The Greening of the David L. Lawrence Pittsburgh Convention Center

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the largest Gold LEED NC (new construction) certified convention center in the USA and the first of its kind in the world. The designation has been awarded by the United States Green Building Council through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. In this talk we discuss the unique green properties of this 1.5 million square foot Convention Center including the design and use of daylight, natural ventilation and other sustainable design and practices. No other building the size of the Convention Center (1.5 million square feet), uses natural ventilation or can illuminate an exhibition hall entirely through its windows and skylights. Approximately 75\% of the convention center's exhibition space is lit by natural daylight. The use of natural ventilation and extensive day lighting is designed to reduce energy consumption by nearly 35\% compared to traditional ventilated and lit buildings of a similar size.