Newark Liberty International Airport’s (EWR) new Terminal A received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), far surpassing the project’s original target of Silver.
The achievement was recently announced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), who owns and operates EWR.
On behalf of Tutor Perini/Parsons, and in association with Grimshaw, STV served as the architect- and engineer-of-record for the new terminal, which was procured using the design-build delivery method. The program called for the design of a new 1-million-square-foot terminal building, as well as eight new bridges and roadways, a new car rental and parking facility and 1.4 acres of airfield paving improvements.
“The effort behind our pursuit of LEED Gold was both exceptional and complex,” said STV’s Peter Burger, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, the lead sustainability engineer who spearheaded the LEED certification process for the Terminal A project. “Over the past four years, our team and our partners at the Port Authority and the design-build group researched and pursued strategies to achieve every possible LEED credit.”
STV’s sustainability team, including Burger and STV Environmental Scientist Carly Gazze, applied their in-depth understanding of the LEED process, credit requirements and extensive data and documentation compilation to meet the stringent LEED standards for Gold. The PANYNJ has led a comprehensive sustainability and energy-efficiency program across its airports and transit facilities, including Terminal A.
Further demonstrating the project’s environmentally sustainable design, the project also received Engineering News-Record New York’s (ENR NY) Excellence in Sustainability Award, recognizing the key sustainability components that contributed to Terminal A and LEED Gold certification, including:
- Water efficient fixtures that save more than 45 percent on potable water demand
- Measurement and verification of all electrical and mechanical systems to ensure energy efficiency.
- A “cool roof” and light-colored pavements that reduce heat gain on the building and heat-island effect on the surrounding environment
- Energy-efficient indoor lighting and controls
- Regionally sourced materials with high recycled content from indigenous resources that reduce impacts from extraction and processing of virgin materials
“Peter, Carly, and their team worked incredibly hard over the past four years. Receiving LEED Gold certification is a major feat for the entire project,” said Michael Meloni, P.E., project director for the new EWR terminal at STV.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this achievement and the hard work and contribution of the project team to make this possible,” said Ashraf Basta, P.E., CCM, LEED AP BD+C, DBIA, vice president and deputy project director at STV. “The Gold certification underscores the Port Authority’s goals towards making EWR a superior sustainable airport.”