Green Options » LEED http://greenoptions.com/tag/leed Posts tagged 'LEED' Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:42:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Largest LEED Platinum Building in the World http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/10/largest-leed-platinum-building-in-the-world/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/10/largest-leed-platinum-building-in-the-world/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:42:46 +0000 Keith Rockmael http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/10/largest-leed-platinum-building-in-the-world/ This post, like the masses of crowds, makes its way inside the just opened Academy of Sciences Museum. And why not as the Museum just became the largest LEED Platinum building in the world as well as the world’s most sustainable museum building. Take that Louvre.

As a Green building, the designers highlighted the new qualities but the also the previously used materials. What could be more famous then the seahorse railing and the colorful original tiles that surround the old favorite alligator swamp exhibit? Both the unique decorations are back. Okay, we’ll get to the bigger stuff.

One of the biggest challenges for this building was to optimize the natural light from the 200 some odd roof skylights to reach the living rainforest and coral reef. Unfortunately no LEED for Aquariums exists so the designers had balance radical ideas with practicality because they could take a chance that the wildlife wouldn’t survive.

The new aquariums displays contain twice as much water as the original, however they use less potable water because of filtration and recycling systems that purify water piped in from the Pacific Ocean. They purify the nitrate wastes using natural systems, ensuring that aquarium water can be recycled and reused. We also liked that they used 50% recycled content for the aquarium’s concrete.

Of course, everything can’t be perfectly green in a building. We cornered Water Planet designer Tom Hennes who (together with Urban A&O) designed the exhibit’s innovative wall treatments, about things that he would have liked to changed in regard to making the aquariums more green he said,  “It’s hard to live without fiberglass.”

Even with the fiberglass we’re happy to be living with the fishes in this extraordinary green icon.

]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/10/largest-leed-platinum-building-in-the-world/feed/ Playa: A LEED Platinum Home in a McMansion Neighborhood http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/05/playa-a-leed-platinum-home-in-a-mcmansion-neighborhood/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/05/playa-a-leed-platinum-home-in-a-mcmansion-neighborhood/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:09:39 +0000 Low Impact Living http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/05/playa-a-leed-platinum-home-in-a-mcmansion-neighborhood/ Some diehard environmentalists consider eco-mansions an oxymoron at best, with militant types even setting fire to greenwashed mega-homes! But eco-mansion haters sometimes ignore an inconvenient truth: Huge homes are constantly getting built, and most of these are anything but green.

Playa LEED

That’s the impetus behind “Playa” (above), a case study green home being built in Westchester, Calif., by Go Green Construction. The house, admittedly, will be huge — 4,300 square feet huge, to be exact — and located in a neighborhood that’s not particularly public transit-friendly. On the other hand, Playa’s also pre-rated for LEED platinum, serving as a self-described “living laboratory of green design” in a neighborhood full of ungreen McMansions.

playaThe rooftop view from Playa (left) alone shows the need for green building in this neighborhood, where smoggy haze floats above multi-story single family homes. In contrast to the massive footprints of its neighbors, Playa will boast a full solar array, graywater recycling system, living walls, and smart house automation which allows residents to control the power of the house remotely.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/10/05/playa-a-leed-platinum-home-in-a-mcmansion-neighborhood/feed/ Making greening your restaurant easy, rewarding, and free. http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/09/11/making-greening-your-restaurant-easy-rewarding-and-free/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/09/11/making-greening-your-restaurant-easy-rewarding-and-free/#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:14:59 +0000 Paul Smith http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/09/11/making-greening-your-restaurant-easy-rewarding-and-free/ Certified Green Commercial Kitchen logoThere are many ways for restaurants to go green, and nearly as many for them to be certified as a green restaurant. Which way to go? What’s the most useful? Which is valid? Between the numerous regional and national options out there, it can be overwhelming.

What if there was a program that made it simple, was free, modeled after and qualifying you for LEED credits, rewarded you for progress made along the way, and had all the equipment and supplies necessary to qualify available to you through them? Such a program exists, the Certified Green Commercial Kitchen program, through the national restaurant supply company Food Service Warehouse.

