Overstock.com headquarters earns LEED Gold certification

Overstock.com Inc. has announced that Peace Coliseum, its Salt Lake City-based global headquarters, has been awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

Peace Coliseum achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

“We’re proud Peace Coliseum is the latest LEED Gold certified building on the Wasatch front,” says Overstock.com Senior Vice President Carter Lee. “Sustainability was not an afterthought on this project; it was a major goal from day one, and I’m proud to say we’ve built an environmentally responsible corporate campus that rivals anything else in Silicon Slopes.”

The building is capable of housing up to 2,000 associates. The 231,000-square-foot structure resembles a classic Roman coliseum from the ground and the peace symbol from the air.

“From day one of designing our campus, it was imperative that Peace Coliseum reflected our company’s vibrant and innovative culture, and our commitment to a healthy and sustainable workplace,” says Meghan Tuohig, Overstock’s vice president of people care and head of the Peace Coliseum design project. “This LEED Gold certification demonstrates our focus on environmental stewardship.”

Overstock worked with several Salt Lake City-based companies for the project, including Gardner Co., which handled the real estate development; EDA Architects Inc., which was responsible for the design of Peace Coliseum and submission for LEED certification; and Okland Construction.

“Achieving LEED certification is more than implementing sustainable practices. It represents a commitment to making the world a better place and influencing others to do better,” says Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. "Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role of the building industry in that effort, Overstock.com demonstrates their leadership through their LEED certification of Peace Coliseum.”

Attributes of the building that contributed to the LEED Gold certification include:

• harvesting and manufacturing nearly one third of the construction materials from within 500 miles of Peace Coliseum, including more than 14,000 cubic yards of locally sourced concrete;
• sourcing nearly one quarter of construction materials from recycled components;
• the selection of a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site as the location for the building;
• installation of View Dynamic Glass, which is designed to reduce energy costs and improve employee comfort by automatically tinting based on the sun's orientation, time of year and local weather conditions;
• a heating and cooling system that uses variable refrigerant flow technology designed to transfer heat energy created from the on-site data center to heat the building;
• plumbing fixtures designed to provide a 35 percent reduction in potable water use, which totals approximately 778,640 gallons saved per year;
• fresh air intake monitoring system designed to maintain an optimal carbon dioxide (CO2) balance; and
• adjacency to the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Trax commuter rail and other public transportation.