The Next Generation of LEED
by Ashley Katz
With its introduction in 2000, the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System helped to spark a revolution, articulating a new set of integrated, measurable goals that changed how the building industry approaches the design, construction and operation of our offices, schools, hospitals and homes. During the past eight years, USGBC has moved LEED steadily forward, evolving the way building performance is measured and rated, and doing so against a backdrop of increasing urgency to find solutions to climate change and energy dependence... more

The Road to 100 Percent Accreditation
by Erin Cooper AIA, LEED AP
With resounding interest, Amenta/Emma embarked on a sustainability transformation that focused on expanding expertise and distributing basic green building design knowledge to all employees. In August 2007, the firm announced a company-wide initiative that all professional staff would become LEED Accredited Professionals (APs).  The goal of initiative is to guarantee that clients receive the highest possible energy efficiency and sustainability benefits on their projects while minimizing cost and schedule impacts... more

Analyzing The Real Costs for Green Solutions in Labs
Spearheaded by MHTN Architects, ED+C magazine participated in an original roundtable event on of the real costs of LEED certification for labs (of varying size and scope). In this unique, in-depth on-the-record discussion, industry experts explored and analyzed some of the big issues and often overlooked or understated details. The team also discussed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Research Facility in Golden, Colo. The NREL actual costs were compared to the EarlyEco computer run using the NREL parameters... more

Green Building Returns Outweigh Costs
by Ashley Katz
Not a penny more. The evidence that green buildings don't have to cost a penny more than their conventional counterparts continues to pile up, as do the studies that validate significant ongoing operational cost savings for both new and existing green buildings. And these studies are extending beyond time and material into very real and financially important factors associated with building valuation, along with the health and productivity of building occupants, be they employees, students or shoppers... more

Revolutionary Green: A Look Ahead to Greenbuild 2008
by Doug Smeath
Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, the Boston Tea Party, and the extraordinary blossoming of ideas that laid the foundation of the American Revolution were inspiration for the 2008 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, Revolutionary Green: Innovations in Global Sustainability, held Nov. 19-21, 2008, in Boston. That spirit will be reflected not only in Greenbuild's educational programming, but also in vastly expanded and improved attendee services and logistics... more

LEED and Higher Education
by Taryn Holowka
As America begins a fundamental culture shift toward a truly sustainable economy and way of life, universities will be one of the greatest sources of ideas and innovation. These institutions have the capacity to generate fundamental solutions to critical issues such as climate change and energy dependence while also preparing a skilled workforce for the anticipated demand for green-industry jobs. Campuses themselves are already becoming living laboratories for innovation, learning and sustainability... more

Greening Building Portfolios: Speed and Scale for Immediate and Measurable Results
by Ashley Katz
Most companies and large institutions own entire portfolios of buildings - portfolios that include office buildings, retail outlets and lodging facilities, classrooms, and a wide variety of special function facilities that house equipment, records, call centers and more. Many owners have a large amount of the same building type. Given that organizations have finite people and capital resources, how do you approach greening your entire portfolio as quickly and efficiently as possible?... more

Ready for Take-off
by Guy Johnson
One of the nation's largest current building projects is also driving the evolution of forward-looking green building technologies. The $1.1 billion New Indianapolis Airport will move to the front of the line in passenger service and security. It will showcase dramatic commissioned art. And its design, engineering and construction systems will qualify the airport as one of America's largest and most visible Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects... more

Southern Stewardship
by Jim Nicolow , AIA, LEED AP
On a hillside in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, trees felled for the construction of a new research center were either left on site to provide habitat or mulched and spread to prevent erosion. Rocks and boulders displaced by excavation for the facility were salvaged for retaining walls and to form natural stormwater management features. In the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, an extensive green roof caps the new visitor destination center, providing habitat, while passive solar Trombe walls harvest natural solar energy to heat the facility... more

In Practice
by James Fitzsimons
The story of Pringle Creek Community, a 32-acre mixed-use development in Salem, Ore., begins with the State of Oregon deciding to close down its 275-acre "home" for developmentally disabled children. The state then put the property, located just three miles from downtown Salem, up for sale. That got some people thinking about the ideal use for the property... more