IRS Demo earns regional Green Building Council award

South Gate, California-based Interior Removal Specialist Inc. (IRS Inc.) has been named the winner of a 2016 Sustainable Innovation Award from the United States Green Building Council-Los Angeles Chapter (USGBC-LA). The company, which specializes in office and commercial space strip-outs and the recycling of the resulting materials, received top honors in the Materials & Resources category.

USGBC-LA says the awards “honor premier projects that have already been envisioned, designed and/or built, recognizing exceptional achievement and innovation in each Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) category.”

The 2016 awards, the sixth edition of the program, were presented in coordination with the Green Gala event. That event was held in mid-November at the Bonaventure Brewing Company in Los Angeles. It brought together more than 500 people and featured a presentation from actor and environmental advocate Ed Begley Jr.

“These projects tell us a story of the times; that the commitment for a sustainable future is here to stay, and we're pleased to recognize the design and construction leaders who change the landscape of our cities with every project they deliver,” says Emily Sumner of Sustainable Venice, who served as the 2016 awards co-chair along with Patti Harburg-Petrich of BuroHappold Engineering.

IRS was honored for the construction of its new headquarters structure in South Gate, in which “every piece of furniture was re-purposed from IRS Demo demolition projects, with the exception of three exterior doors being purchased to complete the build out,” according to Julie Du Brow of Dubroworks Public Relations. The company achieved a 99 percent building reuse rate on the project, she adds.