After recently earning a LEED for New Construction platinum certification, DPR’s San Diego office can now claim to be the first and only net-zero energy and LEED platinum certified commercial office in the city in its size.

The company-owned regional headquarters is a 24,000-sq-ft building located in University City.

To be eligible for a net-zero rating, a building must be capable of producing at least as much energy from renewable sources within a year to compensate for what it draws from the grid. Over the last year, DPR’s San Diego office generated nearly 12,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) more than it consumed with the use of the roof-mounted 64 kW-AC photovoltaic system. The solar panels produce enough power to offset the office’s energy consumption annually.

The DPR San Diego office construction project team was comprised of Elizabeth Barrie, Jeff Cole, Jerry McElfresh and Mark Seidl. In addition, Jonathan Wood of Seattle-based Callison served as the architect of the project. Other consultants and designers included KEMA for bio-climatic design; Hope Engineering for structural engineering; Latitude 33 Planning and Engineering for civil engineering; Howard Associates for landscape architecture; Bergelectric Corp. for electrical services; and Pacific Rim Mechanical for plumbing and mechanical services.