Green
Buildings Success Stories
Overview/Integrated
Green Building Techniques
Affordable Green Building
Green Residential Developments
Green Renovation Projects
Energy Efficiency
Materials/Water Conservation
Collections of Green Building Success
Stories
Overview/Integrated
Green Building Techniques
Commercial Projects:
A number of private foundations have built headquarters that
exemplify their commitment to environmental responsibility through
design, material use and operation. To learn more about these
buildings, visit online profiles of the William
and Flora Hewlett Foundation Headquarters, the Gordon
and Betty Moore Foundation office, and the Chesapeake
Bay Foundation's Phillip
Merrill Environmental Center. Some companies have also built environmentally responsible offices and other facilities, in keeping with their corporate philosophies and missions. These include Organic Valley.
60L Green Building
is the premier green commercial building in Australia, unique
in its approach to energy and water consumption, and the use
of recycled and re-used materials during construction.
Audubon
Center at Debs Park was the first building in the U.S.
to receive a Platinum rating under the revised LEED system.
More than 50 percent of the building materials were locally
manufactured, and more than 90 percent of the construction debris
created was recycled. Recycled materials and natural fibers
were used throughout, as well as water- and energy-saving technologies.
Bicentennial
Hall at Middlebury College is a 220,000 square-foot
science building with classroom, library, laboratory and office
space. Concern for the environment was a prime consideration
in this building, which used certified sustainably-produced
local wood for its interior finished woodwork, and was designed
for energy efficiency.
C.K.
Choi Institute for Asian Research, University of British Columbia,
in Vancouver, BC, Canada, is a 30,000-sq- ft. office building
designed with the mandate of attaining a new benchmark in sustainable
design. The building is reducing impact and consumption, addressing
embodied energy in construction, reducing operating energy over
time and creating a livable working space.
Condé
Nast Building @ Four Times Square in New York, New York
is a new 48-story, 1.6-million-sq.-ft. building with standards
for energy efficiency, indoor ecology, sustainable materials
and responsible construction, operations and maintenance procedures.
The building includes an on-site fuel cell and building-integrated
photovoltaics.
Cusano
Environmental Education Center is a new facility at
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania that features energy efficiency, daylighting, salvaged
and sustainably-produced wood, recycled materials and a Marsh
Machine on-site wastewater treatment system.
Enermodal
Engineering Award Winning Green Building Projects profiles
the "Green on the Grand" office complex in Ontario, Canada,
which demonstrates the successful implementation of energy efficiency
and environmental responsibility in commercial construction,
and "The Waterloo Region Green Home," one of the most advanced
houses in the world from the viewpoint of energy efficiency,
resource conservation and environmental impact.
Environmental
Living and Learning Center, Northland College is
a 32,374-sq.-ft. environmental residence hall in Ashland,
Wisconsin, that provides a unique living and learning
opportunity emphasizing resource efficiency and renewable
energy. The building's design includes wind power, solar
power, water conservation and recycled materials.
Environmental
Protection Agency Headquarters in Washington, D.C. is
comprised of four separate construction projects. The renovated
portions of the project reflect the reuse of significant, existing
structures that support historic preservation and sustainable
design objectives. By doing so, the government conserved an
estimated 75,000 tons of concrete, 6,000 tons of steel, 100,000
square feet of glass, and 3,000 tons of masonry.
Gap
Corporate Campus (901 Cherry) in San Bruno, California
is a 191,000 sq. ft. office building designed within a conventional
construction budget yet featuring daylighting, certified wood,
low-toxicity finishes, green space preservation and a living
roof that collects stormwater.
Genzyme
Headquarters, a 350,000 square foot building that features
extensive daylighting, is a candidate for LEED platinum rating.
Metropolis magazine has teamed with Adobe to offer a virtual
tour of the structure online using Atmosphere, a three-dimensional
interactive software that provides 360-degree views.
Harmony Sustainable Resort
in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, is the world’s first luxury
resort to operate exclusively on sun and wind power.
