TK Elevator’s Innovation and Qualification Center in Atlanta achieves LEED Gold certification

April 22, 2022

the TK elevator test tower is lit up at dusk. An office building sits to its left housing the Papa John's headquarters.

TK Elevator’s Innovation and Qualification Center (IQC) featuring the tallest elevator test tower in North America has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. Created by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Brasfield & Gorrie was the project’s general contractor.

To achieve LEED Gold certification, the IQC realized a 12% reduction in embodied carbon compared to typical construction through concrete mix optimization – using ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash. This approach saved 2.36 million pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions. The IQC achieved more than a 40% reduction in potable water use compared to baseline buildings through the selection of efficiency flush and flow fixtures that will save 60,000 gallons of water annually.

The IQC utilizes a Smart Building metering system, which fully integrates specialty equipment such as HVAC and lighting. The Department of Energy estimates that a building employing this system can realize up to 45% energy savings as the elevators put power back into the building with regenerative drives, reducing the energy load of elevators.

In addition, TK Elevator prioritized the materials used throughout the IQC, installing products that were produced with a high recycled content, reducing the need for raw materials and ensuring natural resources could be preserved. This includes using carpet comprised of recycled PET plastic, flooring tile verified to have the lowest global warming potential among comparable products, as well as finish materials tested and proven to have low VOC emissions, contributing to a healthier indoor air quality. TK Elevator’s own products also complied with many of the materials credits as its elevators boast the industry’s first Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) focused on environmental and human health.

Learn more in a press release from TK Elevator.