CertainTeed, Saint-Gobain to share story behind the sustainable renovation of its new corporate headquarters

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Oct. 20, 2014 — (PRNewswire) — Leading by example, the Building Science and product innovation experts from CertainTeed will provide a behind the scenes look at the dramatic, sustainable transformation underway at the company's new headquarters during the 2014 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. Plans for the new corporate campus will be the cornerstone of the company's exhibit (booth #1413).

In conjunction with sister business SageGlass, CertainTeed will also host five continuing education courses in Learning Lab #1523 and showcase its products in the Greenbuild LivingHome exhibit. The event runs Oct. 22-23 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La.

The company is transforming more than 320,000 square feet of office space in Malvern, Pa., into a LEED-Gold certified facility utilizing CertainTeed and Saint-Gobain products as well as technical consultation from the company's building science team. Slated for completion in Fall 2015, the headquarters will house approximately 800 employees in a next-generation workplace design that maximizes comfort, health and productivity. The facility will serve as a "living laboratory" where CertainTeed experts can measure the impacts its products have on real workspace environments.

"No other company in the world has the breadth of products, systems, R&D and building science expertise to build a sustainable headquarters that can have a truly material impact on energy use, air quality, day lighting and sound," said John Crowe, president and CEO of Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Corporations.

A number of innovative CertainTeed products contributing to the transformation will be on display during Greenbuild. These include:

• AirRenew® IAQ gypsum board, the industry's only formaldehyde-absorbing wallboard for enhanced indoor air quality (IAQ); and SilentFX® acoustical gypsum board, which features a viscoelastic polymer that dampens sound energy and significantly improves sound attenuation through walls and ceilings.
• Sustainable Insulation® fiberglass batt insulation, which is covered by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) offering third-party verified information on its high recycled glass content and formaldehyde-free plant-based binder.
• A variety of the company's acoustical ceiling products, including Gyptone® Quattro 20™, perforated gypsum ceiling panels. Gyptone® panels offer unique aesthetic appeal and industry first Health Product Declarations (HPD). Ecophon® Focus™ Ds and Solo Circle will also be on display; both products are certified VOC compliant and use exclusive 3RD™ technology to replace traditional petroleum-based bindings. These products and others will combine style and performance in the new headquarters for a quieter, more productive workplace.
• Highly reflective, low-slope CoolStar™ roofing—one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to lower commercial building energy consumption--will help minimize the building's environmental impact and maximize occupant comfort.

High-performance products from Saint-Gobain, CertainTeed's parent company, including SageGlass advanced dynamic glass, SHEERFILL® architectural membranes, and Novelio^® wall coverings, will also be utilized in the headquarters transformation and will be on display at Greenbuild.

Rounding out the complete acoustical solutions specified, the new headquarters will include door systems from ASSA ABLOY, the global leader in door opening solutions. CertainTeed formed an industry-first collaboration with ASSA ABLOY last year to address acoustical challenges in classroom settings, and will co-host an education session on the topic at Greenbuild. The course, "Creating Superior Acoustic Environments in Schools with Evidence Based Design," will address general methods for creating high performance classroom acoustics and the applicable code requirements.

CertainTeed and Saint-Gobain will host four additional CEU courses at Greenbuild, including "Balancing Act: Sustainable office design from multiple viewpoints," focusing on the integrated design process associated with the headquarters transformation; "Daylighting with Electrochromics," discussing how to optimize the use of natural daylight to offset the use of electric lighting energy; and "Interpreting transparency docs: How LCAs, EPDs, and HPDs assist designers with product selection," exploring how to use these documents can be used as tools for product evaluation and specification. For a complete course schedule, go to http://www.greenbuildexpo.com/educationlabs.

In addition, CertainTeed is contributing a number of its innovative and sustainable gypsum board and insulation products to the 2014 Greenbuild LivingHome, a LEED Platinum net-zero model home showcasing how today's most cutting-edge sustainable building techniques can contribute to efficient housing. Designed and developed by LivingHomes and in partnership with Make It Right, the home will be placed in New Orleans' Lower 9^th Ward following the show. For more information, visit livinghome.greenbuildexpo.com.

About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America's leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, gypsum and ceilings.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world's largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. For six consecutive years, the company has received top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its contributions in protecting the environment and was most recently the recipient of the 2013 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. The group had total sales of approximately $3.3 billion in 2013. www.certainteed.com

For more information contact:
Victoria Gallagher, CertainTeed
(610) 341-7944
Email Contact
www.certainteed.com/pressroom

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greenbuild-attendees-to-get-an-inside-look-at-designing-and-constructing-a-productive-healthy-workplace-849742822.html

SOURCE CertainTeed