Bick Group i-Building^®

Our business is to design, build and sustain mission-critical facilities. So we applied our decades of experience to our own headquarters building, which is an intelligent building,
or i-Building®. Many of the design concepts and construction methods we used in our i-Building® are similar to those found in mission-critical facilities, but with an added emphasis on “green” design and construction techniques. We began major renovations in November of 2005 and occupied the space in June of 2006. Today, our i-Building® is energy-efficient with a flexible design that we believe is better for the environment and our employees.  

Our Goals
As we do with every project, to build our new headquarters, we established key criteria:

1. Better Space for Employees. We wanted a space that offered plenty of daylight, views to the outside, operable windows, improved indoor air quality and functional, flexible features that would enhance employee productivity and satisfaction.
2. A Showcase for i-Building® and Mission Critical Facilities Best Practices. 
   We have to practice what we preach, so our building must reflect our expertise and experience in making facilities better for business in terms of being more flexible, more energy efficient and more cost effective.
3. USGBC LEED® Certification. Achieving a LEED® Gold level to affirm that our energy efficient, flexible i-Building® approach is indeed “green.”

Our Approach to Sustainability
We reused 75 percent of the shell from the original building, which was originally constructed in 1967 for a printing company. Energy efficiency strategies such as an under floor, convection-enhanced heating and cooling system; daylight harvesting; on-demand water heating; integrated building control systems; soy-based foam insulation; and a white roof are saving money on energy costs. Other sustainable building strategies included a green cleaning program; low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints and carpeting; low-flow water fixtures; native and draught-tolerant landscaping; rapidly renewable, recycled content materials for flooring, carpet, and many interior finishes; and regional materials for exterior stone cladding, curtainwall components and other materials.

About LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED is flexible enough to apply to all building types — commercial as well as residential. It works throughout the building lifecycle — design and construction, operations and maintenance, tenant fitout, and significant retrofit. And LEED for Neighborhood Development extends the benefits of LEED beyond the building footprint into the neighborhood it serves. Presently, the USGBC is working on a LEED rating system for Data Centers.

For more information, please visit www.usgbc.org