Abandoned Warehouse in Chicago Undergoes Green Renovation To Become LEED Platinum Rated Office

This enormous abandoned warehouse in Chicago's West Loop has been converted into an amazing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_in_Energy_and_Environmental_Design">LEED Platinum and Energy Star-rated</a> office space. The new headquarters of <a href="http://www.walshgroup.com/">Walsh Construction</a> -- one of Chicago's largest construction firms -- looks like it was a pretty challenging project to transform a three-story concrete frame into a four-story, energy-efficient <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/green-renovation/">green renovation</a>. The wythe brick building has been fully redesigned by architecture firm <a href="http://www.scb.com/">Solomon Cordwell Buenz</a>, becoming the city's first building to use SolarDuct solar thermal technology to preheat outdoor air, and it's also capped with a green roof.

The warehouse dates back to 1908 and was a cavernous space that needed a huge amount of work.

All windows and some exterior walls were removed while the rest were insulated.

The designers attempted to minimise waste during construction.

Bricks demolished from the exterior wall were reused inside.

The green roof system uses several water usage systems including stormwater management and rainwater harvesting, utilized for irrigation in the summer and then flush the low-flow toilets the rest of the year.