Twin Lakes is the first high performance building built by Sarasota County Government to be used as both office space and a demonstration office building to show green design integration in a commercial building. 

Twin Lakes is the first Green Architecture office building in the area and has achieved a LEED Gold Certification. Its design won the Sustainable Florida Architecture Merit Award in 2003.
 

The facility consists of a remodeled building and an adjacent new building and is designed to use a minimum 30% less water, 40% less energy, 10% renewable energy, minimum 25% recycled content materials and a minimum of 20% local/regional building materials compared to a conventional commercial facility. 

Highlights of the design and construction include:

1. A 28,000-gallon cistern will collect rainwater for use in water closets and irrigation.  Rainwater passes through one of eight filters that remove leaves, direct and other debris before it’s stored in the cistern.
2. Waterless urinals and low flow plumbing fixtures.
3. Florida friendly landscaping design utilization of native plants.
4. Use of natural day lighting and use of lighting sensors that monitor daylight and automatically adjusts the brightness of the lighting.
5. No windows on the east and west sides of the building keep direct sunlight out and help keep the building cool.
6. Two wells provide geothermal cooling – well water is pumped through a heat exchanger and returns the water to the ground.
7. Many recycled content products are used such as drywall, carpeting, and matting.
8. Products made from renewable resources include cork flooring.
9. Indoor air quality has been improved through the use of low VOC paints and carbon dioxide sensors.  No particleboard or pressure treated wood has been used.
10. Exterior walls are made of autoclaved aerated concrete, a lightweight concrete that provides better insulation than standard concrete.
11. All interior furnishing has been specified to be non-toxic and recycled content when available.

Sustainable Building Pays Dividends by Bobbie O'Brien of WUSF
An interview with Twin Lakes architect Michael Carlson of Cardinal, Carlson + Partners, Inc.

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