Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Justin Timberlake Seeking LEED Platinum for Golf Course Buildings

Justin Timberlake (you know: singer, actor, songwriter, producer, etc.) is a single-digit-handicap golfer, and loves the sport.  Recently, he noticed that the first course he ever played golf on as a kid was going up for auction for development.  Originally called Woodstock Hills, Timberlake was able to buy Big Creek with a consortium of owners.  Soon after purchase, Timberlake discovered he could "green" the course, so he decided to build the upscale clubhouse, cart cottage, and maintenance facility to LEED Platinum certification standards. 

Weatherford Place Aims for Net-Zero Energy and Platinum Certification

Weatherford Place is a small community of eight town and country homes in Roswell, Georgia.  It's seeking LEED for Homes Platinum certification on all homes, as well as Platinum certification for the community under the LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program -- a goal that could make it one of the first all Platinum communities in the county.  But beyond certification, Weatherford Place homes will be 100% more energy efficient than typical houses and 50% more energy efficient than houses built to the 2006 Energy Code.

Olive 8 Seeks LEED Certification and Huge Green Roof

When you decide to outfit a building with a green roof, the plants have to come from somewhere.  In this particular case, 8,355 square feet of plants are growing at T & L Nursery in Woodinville, Washington for installation at the new Olive 8.  Currently under construction, Olive 8 will be Seattle's first LEED hotel/condo (pursuing LEED Silver certification).  In addition, it will have one of the city's largest green roofs with 20 different varieties of drought-tolerant sedums growing in 700 planters totaling nearly 24,000 plants.  That's a lot of green to have on the fourth floor for everyone to enjoy. 

World's First Dual LEED Platinum Building

There's an interesting story to the green building certification of the historic Mutual Building in Lansing, Michigan.  Not only did it receive LEED Platinum certification in both the LEED-CS and LEED-CI ratings systems, making it the world's first building to do so, it's also an historic building that's been preserved, renovated, and certified.  People will, in all likelihood, discuss the building's double platinum certification, but I think it is more commendable and noteworthy that they did all that in the context of a building listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.  It's quite incredible ...

South Waterfront Named World's First Salmon-Safe Certified Neighborhood

The South Waterfront area of Portland is a new and interesting neighborhood.  All the buildings in South Waterfront will be LEED certified and thoughtfully planned.  The 35-acre, 17-block district abutting the Willamette River is also the first urban neighborhood to achieve Salmon-Safe certification.  The mission of Salmon-Safe is to restore the health of watersheds so salmon can spawn and thrive.  Here's what the certification tells us about South Waterfront:

Aviator Energy Efficient Live/Work Units Planned for Steamboat Springs

I just received an email about an interesting project on the cusp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado called Aviator.  Aviator is a mixed-use, multifamily and storage units facility that's targeting LEED Gold certification.  Seeking superior energy efficiency for the project, Olson Development retained EcoSteel to provide the structure.  EcoSteel calculates that their company could contribute ~18 points towards overall certification of Aviator based upon energy efficiency (10), heat island effect reduction (1), and recycled, reused, and regional materials use (7). 

Modern Sky Hill Townhomes in Atlanta

Check these urban townhomes out.  They're pretty interesting.  The design here is part of a development called Sky Hill, a twelve townhome community in Midtown Atlanta.  Designed by Kuo Diedrich, Sky Hill is clustered into four buildings with three townhomes each.  They're all 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom units of ~3000 sf and have been LEED registered (not certified).  Each home has a rooftop terrace and equipped with a plant-growing system by LiveRoof.  Apparently the end units have an elevator option, which most would agree is kind of, well, you know.  But being located in an infill location with pedestrian friendly design opens up the possibility for living a greener kind of lifestyle.   

Serenbe, Luxe Conservation Community

Serenbe is located in Palmetto, Georgia, about 30-45 minutes southwest of Atlanta.  The 900 acre community will preserve 70% of it's land and eventual plans include about 600 homes.  All Serenbe homes will be EarthCraft certified and the community offers a variety of options including work/live townhomes, cottages, and estates.  The architecture is diverse and charming and is often inspired by historical buildings.  There's a Dwell Home being built (see below), and the above home by Redbone Construction was featured in various green building articles in local Atlanta publications. 

Beleza To Be Smart, Green Community

River North Properties LLC is planning to develop a LEED Certified, condo/retail project for Denver's River North ("RiNo") neighborhood.  Named Beleza, a Brazilian Portuguese word for "beauty", this luxurious green community is modeled after the Brazilian city of Curitiba.  Like Curitiba, Beleza will focus on sustainable lifestyle, eco-friendly development, and planning that cuts pollution and waste while improving the quality of life for residents.  It will also have smart amenities, such as biometric fingerprint access, climate-controlled window blinds, power outlets in parking spaces, and digital screen controlled integrated lighting, communications, and A/V systems. 

2800 Lincoln Modern Green Residences

This 5 story, 9 unit condo building is 2800 Lincoln and is planned for the corner of Diversey Parkway and Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.  Designed by Product Architects, this contemporary green building is aiming for LEED Silver, and might even catch LEED Gold.  2800 Lincoln has a green roof, large terraces, solar panels, solar thermal hot water heating, and will be powered, in part, by geothermal energy (see diagram below).  Yo Chicago reports that the developer, Helios Realty and Development, plans to break ground in the next month or two and has a lease for the ground-floor retail space in the works.