Designed by Fentress Architects, Nashville Airport’s new Concourse D has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, in recognition of the project’s sustainable, wellness-oriented design and construction process.
The certification makes Nashville’s new $292 million, 115,000 sq. ft. concourse one of only five constructed airport facilities in the US, and one of nine airport facilities worldwide, to earn LEED Silver under the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) rigorous LEED v4 standards.
The most widely used green building rating system in the world, LEED is seen as an international symbol of excellence. The programme’s performance-based approach and progressive sustainability benchmarks are designed to optimise building performance and support occupant health and wellbeing.
“Fentress Architects has been at the forefront of green building design for over four decades,” said Curtis Fentress, FAIA, RIBA, Principal in Charge of Design at Fentress Architects. “Energy conservation is a key element of not only our design approach, but our values as a firm. We are proud to have leveraged our expertise, along with the commitment of all partners involved in this significant project, to realise BNA’s forward-thinking sustainability standards.”
The expansion of the airport’s concourse was completed in July 2020 and has elevated the airport as a world-class facility with six domestic aircraft gates, public art, diverse traveller amenities, and improved ramp amenities and function space.
Commenting on the LEED certification as a coveted mark of environmental distinction, Nashville Airport’s President and CEO Dough Kreulen said: “We’re building not only a bigger airport, but also a better, greener, more sustainable airport. I’m proud of our commitment to these principles and appreciative of all the hard work that went into obtaining this recognition.”
The project’s green design and construction components include: electrochromic glass that blocks out excessive sunlight and heat for passengers’ comfort while reducing glare and energy consumption for climate control; energy efficient and programmable lighting that dims when natural light is adequate for visibility; a focus on human health and wellness with features including an abundance of dayglighting, green cleaning practices and water bottle filling stations; light-coloured building and paving materials that retain less heat, reducing energy use while mitigating heat-island effect; geothermal cooling; water-conserving plumbing and recycling bins throughout the concourse and 80% of construction waste diverted from landfills.
“At every stage of the project, from the design process to construction, the project team remained committed to aligning our approach with the airport’s sustainability targets,” said Deborah Lucking, AIA LEED AP BD+C, Director of Sustainability at Fentress Architects. “Fentress is committed to advancing sustainability and human wellness in the built environment and achieving LEED v4 Silver showcases the project team’s dedication to going far beyond the minimum LEED requirements to achieve certfication,” she concluded.