Now you may say, is this just a ploy for you to buy their products? Hardly. There’s no requirement that you buy through them to get certified. Though their prices do seem good. And in fact, they have a contest running now, open to any commercial kitchen, where you could win an entire green kitchen, from the oven to the ice machine, with $1000 worth of bio based disposables in there for good measure. Entry details can be found here.

Now what of the program itself? It’s broken down into 5 areas, of which you must accrue a certain amount of points of the total available, similar to how LEED works, in order to qualify in that area. When you do, you get rewarded.

And they’re not paltry rewards, either.

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]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/09/11/making-greening-your-restaurant-easy-rewarding-and-free/feed/ Bank of America: Greenwash Watch http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/08/26/bank-of-america-how-green-is-their-green/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/08/26/bank-of-america-how-green-is-their-green/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:52:33 +0000 Sarah Lozanova http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/08/26/bank-of-america-how-green-is-their-green/ solar investmentAs the largest consumer and small business bank, BofA (NYSE: BAC) can have a major positive or negative impact on the environment. Since March, 2007, the bank has taken on a $20 billion initiative to “encourage environmentally friendly business activity” over the next decade. Applauded by some and criticized by others, just how green is this bank?

Crystalline Tower Office Building in Manhattan

BofA’s new 2.1 million square foot, 54 story tower is being heralded as the world’s greenest skyscraper. This $1 billion glass, steel, and aluminum skyscraper will use significantly less water and energy, while providing a healthy indoor environment.

It features a passive solar design, the use of recycled and renewable materials, and work stations with individual climate controls. Natural elements include the use of rain water and a green roof reduces energy use for heating and cooling. A graywater system will reuse waste water from sinks to flush toilets. A 4.6 megawatt cogeneration plant will generate heat and electricity.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/08/26/bank-of-america-how-green-is-their-green/feed/ Wood Product Manufacturers Bracing for CARB 2009 http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/21/wood-product-manufacturers-readying-for-carb-2009/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/21/wood-product-manufacturers-readying-for-carb-2009/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:14:10 +0000 Joel Bittle http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/21/wood-product-manufacturers-readying-for-carb-2009/ CARB2The air is going to get a little bit cleaner come January, 2009 - and that has nothing to do with a new presidential administration.  The California Air Resources Board’s dramatic Air Toxic Control Measure known as “the CARB rule” will go into effect January 1 and will, among other things, mandate a reduction in formaldehyde levels in composite wood products like particle board, hardwood plywood, and medium density fiberboard.  Manufacturers of composite wood products have less than four months to adapt to the new requirements or they will be unable to manufacture or sell their products in California.

Formaldehyde came into the public consciousness this past Winter as trailers used for Hurricane Katrina victims were found to contain dangerous levels - click here for those findings.  Urea-formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound that has been linked to health issues ranging from persistent eye and skin irritation to asthma to, in extremely high levels, cancer.  It has been practically banned in Europe, Japan, and Canada.  The United States Green Building Council awards LEED credits for buildings that have eliminated added urea-formaldehyde.  The inclusion of the word “added” is due to the fact that small levels of formaldehyde occur naturally in wood.  Urea-formaldehyde is used in composite wood as a drying agent for glues and adhesives, significantly speeding up the manufacturing process of the composite wood.  For this reason, non-formaldehyde composite woods will come at a higher price.  Add in the increased demand due to the CARB rule and the current limited supply of formaldehyde-free composite wood and we could see increased prices across the board for composite wood products like furniture, cabinets, moldings and millwork, doors, and many other products. 

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/21/wood-product-manufacturers-readying-for-carb-2009/feed/ Rural Areas are Slow to Adopt Green Building Practices http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/12/rural-areas-are-slow-to-adopt-green-building-practices/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/12/rural-areas-are-slow-to-adopt-green-building-practices/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:56:48 +0000 Kristin Dispenza http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/12/rural-areas-are-slow-to-adopt-green-building-practices/ Author’s Note: While I usually report on green building developments in the Pacific Northwest, today I am examining green building trends in my own geographic region, Southeast Ohio. The architect for the LEED project discussed below is my husband, Don Dispenza.

