The recently completed Canopy Airport Parking project at Denver International Airport is the first of its kind to receive LEED-Gold designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. Construction took just under two years from the design-build phase to completion.

Photos courtesy of dcb Construction

The structure can hold more than 4,200 cars, with more than 1,000 spaces for covered self-parking and around 2,700 spaces for open-air parking.

The parking facility incorporates a 16.9 kW solar array, 9.6 kW wind turbine farm and approximately 210 LED lighting fixtures inside the garage and 68 LED light poles throughout the parking lot. The structure has the potential to hold more than 4,200 cars, more than 1,000 spaces for covered self-parking and around 2,700 spaces for open-air parking.

Construction was led by Denver’s dcb Construction as the general contractor, with Piper Electric Co. Inc., also of Denver, providing the energy and electrical infrastructure in the design-build and construction phases of the facility. Piper Electric designed and installed the sustainable energy sources utilized by the parking structure, including an onsite solar array, electrical connections to the geothermal heating and cooling system, LED lighting throughout the facility, electric-vehicle charging stations and administering the wind turbine farm.

“We utilized our past experience with green construction projects to address dcb's requirements for cost-effective, sustainable lighting and energy,” said Lee Carrier, vice president of preconstruction for Piper Electric Co. We are thrilled to put our stamp on the nation's first LEED-Certified Gold parking facility.”

Project Details
Start: May 2010
Substantial Completion: Nov. 24, 2010
Contractor: dcb Construction
Architect: Barry Sherman, dcb Construction
Size: Building A - 168,000 sq ft, Building B 308,000 sq ft
Wind Turbines: 9.6 kW wind turbine farm from Windspire Energy
Solar Panels: A 16.9 kW solar array by Sharp Solar Electricity
Geothermal Energy: 300-ft-deep bore holes with heat pump technology
Free ‘Juice Bars’: Free recharge for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles
Reflective Roof: Reduce indoor valet air-conditioning load
Recycled Steel: 35% of Metallic Building steel sourced with recycled cars
Recycled Asphalt: Asphalt created from recycled roofing shingles
Porous Pavement: Moderately filters rain and snow runoff
Covered and Indoor Parking: Reduce automotive air conditioning load