OVERVIEW
Wilshire La Brea is a five-story, art deco apartment building located in LA’s historic Miracle Mile. It is located close to public transit, and tenants have the ability to park their bicycles securely within the building. By providing educational information to tenants regarding the environmental features of the building, such as low emitting materials installed within living spaces and walkable access to services, Wilshire La Brea encourages tenants to participate in sustainable living.
WHY LEED®?
Essex, the developer of Wilshire La Brea Apartments, is committed to including reasonably achieved Green design specifications into building designs of its development communities. LEED is seen as a premier industry benchmark that will help measure sustainable performance.Essex is committed to the goal of minimizing the carbon footprint of the communities it develops. The company evaluates the various alternatives of incorporating green design into its communities with the goal to maximize the efficiency of the buildings and minimize the energy usage to the extent economically feasible.
SUSTAINABLE FEATURES
Walkable Community
Two Metro stops are located in front of the building, one of which provides direct access into Downtown L.A.Vehicle trip reductions are expected, as residents will be able to walk to coffee shops, banks, post office, dining and a movie theater, all located within ¼ of a mile. Bicycle storage rooms encourages tenants to own and use bicycles, which also saves storage space by securely parking bicycles within the building.
Sustainable Site
A cool, white roof greatly minimizes solar heat absorption keeping upper units cooler, thus reducing the amount of cooling required by air conditioning units. The heat island effect occurs when the surrounding temperature is increased as concrete,steel and glass structures absorb and radiate the sun’s heat. An example of a heat island is a blacktop surface. Cool roofs help reduce the heat island effect by reflecting the sun’s heat away from the building.
All vehicle parking is located within subterranean levels of the project,therefore additional acreage was not consumed by parking.Underground parking also helps reduce the heat island effect.
Water Efficiency
Plants with low- and medium-watering needs were utilized. Irrigation system uses drip line and bubbler emitters and an automated timer and rain shut-off valve to further reduce the consumption of potable water. The result is a 63.6% reduction in water use for landscape irrigation.
Interior water consumption was reduced through the use of low flow toilets, kitchen and bath faucets and water-efficient shower heads that do not compromise comfort. As a result, the project earned a 31% reduction in indoor water use.
Energy Efficiency
Most return on investment in green buildings comes from energy efficiency. Wilshire La Brea exceeds the national standards for energy efficiency by more than 21%. LEDs, fluorescent lights, motion sensors, efficient heating and cooling equipment, and a cool roof helped to contribute to the score. Installed systems were verified as installed appropriately utilizing the building commissioning process – a system which ensures that building components perform as intended by the design.
Materials & Resources
80% (1,113 Tons) of waste generated by construction was reused, recycled, or otherwise diverted from landfills.The recycled content of materials used on the project equaled 29%.Twenty eight percent of materials used in construction were extracted and manufactured locally, within 500 miles of the project, thus reducing the amount of energy used to transport products over large distances.
Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality impacts occupant comfort and health and is often overlooked in green building. Wilshire La Brea is a non-smoking building which minimizes occupant exposure to secondhand.