In the midst of the wonders of the Holiday Season, RESET Air is proud to announce the latest building to achieve RESET Air Certification for Interiors; the East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  A joint effort between ELPC, Auros Group, Pfaffmann+ Associates and CJL Engineering, the 83-year old cathedral is a standout in indoor air achievement and energy conservation.  

With such noteworthy accolades going above and beyond baseline building standards, RESET asked the ELPC project team to elaborate on their efforts as a gift to the greater community.  What they had to say was nothing short of inspiring!

Q. Tell the RESET Air community about the importance of ELPC as a beacon to the community, Pittsburgh, etc. 

A. Known in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the Cathedral of Hope, East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) serves as a central hub in the community—a place for people of all beliefs and walks of life to gather, worship, celebrate, hold meetings and events or simply find a moment of peace.  The church is home to over 800 regular members and hosts over 15,000 visitors per year. Built in 1935, ELPC seeks to provide the community its special brand of “radical hospitality”. 

“Church congregations often think about energy efficiency and environmental justice in broad terms: Will this improvement reduce my electricity bill? Will these renovations be an asset for my children’s generation and the world in which they live? Choosing to be guided by important, measurable standards such as the RESET air quality measurements gave us ways to both answer the easy questions and the in-depth follow-up questions. It allows us to say with full integrity that we are doing our best to provide a physical facility that is safe, environmentally sound, and thoroughly welcoming to the members, guests, and employees who regularly gather within our walls.”

Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor – ELPC

Q. Why was it important to ELPC to attack difficult goals for an old cathedral… lower energy, high indoor air quality? 

A.  Through the first-ever comprehensive renovation, ELPC sought to increase the usable space in the church, reduce energy consumption by 25% and significantly improve indoor air quality in order to fulfil its mission of good stewardship and inclusive hospitality. 

According to Stefani Danes, Adjunct Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and Building Committee Co-chair: “Our exceptional team of ELPC, Pfaffmann + Associates, CJL Engineering and AUROS Group, brainstormed a variety of feasible solutions to achieve the desired performance within our construction budget. Over time, the church has struggled with temperature and humidity. RESET Air was not only a good IAQ standard but it provided us the tools to ensure we are actually delivering high quality indoor air for our membership and our guests from all over the world.”  

“A passive-first approach to the project created the perfect foundation to consider RESET Air certification. By spending time assessing and understanding the condition of the envelope, we were in a much better spot to deliver high indoor air quality. Even a cathedral built in 1935 can achieve healthy indoor air quality ensuring everyone lives, works, worships and plays in an environment that supports health and performance,” says Craig Stevenson, President, AUROS Group.

Beith Eckenrode, Principal, AUROS Group, added, “What’s special about ELPC’s RESET Air certification is that it’s the perfect learning laboratory for organizations across our region. Pittsburgh is fortunate to have aspirational sustainability leadership across government, universities, foundations, industries and non-profits. The smart leaders in our region expect to see evidence of performance, not just claims or words. RESET Air provides the rigor of continuous monitoring to cause even the biggest skeptics to believe.” 

Photo: Christmas inside the church

The Holidays are a time for believing. On behalf of all of us at RESET, we’d like to give a sincere thanks to the ELPC project team for believing in RESET Air.