Bainbridge Island Museum of Art has earned the vaunted LEED Gold environmental certification, making it the first new art museum in Washington to achieve the rating.

It was a newly expanded solar array which earned the museum such high marks. BIMA nearly doubled the size of its rooftop array to 100 modules, with a projected 28-kilowatt output sufficient to put power back into the grid during the sunnier summer months.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – is a progressive code that rates new buildings for sustainability and promotes eco-friendly construction techniques.

The solar array caps a host of advanced sustainability features that extend from the roof down into the soil beneath the museum itself, officials said.

“What’s thrilling about this achievement is that it affirms how deeply Bainbridge Island and the museum itself care about all aspects of community vitality and wellbeing,” said Sheila Hughes, BIMA’s executive director.

“We live, work, visit and raise families in a place that invests equally and deeply in cultural enrichment and in sustainability. It’s wonderful to see BIMA’s LEED Gold status, made possible through the generosity of its local donors, as a leading example of both,” she said.

Designed by Bainbridge architect Matthew Coates, of Coates Design Architects, BIMA earned early praise for innovation in design, indoor environmental quality, water efficiency and site sustainability.

“Art museums are inherently energy-intensive, making LEED Gold designation an extremely challenging goal,” Coates said. “We’re proud to demonstrate that architects, builders and clients can work together to create beautiful buildings for our environment and for our planet.”

During construction, officials said, 95 percent of construction waste was recycled, while more than 20 percent of new materials came from recycled sources. All paints, sealants and materials selected for the building were non-toxic.

A public celebration for BIMA’s LEED Gold achievement will be held in conjunction with the public opening of their spring exhibitions at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 11.

BIMA officials, Coates and project partners will be on-hand to answer questions.