San Francisco Public Library demonstrates its strong commitment to the environment with the reopening of the renovated Park Branch Library on February 26, 2011, the first San Francisco branch library designed and built to Gold Certification standards under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
Among the green features at the Park Branch Library:
- Preserved for the future
- Most of this building's existing exterior is preserved in this renovation. This extends the structure's lifecycle, conserves resources, reduces waste and the environmental impacts of new building materials while retaining a cultural resource.
- A local library
- Over 20% of the value of the building products and materials used are sourced locally – extracted, manufactured, and recovered within 500 miles of this library.
- Night lights
- We avoid using unneeded lights at night to reduce light pollution.
The Park Branch Library renovation serves as a model of green construction practices, including:
- Waste not
- We recycled or salvaged at least 95% of the construction waste when building this library.
- Breathe easier
- The paints, adhesives and sealants in this building contain only low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC), reducing the amount of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, potentially irritating or harmful.
- Pollution prevention
- We controlled soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation during construction activities.
Transit friendly
This library is conveniently located near public transportation.
Taming the temperature
We use roofing and exterior paving materials that reduce the heat island effect (thermal gradient differences between developed and natural areas). This minimizes our impact on the microclimate and on wildlife habitat.
Let the sun shine in
Windows provide natural light and reduce the use of electricity.
Pedal Power
Bicycle parking encourages library visitors to use environmentally friendly and health conscious modes of transportation.
Climate controls
Zero chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based refrigerants are used in the building's heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems.
We're in control
The lighting, temperature and ventilation systems can all be controlled within the branch.
Flourishing flooring
Made from natural ingredients including flax seeds, sawdust and pine resin, this linoleum comes primarily from renewable resources and is biodegradable.
These beautiful wooden shelves are original to this building
Instead of using new materials, we refinished these durable shelves so that we could continue to use them.
Room for recycling
An easily accessible area is dedicated for recycling.
Clean and green
We use environmentally sound products and practices for cleaning this Library.
