Recent Building Performance Projects Certified in Pittsburgh

In the first quarter of 2024 we helped wrap up two unique projects that earned different types of  certifications for building performance, adding to our roster of over 100 certified green buildings. Both projects are from repeat clients with extensive portfolios of buildings that are among the region’s most sustainable: Carnegie Mellon University and Oxford Development Company.

Downtown Pittsburgh’s tower at 411 Seventh Avenue, aka the historic Chamber of Commerce Building and current headquarters for Duquesne Light Company, achieved an ENERGY STAR Rating for the fourth time with our assistance. The rating based on 2023 data earned the building a score of 85 — the highest score since Oxford Development Company began tracking its energy usage. This means the building is in the 15% most energy-efficient buildings of its type nationally. It’s a great achievement particularly for a building that is 100 years old!

evolveEA was a sustainability advisor on the 114,000 SF residence hall for Carnegie Mellon University, supporting the design team which included Goody Clancy, IKM, and Arup. The project, which includes a neighborhood serving grocery market, has capacity to house over 250 students. Forbes Beeler Apartments achieved LEED Gold certification, and is the seventeenth LEED certified project for which evolveEA has consulted over our twenty-year working relationship with the University. To date, the evolve team has helped CMU certify over 1.2 million square feet of facilities through the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.