Home Depot Smart Home Receives LEED Platinum
Posted: 09-18-2008 : DURHAM, N.C.

Durham, NC -- The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke University was recently awarded LEED Platinum Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Of the 96 LEED Platinum buildings worldwide, the Smart Home is the first residence hall. For SmithGroup, the project’s managing architect, the Smart Home becomes the firm’s 20th LEED Certified project.

“The students’ commitment to innovation and integration of sustainable technology was the driving-force behind the development and success of this project and was a source of inspiration to the SmithGroup team who worked with them. The opportunity to participate in the Smart Home project highlighted the critical need to push current technologies, assumptions and knowledge,” said SmithGroup Associate Patty Boyle, AIA, LEED AP.

For the 6,000 square foot Smart Home, which serves as a residential dorm for up to 10 students, Duke University turned to SmithGroup to provide construction administration and design services including evaluation and incorporation of value-engineering decisions and material donations. SmithGroup and Construction Manager Bovis Lend Lease had the opportunity to work closely with the University, project sponsor, The Home Depot, and other key stakeholders to achieve the ultimate goal of creating a “smart”, sustainable home.

As a “living laboratory,” the residence hall is a testing ground for smart and sustainable technologies developed by its residents and students of the Smart Home Program. Sponsored by Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, the program was initially developed by a student as a senior thesis. Today, the Smart Home program has evolved to include the participation of over 450 students, several of whom represented the university during the process of design and construction.

The Smart Home integrates several readily available sustainable systems including rainwater harvesting, solar hot water heating, photovoltaic panels, green roof, rain garden, energy recovery ventilator, and renewable and recycled materials. Alongside these systems, many innovative technologies developed by the students are integrated into the home including voice recognition systems, shower water heat recovery, and energy performance and water usage monitoring systems. SmithGroup also provided innovative contributions to the home, working collaboratively with students to design a removable wall panel system allowing easy access to infrastructure within the walls and integration of future experiments.

Tom Rose, Duke University’s Director Emeritus of the Smart Home Program, said, “Working towards this achievement has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life, and is a great example of a massive team effort combining to produce results greater than the sum of its parts.“

With 69 points being the maximum number of credits achievable in LEED for new construction, the Smart Home received 59 total points, making it one of the highest ranked LEED Platinum buildings in existence.

About SmithGroup
SmithGroup (www.smithgroup.com) ranks as the nation's 9th largest architecture and engineering firm (Building Design & Construction, July 2008) and employs 800. The firm is composed of client industry-focused practices serving the learning, healthcare, workplace and science & technology markets. With 253 LEED accredited professionals and 20 LEED certified projects, SmithGroup is a national leader in sustainable, environmentally intelligent design.

SmithGroup, designed the world’s first LEED Platinum building, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, MD. SmithGroup also earned a LEED Platinum rating for the Science and Technology facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO.

SmithGroup has offices Ann Arbor, MI, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; Madison, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Phoenix, AZ; Raleigh-Durham, NC; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, D.C.

Established in 1853, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the U.S.