For LEED Gold, Merriman Anderson implemented many sustainable strategies (credit: James Steinkamp).

DALLAS—The 102,000-square foot four-story Dallas High School was built in 1907 and sat empty for nearly two decades before being purchased by Matthews Southwest. It was subsequently redeveloped into 78,000 square feet of historically converted office space, along with 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and outdoor patio space.

And now, the historic building has achieved LEED Gold Certification. Merriman Anderson/Architects was the design architect, historic architect and architect of record for the building shell and interior restoration, including the LEED certification process. In order to receive LEED Gold certification, Merriman Anderson implemented many sustainable site and material strategies, as well as envelope improvements to optimize energy efficiency.

“To increase the energy performance of the building, the envelope was improved per historic preservation standards, which was the biggest challenge,” said Aimee Sanborn, principal and team leader at Merriman Anderson/Architects. “However, with the envelope and lighting improvements, combined energy savings improved by more than 21.9%.”