SAN MARCOS -- Hunter Industries, a maker of irrigation products, has something else to be proud about: its new headquarters.

Completed last year, the building, at 1840 La Costa Meadows Drive, has drawn notice for combining beauty, employee comfort, environmental responsibility and long-term energy savings.

The 139,000-square-foot, $16 million headquarters won a coveted "orchid" in last year's Orchids & Onions Awards, given by the San Diego Architectural Foundation. It gained praise for its attractive palm tree landscape, creative use of solar energy and clever building techniques.

Hunter's headquarters conforms to a voluntary standard for "green" buildings called LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

For LEED certification, buildings must conform to dozens of specifications set by the U.S. Green Building Council, an industry group. These include water efficiency, use of recycled materials, use of renewable energy, and accessibility to public transportation.

Depending on the level of compliance, buildings are ranked as silver, gold or platinum LEED-certified.

Hunter's headquarters, designed by Smith Consulting Architects of San Diego, is certified at the gold level. Getting the certification added less than 10 percent to the building's cost, said Rod Lauman, Hunter's facilities group manager. Moreover, the energy-saving features will pay for themselves in five years.

Hunter lost the chance for platinum certification because its location is not well-situated for public transit, Lauman said. The site was chosen before Hunter decided to apply LEED.

However, every other feature of the building was chosen with an eye to meeting LEED standards, from the landscaped exterior to solar panels on the roof, and even the showers and toilets.

Tinted windows and a metal "screenwall" block much of the sun's heat, reducing building costs. A second-floor patio deck provides a barbecue, and offers shade with trellis boxes. Low-volatility materials are used in carpets and paint, and air is constantly circulated.

So-called "daylight harvesting" units distribute sunlight throughout the building's warehouse but keep out heat. They're supplemented with fluorescent lamps.

"We don't have to use (artificial) lighting during our daylight hours, which is when we do most of our work," Lauman said.

The "green" list goes on: fly ash, produced from burning coal, is used in the building's concrete exterior, replacing cement; the reinforcing steel in the walls is about 75 percent recycled.

And those palm trees?

"We're in the irrigation business. We need to have a lush green landscape," Lauman said.

The trees don't use much water, he said. The landscaping uses just 15 percent of the water that turf would require, he said. Moreover, the trees are low-maintenance.

"It's been a year and we haven't had to trim them yet," Lauman said.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com. Read his blogs at bizblogs.nctimes.com