PITTSBURGH — The annual Living Product Expo 2016 is set to take place September 13-15 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. Now in its second year, the expo is hosted by the International Living Future Institute and is designed to inspire a revolution in the way sustainable materials are designed, manufactured and delivered.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — PNC Plaza, a 24-story building located in downtown Columbus is undergoing $3.2 million in upgrades to its roof, lighting, air controls and water supply. The cost of these upgrades will be financed by the Columbus Regional Energy Special Improvement District, or E-SID.
AMHERST, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) has taken on a solar energy initiative designed to save over $6.2 million across a timespan of 20 years. The initiative will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide enough energy to power 900 Massachusetts homes.
CHICAGO — The Empire State Building, constructed in 1930 to 1932, was the first building to make major use of aluminum. Since then, the use and value of aluminum has increased drastically in green design and sustainable construction. Not only does it cost less than contemporary construction materials like steel and concrete, it reduces sustainability costs and increases a building’s efficiency.
PARIS — The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) announced a new project on June 30 that aims to achieve net-zero building performance by 2050. The project, Advancing Net Zero, will help WorldGBC and Green Building Councils in countries with some of the highest projected growth in building roll out net-zero building certification and training so that these highly-efficient buildings become commonplace over the next 35 years, according to a statement by WorldGBC.
SINGAPORE — A new whitepaper issued in June by growth strategy consulting firm Solidiance, based in Singapore, has rated the top 10 highest “green” performing cities from around the world. Out of the top 10 rankings for green building performance, Paris ranked number one. Here is the complete list:
1. Paris
2. Singapore
3. London
4. Sydney
VANCOUVER, Wash. — The corporate headquarters of Banfield Pet Hospital, relocating from Portland, Ore., to Vancouver, is seeking the highest LEED certification for its dog-friendly workplace. The 206,000-square-foot pet hospital is 44 percent more energy efficient and 40 percent more water efficient than a typical building its size. It is aiming for LEED Platinum certification, the highest LEED rating for new buildings.
BERKELEY, Calif. — AIA East Bay awarded the University of Berkeley’s solar energy lab the Citation Award for its remarkable design in late 2015. Chu Hall, an alternative energy research facility housing more than 100 researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), followed Berkeley Lab’s mission of creating “sustainable, carbon-neutral sources of energy” during its design and construction.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The first government building in Columbia to purse LEED certification is now underway.
LEWISBURG, Pa. — As schools and universities are realizing the benefits of “green” building on campus, the first LEED Gold building on Bucknell University made its debut last year. Although the building opened in time for the fall 2015 semester, it just recently received formal LEED Gold recognition this year. The 14,100-square-foot MacDonald Commons Building was completed by Northumberland, Pa.-based general contractor Zartman Construction and the Boston office of EYP Architecture/Engineering PC as well as Mid-Penn Engineering Corporation, based in Lewisburg.
