Delhi:   Interface India, part of Interface, the worldwide leader in the design and production of carpet tiles, which combine beauty and sustainability with functionality and environmental credentials to help customers bring their design vision to life, announced that its Delhi facility has achieved the LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Platinum for Commercial Interiors (CI) certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC developed the LEED rating system to encourage the development of more sustainable buildings and interiors.

Raj Menon, Country Manager India, said “The Interface showroom in Delhi is amongst the very few facilities in India to receive the LEED-CI Platinum honour. Working in line with our company’s vision of Mission Zero, it was quite natural for us to aim for an energy efficient and sustainable office space. This resulted in a beautifully designed showroom & office; and we are very proud of this achievement.”

“Operating in a sustainable space will reap tremendous benefits for us, both tangible and intangible, such as reducing our  operating costs  and enhancing  productivity of our employees ”, added Raj Menon.

The Interface showroom is the first LEED CI Platinum rated Showroom Building in India. The office is spread over 1200 sq.ft. in an independent building and has an open layout for optimal space utilization.  The use of uniform colour schemes ensures that the central focus of the showroom is the fabulous designs.

This space features a full selection of Interface carpet tiles and provides a convenient setting for architects, designers and end users to explore an almost infinite variety of colour combinations, textures and patterns suitable for every kind of commercial installation.  The Delhi showroom serves as a platform for highlighting the design leadership of Interface in terms of creativity, innovation and diversity.

Interface submitted 89 points for approval to USGBC, of which ¬88 points were approved, resulting in the facility being awarded the PLATINUM category for LEED certification for this showroom and office. . The facility, scored high in key LEED environmental categories such as Site Selection, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere and Water Efficiency.

To meet its objective of achieving Platinum certification, Interface implemented several strategies. The Company reduced potable water use by 40% through the installation of low flow water closets. The automated HVAC system combined with Building Management System helps reduce energy consumption. The CO2 sensors installed for all densely occupied spaces enable the maintenance of the indoor environment air quality to the required levels. 8.73% of the total materials used on the project were from rapidly renewable sources. Materials with high recycled content of 38.61% by cost were also used; glass, MDF boards etc. The use of natural daylight was maximised through design concepts, thus decreasing the need for artificial lighting.  The use of Interface carpet tiles and TacTiles (an eco-friendly adhesive product that simplifies the process of carpet installation) which also contributes towards LEED points were definitely a part of the overall strategy.

For Interface, this is not the first building or interior that has received LEED accreditation. The company’s Atlanta showroom received the first ever LEED-CI Platinum certification in 2004 followed by the Shanghai facility, which received the LEED-CI Gold certification in 2006, the first LEED-CI rating at any level to be awarded in China. Interface Thailand also undertook the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) accreditation programme for its factory extension and achieved a certification.  Interface Bangalore achieved LEED – CI Gold in 2008 which was the first in the city and third in the country.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a feature-oriented rating system that awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria. The six major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design. Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels of LEED green building certification are awarded based on the total number of points earned within each LEED category. LEED can be applied to all building types including new construction, commercial interiors, core & shell developments, existing buildings, homes, neighbourhood developments, schools and retail facilities.