Iowa Association of Municipal
Utilities is a facility in Ankeny, Iowa, that includes
energy-efficient construction, outdoor lighting designed to
reduce light pollution, a constructed wetland for wastewater
treatment and native prairie restoration. The sitework demonstrated
erosion control practices for construction sites.
Lebanon
Hills Regional Park Visitor Center is a new facility
in Eagen, Minnesota, that features a well-rounded package of
sustainable design features and offers environmental education
programs to a variety of audiences.
Lewis Center
for Environmental Studies, Oberlin College is a classroom
and auditorium building in Oberlin, Ohio featuring solar power,
biological wastewater treatment and other strategies for building
without compromising human and environmental health. Real-time
monitoring data for the building's resource consumption and
energy production is provided online.
The Monastery
of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, New Mexico is a
monastery compound that was designed to include daylighting,
solar electricity, solar water heating, passive solar design,
sustainable building materials and a wetland.
New
House residence hall at Carnegie Mellon University was
recognized as the nation's first green dorm with a LEED silver
rating in 2003. The 71,400-square-foot "green building"
offers its 255 undergraduate residents a variety of environmentally
friendly amenities ranging from a sophisticated air ventilation
system to specially designed, high-efficiency washing machines
to conserve water use.
NRDC's
Washington, DC, Eco-Office is highlighted in a report
that describes the environmentally friendly and energy efficient
materials and technologies used in outfitting the new 20,000
square foot space.
NRDC's
Santa Monica, California, office is said to be among
the greenest buildings in the country. The building was awarded
the U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Version 2 Platinum rating -- the highest
possible level of sustainable design.
Pennsylvania's
First Green Building in Harrisburg is a facility of
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The
building was designed with the intention of becoming the state's
first "model" green building. Pennsylvania DEP has
since built a second green building, in Edensburg, the Cambria
Office Building.
Plymouth Institute/High
Wind Sustainable Community is a rural education and
demonstration center in Plymouth, Wisconsin that evolved into
a permanent community. The buildings have green design features.
Sheraton
Rittenhouse Square, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is
a 193-room environmentally-smart hotel. Its features include
air filtered by a bamboo garden, recycled furniture and flooring,
and organic sleep systems.
The Solar
Living Center is a 12-acre demonstration site for renewable
energy and sustainable living technologies and serves as the
headquarters for the non-profit Solar Living Institute.The buildings
are constructed of rice straw bales and feature daylighting
and sustainable landscape design.
Southface
Energy and Environmental Resource Center in Atlanta,
Georgia was designed and constructed to showcase energy-efficient
and green-building technologies. The building has a number of
functions, including a building science learning lab, a clearinghouse
for sustainable technology information and a meeting place for
a variety of groups.
Sustainable
Living Center Hostels employ off-the-shelf energy- and
resource-efficient technologies to educate both travelers and
the local community about sustainable living.
Third
Creek Elementary School in Statesville, N.C. is the
first K-12 school in the nation to be certified by the US Green
Building Council's LEED Green Building Rating System™ at
the Gold level. The school features a significant percentage
of recycled materials, low- flow plumbing, a functioning wetland
that also serves as a student learning lab, and many other sustainable
elements.
U.S. Postal Service Station
in Fort Worth, Texas, was designed with sustainable features,
including natural landscaping, rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient
heating and cooling systems, straw construction and recycled-content
materials. The building was honored with a 1999 White House
Closing the Circle award.
Van Atta Design Studio
is a 2500-square-foot design studio for landscape architecture
located in Santa Barbara, California, built with principles
of sustainable design on a reused urban site, with a healthy
indoor environment using natural light. The building includes
solar panels and landscaping that creates a comfortable and
appealing microclimate.
Wampanoag Tribe Green
Building, in Gay Head, Massachusetts, features
environmentally-sound technologies, including passive solar
construction, high-efficiency lighting, salvaged and recycled
construction materials and resource-efficiency plumbing and
water fixtures.
