NEW YORK.- New York now has a new skyscraper designed by Sir Norman Foster. The Hearst Tower wont be inaugurated until September, but it is the first building to receive a Gold LEED certified rating for "core and shell and interiors" in New York City and also received rating from United States Green Building Council.

In deciding to move forward in the fall of 2001 with ambitious plans to build a 46-story, Lord Norman Foster-designed, iconic headquarters tower above its historic six-story base, the leaders of The Hearst Corporation made a bold commitment to its 2,000 employees and the City of New York. New York City's Columbus Circle neighborhood had been Hearst's home for 80 years, and with that momentous decision, Hearst dedicated its next eighty years to the area.

This commitment by The Hearst Corporation, however, is much more than merely a real estate decision. From design through construction, furnishing and occupancy, Hearst has committed itself to producing the most environmentally friendly or "green" office tower in New York City history.

For New York City, the benefits include significant reductions in pollution and increased conservation of the City's vital resources, including water and electricity.

For Hearst employees and visitors, it means a healthier, more inviting and more productive working environment. For New York City's major corporations and building developers, Hearst has set a higher standard for building green.

The environmentally conscious approach began prior to construction. When demolishing the interior portions of the existing, six-story structure, Hearst and its team of building professionals went to great lengths to collect and separate recyclable materials. As a result, about 85 percent of the original structure was recycled for future use.

Working with Lord Foster, Hearst settled upon an innovative "diagrid" system (a word contraction of diagonal grid), that creates a series of four-story triangles on the façade. No horizontal steel beams are being used, which is a first for North American office towers. In addition to giving the tower a bold architectural distinctiveness, it is providing Hearst with superior structural efficiency. As a result, Hearst eliminated the need for approximately 2,000 tons of steel, a 20 percent savings over a typical office building.

Hearst executives also selected an innovative type of glass that wraps around the exterior of the building. The glass has a special "low-E" coating that allows for internal spaces to be flooded with natural light while keeping out the invisible solar radiation that causes heat.

In conjunction with the glass, Hearst is installing light sensors that will control the amount of artificial light on each floor based on the amount of natural light available at any given time. The optimization of natural light has been demonstrated in recent studies to have important, positive effects on occupant health, quality of life and productivity.

Hearst also will utilize technology that senses activity level. At lunchtime, when some employees are leaving or not using their computers, motion sensors will detect this and adjust the system accordingly. These sensors will allow for lights and computers to be turned off when a room is vacant.

In addition, Hearst is using high efficiency heating and air-conditioning equipment that will utilize outside air for cooling and ventilation for 75 percent of the year, as well as Energy Star appliances. These and other energy-saving features are expected to increase energy efficiency by 22 percent compared to a standard office building. This is a welcome innovation in New York City, where rapidly growing electricity demand is threatening to overwhelm the local power supply.

Hearst is also employing pioneering technologies in order to conserve and more efficiently use water. For example, Hearst's roof has been designed to collect rainwater, which will reduce the amount of water dumped into the City's sewer system during rainfall by 25 percent.

The rainwater will then be harvested in one 14,000-gallon reclamation tank located in the basement of the Hearst Tower. The rainwater will be used to replace water lost to evaporation in the office air-conditioning system. It also will be fed into a special pumping system to irrigate plantings and trees inside and outside of the building. It is expected that the captured rain will produce about half of the watering needs.

The harvested water also will be utilized for "Icefall," a three-story, sculpted water feature within the building's grand atrium. In addition to serving as a stunning entrance to the building, Icefall, which is believed to be the nation's largest sustainable water feature, will also serve an environmental function by serving to humidify and chill the atrium lobby as necessary.

Hearst's focus on green does not stop after construction and installation of building systems. In fact, Hearst made a conscious choice at the outset of the tower project to make environmental considerations a major factor in every single decision, including the interior spaces.

While the tower was designed to include as few internal walls as possible in order to maximize natural light, the walls that do exist will be coated with low vapor paints. Workstations and offices will be furnished with desks, chairs and other furniture that is formaldehyde free. Concrete surfaces will be furnished with low toxicity sealants.