KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A new, green multi-family apartment complex, situated on the riverfront near the Missouri River, is set to break ground this October. The complex, named Second and Delaware, will be the nations largest multi-family complex to use Passive House Institute-certified building techniques, a system which is even more strict than LEED standards.
BOULDER, Colo. — The University of Colorado announced August 24 that newly renovated residence hall, Baker Hall, has received LEED Platinum certification, making it one of 18 buildings on the University of Colorado campus that have been LEED-certified. The 15-month renovation was finished in August 2014.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) headquarters is relocating from Arlington, Va., to Alexandria, and when the move is complete in 2017 the agency will occupy a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building.
SAN FRANCISCO — The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the San Francisco-based Tribal Green Building Codes Workgroup announced on Aug. 17 a new toolkit to assist tribes in prioritizing and implementing healthy, green building policies and practices. The Tribal Green Building Codes Workgroup is comprised of representatives of tribal nations and federal agencies.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Located near the University of Maryland, the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in College Park has become one of only four LEED Platinum certified hotels in the United States. During the renovation, which lasted from 2012 to 2015, management paid close attention to the hotels sustainability and energy efficiency.
JLL, a fortune 500 company that specializes in investment management and specialized real estate services, has reinforced its commitment to global sustainability and corporate citizenship. It has emphasized its focus on having a sustainable business plan, and has laid out its practices in their 2014 Global Sustainability Report titled, “Our Cities, Our Future.”
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Green buildings are healthy buildings, according to Dr. Joseph Allen and fellow researchers of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University in Cambridge. The group conducted the first comprehensive review of studies that focused on green buildings and summarized the health benefits for the people who work and live in them.
The review is published in Springer’s journal, Current Environmental Health Reports.
CHICAGO — Adding to their comprehensive energy services, Chicago-based real-estate consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), signed a letter of intent to acquire Washington-based CoR Advisors, a business that specializes in smart building consulting and solutions.
CoR Advisors, founded in 2009, works to transform buildings into energy-efficient, high-performance facilities. The company, a network of thousands of subscribers and followers, is considered a leader in energy efficiency due to its strategic approach to educating, consulting and solutions.
PITTSBURGH — An energy center at Duquesne University (DU) in Pittsburgh is now responsible for providing the entire campus with all necessary electricity, heating and cooling.
Within this center, a powerful, gas-fired turbine generates more than three-quarters of the university’s power. In addition, its excess heat runs boilers, which are then used to warm campus buildings in the winter, and powers chillers that are used for air conditioning in the summer.
WASHINGTON — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have chosen the top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and ecological design projects that protect and enhance the environment.
