Toledo's new green arena
05 November 2009With around 25,000 square feet of Pilkington energy saving glass in the façade, the new $74 million Lucas County Arena in downtown Toledo, Ohio, aims to be the first new pro sports venue in North America to meet LEED green credentials.
LEED is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program launched by the US Green Building Council in 2002 as a voluntary benchmark for building design and construction worldwide. Buildings score points towards certification by meeting environmental standards in six categories.
The 8,000-seat arena uses a highly energy-efficient combination of Pilkington Solar-E™ and Pilkington Energy Advantage™ Low-E in the units for the exterior façade. Pilkington Optiwhite™ has been used for interior stair wells, balustrades and boxes, to give spectators the clearest possible view of the action taking place in the main hall.
In the concourse around the arena are suspended sheets of Pilkington Arctic Blue™ float, grey float and an experimental gold reflective glass, engraved with sporting logos, symbols and musical notes.
“This has been a very exciting project for us,” said Mike Krasula, senior manager of commercial products for Building Products North America.
“Not only did Pilkington donate the glass used throughout the building to support our local community, because it is so close to our own office in downtown Toledo and has used all local contractors, we have been intimately involved in the whole design and construction process.”
“It was exciting to work alongside the other parties involved and to have been able to watch the whole project taking shape.”