Residential Projects:
Acme
Building in Billings, Montana, is a historic building
that, after being vacant and closed for two decades, will reopen
in 2004 as an apartment building. The renovation of the building
was directed by homeWORD, a local nonprofit who purchased the
building several years ago and financed the renovation through
loans and city help, as well as tax credits. The building houses
19 new apartments for lower income tenants, is partially built
with recycled materials, incorporates energy efficiency techniques,
and is powered by the largest solar array in the state.
APS Environmental
Showcase Home is a 2640-square-foot house in Phoenix,
Arizona, that showcases the latest in resource efficiency technologies
and materials. It serves as a "shopping center" of
ideas for environmentally-conscious builders.
Chez
Soleil Off-Grid
House is a green home in Austin, Texas that is completely
off the grid. The home incorporates passive solar technology,
photovoltaics, rainwater catchment, a wetlands septic system
and more.
City of Austin Green
Builder Program is a community green building
program in Texas. The website includes examples of green
building construction projects.
Ecohouse
Sustainable Home is an award-winning
ecohome designed for Wellington City, New Zealand. The website
includes plan sketches.
Home
2000 is an affordable, healthy home that adapts to changing
lifestyles. It was built in Toronto using Healthy Housing and
FlexHousing concepts in a project sponsored by the Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation and others.
Madera
Model Homes is the beginning of a ground-breaking sustainable
community in Gainesville, Florida. CARB, part of the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Building America program, has teamed up with
the Florida Energy Extension Service (FEES) at the University
of Florida to help design and develop the first homes in the
energy- and resource-efficient 88-home Madera community in Gainesville,
Florida. As part of this project, CARB performed a systems engineering
analysis and prepared specification recommendations, based on
the FEES cottage-style plan.
Mercury
House (PDF) of Prescott, Arizona was built by a student
in sustainable development and features rooftop water catchment,
constructed wetland wastewater treatment, solar hot water and
solar electricty. The structure uses straw bale and cast earth
construction as well as certified sustainably harvested wood
and local salvage wood.
NAHB
Research Home Park is located in Bowie, Maryland and
serves as a venue for the National Association of Home Builders
Research Center to demonstrate, exhibit and test different building
technologies. Theme projects include the 21st Century Townhouses,
featuring alternatives to dimensional lumber and innovative
approaches to energy efficiency, and the Resource Conservation
Research House.
Replete Residence Demonstration
Home in Kansas City, Kansas, is an Energy Star plus
home with renewable energy systems, built to Health House standards.
The website provides a virtual tour with audio/video clips.
An abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, was converted
to sustainable
loft units. The building's six lofts feature high-efficiency
heating systems, natural ventilation, Energy Star appliances,
a rain-water collection system, a high-efficiency condensing
boiler, and energy-efficient windows. As well, photovoltaic
systems use the sun's energy to provide half the building's
needs for electricty.
Utah
House, at the USU Botanical Center in Kaysville, Utah,
demonstrates energy efficiency, water efficiency, healthy indoor
environment, universal design, and use of local materials. Technologies
include straw bale and ICF construction, rainwater harvesting,
and Energy Star construction.
Affordable
Green Building
Affordable
Sustainability Technical Assistance Case Studies highlights
examples of environmentally-responsible affordable housing across
the country.
Bethel
New Life is a community development
organization working to revitalize a low-income community in
Chicago. Its methods include the development of affordable housing
using energy-efficient designs.
Cascadia
Resource-Efficient Home Plan is a resource-efficient
affordable home plan that is available for sale, or for free
to nonprofit organizations. It is designed to use 20 percent
less energy per year than a comparable house built to Oregon
code, both preserving the environment and saving money. Demonstrations
of the plan have been built.
Emeryville
Resourceful Building is a project that demonstrates
that affordable housing and environmental sustainability are
not mutually exclusive. Energy-efficient features and efficient
component assemblies allowed savings in construction and operation
costs that offset the use of more expensive material alternatives.
GreenHOME is
a nonprofit organization that builds environmentally-sensitive
affordable housing in the Washington, DC, area. Environmentally
responsible features of several projects are described online.
