LEED

Sustainable Sites Initiative: A LEED Rating System for Landscapes

BY Ariel SchwartzMon Nov 9, 2009 at 12:47 PM

It's relatively easy to quantify the sustainability of commercial buildings thanks to the U.S Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which has been giving its seal of approval ...READ»

TAIPEI 101 | Comment

Taipei 101 Skyscraper to Be World's Tallest Green Building

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Nov 5, 2009 at 12:18 PM

The Empire State Building may be set to become the world's most famous green office building, but the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan is gunning for the title of "World's Tallest Green Building," with $1.8 million in upgrades that ...READ»

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY | Comment

Habitat for Humanity Greens Low-Income Homes

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Aug 4, 2009 at 2:04 PM

Sure, LEED and Energy Star-certified houses are great, but they can never make a difference on a large scale until low-income homes are included in the mix. Habitat for Humanity aims to bring green housing to all income levels with a ...READ»

OMEGA CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING | Comment

What's Even Greener Than LEED? The Omega Center

BY Cliff KuangWed Jul 15, 2009 at 9:27 AM

An educational center in New York might be the world's first building to earn a tough, ultra-green designation.READ»

OMEGA CENTER | 3 comments

A Tour of America's First Zero-Impact, Supergreen "Living Building"

BY Anne C. LeeWed Jul 1, 2009 at 2:00 PM

The Omega Center for Sustainable Living is designed to make a LEED Gold structure look like a Superfund site. The $3.2 million Rhinebeck, New York, structure, which opens in July, will be the nation's first certified "living ...READ»

ADRIAN SMITH + GORDON GILL ARCHITECTURE | Comment

Sears Tower Getting a $350 Million Green Makeover

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Jun 25, 2009 at 12:01 PM

The tallest building in the U.S. is about to get a $350 million green makeover as part of a plan to cut electricity use by 80% and save 24 million gallons of water each year. The goal of the project, according to developers, is to ...READ»

GREEN SEAL | Comment

Green Seal Sets Standard for Eco-Savvy Restaurants

BY Ariel SchwartzFri May 15, 2009 at 4:48 PM

Restaurants taking the time to become more energy-efficient and less wasteful can now officially prove their mettle with Green Seal's ecolabeling standard for restaurants. The GS-46 seal's gold, silver, and bronze levels are awarded ...READ»

SOLAR POWER | 2 comments

Taiwan's Stunning Solar-Powered Stadium Built for the World Games

BY Ariel SchwartzThu May 14, 2009 at 12:55 PM

The world's first completely solar-powered stadium, located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is set to be completed in time for July's World Games. The massive stadium has a 14,155 square meter roof area--every inch of which is covered ...READ»

GREEN ARCHITECTURE | Comment

Four Architecural Visions of the Green House of the Future

BY Cliff KuangTue Apr 28, 2009 at 10:25 AM

The Wall Street Journal recently challenged architects to design a green house of the future. This morning, the paper unloaded the designs, that come from four firms: William McDonough, Rios Clemente Hale, Cook + Fox and Mouzon ...READ»

LEED | Comment

The Greening of Pro Sports Arenas

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Apr 7, 2009 at 4:12 PM

What do the Miami Heat, Atlanta Thrashers, and Atlanta Hawks have in common? As of today, all three teams play in LEED-certified arenas. The Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida became ...READ»

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING | Comment

Empire State Building's $20 Million Green Makeover

BY Ariel SchwartzMon Apr 6, 2009 at 2:14 PM

The Empire State Building is already the world's most famous office building. Now the New York icon is getting a $20 million green makeover (part of a $500 million overhaul), led by backers including Johnson Controls, the Clinton ...READ»

GREEN BUILDING | Comment

Portland, Oregon Giving "Feebates" to Green Builders

BY Ariel SchwartzFri Feb 27, 2009 at 4:36 PM

Portland, Oregon officials think they can entice green builders with a new "feebate" program. Under the proposal, developers of commercial buildings that measure 20,000 square feet or larger will be charged up to $3.46 ...READ»

INDEPENDENCE STATION | Comment

Independence Station: The World's Greenest Building?

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Feb 26, 2009 at 1:47 PM

The world's greenest building might soon be located in the pioneer town of Independence, Oregon. Independence Station--a 57,000 square foot mixed use facility--is on track to receive the highest LEED rating ever awarded when it is ...READ»

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND | 47 comments

Green Guru Gone Wrong: William McDonough

BY Danielle SacksMon Oct 13, 2008 at 5:45 PM

William McDonough, the godfather of green design, has been hailed by everyone from Hollywood to Silicon Valley to the Chinese government as the environmental savior. His radical "cradle to cradle" idea -- in which every product, building, and city is designed in an infinite loop with zero waste -- has earned him the Presidential Design Award for Sustainable Development. He was Time's "Hero for the Planet" and has been profiled in documentaries from Thomas Friedman's "Addicted to Oil" to Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Eleventh Hour." And yet, McDonough may in fact be paralyzing his own design revolution.READ»

ANDREW KOTCHEN | 2 comments

Building Green Homes

Fri Jun 27, 2008 at 4:20 PM

Steve Glenn's home in Santa Monica California is the first LEED Platinum-certified single-family house in the country, featuring gray water to irrigate the lawn, and produces near-zero greenhouse-gas emissions. "I ...READ»