HOUSTON – The Treehouse Memorial City has been ranked No. 1 in Texas and second in the nation with a certified double LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The 14,700 square-foot building serves as MetroNational’s development office, meeting space and showroom for in Memorial City, a major mixed-use project on the Katy Freeway in West Houston.
The two-story building, designed by Studio RED Architects, evokes a sophisticated, modern day treehouse. Sustainable design strategies for the project include a geothermal cooling and heating system, daylight harvesting for lighting adjustments, solar panels, rainwater collection for landscaping and a rooftop garden. Energy efficient measures reduce the building energy costs to nearly 50% of a baseline office building. The water efficiency features work to reduce irrigation requirements by almost 70%, which resulted in an innovative technology credit award by the USGBC.
“The Treehouse Memorial City is a symbol of MetroNational’s dedication to quality design and “place making” and showcases our dedication to sustainability and green building practices,” said Glenn Fuhrman, AIA, LEED Green Associate, Vice President of Design and Construction, MetroNational.
The project sets the bar for a private developer taking a commercial building to the highest standards in sustainable building. The interior wood flooring is reclaimed from a Galveston warehouse and the exterior wood paneling is harvested from South American and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. The attention to green building practices is evident in all design details including a table made from a local tree trunk slab, outdoor furniture made from recycled plastic bottles and a coffee bar featuring a recycled glass countertop and indoor bike hutches, encouraging employees to reduce their carbon footprint.
With a score of 95 points, the Treehouse Memorial City is the highest ranking LEED building in Texas and it ranks No. 2 in the nation.
MetroNational is a privately-held real estate investment, development, and management company headquartered in Houston. The company, founded in 1954, owns and manages more than 8.5 million square feet of commercial real estate properties primarily located in greater Houston.