The fact that the $77 million green campus that consists of three 85,000-square-foot buildings diverted more than 20 percent of the building materials from the nasty old landfills. Much of those materials included concrete and cork and rubber flooring. Not only did the architect HOK and Milpitas-based Devon Construction reduce waste by using recycled building materials, but State Fund diverted a whopping 75 percent of construction waste away from landfills to recycling vendors.

This campus which expects to receive LEED Silver certification early next year, hit a big on the energy savings front with solar panel system, energy-efficient light fixtures, lamps, heating and cooling systems and other electrical equipment; and in the high-tech world they added “server virtualization” technology that reduces the number of servers needed to support the facility. The Green IT people must love that.

We (and probably most of the 750 workers) applaud the use of various low-emitting materials such as adhesives, paints and carpets. They also significantly reduced the building’s water footprint by incorporating low-flow toilets, waterless urinals, and an irrigation system using non-potable water.

We say that that is $77 million dollars well spent.

Photo credit: Steve Proehl

After scoring the main trade floor, we hit the Lawrence Group designed and SG Blocks built, Harbinger House, which impressed us more than last years version (despite the fact of its inside location) with its innovative use of shipping containers. Because we export hardly anything anymore, shipping companies have find new uses for these 8,000-pound containers, so rather than ship them back empty they sold them and here they built a 1700 sq. ft two-story house.

The simple yet functional interior fit right to our liking with Vetrazzo countertops, and bathroom vanities, and the Verve lighting control system. The Agilewaves caught everyone’s interest with their web-based Resource Monitor, that monitors electric, gas and water usage in real-time, while automatically calculating carbon footprint. To be honest, we did catch one showerhead that appeared to not be low flow but if it is we want one for our shower.

For the seminars, the always engaging and entertaining Hunter Lovins along with William Hayward led our favorite seminar as they covered The Business Case for Building the Green Way with humor and aplomb. While most everyone continues to question the price of green building, Hunter runs the other way to show the ultimate cost of NON-green building. If you don’t believe us then check out her presentation which she assures us will be uploaded on her website any day now.

Who wouldn’t appreciate Hunter’s humor while the conference center room’s ineffective and noisy HVAC system blasted out wafts of noise cool air? We do.

It’s not often that we’re giddy about stepping into a bathroom but theirs has a gray (recycled) water system that reuses used sink water for the low-flow toilet. Kimball SF’s low-flow fixtures reduce their water consumption by a whopping 75%.

As Kimball sells office furniture it only makes sense for them to sell low or non-toxic furniture. About half of their display represents green furnishings. We would like to see this figure closer to 100%.

Even so, the SF Kimball office represents just another in a growing line of green Kimball Office showrooms as their Jasper, Indiana office rated Gold while the Chicago office earned a silver certification. Hopefully, their New York location will garner a gold certification.