Music City Center Earns LEED Gold Certification

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Music City Center has been awarded LEED v2.2 Gold certification for new construction by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The newly certified building's green features include a four-acre green roof, a 200-kilowatt solar panel system, a rainwater harvest system, and extensive LED lighting. Photosensors in the exhibit hall are programmed to decrease the amount of artificial light needed through the use of dimmable ballasts.

The green roof, which is the largest in the Southeastern United States, is composed of 14 types of vegetation which slow rainwater runoff and direct it to a 360,000 gallon collection tank. Harvested rainwater is used to flush over 500 toilets and irrigate outdoor landscaping. The vegetated roof also cools the exhibit hall below and the air around it, reducing HVAC loads and initial equipment size.

Music City Center’s construction theme was “reduce, reuse, recycle". The team's goal was to make construction as low-impact as possible by diverting at least 50 percent of the waste stream during construction to recyclables and by using local building suppliers and 90 percent recycled glass within the facility.

In a ceremony in early April to announce the certification, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean commented, "The project and design team did an incredible job making LEED certification a top priority, and I know the Music City Center staff has continued to focus on environmental stewardship in day-to-day operations. We set out with an original target of LEED Silver, and I am extremely proud of the team for surpassing that goal and achieving LEED Gold certification.

Click here to view the LEED certification ceremony.