Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) Health Center at Landstown has received LEED for New Construction Version 4 Silver certification. With this designation, the HDR-designed pediatric health center is the first in Virginia to meet the challenging green building requirements for LEED-NC v4 and the ninth in the United States.

“CHKD is dedicated to the health and well-being of our community and the families we serve,” says John Harding, chief operating officer of CHKD. “Pursuing a LEED v4 Silver aligns with CHKD’s work as a responsible advocate for local health and a steward of our community’s resources.”

A leading provider of the region’s pediatric healthcare services, the CHKD Health Center at Landstown is a three-story, 70,000-square-foot ambulatory care facility located in the heart of the Sportsplex neighborhood of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The facility offers access to pediatric outpatient specialty clinics including allergy, dermatology, orthopedics, sports rehabilitation and performance, lab services and imaging.

“The sustainable design process began with an understanding of the challenges to be encountered with being one of the first non-pilot LEED v4 facilities in the country,” said Jason Beshore, healthcare principal for HDR.

“We worked with CHKD early in the process, and throughout, to ensure the certification strategically focused on LEED features that best achieved their goals. In the end, CHKD successfully translated their leadership in pediatric healthcare and applied it to the built environment through sustainable design.”

The new, energy-efficient, green facility will reduce energy costs by 35 percent, indoor water use by 37 percent, and outdoor water use by 50 percent. Energy efficiencies can be monitored via a kid-friendly, interactive dashboard in real-time.

“Our ability to track and monitor energy and water consumption reflects CHKD’s commitment to the overall health and education of our community,” said Tamika Harris, vice president of facilities and support services at CHKD.

The design of the facility was driven by CHKD’s guiding principle of advancing the health and well-being of its patients and visitors, which were then prioritized by sustainable project goals that were integrated both inside and throughout the surrounding exterior. CHKD emphasized the importance of physical activity, reducing waste, avoiding materials with toxic content, daylight access and more.

HDR’s design team implemented these goals throughout the space, including day-lit staircases filled with artwork to encourage climbing the stairs in place of riding the elevator; and low-emitting interior building materials and furniture, which have been chamber tested according to CDPH Standard Method v1.1. Low-allergy and climate-appropriate plants also adorn the interiors and occupant comfort is further enhanced by daylighting and views from exam rooms, offices and lobby areas to the outdoors.

Additional sustainable features of the CHKD Health Center at Landstown include:

• Innovative HVAC displacement ventilation system in main lobby and third floor waiting area to efficiently condition the open space
• Green cleaning practices promote a healthy environment for building occupants and housekeeping staff
• Community connectivity—the building is located within walking distance to over 10 services and just steps away from a bicycle trail network
• LED lighting
• Hot water reheat system for the terminal units and radiation devices
• High-performance glazing
• Enhanced commissioning of HVAC, plumbing, lighting systems and building envelope
• CO2 monitoring system
• Full cut-off exterior light fixtures to reduce light pollution

The full project team included: HDR, Inc., (Architecture, Interior Design, Way-finding and Signage, Medical Equipment Planning), NRW Engineering, Valley Engineering, VHB Engineering, Gov Solutions, Distinctive Art Solutions, W.M. Jordan Company.