Teaching an Old Building New Tricks

By Jeff Nippes

Unlike our canine friends, you can teach an old building new tricks. The iconic Empire State Building recently achieved LEED Gold Certification, and now the once dated and inefficient super structure is a lean, mean energy- and natural resource-conserving machine.

The Empire State Building—celebrating its 80th anniversary this year—has undergone a remarkable renovation that will reduce the building’s energy consumption by over 38% and save around $4.4 million in spending every year, meaning it will take only about three years to pay back the cost of the implementation.

The improvements will also enable the Empire State Building to offset around 105,000 metric tons of carbon emissions over a 15-year period. Additionally, many new LEED features include low-flow toilets, carpets made with recycled materials, low-VOC paints and adhesives, green wall coverings, and green pest control and cleaning products. During the renovation process construction debris and tenant waste were recycled to gain building reuse credits, and a new tenant energy management system was introduced.

All of these improvements illustrate that no matter old, big or tall a structure is, there are still plenty of ways to obtain LEED Certification and turn any building into Gold!

Making the Grade: 7 Cities Requiring Green Building Report Cards

By Vicki Zambito

Not all green buildings are created equal. Some are inevitably more energy efficient than others. So how do you know which is which? There’s a growing trend across the country to make data reporting on energy efficiency in buildings the law. Below are 7 cities leading the charge:

1. New York City's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan requires annual ENERGY STAR benchmarking and public disclosure for large commercial and multifamily buildings. Ratings must be reported to the city in the spring of 2011 and disclosure begins in 2012. All municipal buildings were benchmarked in 2010.

2. The District of Columbia requires annual ENERGY STAR benchmarking and public web site disclosure for large commercial and multifamily buildings. New buildings must obtain and disclose ENERGY STAR ratings based on energy modeling. The policies phase-in over a period of four years. Ratings must be reported to the District for some buildings beginning in the spring of 2011 and disclosure begins in 2012. ENERGY STAR ratings for municipal buildings were disclosed in 2010.

3. Austin requires commercial buildings to obtain ENERGY STAR ratings by mid-2011 and disclose ratings to prospective buyers. It also requires audits of single-family homes prior to a sale and audits of large multifamily buildings by mid-2011. Home audit results must be disclosed to prospective buyers, and multifamily audit results must be posted within the building and may trigger mandatory upgrades. All three policies are part of Austin's Energy Conservation and Audit Disclosure Ordinance (ECAD).

4. Santa Fe requires newly constructed single-family homes to display HERS ratings to prospective home buyers.

5. San Francisco requires annual ENERGY STAR benchmarking and public disclosure, as well as periodic energy audits, for commercial buildings. The requirements supplement a statewide rating and disclosure law passed in 2007.

6. Portland has informally proposed policy to ENERGY STAR benchmark its commercial buildings and disclose ratings.

7. Seattle requires commercial and multifamily buildings to annually ENERGY STAR benchmark and report ratings to the city. The law phases-in over two years beginning in 2011. The requirements supplement a statewide rating and disclosure law passed in 2009. Seattle is also piloting a home rating program.

To learn more about energy reporting and disclosure across the country and the world, check out this interactive map from BuildingRating.org: http://www.buildingrating.org/ammap

5 Reasons to Attend GreenBuild 2011

By Vicki Zambito

The world’s largest conference dedicated to green building is just weeks away – GreenBuild takes place October 4th through the 7th. There are many reasons to pack your sustainable bags and hit the road for this worthwhile show, but here are my top five.

1. It’s being held in Toronto. What better excuse to play tourist in Canada’s biggest city and the fifth largest city in North America? If you go, check out the Toronto Zoo which is home to over 5,000 animals representing 460 distinct species.
   


2. 25,000 people are expected to fill the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. These days, not many AEC industry conferences can boast numbers that big. Don’t be left out – your peers and competitors will most likely be there.
   


3. Happy Anniversary GreenBuild. It’s the USGBC’s 10th year holding this international event and it features the world’s largest expo hall devoted to green building. More than 1,000 exhibitors will showcase the latest in innovative products and services, exemplifying the idea of utilizing green to grow business to attendees from around the world.
   


4. Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman is giving the first keynote. Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. In his 2008 bestselling book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America, Friedman explores the parallels between the climate crisis and the global economic crisis, proposing a national strategy, coined "Geo-Greenism," to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure.
   


