A large percentage of LightNOW readers will likely attend LightFair, this May, at the Jacob Javits Center, in New York City. The Javits is the largest and busiest convention center in the United States. What might surprise you is the list of sustainability features that were installed as part of the 5-year, $1.5 Billion renovation project that was completed in 2021:

• a 7 acre green roof
• one-acre working farm and a 10,000-square-foot orchard with 32 apple trees and six pear trees growing in 3 feet 6
  

  Image: Javits Center green roof / wildlife habitat

  inches of soil, as well as a greenhouse for microgreens and vegetables.

• the expansion was built to hold at least 1 million pounds of soil in a bed 18 inches deep.
• the rooftop farm can generate up to 40,000 pounds of produce a year.
• nearly half of the Center’s combined menus now consist of ingredients from the rooftop farm
• the farm grows more than 50 different crops, from arugula to zucchini, that supply the center’s kitchens throughout the building.
• the rooftop farm is supported by two underground cisterns, which recycle stormwater and help to irrigate the crops. The cisterns have a 344,000-gallon-holding capacity to capture and treat rainwater to be used for irrigation on the roof, reducing the need for potable water for irrigation by at least 50 percent.
• the green roof also can absorb up to 7 million gallons of stormwater run-off annually while reducing heat gain throughout the building.
• the facility’s annual energy consumption has been reduced by 26 percent.
• new glass is translucent and bird-friendly, reducing bird collisions by more than 90 percent.
• Javits Center has transformed into a wildlife sanctuary, serving as a habitat for 51 bird species, five bat species, and nine beehives.
• a 13 MW microgrid acts as the facility’s central power plant and is equipped with a power management system.
• For resilience, three diesel generators allow the facility to be off the grid for up to six consecutive days if needed.
• 61 MW of solar photovoltaics, combined with 3.5 MW of battery energy storage, and provide at least 10 percent of the facility’s energy consumption from a renewable source.
• BIM modeling to evaluate and monitor building conditions, project-tracking software, and state-of-the-art sensors that alert facility management when a particular piece of equipment may not be functioning properly.

For more information on sustainability at the Javits Center, click here.

Image: Javits Center green roof / farm

Image: Javits Center green roof / farm

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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