In a week and a half my Hospitality Studio is going on a field trip Nashville, Tennessee! I am really excited to get to experience the City of Country Music! We have two days packed full of tours. The plan is to see different hotels, restaurants, and the Nashville Music City Center (MCC). The MCC is LEED Silver Certified!
The Nashville Music City Center is in the middle of downtown Nashville, surrounded by hotels, historical landmarks, fine restaurants, great views, honky tonks (I am especially excited for this), The Ryman (HELLO- the BIRTHPLACE of country music AND the Grand Ole Opry!), art museums, and the Tennessee Titans’ Stadium!
The Music City Center had its groundbreaking on March 22, 2010 and opened in May this year. More than 7,300 people served on the construction team! The building is constructed of 110,000 cubic yards of concrete, 11,000 tons of steel, and 12,000 tons of rebar. The total building square footage is 2.1 million square feet! Included in this number are the following:
-353,143 square foot Exhibit Hall
-90,000 square feet of Meeting Room Space (about 60 rooms)
-57,500 square foot Grand Ballroom
-18,000 square foot Junior Ballroom
-1,800 Parking Spaces
-32 Loading Docks (provide ease & flexibility for convention planners)
-22 Elevators and Escalators
OK we get it. IT’S HUGE! So why is it LEED Silver Certified?
The Music City Center has a Green Roof to reduce the building’s Heat Island Effect. Heat islands are defined as thermal gradient differences between developed and underdeveloped areas (USGBC). The purpose of the Green Roof is to reduce heat islands to minimize the impacts on microclimates and human and wildlife habitats. Basically, dark colored roofs (which you can find a lot of in urban areas) make the environment REALLY hot because the Sun’s rays are being absorbed. Light colored roofs (those with high Solar Reflectance Index Values or SRI Values) make the environment much more comfortable because the Sun’s rays are being reflected back into space. The Green Roof on top of the MCC is the LARGEST in the Southeast, totaling at 4 acres! What’s even cooler is that it was designed to mimic the rolling hills of Tennessee. There are 14 different types of vegetation on the roof, all native to the state. The plants help to absorb rainwater which helps with reducing storm water runoff. The roof helps to absorb heat and insulate the Music City Center, which drastically helps to save on heating and cooling costs throughout the year. There is even a guitar on the top! I could go on and on!
The Nashville Music City Center is committed to supporting and encouraging sustainable practices, including the hosting of environmentally-friendly “green” meetings in the facility. The Music City Center has used the following practices to minimize its carbon footprint:
- heating/cooling via steam/chilled water
- energy management software
- low-flow automatic faucets/flush valves
- automatic soap/paper towel dispensers
- environmentally-responsible cleaning products/supplies
- donation of excess food
- donation of unclaimed lost/found items to the local rescue mission
Other things to contribute to the Music City Center’s LEED Silver Certification are:
Solar Panels– 200-kilowatt solar panel grid made up of 845 panels
Rain Water Collection Tank– 360,000 gallon tank that provides water to more than 500 toilets and urinals in the building and the irrigation for the outdoor landscaping
Water Consumption– The rain water collection cistern combined with the water saved by the low-flow toilets, urinals, and faucets have reduced the building’s water usage by 40%! That is incredible for such a large facility!
Recycling plays a very important role at the Music City Center. MCC provides recycling containers for:
-Cardboard, Mixed Paper, & other Paper Products
-Aluminum
-Plastic
-Pallets & Wood Waste
-Toner/Print Cartridges
-Batteries
-Fluorescent Light Bulbs
-Food Waste
-Electronics
It’s so great to see more and more buildings becoming LEED Certified. The Music City Center is a state-of-the-art facility! I will be sure to post some pictures after we go on our visit!!!
References
http://nashvilleconventionctr.com/index.htm
Kathryn R Jones 