2007

Salt Lake to Impose Green Codes on Public Buildings

1 mins

SALT LAKE City — Building practices could become a lot greener here after council members endorsed the creation of an ordinance that would require public buildings to incorporate environmentally sustainable measures and practices.

The bipartisan initiative will likely adhere to U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED-certification standards, with future public works projects required to incorporate sustainable design measures and construction practices, officials say.

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U.S. Green Building Council Toughens Energy Efficiency Criteria

3 mins

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Green Building Council’s membership voted overwhelmingly to adopt a more stringent application of the organization’s sustainable-building rating system.

In a move aimed at improving the energy performance of USGBC-certified buildings, projects will be required to incorporate at least two rating points under the Optimize Energy Performance criterion in order to be eligible for LEED recognition, officials say.

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Pennsylvania Company Earns LEED Platinum Award

1 mins

LANCASTER, Pa. — The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded LEED Platinum certification to the corporate headquarters of Armstrong World Industries.

Built in 1998, the three-story glass-and-steel relies on wind energy for about 75 percent of its power, officials say. The facility has an energy consumption rate of 1.5 watts per square foot, which is half the average rate for comparable buildings in the United States.

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Chinatown Orchard Garden is First SF LEED Hotel

2 mins

SAN FRANCISCO — The $25 million Orchard Garden Hotel became the first hotel in the city awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The 86-room hotel, which is set in the heart of San Francisco’s tourist belt between the historic Union Square and Chinatown, is the third hotel in the United States to receive LEED recognition for environmental sustainability, officials say.

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Study: Health Care Administrators Favor Green Construction

3 mins

Nearly two-thirds of health care and hospital administrators believe that sustainability will change the way health care buildings are designed and constructed, according to a recent study.

The study, “The Health Care Green Building SmartMarket Report,” examines the increasing trend toward green building in the $23.7 billion health care construction market and highlights the driving factors behind that trend.

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New Sidwell Friends Middle School Certified LEED Platinum

15 mins

Sustainable design concepts can take hold in a variety of different ways. Some school planners are forced to take a subtle approach, incorporating design techniques that offer the most cost-effective solutions for communities that are still not sold on the legitimacy of the green building. Other planners have the luxury of stretching their arms and grasping new ideas that push the boundaries of what can be done to produce high-performance, sustainable schools.

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New Green Building Will Serve As Heart of Maryland Campus

2 mins

BALTIMORE — Goucher College officials broke ground in April on a new 100,000-square foot, sustainable building that will serve as the central gathering place for the campus.

The Athenaeum, designed by Hillier Architecture of Princeton, N.J., will be a multi-use building that will include a campus library, an art gallery, a café, and a center for community service and multicultural affairs.

Students will also have access to an open forum for performances, lectures and other events, exercise space and an area for conversation and relaxation.

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