Habitat
for Humanity Sees Affordability in Energy-Efficient Homes
reports on Habitat for Humanity’s efforts at incorporating
energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly features in its affordable
housing projects.
HUD
Best Practices' Case Study Book - Communities at Work: Addressing
the Urban Challenge profiles
the winners and finalists in the National Excellence Awards
for The City Summit (Habitat II). Text format.
New
Homes for South Chicago, a project of nonprofit Claretian
Associates, constructed 12 new homes with solar panels, as well
as 15 energy efficient and green building materials per home.
Natural
Habitat profiles the energy-efficiency
features of a Habitat for Humanity house in Lynchburg, Virginia.
North Carolina
Solar Center of Raleigh is a state clearinghouse for
solar energy information, education and technical assistance.
Its programs include the Energy-Efficient Affordable Housing
Program, which offers home builders assistance with implementing
energy-efficient technologies by providing design reviews, energy
audits and help in the actual construction of the homes.
Portland
Place is a project designed to revitalize an urban neighborhood
in Minneapolis, Minnesota by transforming substandard rentals
into 52 owner-occupied homes. The project began with four homes
constructed in a Habitat for Humanity blitzbuild. Homes feature
energy efficiency and healthy designs.
Green
Residential Developments
See the Green Development
Success Stories section of Smart Communities Network
for additional examples of green building on a community scale.
Cambridge Cohousing
is a project that built 41 infill residential units on a 1.5-acre
site in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The project requires a minimum
of operating energy and minimizes automobile use.
Coffee Creek
Center is a 640-acre residential and commercial/retail
project in Chesterton, Indiana, that incorporates environmental
design, urban planning and landscape ecology. Buildings are
oriented for solar energy, the Coffee Creek watershed was restored,
and transportation options were included in the planning of
this neo-traditional community.
Civano is an 820-acre
traditional neighborhood development in Tucson, Arizona designed
to promote economic growth while maintaining important social
values and ecological harmony. Civano buildings use best available
technology to reduce energy and water demands. Its components
include land-use planning, efficient transportation design,
green buildings and resource efficiency.
Dewees Island, South Carolina
is home to a sustainable community that ensures minimal environmental
impact and maximum economic value.
East Lake Commons
is an 18-acre co-housing community in Atlanta, Georgia that
is pedestrian-oriented and uses cluster development. Its design
allows nine acres to be preserved as an open space that includes
a 6-acre garden for residents as well as woods with nature trails.
Ecolonia,
Netherlands is an urban development designed by the
Belgian town planning expert Lucien Kroll. It incorporates technologies
including solar energy utilization, superinsulation, recycled
content materials, reduced water consumption and organic architecture.
EcoVillage of Loudon County,
Virginia is a 180-acre cohousing community in northern
Virginia. The development preserves open space and uses passive
solar and environmentally sensitive technologies for water and
energy conservation. Two 25-lot cohousing communities are being
developed on 15 percent of the former farm site.
Ecovillage
Cohousing Cooperative, of Ithaca, New York, is the first
cohousing neighborhood to be developed as part of the larger
EcoVillage at Ithaca project. This 30-unit development includes
a common house, communal park/pond, composting stations and
a variety of sustainable technologies including passive solar,
superinsulation and graywater recycling.
Gaviotas
is a village of 200 occupants situated in Colombia's barren
eastern plains that was originally started as a 1971 scientific
experiment of self-sufficiency. It continues to thrive, utilizing
renewable energies such as wind and solar, and has developed
its own technologies in water purification and hydroponic agriculture.
Hidden Springs
is a new residential community in Idaho based upon eight principles
that aim to protect the natural environment, preserve rural
character and farming traditions, preserve quality of life,
increase diversity and achieve traditional design for its neighborhoods
and homes.
John T. Lyle
Center for Regenerative Studies, California State Polytechnic
University, is a residential education center complex on 16
acres, for 20 residents in Pomona, California that demonstrates
solar energy, water reuse, sustainable food growing, waste recycling
and passive solar and strawbale construction.