Nationwide, there are currently more than 12,000 building projects pursuing LEED certification. But in economically depressed regions, there are still only a handful. For example, in Southeast Ohio, defined as an eight-county region in the Appalachian foothills, there are only two registered projects on the USGBC website. In areas such as this, which have a minimal amount of new construction overall, increasing a project’s cost by building green is rarely considered.

An exception is the Chamberlain Office Building in Athens, Ohio. The building’s owner, Russell Chamberlain, is a local real estate agent whose desire to build green stems from his own personal value system, and also from the belief that that investing in LEED certification will differentiate his company as being a progressive one. The project is expected to achieve a LEED Silver rating.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/08/12/rural-areas-are-slow-to-adopt-green-building-practices/feed/ Advanced Data Centers Has Built First LEED Platinum Data Center http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/10/advanced-data-centers-has-built-first-leed-platinum-data-center/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/10/advanced-data-centers-has-built-first-leed-platinum-data-center/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:12:05 +0000 Carol Gulyas http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/10/advanced-data-centers-has-built-first-leed-platinum-data-center/

Data centers, the nerve centers for the computing world, use an estimated 2% of all energy used in the United States, and are also heavy users of water. At an AeA presentation I attended in May of this year, Microsoft’s Lewis Curtis shared the following:

  • In 2006, U.S. data centers consumed 61 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 5.8 million U.S. households, costing companies $4.5 billion
  • If this trend is unchecked, in 2011 data centers will use 100 billion kWh of energy at a cost of $7.4 billion, necessitating the building of 10 additional power plants

Attention has turned recently to how these centers can be made much more resource-efficient. Taking a leadership position in this effort is Advanced Data Centers (ADC) , who has just earned a LEED platinum certification for its data center in McClellan Park in Sacramento, California. ZDNet interviewed ADC’s Bob Seese on how the center achieved its LEED rating, summarized here:

  • The center’s site has some of the lowest power costs in California
  • ADC invested in its own electricity substation
  • Rain water will be recaptured from roof runoff and used for landscaping, tower cooling, and some bathroom fixtures
  • Outside air will be used for cooling 75 percent of the time — free
  • 95 percent of construction debris will be recycled
  • Non-toxic chemicals were used for finishes and adhesives
  • Daylighting will be used for ambient lighting throughout the building.

Related Post: Cooling Data Centers Could Prevent Massive Electrical Waste

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/10/advanced-data-centers-has-built-first-leed-platinum-data-center/feed/ Showing the Green Building Process http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/30/showing-the-green-building-process/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/30/showing-the-green-building-process/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:22:10 +0000 Philip Proefrock http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/30/showing-the-green-building-process/ Philadelphia house renovation
What does it look like to build a house with lots of green features? We see pictures of the finished buildings, and we read about the features that make them green. We know about the importance of good insulation and reducing electrical loads and choosing efficient equipment. But what does it look like while it all goes together?

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/30/showing-the-green-building-process/feed/ The Costs of Not Building Green http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/the-costs-of-not-building-green/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/the-costs-of-not-building-green/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:24:57 +0000 Joel Bittle http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/the-costs-of-not-building-green/ Despite the narrowing gap in cost between green building and traditional “to-code” building, most builders and home buyers still perceive the green option to be significantly more expensive.  The reality is that due to increased builder education and an influx of affordable green building products, a building can be built green within the same budget as a non-green building.  According to Clark Wilson, CEO of Austin based Green Builders, Inc., “It’s our job as builders to find those green products that don’t drive up the price of the home.”  Rick Hunter of the St. Louis green building firm Sage Homebuilders agrees:  “With proper planning and a little experience, building green, even certified green, can be done for about the same cost. We are building certified green homes at the highest levels of certification for less than 1% cost increase.“  For an informative breakdown on how green buildings cost from 0 to 2% more than non-green buildings, check out “The True Costs of Building Green” from the folks at Buildings.com.

Now that green building is an affordable option, it’s time to change the way we frame the affordability debate.  Too long have supporters of green building been on the defensive, forced to justify the costs of building more energy efficient, healthier, more sustainable homes.  Instead of focusing on the costs of making your building green, let’s talk about the costs of not building green.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/the-costs-of-not-building-green/feed/ Low Impact Living: Green Condos in the West http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/green-condos-in-the-west/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/green-condos-in-the-west/#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:34:42 +0000 Low Impact Living http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/green-condos-in-the-west/ A couple of weeks back we did a feature on the great trend of green condo developments taking off all over the country– and we covered many developments in the East and South.  Click here to learn about Green Condos in the Eastern U.S.

A green condo can be a wonderful alternative for (the vast majority of) those of us who cannot afford to build a new green single-family home.  We want sustainable design, solar panels, energy-efficient appliances and so much more, but we can’t afford to build.  Viola– the green condo!

This week we cover many of the excellent green condos available in the Western United States.  There are so many to choose from it’s tough to pick just a selection to highlight here!

In the Los Angeles Area

Evo South is an exciting development in the heart of downtown LA.  It is an urban tower of steel and glass– 23 stories with 311 residences.  They are in the process of seeking LEED certification for the building.  The units feature such eco-friendly elements as Bosch Energy Star appliances, low-flow water fixtures, Nature’s Choice carpeting and more.

Green on 19If you prefer the beachy side of life, Green On 19 is a cool townhouse development in Santa Monica. These townhomes are the first of their kind in Santa Monica, and there are five units in the development.  Architect Jesse Bornstein has integrated modern style, light and sustainability into his design.  The units meet Energy Star New Home standards and feature solar power, bamboo and concrete floors, LED landscape lighting, xeriscape landscaping, and more.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/24/green-condos-in-the-west/feed/ How Not to Greenwash Your Building Product http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/how-not-to-greenwash-your-building-product/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/how-not-to-greenwash-your-building-product/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:46:37 +0000 Joel Bittle http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/how-not-to-greenwash-your-building-product/ Whether you are developing a new green building product or have recently discovered that the product you have been selling for years satisfies green building program requirements, there comes a point where you must state on your literature which green building (probably LEED) credits your product satisfies or contributes to. It is at this point that usually honest businesses declare their products greener than they really are, crossing the line from green to greenwashing in order to reach the widest green market. Maybe you didn’t understand the requirements for the individual credits. Maybe someone told you to declare as many credits as you possibly could and let the LEED auditors sort them out. Maybe you’re just throwing everything that could conceivably be green against the wall to see what sticks. What you have done is greenwashed your product, which may have been green enough to begin with. But once you greenwashed it, you’ve sent a message that your company a) may not be experienced with green building or b) may not be trustworthy.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/how-not-to-greenwash-your-building-product/feed/ Green Building Mandates http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/green-building-mandates/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/green-building-mandates/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:08:13 +0000 Philip Proefrock http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/green-building-mandates/
Governments are beginning to mandate green building for some new construction, and that ought to be a cause for celebration. But because of the way these requirements are made, the possibility of problems arising when a building does not meet a required level of green building could lead to legal difficulties and lawsuits.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/17/green-building-mandates/feed/ The Next Green Thing: Green Insurance http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/10/the-next-green-thing-green-insurance/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/10/the-next-green-thing-green-insurance/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:13:02 +0000 Joel Bittle http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/10/the-next-green-thing-green-insurance/ As I walked from booth to booth looking for something new and different at last month’s Greening the Heartland conference, I actually did a double take when I saw the words “Green Insurance” on one display.  Here was something new that I had to learn more about - was it another gimmick or attempt to force green into an unrelated industry?  I spoke to Stephen Horack, a ”Green Insurance Specialist” of St. Louis based Huntleigh McGehee, and I have to say that I was sold on the idea right away.  Green insurance is not just a good idea, it’s potentially a revolutionary idea.

Started in 2006 by Fireman’s Fund, a member of the United States Green Building council, green insurance protects owners of green commercial or residential buildings.  In the case of a loss, Fireman’s Fund would bring in a LEED-AP to oversee reconstruction of the building to its original LEED certification level, making sure that the building systems operate at peak performance and in alignment with one another.  If this seems like a no-brainer, consider submitting rebuilding plans to an insurance company that has no experience with green building.  Would you have to explain why every component of the building was built that way, rather than a less expensive non-green alternative? 

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/07/10/the-next-green-thing-green-insurance/feed/ Habitat for Humanity Adds Solar Energy to Homes http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/26/habitat-for-humanity-adds-solar-energy-to-homes/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/26/habitat-for-humanity-adds-solar-energy-to-homes/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:00:09 +0000 Cassie Walker http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/26/habitat-for-humanity-adds-solar-energy-to-homes/ Known for building homes across the world for those in need, Habitat for Humanity now celebrates the occupancy of the program’s first LEED Silver certified homes in San Pedro, CA.

Begun during the 2007 Jimmy Carter Work Event over six days last year, 16 local families now enjoy the fruits of their labor - homes built alongside more than 5,000 volunteers. Not only are the homes LEED Silver, but they have another enviable feature: they include access to solar energy. Collectively, the families’ energy bills are expected to be reduced by $200,000 over time (keep an eye out for a related story about the innovative installation at CleanTechnica.)

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/26/habitat-for-humanity-adds-solar-energy-to-homes/feed/ Low Impact Living: Green Condos Coming to a City Near You http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/25/low-impact-living-green-condos-coming-to-a-city-near-you/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/25/low-impact-living-green-condos-coming-to-a-city-near-you/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:48:31 +0000 Low Impact Living http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/25/low-impact-living-green-condos-coming-to-a-city-near-you/ Do you long to live in an attractive green home with the latest and greatest in green building technologies, but know you can’t afford to build one? Then you and I have something in common.

But do you know about all the amazing green condo developments cropping up across the country? There are gorgeous, cutting-edge eco-friendly condos available or being built now in cities all around the U.S. We can’t possibly cover them all in this post, but we’ve selected a good sample. I will cover green condos in the West next week. Read on to find what might become your dream green home!

eco18In Chicago, eco18 is an interesting development currently underway. Located in Chicago’s South Loop area, it provides access to plenty of public transportation options and also green spaces. eco18 is striving to attain a Gold Certification under the LEED program of the US Green Building Council. This is a lofty goal and we hope they make it! Their plans include a massive green roof, solar water heating, geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater reuse, energy-efficient lighting and much more. You can get a 1 bedroom/1 bath unit for around $285,000 or a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit for about $430,000. Learn more about eco18 here.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/25/low-impact-living-green-condos-coming-to-a-city-near-you/feed/ Green Buildings Bring in More Money http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/22/green-buildings-bring-in-more-money/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/22/green-buildings-bring-in-more-money/#comments Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:59:44 +0000 Dawn Killough http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/22/green-buildings-bring-in-more-money/ According to a recent study by CoStar Group, LEED or Energy Star certified buildings have higher lease rates and lease for more dollars per square foot than similar buildings that are not certified.CoStar Group is a company that provides information services to the commercial real estate industry.

CoStar tracked the number of LEED or Energy Star certified buildings since 2006, and compared lease and occupancy rates to similar non-certified buildings.For example, LEED certified buildings had a 92% occupancy rate, and averaged a lease rate of $42.38 per square foot. In comparison, non-LEED buildings had an occupancy rate of 87.9%, and an average lease rate of $31.05 per square foot. In a building with 50,000 square feet of leasable space, that would mean a difference of over $500,000 in income.

