International real estate advisor Savills is proud to be awarded a gold standard LEED® green building certification for the interior design and construction of its headquarters in Spain. Savills Madrid office in Castellana 81 has been refurbished by the company’s architecture team and it is currently the only office building in Madrid with a LEED® GOLD v4 standard for its interior design and construction.
Administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED® green building certification program is a globally recognised benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Savills has been certified by the fourth version of this benchmark, for which the criteria creates huge technical challenges, especially in terms of design and materials.
The Savills team strictly followed the certification criteria throughout the design and build process and managed to score exceptionally well on the use of low toxic emission materials and products.
Leyre Octavio de Toledo, Head of Architecture, Savills Spain, who led the refurbishment project, comments: “I should emphasize that we are the first company that has managed to score in the section of low-emission materials within the offices themselves. We were committed to using materials that emit little or no toxicity to the environment. Furthermore, we have also focussed on air quality and the air into the building is filtered to prevent toxicity emitting into the interior of our workspace either.”
The building where Savills Madrid office is located, Castellana 81, is already LEED® Core&Shell and WELL® Core accredited. From the outset therefore, it is a building that has made a firm commitment to the environment and human wellbeing. In addition, Savills has brought sustainability into the everyday life of the workplace, proving that it transcends both architechture and design. The team has implemented a series of strategies that further guarantee the quality of the air and the materials that are used. For example, almost everything is recycled and plastic water bottles are forbidden, as is bottled mineral water. Madrid’s water is apparently excellent.
"Not only is the building itself sustainable, but our offices are sustainable as well,” adds Leyre. “We are committed to creating sustainable spaces because we are aware of their impact on the environment and people’s health and wellbeing. Such an accreditation is undoubtedly the most esteemed in our industry and designing a space to benefit our own people has been a privilege. Our experience and expertise in this field ensures we are now best placed to advise clients setting out to achieve their own carbon neutral targets.”