LEED

Sustainable Sites Initiative: A LEED Rating System for Landscapes

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:47:03 -0500

Taipei 101 Skyscraper to Be World's Tallest Green Building

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:18:59 -0500

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 could save $20 million each year and earn the structure a LEED Gold rating.

Habitat for Humanity Greens Low-Income Homes

Ariel Schwartz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:04:29 -0400

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 $30 million program that will allow Habitat affiliates in 45 states to build 5,000 LEED and Energy Star-certified homes.

What's Even Greener Than LEED? The Omega Center

Cliff Kuang — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:27:45 -0400

Tomorrow brings the official opening of the Omega Center for Sustainable Living, an educational retreat which has a the grand ambition of becoming not only LEED Platinum certified, but Living Building Certified--a relatively new designation meant to test the limits of green building, which has never been met before.

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

Anne C. Lee — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0400

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 building," having no negative environmental effects.

Sears Tower Getting a $350 Million Green Makeover

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:01:43 -0400

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 turn the Sears Tower into a living laboratory for green retrofits. It's an ambitious plan for the building, which contains 4.5 million square feet of space, 104 elevators, and 16,000 windows.

Green Seal Sets Standard for Eco-Savvy Restaurants

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:48:54 -0400

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 based on responsible food purchasing practices and overall waste reduction of restaurants and catering services.

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

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:55:09 -0400

Four Architecural Visions of the Green House of the Future

Cliff Kuang — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:25:36 -0400

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 Design. Here they are:

The Greening of Pro Sports Arenas

Ariel Schwartz — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:12:06 -0400

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 the first NBA and NHL arenas in the country to meet federal environmental operating standards this week.

Empire State Building's $20 Million Green Makeover

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:14:39 -0400

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 Climate Initiative, and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Portland, Oregon Giving "Feebates" to Green Builders

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:36:04 -0500

Portland, Oregon officials think they can entice green builders with a new "feebate" program.

Independence Station: The World's Greenest Building?

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:47:06 -0500

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 completed in 2010.

Green Guru Gone Wrong: William McDonough

Danielle Sacks — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:45:14 -0400

The paparazzi should have been hiding in the hedges that evening. Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn, John Mayer, and some 50 other Hollywood and media types were gathered in the Malibu home of one of L.A.'s biggest power brokers, Universal Studios president Ron Meyer, and his wife, Kelly. The guest of honor at this 2005 dinner party: William McDonough. "He is," Kelly Meyer tells me later, "the environmental architect of our time."

Building Green Homes

Fast Company staff — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:20:03 -0400

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 realized that developers, not architects, control what gets created in the built environment," Glenn said. In response, the tech executive is rolling out a line of extreme-green homes similar to his own with KieranTimberlake, an architectural firm that focuses on sustainable design.