BAM Fisher -- New York City's First Newly-Constructed Theater Building to Attain LEED Gold

	Brooklyn Academy of Music's Richard B. Fisher building received LEED Gold status by the US Green Building Council.

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) announces its newest venue, the innovative Richard B. Fisher Building, has been LEED Gold certified by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the first theater in New York City to receive such recognition in the New Construction category. The honor confirms BAM's goal to create a unique, world-class arts facility while conserving resources and reducing its environmental impact.

The 40,000-sq.-ft., seven-story BAM Fisher is the institution's first new construction in more than a century. It is designed to allow BAM -- a global cultural organization -- to expand its artistic vision and to deepen its community impact. A model 21st-century performing arts space, BAM Fisher was conceived to meet the standard of LEED Gold from the beginning. "Given the nature of theater, we knew the threshold was high when we started," said Keith Stubblefield, BAM CFO and vice president of finance and administration. "But we really wanted to take that extra step to make the building as environmentally responsible as possible. I'm glad that USGBC has acknowledged our effort."

Among the eco-friendly features that put the building into the "Gold" league are a reduction in water use by more than 40%, incorporation of building energy efficiency measures resulting in a 22% reduction in green house gas emissions, the reduction of heat island effect by incorporating high albedo roofing materials and a green roof garden, and use of only low emitting materials in all building interior finishes. According to BAM director of capital projects Jonathan Jones, "Approximately 97% of all construction waste was diverted from a landfill and all plants in the beautiful roof garden are of native species to reduce the need for watering."

BAM Fisher has already been honored with a 2013 Building Brooklyn Award and a Lumen Award for its lighting design.

LEED is a program administered by USGBC that provides third-party verification of green buildings. Building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification.

Located on the site of the Salvation Army's former Brooklyn Citadel Corps at 321 Ashland Place -- around the corner from BAM's Peter Jay Sharp Building -- the $50 million Richard B. Fisher Building is the first new construction added to the BAM campus in more than a century. In its first 10 months of full operation, over 170 performances and artists talks, including about 40 education, humanities, and family programs, were presented in the various spaces in the building. It has also served 33 community organizations as rehearsal space and for other uses.

Designed by Hugh Hardy/ H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, the 40,000-sq.-ft. BAM Fisher features:
* The Judith and Alan Fishman Space, a flexible 250-seat theater designed to accommodate a range of performance and art forms and audience arrangements
* The 1,600-sq.-ft. Rita K. Hillman Studio, to serve artists rehearsing or developing work, and as a second performance space
* The Max Leavitt Theater Workshop for use by BAM education and humanities programs
* The Samuel H. Scripps Stage in the Fishman Space
* The Geraldine Stutz Gardens (designed by Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners and installed by New York Green Roofs), a natural environment on the BAM Fisher roof for public and private events and BAM education programs
* The Peter Jay Sharp Lobby, which also serves as an exhibition space for Brooklyn visual artists