San Francisco Surgical Arts (SFSA), a new oral and maxillofacial surgical facility in downtown San Francisco, offers routine oral surgical services as well as advanced facial reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. In 2012, SFSA became the first facility of its kind to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest level of green building certification under LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) v2009 rating system.

Led by the facility’s doctors, the sustainable design achievement was also made possible by the sustainability engineering and LEED consulting of Environmental Building Strategies (EBS), the architectural design of The Kohan Group, and the sustainable construction tactics of All Phase Builders. The SFSA project was a byproduct of a vision created by a group of surgeons led by Dr. Nima Massoomi to create a high-tech, environmentally conscious, medical/dental office to service the needs of the Northern California population. In doing so, SFSA invested in sustainable design and building practices, energy-efficient appliances and medical equipment, low-flow water systems, and electronic medical records.

Sustainable design and construction provides meaningful benefits to the environment and also strengthens returns on construction/remodeling investment.  In the case of SFSA, the facility will see a strong ROI from lowered utility bills due to its energy-efficient appliances and machinery. In fact, the new facility is already spending just one-third the amount of the energy bills of its existing office, which is half the size of the new LEED-certified facility. 

Additionally, SFSA invested Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to match the building’s energy use over a two-year period in order to help avoid 56 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, reducing their impact on the environment. SFSA is located within walking distance of public transportation, but it also provides free parking for patients.