Green Building Focus
Greensource Construction News - Feb 14
The lobbying group Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) requested nine years worth of emails between the GSA and the USGBC to find out “if there was any coordination” between the two agencies when the GSA endorsed LEED as the green building certification of choice for federal buildings.
Building Green Blog - Feb 15
In its cost report, the National Research Council recommends the military use LEED Silver or its equivalent as the preferred green building standard.
ArchDaily - Feb 15
The design team at Dull Olson Weekes Architects–IBI Group, based in Portland, Oregon, employed a broad range of sustainable-design strategies to reduce Sandy High School's carbon footprint, including the use of sustainable building materials like Western Red Cedar.
ArchDaily - Feb 14
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)'s new 235,000 sq.ft. expansion is expected to achieve LEED Gold, with 15% energy reduction, 30% water-use reduction, and 20% reduction in wastewater generation.
USGBC Official Blog - Feb 13
Obama issued a challenge in his State of the Union address to change the way we construct, manage, and operate buildings, calling to "cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next twenty years."
Environmental Design and Construction News - Feb 13
The EPA is inviting applications for its Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program, which provides technical assistance to help communities grow in ways that improve the local economy, the environment, and health.
DesignBuild Source - Architecture News - Feb 12
Los Angeles is set to become home to the West Coast’s tallest building after developer Korean Air unveiled designs for a $1-billion skyscraper in the city’s downtown financial district. The building will have to comply with California’s strict green building codes.
DesignBuild Source - Construction News - Feb 12
Heliostats, often found on solar farms, are used to produce concentrated solar power to generate electricity. Now, engineers are using smaller versions in building designs to improve daylighting and heating.
Green Building Projects
Green Buildings NYC News - Feb 14
New York's historic 5 Penn Plaza, which dates from 1915, earned a Silver rating under LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. 5 Penn Plaza also received a 2012 Energy Star label.
Biz Journal - Energy & Environment News - Feb 12
For the second time since 2010, a building at Daemen College in Amherst, New York earned LEED Gold.