Jordan Commons Resource-Efficient
Community is a 200-home model low-income community in
Metro-Dade County, Florida that features energy-efficient
technologies, recycling, composting, energy-efficient landscaping
and water conservation.
Marsh Commons
CoHousing is a cohousing community in Arcata, California
that employs appropriate technology to reduce resource consumption
and dependence on cars.. The development is built on a reused
industrial site adjoining a wildlife refuge on a marsh. Its
buildings feature salvaged wood, certified lumber and recycled
paint.
Pine
Street Cohousing is an Amherst, Massachusetts program
that brought together a group of resident-developers to design
and build a small eight-home community that emphasizes resource
efficiency, environmental preservation and a deep sense of community.
Prairie Crossing Sustainable
Residential Community is a 667-acre residential development
in Grayslake, Illinois dedicated to environmental preservation
and community sustainability.
The Preserve Housing
Development and Urban Wilderness Area is a housing development
in Coral Gables, Florida that created affordable housing while
simultaneously preserving an urban wilderness area.
The Quarries ecoVillage
is a 750-acre eco-village in Schuyler, Virginia that focuses
on sustainable design. The project features a straw-bale community
building, public greenspace, environmentally sensitive siting,
solar energy, energy efficiency and healthy building materials.
Residential
Community Development Project is a residential community
of 248 housing units in Soest, Netherlands, which was developed
in a way that preserves pasture lands and utilized planning
techniques that maximize solar potential and create pedestrian
friendly places. The houses themselves are highly energy-efficient,
utilizing passive solar design and incorporating alternative
water-collection systems.
The Solaire,
the country's first green residential high rise, was designed
to meet stringent requirements for environmental sustainability
and resource conservation and management throughout the building
infrastructure and within each individual apartment. The 293-unit,
27-story tower has been environmentally engineered to consume
35% less energy, reduce summer peak demand for electricity by
over 65%, utilize one-third less potable water, provide healthier
indoor air quality and offer substantially more natural light
than typical residential buildings.
Village Homes Sustainable
Community is a 68-acre development in Davis, California
that features green design features in its buildings.
Windsong
Cohousing Community, in Langley, British Columbia, Canada,
is a development of 34 housing units clustered on 2.2 acres
of a 6-acre site. The site includes a communal organic garden
and is within walking distance of many amenities. Its unique
wing-shape design provides passive solar gain while providing
a pleasant interior street for residents.
Green
Renovation Projects
Arbor House
is an environmental inn in Madison, Wisconsin that emphasizes
urban ecology. The renovated historic building has a matching
modern annex and features sustainably harvested wood, efficient
appliances, water conservation and native landscaping.
Center for Neighborhood
Technology in Chicago has renovated an industrial building
into a green office space in a two-stage rehabilitation project.
The 1987 phase incorporated energy-efficiency and non-toxic
finishes, while the 2001 phase sought to reduce toxic and greenhouse
gas emissions and reduce fossil fuel dependence, and qualify
for LEED rating. The renovation was unveiled in 2003.
City
Environmental Services Department Headquarters, Ridgehaven Building
Renovation in San Diego, California, sought to provide
a healthful, more productive workplace for employees, minimize
pollution, resource consumption and the building's impact on
environment, practice resource conservation by reuse, recycling
and prudent material selection, and provide the city with a
model for Green Building.
The
Earthways Home, the Gateway Center for Resource Efficiency
headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, is a three-story Victorian
residence built in 1885 and renovated in 1994 to showcase energy
efficient systems, recycled products and waste reduction practices.
Environmental
Protection Agency Headquarters, a new complex located
in Washington, D.C., is comprised of four separate construction
projects. The renovated portions of the project reflect the
reuse of significant, existing structures that support historic
preservation and sustainable design objectives. By doing so,
the government conserved an estimated 75,000 tons of concrete,
6,000 tons of steel, 100,000 square feet of glass and 3,000
tons of masonry.
