Nau is a budding clothing products company that is committed to sustainability and social awareness in various facets of its business. They build very cool stores (pictured above) and build them green. I noticed their website has some info on LEED certification, and just had to use their conversation as a partial vehicle to continue to discuss the green building certification system. Here’s what they said:
HOK and Devrouax +Purnell teamed up to design what could be the first LEED certified Major League Baseball stadium around.* As the new home of the Washington Nationals, the stadium has a slew of green features such as high-efficiency field lighting, a 6300 sf green roof, state-of-the-art wastewater system that uses sand filters, and an in-house recycling center. Originally, architects estimated an extra cost of $10-20 million for certification, but it ended up being only $2 million. Plus, the up-front costs are expected to be returned in lower operating costs. For a frame of reference, though, the owners agreed to spend $611 million for the stadium.
It’s a story that I’m seeing more and more, although I’m not too sure we’re seeing a good thing. Nissan USA spends $100 M to build a brand new office building and plans for LEED Silver certification, but in the end, they decide to spend certification cash on the wetland "rather than have a plaque on the wall."# Certification gets dropped, but we should ask ourselves a serious question: Is LEED certification merely about the plaque? Is that the only benefit we see from LEED? Spending money to get a plaque?
The Hawaii Gateway Energy Center (HGEC) is a 3,600 sf, $3.4 million facility situated on the south coast of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. The new building serves both the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii and the Hawaii Ocean Sciences and Technology Park. And as you may be able to gather from the images and models below, HGEC is a fascinating display of the future potential for synergies of solar power and building efficiencies. The entire building is designed as a thermal chimney that captures heat and creates air movement using the structural form and thermodynamic principles. Also, with the help of glazing, the building orientation and design pretty much eliminates the need for electric lighting during the day. Notably, HGEC consumes about 20% of the energy that’s required by a comparable building.
The Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation synagogue is a beautiful building on 303 Dodge Avenue in Evanston, Illinois. The Chicago Tribune reports that it’s "believed to be the first synagogue designed to achieve the highest level — platinum — in the [USGBC's LEED] rating system." That’s probably true. The JRC board of directors mandated LEED Platinum certification, but my search of LEED Certified projects does not list the JRC synagogue yet. Nevertheless, it’s a fine example of green architecture in the religious building context, which is something we don’t see too often.
Project Profiles
