCIC is focused on developing, incubating, and commercializing innovative cardiovascular technology for the benefit of patients worldwide and to facilitate economic development in the State of Ohio. The 50,000-square-foot GCIC building achieved LEED-NC v2.2 Gold Certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use, as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. With their inherent complexity of systems, health and safety requirements, long-term flexibility and adaptability needs, energy use intensity, and environmental impacts, laboratory facilities present a unique challenge for achieving energy efficient and sustainable design. The typical laboratory is anywhere from 3 to 8 times as energy intensive as a typical office building, with operating costs running about three times as much per unit area.
Measuring Our Green Building Results
The US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system outlines standards on a point-based system. Points are categorized as noted in this diagram, with a set number of available points in each category, based on the building type. We track our LEED projects throughout the design and construction process, and submit the required documentation to the USGBC at project completion for certification. We have noted the number of achieved points in each category in green, the attempted points in dark gray and the total available points in light gray.
