Lucasfilm: Pressroom | Letterman Digital Arts Center

Building for the Future

Letterman Digital Arts Center Achieves High Standards of Environmental Sustainability

When the Letterman Hospital at the Presidio of San Francisco was demolished after standing vacant for more than 10 years, it didn't completely disappear. More than 80 percent of its building materials were recycled for use in the construction of the Letterman Digital Arts Center, the new San Francisco home of Lucasfilm Ltd.

More than 100,000 tons of concrete; 10,000 tons of steel, copper and other metal; and the hospital's entire asphalt parking lot were reused. Not only did that make construction of the Letterman Digital Arts Center more efficient -- concrete-framed buildings were erected in just 12 months -- it also kept hundreds of thousands of tons of debris out of Bay Area landfills.

Recycling the old construction materials was just one of the conservation efforts that will earn the Letterman Digital Arts Center a Gold Certified Rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), signifying some of the highest standards of sustainable development.

The opening of the Letterman Digital Arts Center sets a new standard for sustainable development. Nearly three-fourths of the site has been restored to public open spaces. Underground parking provides more space for greenery and landscaping. Features that increase energy and water efficiency by more than 30 percent are found throughout the campus. Systems are in place to reduce toxins and promote employee health and well-being.

Other sustainability measures found throughout the Center include:

The use of Otis Gen II elevators, which are 65 percent more efficient than conventional lifts
Raised floors, which house electrical and telecommunications wiring, but also provide under floor air delivery -- with much of the air drawn in from the external, temperate environment of the Presidio
Operable windows and central staircases to reduce employee energy needs
Use of reclaimed water as the primary irrigation for the 17 acres of landscaping
Programs for employees to encourage use of public transportation, carpooling and cycling to work
An underground parking lot that not only eliminates the need for street-level parking but also curtails storm water run-off
Use of a high percentage of fly-ash in structural concrete, a process that consumes fewer raw materials and safely diverts fly-ash from landfill
Reducing transportation emissions -- and costs -- by sourcing building materials from vendors within 500 miles of the Presidio

Moreover, the restoration of public space to the Presidio, on a site formerly occupied by a high-rise building and asphalt parking lot, brings permanent open space and park area to San Francisco. "This area of the Presidio has been long-ignored," says the project's landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. "But it is once again an enjoyable place for people of all ages to walk, play and spend time outside. We haven't just created a new center to explore the future of digital arts, but a creative park environment that will be open to enjoyment by everyone in San Francisco (and the Bay Area)."