LEED certification entity´s philosophy is based on changing the way things are planned, built and used in current constructions. Buildings which achieve this certification are efficient regarding resource management meaning lower water consumptions and lower level of polluting gases. Besides the satisfaction of collaborating with the planet sustainability, this effort is truly meaningful not only for the environmental benefits but also for cost saving reasons.

Keeping this certification requires Inditex to constantly incorporation of the most innovative equipment in order to guarantee a more efficient energy consumption and comply with the environmental standards demanded by such certification.

LEED certification obligates to have a concrete “air quality”, and depending on the orientation of the front of the building, number of hours of sun, the light it gets… the type of climatization may vary in order to adapt to each room needs.

In the project described today, we had to define five distinguished sections on the same floor so as to meet the criteria described above. One machine could only release air toward one or two areas of each section. This meant the inclusion of double pipes, ducts and accesses.

Considering the specifications needed (demanded) to comply with the environmental standards made it harder to fit all the pieces together. The fact that there was a complex structure in each zone with small and low ceilings, decorative beams and protected area made another handicap turn up.

The complexity to distribute the air in each of the stages due to the existence of low beams made us install the machines inside of last floor  and through galvanized steel, take it out and go down to go back inside in each of the spaces to acclimatize.

As it has been mentioned before, the decoration became a pivotal issue that made everything a bit tougher. Since the store had a forward-looking esthetic, custom-made grills were assembled following the ceiling inclination to thirty degrees. In fact, that meant another special design adjustment for this project and the manufacturing of custom-made ducts specifically used in this installation.

What do you think about this case? Have you ever come across a similar case?