NEW YORK CITY—Plaza Construction's new 35,000-sq.-ft. Manhattan headquarters, comprising the entire seventh floor of 1065 Avenue of the Americas, has been awarded LEED Gold certification.
Plaza worked closely with New York-based Cosentini Associates, MEP engineering and sustainable design consultants, throughout the design phase of its new offices, prior to relocation in July of last year. HOK was the architect for Plaza’s space and lighting designer OneLux assisted. The Blackstone Group is the owner of the 35-story, 681,790-sq.-ft. tower located at West 40th Street.
Among the sustainable features of Plaza’s interior space are:
*Efficient lighting system designed to use 15 percent less energy as well as a system of controls to regulate the lighting when daylight is present or when rooms are empty;
*During construction, 93 percent of waste was diverted from landfill, and was either salvaged or recycled;
*20 percent of all materials, including drywall, contained recycled content;
*75 percent of all wood products were from environmentally and socially responsible forests, as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council;
*46 percent of all materials were sourced regionally within a 500-mile radius of the space, cutting down on transportation costs and pollution as well as stimulating local economies;
*All materials used emit low levels of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), ensuring less toxicity.
Plaza relocated from 260 Madison Avenue to 1065 Avenue of the Americas last summer, signing a 12-year lease at the building. Newmark Knight Frank’s Paul and Michael Ippolito represented Plaza in the negotiations, while Newmark Knight Frank’s Lance Korman acted on behalf of the landlord.