Retrofit of the Empire State Building

I got an email from RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) today about the success of the retrofit of the Empire State Building. In April of 2009, the Empire State Building Company announced a $550 million renovation which expected to save 38 percent of the building’s energy, and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 105,000 metric tons over fifteen years.

After 10 months, the project is finished and improvements are expected to decrease the building’s energy costs by $4.4 million annually, increase tenant occupancy rates and enhance work environments.  

The beginning of the letter:
We are excited to announce that, along with project partners Jones Lang LaSalle, Clinton Climate Initiative and Johnson Controls, RMI has won the Sustainable Building Industry Council’s "Beyond Green High Performance Building Award" for the retrofit of the Empire State Building!

Rocky Mountain Institute Awarded the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council’s 2009 High-Performance Building Award (Feb. 25, 2010 by RMI )

RMI Retrofits America's Favorite Skyscraper (April 2009 By Molly Miller)

The Iconic Empire State Building Gets a Makeover
Consulting, design, and construction partners Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle, and Rocky Mountain Institute recently completed an eight-month modeling and analysis project which will save 38 percent of the building's energy and $4.4 million annually.

(ps. There is also a diagram tell people how taking the right steps in the right order can make all the differences)


RMI's RetroFit

Greening an Icon: The Empire State Building: An Economic Approach to Retrofits (March 1, 2010, Architectural Record, by Alex Padalka)
This story first appeared in New York Construction.

The Height of Sustainability (By Sudip Bose | From Preservation | March/April 2010)
The owners of the Empire State Building are turning New York’s legendary skyscraper into a model of energy efficiency