The
Green Floors Building Renovation Project, in Ottawa,
Ontario, is a project of the Natural Resources Canada, a division
of the Canadian federal government that aims to help make building
construction and rehab a healthy, responsible and energy-efficient
process. (PDF)
Ironstone
Gardens is a commercial development in Santa Fe, New
Mexico that included renovation of existing buildings as well
as new construction. The project featured passive solar design,
use of building materials that were alternatives to wood, pumice-crete
construction and waste water reuse. The link is a PDF case study
from Sustainable Communities Network.
The Jean Vollum Natural
Capital Center is an industrial warehouse in Portland,
Oregon that has been revitalized by Ecotrust to serve as a marketplace
that fosters the ideas, goods, and services of a conservation
economy. The Natural Capital Center has been awarded gold-level
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification,
and features a green ecoroof.
Motherhouse
Renovation, a project of the Sisters, Servants of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Wisconsin, is revamping
a building for minimal waste, water conservation and reuse,
and geothermal heating and cooling.
S.T. Dana
Building, University of Michigan is a 1903 building
that was renovated for the School of Natural Resources and Environment
in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Phase I created new space in a courtyard
infill. The ongoing Phase II incorporates environmental considerations
in remodeling spaces in the existing portion of the building.
Thoreau
Center for Sustainability is an historic, San Francisco,
California, landmark site that was renovated into a 75,000-sq.-
ft. office complex for non-profit organizations focused on environmental
and sustainable development issues. The redesign includes natural
ventilation, efficient lighting and less-toxic materials, all
accomplished on a modest budget.
Energy
Efficiency
Alliance
to Save Energy offers an online tour of the energy-efficient
features of the organization's Washington, DC, office, showcasing
efficient lighting, appliances, and office equipment.
Big
Horn Home Improvement Center in Silverthorne, Colorado,
includes a department store, a hardware store/lumber yard, and
warehouse space that integrate extensive high-performance design
and incorporate aggressive energy-efficient technologies.
Blackfeet
Indian Health Service Hospital in Browning, Montana,
is the first HHS building in the nation to receive an Energy
Star label.
Captain
Planet Zero Energy House, sponsored by the Captain Planet
Foundation, demonstrates whole-systems energy-efficient building
in an Atlanta-area home.
Three programs from Portland, Oregon, City
Block-by-block Weatherization Program, City
Challenge Energy Management Program, and City
Energy Challenge Program are city initiatives that improve
the energy performance of low-income housing and city facilities.
Clearview
Elementary School, in Hanover, Pennsylvania, saves about
40% in energy costs over a conventional school, with extensive
daylighting, geothermal heating and cooling and efficient ventilation.
(PDF file)
Durant
Road Middle School was designed to result in a healthy
and productive learning environment combining energy efficiency
and cost effectiveness in Wake County, North Carolina. The building
includes daylighting, efficient equipment and an energy management
system.
Energy Efficiency
Program in Wahoo, Nebraska provides incentives
to all electricity customers to make improvements to their homes
and businesses to make them more energy-efficient.
Feather
River College installed a geothermal heat pump system at Feather River College in Quincy, California,
which is saving some $50,000 and 421,000 kilowatt-hours each
year.
Geothermal
Heating Projects provides links to residential and commercial
buildings utilizing geothermal heat pump systems in Minnesota.
Habitat
for Humanity Duplexes (PDF) built in Yonkers, New York
combine structural insulated panels, insulating concrete forms,
high-efficiency boilers, low-e windows and photovoltaic panels
to provide six energy-efficient homes for low income families.
King
Street Center, home to the offices of the King County
Department of Natural Resources and Transportation of Seattle,
Washington, incorporates sustainable building practices in design,
construction and operation, while harmonizing with historic
architectural style. The building includes energy-efficient
lighting, job-site recycling and water collection.
Oak
Park Library Project (PDF) is a joint-use public
and high school library in Ventura, California with a
state-of-the-art, energy-conserving design that includes
daylighting, reduced cooling energy, reduced material
use and energy-efficient windows.
