Capitol Area East End Complex

The Capitol Area East Complex serves as an example of what can be accomplished when green building is integrated throughout each stage of planning, design and construction. Located on the east end of Sacramento’s Capitol Park, the project is a multi-block, mixed-use office development consolidating the headquarters operations of two major departments of California State government. The State of California required the design-build team to exceed state energy-efficiency standards by 30 percent, which meant incorporating sustainable technology at every opportunity throughout the project. These requirements affected every aspect of the work from planning to purchasing and material selection, site access, scheduling as well as construction phasing. In each instance, Clark succeeded in meeting or exceeding the environmental goals presented by the State. The project was LEED^® certified by the U.S. Green Building Council in October 2003.

During construction, over 95 percent of the construction debris – 15,000 tons - was diverted from landfills by incorporating waste management and innovative construction techniques, exceeding the project goal by 20 percent. Ninety percent of the structural steel was made from recycled components. More than 30,000 square feet of salvaged marble flooring from a nearby historic library and courts building was incorporated into the main lobbies of the buildings. Materials were selected for high recycling content and low emissions, including carpet with 53 percent recycling content and ceiling tiles with 82 percent recycled content.

Once the building was fully enclosed, 100 percent outside air was used to ventilate the spaces while the finish work was installed. Certain sequences of construction of the finish products were carefully managed in order to protect and ensure the healthiest of environmental spaces were being built. All “wet”applications of finish work, such as drywall taping and finishing, painting and adhesives associated with carpet and other flooring materials, were completed to include a curing period prior to installing the “absorptive”work, such as ceiling tiles, fabric wall panels, and furniture.

When outside air becomes too hot to use for air conditioning the complex, the air intake is automatically closed. Preconditioned air from inside the building is then cooled and re-circulated, consuming considerably less energy than cooling outside air, where ambient temperatures reach more than 100 degrees during the summer months. In addition, cool roofing materials on each building reflects sunlight and reduce cooling costs up to 40%.