NEW YORK - Environmental Market Solutions Inc. (EMSI), an environmental and green building consulting company and a part of Carrier Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp., provided consulting services for Century Prosper Center, the first speculative commercial office building in China to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED®) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The $250 million, 1.6 million-square-foot twin tower building in the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District was completed in the first quarter of 2008. At capacity, the building can house 10,000 occupants and will include retail and commercial offices.

To improve its energy efficiency, the building features a high-performance curtain wall system that keeps heat outside the building during the summer and inside during the winter; variable-speed, high-efficiency electric centrifugal chillers with a secondary loop to cool building parameters zones; demand-control ventilation; and free-cooling during swing seasons along with reductions in lighting power density.

Combined, these features can reduce Century Prosper Center’s energy costs by $173,000 annually. Water-conserving fixtures and a system to reuse water reduce the center’s water use by 52 percent. In addition, compared to a similar project, building construction waste was reduced 58 percent.

The building’s owners have also vowed to incorporate a green housekeeping program, including using nontoxic cleaning products and employing green practices throughout the building.

“EMSI was instrumental in helping the project meet the high standard of energy and environmental performance goals required for LEED Gold,” said Kenneth Langer, president, EMSI. “It was a very successful collaboration which opened doors to promote the green building process, LEED rating system, and the U.S. Green Building Council’s role in the region.”

For more information, visit www.carrier.com.

Publication date: 07/28/2008