{"id":15059,"date":"2017-11-30T16:26:53","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T21:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mote.org\/?p=15059"},"modified":"2024-11-13T16:32:27","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T21:32:27","slug":"mote-lab-earns-first-leed-gold-commercial-certification-in-monroe-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mote.org\/news\/mote-lab-earns-first-leed-gold-commercial-certification-in-monroe-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Mote Lab earns first LEED Gold Commercial certification in Monroe County"},"content":{"rendered":"
Media contacts<\/h5>\n

Mote Marine Lab:
\nHayley Rutger
\n941-374-0081
\nhrutger@mote.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc.
\nPeggy Kronus
\n941-366-3116, ext. 316
\npkronus@willissmith.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Two Trails Inc. – Sustainable Building Consulting
\nTom Rupp
\n941-776-8680
\ncontact@twotrails.com<\/a>
\nTwoTrails.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Mote Marine Laboratory\u2019s coral reef research facility in the Florida Keys has become the first U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold Commercial certified building in Monroe County, honoring its outstanding, eco-friendly design and construction.<\/p>\n

Mote\u2019s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration (IC2R3), which opened in May 2017, is advancing Mote\u2019s critical mission: marine research supporting conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. IC2R3, the newest facility among Mote\u2019s five Florida campuses, works to address the grand challenges facing Earth\u2019s \u201cunderwater rainforests\u201d: coral reefs.<\/p>\n

Dovetailing with that mission, LEED \u2014 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design \u2014 is the world\u2019s most widespread rating system for green buildings, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe planned for this facility to embody our ocean-friendly, planet-friendly mission \u2014 that was our vision from day one,\u201d said Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby. \u201cNow, as scientists and students from around the globe collaborate at this cutting-edge base of operations, they can take pride not only in what we achieve together, but also how we achieve it \u2014 with great care for minimizing our environmental footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

IC2R3 replaced older facilities at Mote\u2019s Summerland Key campus, more than doubling its research space. There, Mote scientists raise and study more than 20 species of hard corals and maintain a broodstock reserve facility to produce thousands of coral fragments for reef restoration and for studies of coral resilience amid the warmer, more acidic oceans expected in Earth\u2019s future. IC2R3 also serves hundreds of other scientists from more than 60 different institutions worldwide who are working to restore and protect reefs.<\/p>\n

With Mote\u2019s specifications in mind, Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc., built IC2R3 to include 30.1 kilowatt solar panels, a rainwater capture system, significant proportions of recycled and local building materials, and other eco-friendly features.\u00a0The facility offers scientists and students eight residential suites, five offices, two wet labs and one prep lab on the second floor, three dry labs, one prep lab and one ocean acidification lab on the third floor, two electric car charging stations, two indoor classrooms and one outdoor classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWillis Smith Construction\u2019s goal was always to strive for USGBC LEED Gold certification for Mote\u2019s new coral research facility,\u201d said John LaCivita, Vice President at Willis Smith Construction. \u201cWith that in mind, even before we started putting ink to paper, we reviewed every line item on the LEED checklist and determined what would be possible in the Keys. Keeping those specific target items in mind, we then began the design collaboration.\u00a0 It worked!\u201d<\/p>\n

The LEED Gold facility houses the Alfred Goldstein Institute for Climate Change Studies and offers scientists access to new seawater systems, raceways and experimental tanks for studying multiple reef species facing climate change impacts such as rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification; molecular equipment to process and prepare samples for next generation sequencing and genomic analyses \u2014 for example, to find the best genetic strains of corals for reef restoration; microbial supplies for studying microscopic life forms that can help or harm coral reefs; a carbonate chemistry lab for ocean acidification research; and more.<\/p>\n

This year, Two Trails Inc. – Sustainable Building Consulting assessed IC2R3 for LEED Commercial certification. They documented these key features:<\/p>\n