After delays of more than a year, multinational construction company Skanska started work on its long-awaited project in the Galleria area.

Located at 3009 Post Oak near Williams Tower and Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, the new 20-story office building has been pre-certified LEED Platinum, the highest rating for energy efficiency offered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

"Skanska has a company culture focused on green practices," Skanska USA executive vice president Mike Mair tells CultureMap. "We even have our own internal environmental ranking system, ranging from vanilla to green to dark green."

Mair said these internal green ratings guarantee any Skanska-sponsored building project a minimum of LEED Gold, the second to highest level offered by USGBC. The company recently started a Seattle project with the hopes obtain "Living Building" status, one of the highest energy efficient certifications available.

"In 2009 when we began the Post Oak plans, we set out to achieve higher than 25 percent efficiency," Mair says. "We looked at mechanical systems first, focusing on energy and water next."

To maximize energy efficiency and operational savings, 3009 Post Oak will use a energy recovery wheel to recycle the building's exhausted air as well as occupancy monitoring systems to regulate air conditioning and heating systems in unoccupied areas. A sophisticated lighting control system will help to minimize unnecessary lighting for the office and garage areas.

Outside, a rainwater collection system will be used for landscape irrigation while a highly efficient glass façade of low-E glass will modulate the hot Texas sun.

As plans continue for light rail service along Post Oak, lead architects Julie Hendricks and Bob Inaba of Kirksey Architecture concentrated on creating pedestrian-friendly space at street level. Instead of placing the garage next to the building, the designers placed the office spaces on top of eight stories of parking — a plan that allowed for a green plaza at the front entrance as well as better views of the city and the Waterwall Park across the street.

"We designed a tall lobby space on the street level that would have a strong evening presence from Post Oak," Inaba says. "Instead of just another lobby, we plan to include a light installation or large-scale artwork."

Estimated to cost between $60 and $90 million to develop, the new project will be financed entirely by Skanska itself.