Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin Details
Location: Austin, TX
The Ronald McDonald House of Austin and Central Texas (RMHC) provides lodging and support services in a nurturing home-like environment to families of critically ill or injured children receiving treatment in Austin area medical centers.
RMHC was licensed and incorporated in 1983 and began providing lodging and support services to families of critically ill and injured children in February of 1985. Tom Green & Company Engineers, Inc. (TGCE) was the MEP Engineer on the first House in Austin, some 20-years ago. The original House has since been replaced with a larger and more energy efficient version of the prior, with MEP systems designed by the same TGCE team. The new RMHC is the first green Ronald McDonald House in the world. It is the first building in the city of Austin and only the third in the state of Texas to attain the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the highest level of green building awarded by the United States Green Building Council.
Throughout this design, TGCE’s main goal and focus was to provide an environment that enhances healing through comfort, aesthetics, green operations, and superior indoor air quality, while preserving the environment through reducing energy consumption.
The RMHC is known across central Texas and the World as a model for Green Building, and actually shows results. This facility was designed to utilize less than 40% of an equal Code minimum building, and the utility bills are a testament.