Chartreuse Blog


Cherapa Place: Green Building in SD
December 1, 2009, 6:02 pm
Filed under: Green Projects | Tags: , ,

Photo by Aaron Holmberg

Cherapa Place, a 140,000 square foot office building located on the East Bank of the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls, is the first LEED Gold Building in the state of South Dakota.  Designed by Koch Hazard Architects, the site and building incorporate many innovative and sustainable systems and technologies reducing energy consumption by 40% and water use by 15%.  Other green strategies include the redevelopment of a brownfield site, stormwater management, green roofs, and a native landscape.  Also, 60% of the building’s materials are regionally (located within 500 miles) harvested and manufactured such as the quartzite stone on the building’s base.

Quartzite is a stone that was commonly used in Sioux Falls architecture until the early 20th century because the city is located on a large quartzite formation.  The façade of Cherapa Place uses over 8,500 square feet of this stone.

The interior of the building features tabletops made of pressed sorghum and cabinetry and trim made from pressed wheat.

Photos from Aaron Holmberg