Abstract
In 2006, the media conglomerate News Corporation engaged a carbon consulting firm to measure and report on the total carbon footprint of its entire global operations. The report showed that the company produced a metric of 641,150 tons of carbon dioxide annually. As a result, News Corporation set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2010, and engaged its employees, business partners, and audiences on the issues of energy and climate change. Fox Studios, an entertainment giant and subsidiary of News Corporation, embraced the opportunity to be at the forefront of this initiative.
Fox Studios presented the interior space designer Environetics with the challenge of creating a holistic, green design model for a new four-story, 33,239-square-foot building—Studio Building 104—which would house office and post-production space, including dressing rooms, private offices, cubicles, and AVID editing suites. The goal was to make every facet of this project green—from removal and re-use of existing portable units to construction, interior design, housekeeping, commuting, and recycling/re-use—and to motivate employees to embrace a change in their behavior at work that could carry over into their daily lives.
Using the example of Studio Building 104, this article provides architects, designers, and environmental building professionals with the insights and practical information necessary in attaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for projects that may be subjected to design changes. The article focuses on the challenges associated with LEED certification, provides innovative approaches to meet sustainability goals on a limited budget, and demonstrates how the project itself can be leveraged as a model for change at work, at home, and on the movie set.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.