Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Photo Tour: FROG Zero Classroom

The classroom of the future was on display throughout Greenbuild 2008 and it's safe to say that attendees were impressed.  Project FROG built the classroom using their FROG Zero system of modular construction -- a zero-energy building system.  What's interesting, though, is that the contractor, Fisher Development, assembled and finished it in six days.  And it's beautiful inside and out.  The company has received venture funding and can sell their classrooms for 25% cheaper than the competition.  Soon enough, we'll all be able to watch the proliferation of healthy, architecturally-designed learning environments. 

LEED Platinum Home Breaks Records

We've seen a ton of LEED Platinum homes on this site, but today's home achieves something new.  USGBC founder David Gottfried and his family recently finished the green renovation of their 1440 square foot Craftsman bungalow, a home that was originally built in 1915, and took it through the LEED for Homes certification process.  In doing so, they received a total of 106.5 points (out of a total 136) and the noteworthy accomplishment of being the highest-scoring green home renovation since LEED-H launched earlier this year.  The Platinum home is designed to be net-zero energy and utilizes technology such as solar photovoltaics and a solar- and hydronic-powered water heating system. 

Sustainability Within a Generation

Starting this Wednesday, the USGBC's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo will convene and I'm geeked to take some time to fly out and participate.  The USGBC and LEED, I believe, should take a lot of credit for creating new opportunities in this exciting green building movement in which we all participate.  At the same time, though, I try not to forget that many of our neighbors, friends, or family may not have an idea as to what's growing into a watershed moment in building, design, and construction.  To get an idea of how far this movement has evolved, the USGBC just released eight, short videos in a series called 15 Years, 15 Stories.  The video highlights various leaders and their collective perspective over fifteen years of working with the USGBC. 

Iconic Dubai Anara Tower Looking Forward to LEED Silver Certification

Developer Tameer Holding has another iconic tower in the works for Dubai called Anara Tower.  Designed by Atkins, the 600 meter (~1969 feet) tower won't be as tall as the world's tallest tower, Burj Dubai, which is ~707 meter (~2,320 feet), but it's not too far behind.  With 125 stories, Anara will have office space, 300 residential apartments, 250 hotel keys, and all sorts of other luxury amenities, such as pools, shops, and sky gardens every 27 floors. The design was inspired by the minaret, tall spires near Muslim mosques, with a purpose of being instantly recognizable worldwide. 

Google Puts Plans for Beyond LEED Platinum Offices On Hold

Well over a year ago, I heard William McDonough was working with Google on some green design plans near the Googleplex (all hush hush-type stuff covered by an NDA).  Since that time, I haven't really noticed much information on those plans, that is, until I caught this article in Mountain View Voice talking about Google's extraordinary building plans.  It appears that SHoP Architects coordinated the work of several architectural firms to get these preliminary plans going.  But, for the time being, Google has decided to put the green office structure on hold. 

Photo Tour: Swaner EcoCenter, the Greenest Building in Utah

The other day I was able to tour Swaner EcoCenter with the Salt Lake City Professional Chapter of Net Impact.  I took several pictures in an attempt to let you see everything I saw, so scroll down and make sure to visit the Swaner EcoCenter flickr set for more views.  Although I'm an amateur when it comes to taking photos, I hope you get the idea how impressive this building is.  It has beautiful woodwork, artful touches of 3form, and incredible views.  The folks behind Swaner are seeking to obtain the first LEED Platinum certification in Utah, but nonetheless, the building is the greenest in Utah. 

Green versus Greed by Rick Fedrizzi

On Friday Rick Fedrizzi, founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council and current President and CEO, sent out a letter to USGBC constituents to address general market concerns relating to the economy and future of green building.  I thought the letter was interesting because he mentions something I've been thinking about for over a year now: the allocation of sustainable accountability.  Whether it's the newest green ad campaign or some politician's promise, I feel the prevailing mentality is that the government or businesses or someone else, someone other than me, is going to help us figure out the toughest of tough issues.  Anyway, I don't want to put words in the venerable Mr. Fedrizzi's mouth, so here's the letter if you didn't get the email yesterday:

Will There Be One Global Green Building Standard to Rule Them All?

This article was written by Phil Clark who blogs about green building and development in the UK at Zerochampion.  Make sure to come back after visiting his site ...

Will there ever be one green building standard to rule them all?  It’s an interesting question given the explosion of new ones that are emerging around the globe: in the past month news has reached us over here of a new standard planned by the recently German Sustainable Building Council (this was discovered by Building Sustainability columnist and U.S. expert Jerry Yudelson, a reference of which is in this article) and of a new guide for eco-friendly projects in New Zealand.

LEED Platinum Twin Eco Towers Planned for Abu Dhabi

It's *interesting* to hear story after story coming out of the Middle East, almost as if there's no shortage of capital in that part of the world.  This project was announced during Cityscape last week, but the news was lost among the clamor for information on Jumeira Gardens, a development we'll mention later.  These two so called Eco Towers have been designed to be the first mixed-use towers in the Middle East with LEED Platinum certification.  The 23-story Eco Towers are being developed by Connection Real Estate for ~$245 million USD. 

LEED Platinum Home of the Future Reduces Energy Costs by 80%

This home is the first LEED Platinum certified home in the Sacramento area.  Located in Folsom, this "Home of the Future" is the product of a collaboration between BP Solar, OCR Solar & Roofing, R.J. Walter Homes, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.  Working together, the focus of the home was to design it using state-of-the-art energy efficient materials.  It has dual pane windows, solar-assisted hot water and space heating, LED lighting, energy efficient appliances, and advanced framing and insulation.