Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Chipotle Green Restaurant Uses On-site Wind Power

How good would a chicken (or veggie, if that's your style) burrito bowl taste, knowing that it's been cooked by the power of on-site green energy?  I haven't tried one yet, but I can only imagine ... Chipotle Mexican Grill will be opening a green restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois, which restaurant features a prominent six-kilowatt wind turbine.  Although mostly a symbol for the company's efforts to create more environmentally friendly store designs, the turbine will generate ~10% of the store's power.  The Gurnee Chipotle will have some of the following green features:

REI Round Rock Second Gen Green Store To Use 48% Less Energy

Mounting on the green building success of their previous stores, including the green Boulder REI we wrote about previously, REI today opens the doors to its second generation of green prototype store in Round Rock, Texas.  The Texas store is projected to consume 48% less energy than a typical store and generate a portion of its power from a solar panel installation, building integrated photovoltaics, and a solar hot water system.  After that, Round Rock will rely on Solatubes to displace a portion of articifial lighting and the purchase of green power generated from biomass digesters. 

$40k Certified Green Commercial Kitchen Giveaway

We're seeing the restaurant industry pursue sustainability in their operations right now (remember Founding Farmers?), so I thought I'd kick out a shout on this contest by Food Services Warehouse.  FSW is a Colorado-based company that was started to promote environmental responsibility in the restaurant industry.  They've even created a certification program to help kitchens go green called the Certified Green Commercial Kitchen Program.  Along these lines, FSW is currently running a contest to give away a green commercial kitchen worth up to $40,000 to one qualifying kitchen. 

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). 

Eco-friendly Founding Farmers Restaurant Seeking LEED Gold in D.C.

The green design and sustainability movement is gradually taking over all types of real estate and the restaurant industry is no different.  Later this month, and pending certification, Founding Farmers is expected to become Washington D.C.'s first LEED Gold restaurant.  It will also operate as a Certified Green Restaurant and serve sustainably farmed, locally produced food and products.

Frieze Harley-Davidson Gets LEED Gold

We're seeing all sorts of companies going for LEED Certification, and the most macho of motorcycle manufacturers is no different.  Just recently, the USGBC announced that the Frieze Harley-Davidson Dealership in O'Fallon, Illinois has been LEED Certified at the Gold level.  It's the first, LEED Harley-Davidson dealership in the Nation.  The 33,000 sf dealership was sustainably designed and built with ICFs with an R-value of forty.  Plus, with over forty Solatubes and all the various green elements that led to a credible Gold certification, it's also partially powered by a wind turbine. 

Envisioning Solar Trees as Future Energy Stations?

As you can see above and below, Envision Solar plans to make parking lots into beautiful power plants with their Solar Groves and Solar Trees.  Envision Solar takes the hassle out of designing structures for solar with their turn-key solutions.  Although the company is working on a next generation design for the Solar Tree, the current iteration includes 64 Kyocera solar modules laid out in total measuring 30' x 40'.  The panels sit at a five degree angle and provide shading for six vehicles, too.  Envision Solar has found success installing these parking canopies near commercial buildings and retail parking lots because the energy can be sold to businesses through power purchase agreements. 

Oulu Bar & EcoLounge, Brooklyn's First Living Wall

This is Oulu Bar & EcoLounge in Williamsburg, home to Brooklyn's first living wall installation.  The 2,500 sf building was designed by Evangeline Dennie and it's currently seeking LEED Gold certification.  You'll find a few different photos below, including a before shot, for your viewing pleasure.

What do you think?  The green wall makes quite the design statement, doesn't it?  It's tough to deny the modern appeal of vertical greenery, I say.   

Freitag Shop Zurich, Ultimate Adaptive Reuse [S2]

It's hard not to gawk at the images of this building.  So industrial and modern.  It's quite striking.  Built with 17 containers in 2006, this Freitag Flagship Store is probably one of the best examples of adaptive reuse that I can recall.  The Zurich store was designed by Spillmann Echsle Architects, and I guess you can say it hearkens back to the owners original product of messenger bags made from recycled tarps and seatbelts.  So building a store from recycled containers is a manifestation of one of the company's core values:  making cool products out of old stuff.  Don't miss the image inspiration below. 

++Watch the Freitag Flagship Store Construction Movie

Mashup of Modern Topiary + Living Walls

Gas Design Group designed this overlay facade, "Topiade", for an already existing Louis Vuitton store.  I think the name "Topiade" comes from a combo of the terms topiary and facade, which is pretty creative, if you ask me.  The idea of taking wild greenery and applying design and creativity through topiary is something I've seen personally in both Japan and Taiwan.  It appears to be popular in France, as well.  So when applied to the vertical context, the environmentalists get excited.  We like green roofs, living walls, and natural buildings.