Center for the Built Environment

The bar was raised high for the building, also known as Block 225, before construction began. The California Department of General Services wanted a green building, and the design-build team set a goal of achieving LEED Gold certification — a relatively new green standard in 1999.

Block 225 is the first California state office building to use an underfloor air-distribution system and is the first design-build office building in the state’s history. The integrated approach to design and construction resulted in the building’s completion 10 months ahead of schedule. The design-build team and Department of General Services blazed a trail for all future statedeveloped projects.