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Pizza Fusion, Weston, FL - LEED CI Retail Certified, Gold Cliffton Chandler ARC 2461 Materials & Methods of Construction I Valencia College Spring 2012 9/10/2012

The State of Floridas first LEED Gold rated retail establishment was a restaurant. Pizza Fusion is a chain of casual dining restaurants that has made going green a part of its corporate mission statement and branding. When the restaurant chain made its move into the Florida market in 2009, it was the immediate recipient of two out of the first 10 LEED ratings awarded in the state. Getting a Silver rating with their first attempt on January, 12
th, 2009

the company proved its commitment to the LEED ethos with a

th, 2009

second award just days later on February, 18

. (USGBC) This second award for Pizza Fusion was a

Gold rating for retail-- the states first. While the project was developed by the architectural firm SquareOne, the initiative to produce such an energy conscious project was truly leadership on the part of Pizza Fusion and part of their corporate mission statement; to both bring more attention to the issue of energy conservation and participate in the introduction and utilization of green technologies. When we examine the renderings of the job proposal that are posted on the Square-One website, each one of the LEED certificate energy saving initiatives is listed to help bring the details of the projects success into contact with the public. When you understand that the LEED environmental impact that one store has is multiplied by the holdings of a large and popular chain restaurant it lends a scale, a reference point, to gauge how rapidly this process can affect our energy consumption and carbon footprint at the national and eventually global level. One of the most important hurdles in mass acceptance of these relatively new standards in the court of public opinion is the aesthetic experience. If the pizza buying public can begin to positively associate the relative values of energy conservation and simultaneously marvel over the unique aesthetics of a beautiful environment while sharing healthy, high quality food -then Pizza Fusions approach might be one of the most impactful approaches in the industry. Tactile, tasty, and well-advertised -- The accomplishment produced by the engineers and architects that Pizza Fusion hires are even spelled out for public appreciation on each menu so that each and every individual customer is aware of the energy conserving decisions that surround him or her. While continuing public education and awareness isnt a LEED point Ive come across, it is certainly a positive momentum builder

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in normalizing a more sustainable culture. Such a consistent promotional tool might for all intents and purposes be considered an innovation. But, well put that conjecture aside for now and just look at the facts. What are some of the specific decisions that create a LEED Gold design? If we look carefully at the drawings the architects provided, we can see several specific decisions that have been implemented. And we also know that a project cant even be eligible for any successive level of certification if it fails to meet any prerequisites. So we can also deduce by proxy what solutions the architects generated that arent listed. But since the Pizza Fusion corporation and Square-One Architectural firm are focusing on promoting awareness of the most visceral and tactile innovations directly to the public, we will also examine three of the more high-profile examples of LEED specific decisions. The first LEED condition a prospective customer might notice upon arrival at the Weston Pizza Fusion restaurant would be the company owned and operated fleet of hybrid vehicles going about the business of delivering pizza. Providing fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles for 3% of the work force creates eligibility for Site Selection credit 4.3. And, as an additional bonus, each vehicle also provides a roving-billboard advertising opportunity, touting the businesss cultural enlightenment. The second component of LEED accreditation that the average customer would likely pick up on would be the visually striking use of recycled materials. The standards of Pizza Fusion far outstrip the Materials and resources credit requirements of 20% recycled content for LEED MR 4.2. For example, the unique aesthetic and additional durability of countertops made from 100% recycled detergent bottles. And guests use furniture made from 100% reclaimed wood. On which, even the seat cushions are made from soybean oil instead of petroleum. The ceiling panels made from 74% recycled aluminum and 24% post industrial metal. Even what you cant see is recycled, like the insulation made from recycled blue-jeans. And while all of that is impressive and on a moral high-ground; the real appeal is the clean modern aesthetic that accompanies the use of these material types and creates a sensation of tactile richness that almost completely supersedes the fact that its good for us. Not only does this comprehensive approach reduce, almost eliminate really, the necessity of virgin materials, it likely reduces demand for virgin materials in the future home improvement projects of the customers of the restaurant. Lastly, while I would personally like to continue the debate as to whether or not such high profile public branding could be considered as an innovation. The Pizza Fusion corporate expansion plan has an innovation that is not in question and that qualifies them for materials and resources recycle credit MR 2.2, MR 3.2, and an innovation credit all with one decision. That being the collection and retention of the glass from the previous site is taken down and loaded into a special dumpster. This is called a cradle-tocradle innovation by the company because this dumpster then hauls the glass away to be recycled and custom fabricated into the recognizable, brand associated glass wall tiles to be utilized in the next new location in the corporate expansion project.

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The idea of corporate expansion being a massive wave of recycled content is a pretty seductive idea. Its too late now, but thinking of change on the scale of, say, the material content of every Starbucks in the world being close to 100% recycled -- on both ends of the construction process-- is an exciting thought. While these three examples are only the tip of Gold Certified iceberg and I could have spoken at length about energy star certified appliances, CFL light bulbs, automated smart-fixture light switches, Bamboo flooring etc. Ill stay with my original point of the value of stacking the LEED credits and the resultant aesthetic of the projects materiality. The traveling and shopping public cant help but visually differentiate the results of a truly recycled aesthetic. When a strong visual and tactile aesthetic is correspondingly better for the environment, a better value on energy consumption costs, and better looking; The only thing left to do is to prominently display the details of the project. So that the public can be educating themselves and forming these valuable positive associations while you got them paused there--and while theyre enjoying themselves in the built environment.

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Work Cited

Casa Conde, . "Pizza Fusion, Weston, FL - LEED CI Retail Certified, Gold." www.squareonearchitecture.com. Square One Architecture, Saturday, September 10, 2011. Web. 12 Sep 2012. <http://www.squareonearchitecture.com/index.php/port/port_full/pizza_fusion_locations_leed_certified/>.

"Company." pizzafusion.com. Pizza Fusion, 01 01 2012. Web. Web. 13 Sep. 2012. <http://pizzafusion.com/company/>.

. "www.greenbuildconsult.com." www.greenbuildconsult.com. www.greenbuildconsult.com, 2009. Web. 13 Sep 2012.

. "www.2bgreenworld.com." www.2bgreenworld.com. USGBC, 2011. Web. 13 Sep 2012. <http://www.2bgreenworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/SW-LEED-Certified-