For Immediate Release
January 9, 2019
Santa Clara County, CA. The newest wing of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, the Sobrato Pavilion, has received a prestigious GOLD rating as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified Building. LEED certification refers to buildings that have been designed, built, and maintained using best practice strategies for green building and energy efficiency.
“We are pleased to receive this highly respected certification. I would like to congratulate the design, engineering and construction partners, as well as our own staff, who made this possible,” said Paul Lorenz, Chief Executive Officer of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. “Their efforts and dedication made designing for sustainability a reality.”
The new hospital building is a 6-story, 370,000 square feet, 168 bed building designed to provide high quality intensive and acute care, as well as inpatient rehabilitation services for patients with spinal cord and brain injuries. The Sobrato Pavilion features private single bed rooms and accommodations for families.
“This new building is a reflection of our commitment to the environment. We have systems that minimize heat loss and gain, and advance water-conservation strategies,” stated Alex Gallego, Director of Facilities, County of Santa Clara Health System. “We have focused on optimal energy efficiency and have used local, recycled, and healthy materials because these are the right things to do.”
The LEED program is the most extensive and well-recognized standard that distinguishes green buildings from other buildings. The LEED program promotes high performance building practices through sustainable site design, water efficiency, energy efficiency, sustainable material selection and overall environmental quality, and use of environmentally preferred products and practices. SCVMC features for LEED Gold Certification include:
- Enhanced exterior wall system to minimize heat loss and gain, and improve patient and staff comfort;
- Low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) building materials to reduce indoor air pollution;
- Water efficient plumbing fixtures
- Three green roof areas to reduce surface water runoff and improved views from patient rooms;
- Recycling of a high percentage of construction waste;
- Use of sustainably harvested wood;
- Healthy, energy-efficient ventilation system;
- Landscape design to minimize irrigation; and,
- Exterior lighting to reduced night-time light pollutions.
Reducing outdoor light pollution into patient rooms and improved views from patient rooms were included in the design to improve the hospital’s patient and family experience.
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