The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is celebrating another sustainability success with its Airport Police Facility (APF) achieving the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. The award is the airport’s second LEED Gold win in the past month, following certification of LAX’s Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility.
Designed to adhere to CalGreen Tier 1, the APF’s newest designation is a globally recognized touchstone. As a hub of public safety and security at LAX, the 165,300 square-foot facility houses the largest police agency in the United States dedicated exclusively to 24-hour airport activity.
LAX is owned and operated by the city’s airport authority, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA).
“LAWA is committed to sustainable design and infrastructure, and to have two projects recognized with LEED Gold certification back-to-back is a testament to our progress,” said LAWA CEO Justin Erbacci. “With new initiatives on the way as a part of LAX’s multibillion-dollar Capital Improvement Program, we are continuing to create an airport where environmental and economic pledges move beyond policy into reality.”
Through LAX’s transformation, LAWA is continuing its longstanding commitment to advancing sustainability in the built environment and airport operations. In 2007, LAWA formalized its stance on the topic with the publication of its Sustainability Vision and Principles. These values were further bolstered in 2017 with the ratification of LAWA’s Sustainable Design and Construction Policy, which dictates all new building construction, major facility renovation projects, and non-building landside and airside projects be designed and built to achieve LEED Silver or higher.
At the APF, innovative construction and sustainability strategies included a dual-piping system for recycled water use, an integrated photovoltaic solar array, a 960-stall parking structure with features that mitigate environmental impacts, and a 12-foot-wide paseo landscaped with native and drought-resistant plants at the building’s southern edge.
“LAX’s new Airport Police Facility opened a little over a year-and-a-half ago, and since then, my team, members of the surrounding community, and I have enjoyed the benefits of greater efficiency, safety, and sustainability because of the building’s design,” said Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Cecil W. Rhambo Jr. “Being headquartered in a LEED Gold-certified facility brings even more satisfaction to our work of ensuring the safe and secure operations of the airport.”
To improve the communication and coordination of essential public safety services provided by the Airport Police, the facility also includes space for the APD Office of Operations, Office of Support Services, Office of Homeland Security and Intelligence, Emergency Service Unit, Traffic and Security Group, Bomb Disposal Unit, and K-9 Unit. Furthermore, a multi-purpose community room at the facility’s entrance creates a forum for public dialogue and engagement.
“LAX’s Airport Police Facility was created in collaboration with LAWA and the building’s users, resulting in an efficient design, in both materials and energy consumption,” said José Luis Palacios, design principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. “Responding to the site’s topography, the facility is a long and low, yet elegant, design that is respectful of its neighborhood.”
Images coutesy of LAWA/© Benny Chan | Fotoworks