Highest Scoring LEED(R) Platinum Certified Project on Record Marks Perkins+Will's...

Highest Scoring LEED(R) Platinum Certified Project on Record Marks Perkins+Will's Fourth Platinum in North America

Dockside Green's Integrated Design Team Celebrates Groundbreaking
Achievement
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(Business Wire)--
Perkins+Will today announced that the completion of the
highest-scoring LEED(R) Platinum Certified building on record,
Dockside Green Residential Phase I, in Victoria, British Columbia,
marks its fourth LEED(R) Platinum Certified project and the firm's
29th LEED(R) Certified project. In addition to designing Phase 1,
Perkins+Will was responsible for the design of the master plan for the
entire 15-acre mixed-use Dockside Green development, which is expected
to become the first LEED(R) Platinum community in the world.

"Sustainable design has always been in the DNA of our corporate
culture," said Perkins+Will CEO & President, Phil Harrison. "Dockside
Green represents the future of sustainable design, and we are proud to
work with the developers, Windmill West and Vancity Enterprises, to
change the way the building industry views sustainable development."

Dockside Green Phase I, also referred to as "Synergy", includes
four detached buildings constructed over a common underground parking
structure, including a nine-storey residential tower with minor
commercial units on the groundfloors; a two-storey townhouse; a
six-storey building with minor commercial units on the ground floor;
and, a four-storey residential building which reached Platinum at 63
points, making it the highest-scoring LEED(R) Platinum Certified
project in the world. Formerly, the highest-ranked Platinum project
was the Minnesota-based Aldo Leopold Legacy Center at 61 points.

Dockside Green is employing an integrated energy system that
ensures the development will be greenhouse gas neutral, while also
providing the opportunity for the project to become a net-energy
provider. The system includes a biomass gasification plant that
converts locally-sourced wood waste into a clean burning gas to
produce heat and hot water. Among the development's many other
sustainable features: an on-site wastewater treatment that is expected
to save more than 70,000 gallons of water annually; rooftop gardens; a
car co-op with Smart Car; and, additional energy-saving features,
including Energy Star appliances, heat recovery ventilations units,
Low E double glazed windows and exterior blinds on the west and south
faces of each building. A series of ponds spread throughout Dockside's
central greenway also assist in on-site stormwater storage while the
greenway itself provides the development with significant public open
space.

"Our integrated design process empowered us to work with a large
team of players to develop a vision for Dockside Green that is truly
sustainable," said Peter Busby, a Founding Member and Current Chair of
the Canada Green Building Council and Managing Director of Busby
Perkins+Will. "Dockside Green raises the bar for large-scale urban
design and planning, and produces an unrivaled sustainable community."

When complete, the Dockside Green development will be a community
of approximately 2,500 residents and will also include live/work,
hotel, retail, office and light industrial uses, as well as numerous
public amenities. Each of the development's 26 buildings is designed
for LEED(R) Platinum certification.

"We have set a target for our entire community to be LEED
Platinum," said Joe Van Belleghem, co-chair of Windmill West and
development manager of Dockside Green. "To receive this level rating
for our first phase is a testament to the exceptional commitment of
our architects Busby Perkins+Will and all our partners, contractors
and consultants"

The local community has enthusiastically embraced Dockside Green;
when "Synergy" first went to market in December 2005, 85 percent of
the residences were sold within the first three hours. The second
phase of the project, "Balance," is currently under construction and
expected to be complete in early 2009.

About Perkins+Will

Established in 1935, Perkins+Will (www.perkinswill.com) is an
integrated design firm serving clients from offices in Atlanta,
Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Houston, London, Los
Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Research Triangle
Park, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Vancouver, and
Washington, DC. With more LEED(R) Accredited Professionals than any
firm in North America, Perkins+Will is recognized as the preeminent
sustainable design firm in the country. The firm practices
architecture, interiors, branded environments, planning + strategies
and urban design with clients in aviation, corporate + commercial +
civic, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, and science +
technology markets. Perkins+Will routinely ranks among the world's top
design firms and has received hundreds of awards, including the
prestigious American Institute of Architects' "Firm of the Year
Award." Busby Perkins+Will is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Perkins+Will, operating in Canada and internationally.

About Dockside Green

Dockside Green, co-developed by Vancity and Windmill West, is the
largest development of city land in Victoria's history, with a vision
to create a socially vibrant, ecologically restorative, economically
sound and just community. Once complete, Dockside Green will be a
community for approximately 2,500 people incorporating the highest in
green standards. It will include residential, live/work, hotel,
retail, office, light industrial uses and numerous public amenities on
Victoria's downtown harbour.

For more information please visit www.docksidegreen.com or visit
the Dockside Green Presentation Centre at 1107 Wharf Street, Victoria,
B.C., open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

for Perkins+Will
Julie Obiala, 312-988-2049
jobiala@webershandwick.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008