Enza Zaden’s new building near San Juan will be
LEED-certified
Several local businesses are working on a new building for Enza
Zaden seed company
– and the structure will be the first in San Benito County that
is LEED-certified.
The Netherlands-based international company
– with the location on Lucy Brown Lane for the past 10 years –
has been working on a new metal building there with the help of
Huboi Architecture and Marcus Building Systems, both based in
Hollister. Huboi Architecture is designing the environmentally
friendly structure, which will be 10,000 squ
are feet, and Marcus Building Systems is the construction
manager for the metal, pre-fabricated facility.
Enza Zaden’s new building near San Juan will be LEED-certified
Several local businesses are working on a new building for Enza Zaden seed company – and the structure will be the first in San Benito County that is LEED-certified.
The Netherlands-based international company – with the location on Lucy Brown Lane for the past 10 years – has been working on a new metal building there with the help of Huboi Architecture and Marcus Building Systems, both based in Hollister. Huboi Architecture is designing the environmentally friendly structure, which will be 10,000 square feet, and Marcus Building Systems is the construction manager for the metal, pre-fabricated facility.
Other locals working on the project include Kelley Engineering and Surveying and Anita Kane Landscape Architect. Santa Cruz-based Bright Green Strategies is acting as the LEED consultant.
David Huboi, co-owner of the architectural firm, noted how Enza Zaden stressed the need to build a new facility with high environmental standards. It was a natural fit, considering that the company supplies organic seeds as part of its product line.
“They’re a great company,” Huboi said. “With the organic seeds, naturally, you want to have a green building for them.”
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in March 2000. It includes measurements of the building site’s sustainability, a project’s water efficiency, the energy efficiency, materials used, the indoor air quality and other factors, according to the organization.
Despite some early budget constraints on the project, the team put together a “scaled-back version” of the original. They now have a “backbone” and they are moving ahead on the construction portion. The new building will replace the current structure, which will become a storage center when the new one is done, Huboi said.
Some of the environmentally friendly features of the building include use of 90 percent recycled steel, voltaic solar panels, energy efficiency far exceeding state standards achieved with a “well-insulated envelope or shell,” and on-site water retention, Huboi noted.
Huboi called the design of the new building functional.
“It’s a clean design,” he said. “It’s not one you’re going to feature in ‘Architectural Record’ anytime soon.”
Construction on the new facility – a multi-functional building with offices, a spot to holding breeder seeds and a lab – started in early April and should be done by November, said Ronald Welten, breeding station manager.
Though the company supplies conventional seeds, too, Welten noted how it expects to grow the organic side – and locally, the site as a whole as well.
Currently, there are 20 employees working there, but he expects that number to increase. It’s the reason they need the new building, he said.
As far as the green emphasis, he said the company – the largest worldwide supplier of organic vegetable seeds – wants to make a statement.
“We really want to make a statement – we’re trying to be a green company,” he said.
