AMD Opens New Austin Campus
AMD Completes $3 Million Commitment to Preserve Critical Open Space Texas Governor Rick Perry, Austin Mayor Will Wynn and Community Leaders Officially Open New Austin Campus
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today officially opened the doors of its new "Lone Star" campus in Austin, Texas, and announced that Westcave Preserve, Hill Country Conservancy and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin have been selected as the final grant recipients of the company's $3 million commitment to preserve critical open space in Central Texas. Representatives from these conservation organizations joined AMD employees, community leaders, environmental design experts, Austin Mayor Will Wynn and Governor Rick Perry in a ceremony to officially open the new 870,000 square foot, 58-acre Austin campus at 7171 Southwest Parkway.
"Three years ago, we announced our plan to build a new campus closer to our employee base and made a promise to set a standard for responsible development," said Hector Ruiz, chairman and chief executive officer, AMD. "Today, as we officially open the doors of our new Lone Star campus, I am proud to say that we have delivered on that promise through the extraordinary efforts and collaboration with local business, government and environmental leaders. We hope others will recognize the Lone Star campus not only as an example of our commitment to sustainable development but as a model for how to grow responsibly by partnering with communities."
"AMD has been a vital part of the Austin community for nearly 30 years and tonight we want to recognize the company's innovative spirit that has driven it to compete in one of the world's most competitive markets and develop this wonderful new campus," said Governor Rick Perry. "As a leading technology company in the fastest growing city in the fastest growing state in America, AMD is continuing to demonstrate its leadership and commitment to sustainable business practices that not only benefit its own bottom line but the community as a whole."
AMD's new Austin campus was designed to fit the specific needs of its employees and the local environment. To create the innovative site development plan, AMD assembled a diverse team of internationally recognized architects, engineers, ecologists and nationally known sustainable design experts. Working with AMD, the team embarked on an intensive design process known as a "charrette" and created a site plan based on three key tenets: limiting site impact, protecting water quality and using innovative sustainable design. Some of the innovative design features resulting from this unique development process include:
-- 100% Native Landscaping: AMD partnered with the Lady Bird
Johnson Wildflower Center to salvage the native trees, shrubs
and grasses within the footprint of the campus' roads and
buildings. This natural vegetation was harvested prior to the
ground breaking in 2006 and replanted at the Lady Bird Johnson
Wildflower Center during construction of the AMD project. The
salvaged plants are now being replanted at the campus.
-- LEED Gold certification: The U.S. Green Building Council's
LEED(R) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green
Building Rating System is the national benchmark for high
performance green buildings. When completed, the AMD campus is
targeting a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green
Building Council. This would make it the largest LEED Gold
certified corporate campus in Texas, based on current
certified projects.
-- Rainwater collection: An innovative rainwater harvesting
system has been designed to collect rainfall from all roof
surfaces, including the structured parking garages. The
rainwater is collected, filtered, and stored in two
underground tanks equaling 1.5 million gallons. The collected
rainwater will be used to irrigate the site's 100-percent
native landscaping and to supplement the potable water used in
the campus' energy-efficient cooling system.
-- Sustainable materials: The design team utilized materials and
products that feature high amounts of recycled content, local
manufacturing to reduce energy needed for transportation,
rapidly renewable materials such as bamboo, and certified wood
grown in ecologically maintained forests. Concrete used
throughout the campus for structure and design elements
incorporates a large percentage of fly ash, a waste by product
of the coal industry. Finish materials and treatments were
simplified throughout the campus in order to reduce waste,
chemical pollutants and maintenance. Wherever possible stains
or clear coats were used instead of laminates, paints and
coverings. In all, 75 percent of construction waste is being
recycled.
"Early on, AMD invited feedback, critique and input from diverse community voices and established meaningful dialogue," said Gail Vittori, co-director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, a non-profit education, research and demonstration center specializing in life cycle planning and design in Austin. "As a result of this input, not only does the facility meet high environmental standards, but it serves as a demonstration of how to address the environmental issues that are most relevant to the community where it is based."
In 2005, AMD committed $3 million to help preserve critical open space in Central Texas and awarded the first $1.5 million in grants to the Hill Country Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land. This first phase of the grant program consisted of an $800,000 contribution to Hill Country Conservancy (HCC) to conserve large tracts of land with ecological and historical significance and create a regional trail system and a $700,000 contribution to The Trust for Public Land's (TPL) Texas Heritage Land Fund designed to permanently preserve environmentally sensitive land in the Edward's Aquifer recharge zone and to support TPL's Parks for People program in Central Texas. Today, AMD unveiled the winning recipients for the second phase of its open-space grants. The second $1.5 million will be awarded to the following three organizations:
-- Westcave Preserve will receive $750,000 for the acquisition of
the "Rim Around the Canyon," a strategic 44-acre parcel of
land surrounding three sides of Westcave Preserve's canyon and
waterfall. The current owners of the 44 acres, Suzanne and Ted
Stewart, have worked closely as friends of Westcave to ensure
that the Preserve gains this much-needed buffer to protect
both the water quality of the "Grotto" and the entire natural
experience of the existing Preserve. The acquisition will more
than double the size of the Preserve, and will provide
critical open space for education and exploration for the more
than 6,000 school children who visit Westcave Preserve each
year. The acquisition will also conserve sensitive habitat for
many of the region's diverse and plentiful wildlife species.
-- Hill Country Conservancy will receive $650,000 and plans to
leverage this contribution with matching funds for a land
conservation project targeting sensitive property in the
Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.
-- The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will receive $100,000
to help fund the Central Texas Grassland Management Research
and Demonstration Project to study the use of historical
disturbance techniques, such as prescribed fire and simulated
levels of grazing pressure, to help restore native prairie and
savanna landscapes along a one-mile, public,
handicap-accessible trail at the Wildflower Center. This
research will help land managers determine how best to manage
the preserved areas of Central Texas for future generations.
Construction of the new campus began in 2006. The campus includes four four-story office buildings, three recessed parking garages and the Lone Star building, which features an employee fitness center, cafeteria, gourmet coffee bar, casual meeting space, outdoor decks and a gaming center with table tennis, billiards tables and video game consoles.
Founded in Sunnyvale, CA, in 1969, AMD came to Austin in 1979, building the company's first U.S. chip manufacturing facility outside Silicon Valley. Today, Austin is home to AMD's largest non-manufacturing campus and employs more than 2,500 people.
AMD has a long history of environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility and has been recognized for its efforts by some of the most prestigious institutions. In May, the company received the 2008 Climate Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for continued commitment to energy-efficient product innovation, facility design and management and industry education.
About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.
AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Released June 16, 2008