Platinum Shopping

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Green Circle Shopping Center, located south of downtown Springfield, features some of the greenest retail spaces in the country.

 

The 23,000-square-foot outdoor mall, which recently received LEED Platinum from the USGBC, uses solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling to reduce energy expenses and carbon emissions.

Developers wanted to create energy savings and “teach the community, if not the nation, that this type of building can be very sustainable and still remain profitable,” says Matthew Hufft, owner of Hufft Projects, project architect.

“It encourages commerce in several ways, the most successful one of which is by creating an environment that consumers enjoy being in because it is filled with natural light and healthy air,” Hufft says. “Also, consumers like spending their money with retailers that are doing the right thing by being sustainable.”
 

Planners oriented the building to save more than 40 trees on the site, which also allowed designers to incorporate ample green space for tenants and customers to enjoy.

 

The geothermal system features more than 80 wells that, along with heat-recovery systems and heavily insulated walls and floors, generate a 50 percent energy-use reduction compared to shopping centers without efficiency enhancements.

 

The majority of the shopping center’s interior spaces require almost no artificial lighting during daylight hours. Solar panels on the facility’s roof and southern façade provide several kilowatts of the building’s electrical needs.

 

Close to 100 percent of the rainwater that falls on the shopping center and surrounding areas is treated naturally through green roofs, pervious concrete parking areas and bio-swales. The green roof is composed of regional plants and collects rainwater in a 10,000-gallon recycled gas tank that acts as a cistern, saving the water for irrigation and toilets. The systems are expected to reduce water-use needs by 70 percent, or 3.5 million gallons, every year.

Construction began on the project in 2006 and ended in 2008. It was with locally sourced, recycled or reclaimed building materials. The building’s steel frame, concrete floors, aluminum windows and composite siding all contain large amounts of recycled content.

 

“We wanted to stand out stylistically in order to gain the attention of the community,” Hufft says. “This building is directly meant to teach and communicate our sustainable intentions. It is intended to stand not only out, but above its local context.”
 

In addition to building a highly sustainable facility, designers incorporated public education into the shopping center as much as possible. A visitation center provides literature, informative signs and an interactive display describing the facility’s many sustainable features. A rooftop deck allows the visitors to interact with the green roof and solar panels.

 

Engineering and site design were provide by Olsson Associates of Springfield, Mo., and Supermarket Builders of Missouri provided contracting services.