David L. Lawrence Convention Center

Designed by Rafael Viñoly, the world's first green convention center features roof skylights and walls of glass that produce diffused light and uniform temperature, admitting natural daylight into 75 percent of the space. The building’s shape captures natural airflow from the Allegheny River to help ventilate and cool the building, which, combined with other features to minimize energy usage - such as occupancy and daylight sensors - creates an annual energy savings of about 35 percent. The water reclamation system reduces potable water use by 60 percent.

Paladino and Company validated and optimized the existing building design, in particular, recommending a catenary roof design using 30% less steel as compared to a deep truss roof structure This activity included:

• Providing peer review of the design to identify additional sustainable design strategies
• Validating the design through technical analysis such as energy modeling, daylighting and structural efficiency
• Coaching, guiding and supporting the integration of the selected sustainable design features
• Assessing the design against a third party rating system, LEED®, and developing Innovation and Design documentation as part of the LEED® application