DANVILLE, PA. - Geisinger Center for Health Research, a $21 million 63,000 square foot building which opened this month, signals a watershed in Geisingers green-building commitment.

The green building trend, which is popping up all over the United States, now has a foothold in Danville. Geisinger, known as a leader in healthcare and an innovator in healthcare technology, is leading the regions green building initiative.

The green credo energy-efficient, buildings full of features that stress the natural over the chemical, the recycled over the new and the renewable over the finite is evident in this light-filled building, according to Geisinger project engineer Mitch Leiby.

We pursued the green concept because it was simply the right thing to do, explained Leiby, who has worked closely on the project with the Ewing Cole team of Steve Gastright, project architect and Tom Appelquist, design architect. We had an opportunity to influence the growth around us, and we took it.

Geisinger is pursing certification by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a voluntary green building rating system that defines, measures and certifies buildings that are environmentally responsible, economically efficient and healthy places to live and work. The LEED certification process includes a thorough review of the building's design features, construction plans and records.

Green features in the Geisinger Center for Research, which is positioned between the Janet and Sigfried Weis Research Center and the west side of the Geisinger Medical Center, include:

• non-toxic paint and finishes.
• extensive use of natural daylight that reduces dependency on electric lighting and provides windows view for more than 90 % of office space.
• lighting control system that dims the lights when there is natural daylight available and turns off lights in unoccupied areas.
• high efficiency heating and cooling systems.
• recycled
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