5. Maroon 5 is going to rock the house as they are set to headline the opening celebration. The Grammy award-winning band’s front man Adam Levine says, “The environment is a cause that entire band deeply cares about.” Maroon 5 went carbon neutral for its 2007 tour and has been honored at the Environmental Media awards.

How Do U.S. Home Sizes Compare to Other Countries? Infographic Breaks it Down.

By Vicki Zambito

A survey conducted by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment looked at average home sizes around the world. It found the smallest homes were in the UK and the largest homes were in the USA. In fact the study found that American homes, at an average square footage of 2,300, were 181% larger than homes in the United Kingdom which came in at 818 square feet. Does that mean our brethren across the pond are automatically greener than us?

Meet the World’s Greenest Office Building

By Vicki Zambito

Construction on the world’s greenest office building has begun in Seattle. Groundbreaking on the Bullitt Center at 15th Avenue and East Madison in the city’s Capitol Hill area began on Monday. The six-story building has been designed to produce as much energy as it consumes. Consider these items:

• The building will provide all its own water


• The building will process all its own sewage


• Timber for the building will come only from forests certified as sustainable


• The steel, concrete, wood, and other heavy materials will all come from within 300 miles


• Parking will be provided for bikes – not cars


• Building materials that contain hazardous substances won’t be used

Building a building this green costs some green. It is estimated that the building’s super sustainable features increase the building’s upfront costs by nearly one-third. But the building’s owner still expects to make money. Four of the six floors already have signed future tenants who are willing to pay a premium to locate there. Jason McLennan, CEO of the Cascadia Green Building Council, calls the construction project, “the most important building being built in the country today.”

Learn more about this story by watching this video: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bctid=1127563044001

3 Things Happening in LEED Right Now

By Vicki Zambito

1. A Federal Court Judge just dismissed the $100M lawsuit against the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its LEED Rating System. Henry Gifford and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in October 2010 claiming the USGBC falsely advertises that LEED guarantees energy savings in LEED-certified buildings. The court cited a few reasons for its dismissal including its conclusion that the plaintiffs couldn’t prove they were being harmed by the USGBC. To read more, visit http://greensource.construction.com/news/2011/08/110818-Lawsuit-Against-USGBC.asp

2. Now is the time to provide the USGBC with feedback on its proposed 2012 update to the LEED green building rating system. The public comment period opened August 1st and ends on September 14th, 2011. The USGBC collected just under 6,000 constructive comments and recommendations in the first comment period and says it has integrated feedback. To read more, visit: http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/2011-07-27%20press%20release%20-%20final.pdf

3. Time is very quickly running out for Legacy LEED APs to upgrade to LEED with specialty. Enrollment windows end on a specific date between August 1st and October 27th, 2011. End dates have been staggered over these three months in order to avoid overloading the USGBC’s systems. To avoid retesting, one way to upgrade is through completing 30-hours of prescriptive credential maintenance. To learn more about your options, visit http://www.redvector.com/leed-cmp/leed_ap_without_specialty.aspx

Top 5 Videos of the World’s Greenest Homes

By Vicki Zambito

I just hit green gold surfing the Internet last weekend. PlanetGreen.com features a play list of videos all highlighting what it bills as “the world’s greenest homes.” I clicked down the list, engaged by the images of some very cool earth-friendly dwellings. Below are links to five of my favorites. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

1. Hong King Space Saver – Check out this ultra hip 330 square foot apartment which features a futuristic sliding wall system.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-hong-kong-space-saver.html

2. Texas Candy Land - The style is whimsical and fun, but the technology is totally green.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-casa-neverlandia.html

3. Grass Roof Bungalow - The deck is made from recycled milk jugs, there's grass on the roof and different types of solar panels saves this family around $800 a year on the electric bill.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-the-grass-roof-bungalow.html

4. Energy Saving Straw House - Features include a saltwater swimming pool, and a cooling tower inspired by Middle Eastern architecture.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-the-arizona-straw-bale-house.html

5. Beachside Power Saver - It took only six hours for a traditional-looking, pre-fab home to be assembled in one of the most sought after areas of Toronto.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-toronto-prefab.html

For more videos, visit http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-green-homes/.