Jetson Green

Blue Ridge Parkway Center a Model of Ecological Design

This is Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center, a $9.8 million visitor's center near Ashville, North Carolina.  As a modern structure seeking LEED Gold certification, it's garnered significant press for its ecological design.  Designed by Lord, Aeck, & Sargent, Blue Ridge was modeled to use 75% less energy than a comparable, conventionally designed building.  That's due, at least in part, to its incredible green features, such as the sawtooth Trombe walls on the southerly face, 10,000 sf green roof, natural daylighting, high-efficiency mechanical system, natural ventilation, radiant heating, rainwater reclamation system for on-site use, etc. 

5ive Home Secures Platinum Paper in Minnesota

A little over a year ago, we featured Shelter Architecture's 5ive and later placed it on our Top Five Super Green Modern Homes list.  In a year, a lot has happened.  The home is now complete.  It's going to be honored with a 2008 AIA-MN Rave Award.  And now, the USGBC has officially certified it as a LEED Platinum home.  Congratulations on the noteworthy accomplishments!  So hey, if you haven't given this home a look, take a moment to scroll down and be inspired.  It's a modern, green abode that's also a healthy home.  It's close to mass transit and community services, and it exceeds energy code by about 35%.  It's seriously an incredible home. 

Duke Smart Home Shows Off Its Platinum Stuff

This isn't really new news since the Duke Smart Home opened almost a year ago, but I thought I would pass along images and information of the home because it's another compelling example of the livability of smart green design.  Realistically, the 6000 sf Duke Smart Home is more of a dormitory than a house, with roughly 10 students living in it at any given time, but it has at least a modicum of credibility with LEED Platinum certification already in hand.  The students, in addition to experimenting with various green projects and modifications to the home, are ambassadors that conduct tours and explain its sustainable features.  This active involvement between students, faculty, The Home Depot, and other sponsors, has created what seems to be abundant opportunities for everyone involved with the Duke Smart Home. 

Plus, as evident in the following images and video, this live in laboratory has quite the considerable list of green features:

Green America, Future Houses, Megahomes, LEED-EB, and Knowing Green Codes [WIR]

• The Greening of America. 
• Houses of the future -- now.
• Megahomes: Seattle wants to limit home sizes.
• Design of Xanadu mall is less than eco-friendly.
• Dallas couple lives comfortably and green.
• The renovation of LEED-EB.
• Expert says contractors need to know LEED.
• To build green, you need to know the code.

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.

AIA Report: 42+ Million People Live in Cities with Green Building Programs!

The AIA has been publishing some interesting analysis of U.S. green building programs, which I wanted to share with all you enthusiasts.  In their report, Local Leaders in Sustainability, the AIA looked at 661 communities, or cities with a population greater than 50,000 people, and conducted research of each communities' green building programs.  The AIA spoke with planners and other officials from 606 cities, getting a 92% response rate.  They found that 92 of the 606 responding cities had green building programs -- or to put that in perspective, over 42 million people live in cities with green building programs.  The report also elaborated on program trends and includes case studies of programs in Portland, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Chicago, Austin, and Atlanta. 

Five Excellent Green Buildings, As Chosen By ...

[+] Top Five American Green Buildings [Building]
[+] Leading Ecoblogger Reveals Top Green Picks [Building]

Draft LEED 2009 Review and Discussion

As we noted here a few weeks ago, the draft for a new version of U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program was released for public comment and review.  In general, as a LEED Accredited Professional, what I saw in the program looked good.  The changes that are proposed will make improvements to the system.   Below is a discussion of changes we can look forward to in the next generation of LEED. 

The Platinum Look of Modern Green Kansas

Just a little over a year ago, on May 4, 2007, Greensburg, Kansas was smashed by a tornado that pretty much decimated everything.  Since that time, the city has made news all over the world for its ambitions to rebuild everything in an environmentally-friendly way.  City buildings larger than about 4000 sf will be LEED Platinum, etc.  So this building, 5.4.7 Arts Center, is an example of the green reconstruction process going on in Greensburg.  5.4.7 Arts Center is the first building certified as LEED Platinum in Kansas and has some incredible green elements -- not to mention three small wind turbines twirling away above the roof line. 

Top 10 Green Building Products [Sustainable Industries]

Just recently, Sustainable Industries announced their list of the Top 10 Green Building Products for 2008.  To get that magic number of 10 products, SI accepted roughly 80 nominations and narrowed those products down based on their ability to meet the following criteria: LEED compatibility, environmental performance, value, scalability / market impact, innovativeness, and design aesthetic.  Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Green Building Products for 2008:

Alberici Converts Old Plant into Modern Green HQ

[2:16]  As a global construction-services company in St. Louis, Missouri, Alberici sought to lead the transformation of the design and construction industry by renovating a 485-foot-long manufacturing plant into its new Class-A corporate headquarters.  The desire to convey resource efficiency, integrated design, and corporate responsibility prompted Alberici to achieve substantial resource and cost savings by combining various strategies, including: