After much hard work from project team members, the SFO American Airlines project successfully earned LEED Gold Certification! The project earned a total of 61 points, surpassing the LEED Gold threshold of 60.

The project, which received TCO in March, includes a lounge, operations area (which includes aircraft maintenance facilities, administrative offices, etc.), baggage service offices, and ticketing offices.

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Earning LEED Gold Certification for a project of this complexity was no easy feat.

The team accomplished numerous sustainability and energy efficiencies, including 8% energy performance improvement beyond the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 baseline, 44% potable water use reduction through the selection of low-flow fixtures, a life cycle assessment showing over 10% reduction from baseline, and procurement of sustainable materials with EPDs, HPDs, and Cradle to Cradle certificates.

“The American Airlines project was extremely fast-paced,” explains Project Engineer and LEED Champion Armando Pulido.  “This left little time for review and approval of the submittals before the materials were procured. It was a challenge that we were able to overcome by collaborating with our trade partners, our LEED consultant, and our Sustainability Department right from the beginning, especially during the design and preconstruction phases.”

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The early involvement of key partners proved to be crucial as the schedule was reduced by four months (25%) in order to coincide with the grand opening of SFO’s Terminal 1.

“The project called for a lot of coordination with the Terminal 1 Boarding Area B project and several of the tenant spaces that were being fitted out at the same time,” recalls Assistant Sustainability Manager Natalie Wheating. “This required some logistical efforts to be sure no team was performing activities that compromised efforts for another team. It was particularly important when the space was undergoing indoor air quality testing, as any small amount of activity could cause the testing to fail.”

The consistent collaboration and relentless dedication of team members ultimately led to the project’s success – despite the challenges they encountered along the way.

“I am proud to have delivered a high-quality project in such a condensed construction schedule,” adds Armando. “It couldn’t have been done without the proactive involvement of the project team, sustainability department, and LEED Consultant.

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