CHARLOTTE, NC (April 17, 2009) — Tobin Starr + Partners, in conjunction with client Optima Engineering, has been recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal with a Green Award in the Commercial Project category for Optima Engineering's Charlotte headquarters.

The Charlotte Business Journal, together with the U.S. Green Building Council Charlotte Region Chapter, recently announced winners in its second annual "Green Book."

Optima Engineering's corporate headquarters, designed by Tobin Starr + Partners, won in the Commercial Project category. This LEED-certified office space includes a solar power system that supplies energy back to NC Green Power. The space uses 30 percent less water and 35 percent less energy than a typical office. Visitors to the company's website can track real-time energy production.

Tobin Starr + Partners and contractor RT Dooley Construction Co. worked closely with Optima on the 27,000-square-foot space on the top floor of a new office building in Charlotte's South End.