Energy Star certified buildings, in comparison, had an average occupancy rate of 91.5%, with lease rates averaging $30.55 per square foot. Non-Energy Star buildings were at 87.9% occupancy, and leased at $28.15. While the difference here is smaller, it still means $160,000 in additional income in a 50,000 square foot building.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/22/green-buildings-bring-in-more-money/feed/ Advice from Kim Nadel, Leading “Green” Interior Designer http://feelgoodstyle.com/2008/06/02/advice-from-kim-nadel-leading-green-interior-designer/ http://feelgoodstyle.com/2008/06/02/advice-from-kim-nadel-leading-green-interior-designer/#comments Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:57:06 +0000 Deb Hiett http://feelgoodstyle.com/2008/06/02/advice-from-kim-nadel-leading-green-interior-designer/ Green Design and Feng Shui on a Budget, and What’s Coming Next

Green Designer Kim NadelRecently I had a chance to ask a few questions of Kim Nadel, NCIDQ certified interior designer, LEED Accredited Professional, and co-founder of the Brooklyn-based NICHE environmentally smart design group. Kim is currently on the MFA faculty of the New York School of Interior Design teaching Green Design, and co-authored The Green Pages: The Contract Designer’s Guide to Environmentally Responsible Materials and Products.

Kim was chosen by Hospitality Design magazine as one of the top 20 leaders in the industry to influence design in a positive direction. She has enjoyed lecturing throughout the country to designers and architects on green living since 1995 and her work has been published in a variety of publications including Interiors and Natural Home and Garden. Kim’s broad knowledge allows her to work within a diverse range of creative projects that promote green living and inspire others to create in a sustainable way. Presently Kim is incorporating the principles of Vastu into her work, and her designs are featured in Kathleen Cox’s Vastu book Space Matters.

What is the single most important thing individuals can do (in terms of interior decorating) to improve the feng shui or vastu of their home, if budget is a primary concern?

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]]> http://feelgoodstyle.com/2008/06/02/advice-from-kim-nadel-leading-green-interior-designer/feed/ First 100% Off-Grid Green Building in San Francisco http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/09/first-100-off-grid-green-building-in-san-francisco/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/09/first-100-off-grid-green-building-in-san-francisco/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 15:23:55 +0000 Keith Rockmael http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/09/first-100-off-grid-green-building-in-san-francisco/ kids-center.jpgIn San Francisco, some well financed and publicized condo projects like the Arterra spend big marketing dollars to push its LEED – NC status (wonder why they didn’t shoot for LEED on its other project the Hayes?) while the EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park LEED certified facility opened in relative obscurity.

This landmark youth education facility and environmental center sits smack in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood right next to the former PG & E power plant. Of all the areas in SF this area truly needs the Green building support. We’re psyched to report that the EcoCenter marks the first 100% off-grid green building in San Francisco, and boasts features that set the bar high for green building.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/09/first-100-off-grid-green-building-in-san-francisco/feed/ Are COTE Winners Too Much of the Same? http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/01/are-cote-winners-too-much-of-the-same/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/01/are-cote-winners-too-much-of-the-same/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 01:14:49 +0000 Philip Proefrock http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/01/are-cote-winners-too-much-of-the-same/ Pocono Environmental Education/Visitor Activity - Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Architects The winners of this year’s AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Green Buildings were announced this week, and there certainly are some very attractive buildings among the lot. Some of these buildings are certified, or in the process of becoming certified, to high LEED standards, in addition to their COTE Top Ten recognition.

But while I’m excited by some of the design presented in this year’s lineup, there are some troubling aspects of the roster as a whole that struck me almost immediately.

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/05/01/are-cote-winners-too-much-of-the-same/feed/ Orlando Now a ‘Solar America City’ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/04/23/orlando-now-a-solar-america-city/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/04/23/orlando-now-a-solar-america-city/#comments Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:01:35 +0000 Shirley Siluk Gregory http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/04/23/orlando-now-a-solar-america-city/ City of Orlando flag.Orlando, Florida, recently became one of 12 cities across the U.S. chosen as a federal Department of Energy (DOE) “Solar America City.”

Each of the dozen cities will receive $200,000 to advance the use of solar technologies in their communities. All the cities were selected for “their commitment and comprehensive approach to the deployment of solar technologies and the development of sustainable solar infrastructures,” according to the DOE.

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