7.24.14 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Alvarez Diaz & Villalon® (AD&V®), a leading San Juan-based architecture and design practice, announce a LEED® Platinum designation for its new headquarters at 1509 Ave. Ponce de León. AD&V®'s office is the only commercial interiors project in Puerto Rico to achieve a LEED Platinum certification and the first architecture and interior design office in Latin America to earn the accolade.

Located in the heart of Santurce's arts district, the office occupies the second floor of the iconic Blanche Kellogg building. AD&V® remodeled the century-old facility, a former girls’ school, in order to prevent environmental damage to any site as the result of new construction. Designers maintained the distinctive façade and only interior glass doors and windows were added for energy conservation and security. The re-imagined building is divided into a lobby, administrative offices, personnel offices, library, lounge, conference room, bathrooms, recycling areas, and general use areas.

AD&V® retrofitted the space to meet strict environmental standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to create a healthier environment, lower operating costs, minimize waste, conserve water and energy and reduce their carbon footprint. Zero VOC paint and low-emitting materials were used for the furniture, flooring systems, paints, and other materials. Multiuse pieces comprised of a high percentage of recycled content furnish the studio’s modernized workspace and LED lighting, Lutron controls, and ultra efficient air conditioning units were installed to save energy while maintaining functionality. The end result is a high performance space that marries sophisticated, sustainable 21st-century features with the structure’s original character.

More information regarding Alvarez-Diaz & Villalon®’s office LEED® certification is available on the USGBC website.

About Alvarez-Diaz & Villalon®
 

Spearheaded by the award-winning husband-and-wife team of architect Ricardo Álvarez-Díaz and interior designer Cristina Villalón - Alvarez-Diaz & Villalon® has become one of the most innovative architecture and interior design firms in Latin America. With offices in San Juan and Miami, the firm has garnered national attention for their unique holistic approach, forging a reputation in design that is both environmentally responsible and richly appealing to the senses. Founded in 2001, the firm’s wide-ranging portfolio includes retail, institutional, commercial, and residential work with a commonality of purpose: to translate a client’s individuality into impeccable design.

Behind the couple’s decade-long success in their native Puerto Rico is a rock-solid foundation of stateside credentials. Alvarez-Díaz began his career working in New York for famed architect and educator Robert A.M. Stern and received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame. Villalón holds a Master of Science degree in Interior Design from Pratt Institute with postgraduate training at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen, Denmark.