High Density Compact Racks Helps Houston Police Department Achieve LEED Building Certification

Houston, Texas (15 March 2010) The Houston Police Department (HPD) central Property and Evidence facility has achieved LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. With the new property room facility, HPD has consolidated functions previously housed in outdated and inadequate structures into a highly functional 21st Century building. (read more about high density storage systems)

LEED certification was achieved through the use of sustainable design and construction practices:

• Recycled and regional materials were used throughout the construction process, and the contractor utilized construction waste management to divert 75% of the construction waste from local landfills.
• The project was constructed with recycled content materials as well as with materials extracted and produced within 500 miles of the site.
• The Thermoplastic roof system has a reflectance of 78% to reduce mechanical and energy loads.
• Interior lighting is activated by motion sensors resulting in electricity savings for areas that are not fully occupied.
• Interior finish materials are low emitting to enhance the indoor air quality.
• Predicted energy savings for the building exceed 25% more than a conventionally designed baseline building.
• The project is located on an urban infill site with close proximity to public transit.

The 2.4-acre site was master planned to accommodate the new HPD Property Room building along with future HPD facilities. The buildings have been sited to facilitate evidence and property flow throughout the complex and to maximize utilization of the space on the site.

The facility was designed to maintain the integrity of evidence through proper security and climate control. A storage system of high and/or movable shelving allows each item to be radio frequency tagged and accessible for retrieval without moving another object. Utilizing the high warehouse storage capacity efficiently helps double or even triple the amount of inventory able to be stored in the warehouse.

PageSoutherlandPage team members include: Programming: Anthony Wright, Jamie Flatt Hickey, and Kevin Kelly; Architecture: Joan Albert, Autumn Anderson, Melanie Starman Bash, Ken Black, Jeff Bricker, Trinisha Bugg, Rob Owens, and Jun Zou; MEP Engineering: Sebastian Asvaraksh, Bill Cherne, Ben Clemons, Mike Huszka, George Logan, Garrett Neubauer, Cyril Unger, Darrell Widner, and Chris Wilson; Interiors: David Hildebrand and Marissa Yu; and LEED/Commissioning: Jonathan Vaughan and Joanna Yaghooti.