Oakes
Hall, Vermont Law School, in South Royalton, Vermont,
is a building with 23,500-sq.-ft. of classroom space, demonstrating
environmentally sound construction and operation. It uses an
enthalpic energy recovery wheel, energy efficient systems and
less-toxic materials.
Outdoor Lighting Standards
is an initiative in Chittendon County, Vermont, which developed
outdoor-lighting standards for three case-study communities.
Seattle City Light’s
Conservation Program provides conservation information
to customers and offers financial incentives to encourage customers
to install more energy-efficient products in their homes and
commercial buildings, such as energy-efficient water heaters,
lights and equipment.
Utah Department of Natural Resources
Office Building in Salt Lake City, uses half the energy
of a normal office building to heat, light and cool, and prominently
features daylighting strategies. (PDF file)
Zion
National Park Visitor Transit Center, in Springdale,
Utah, is an 7,600-ft² visitor center and 1,100-ft²
comfort station. The building size was reduced by using outdoor
spaces, and energy use is reduced by passive conditioning with
an evaporative cooling system and thermal massing, as well as
photovoltaics and energy-efficient landscaping.
Materials/Water
Conservation
Businesses for an Environmentally
Sustainable Tomorrow highlights projects that are part
of a program in Portland, Oregon that provides “one-stop-shopping”
for area businesses to help them make their properties more
energy-efficient and water-efficient and generate less waste.
Composting Toilet/Greywater
Demonstration Site is a project managed by NutriCycle
Systems in Jefferson, Maryland that features a waterless, composting
toilet and a graywater filtration system that together serve
as a complete, low-cost and non-polluting alternative to septic
systems or sewers.
The Green Institute,
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, profiles nonprofit operations called
The ReUse Center and DeConstruction Services, which dismantle
buildings and sell used building materials as part of efforts
to divert reusable construction materials from the waste stream
and create job opportunities.
Florida House
Learning Center, in Sarasota, demonstrates appropriate
design strategies and technology for living in southwest Florida,
including a "Model Florida Yard" for the Florida
Yards and Neighborhoods Program.
Project Harambee
Community Energy and Water Conservation is a grassroots
effort in Atlanta, Georgia in which free ultra-low-flush toilets,
low-flow shower heads and energy conservation information was
distributed to low-income households in an effort to reduce
water and energy consumption.
The
Presidio of San Francisco Building 901 Deconstruction
case study provides details on the deconstruction and salvage
of materials from a wood-framed building.
Energy
Resource Center of Downey, California features a Southern
California Gas Company project in which an entire building was
dismantled and the resulting 400 tons of materials were incorporated
into a new building that serves as an energy resource center.
ReSource is
a program started by the Boulder, Colorado, Energy Conservation
Center to sell recycled building materials and promote building
deconstruction instead of demolition.
Toilet Replacement
Program is a Los Angeles, California program that employs
community-based organizations in the distribution of 100,000
free ultra-low-flush toilets annually to households in southern
California.
Ultra-Low-Flush Toilet
Program is a Los Angeles, California program that employs
local students to identify eligible households in low-income
neighborhoods and to then help install free ultra-low-flush
toilets to these homes in an effort to conserve water.
Utah House,
built at the USU Botanical Center in Kaysville, was built to
educate the public about new ways of building homes and creating
landscapes that promote the principles of sustainability, energy
and water efficiency, healthy indoor environments, universal
design principles, and economic development.
Vashon
Transfer/Recycling Station is a solid waste and recyclable
collection and transfer center in Vashon, Washington. Recycled
flooring, insulation and paint were used to construct the center.
Website includes information on King County's Environmental
Purchasing Program.
Collections
of Green Building Success Stories
AIA Top Ten Green
Projects are selected annually by The American Institute
of Architects Committee on the Environment. Selection is based
on criteria of energy and resource use, site design and community
connection. Winning projects are profiled online.
Built
Green Case Studies, from Kitsap County, Washington,
profile a commercial, a residential and an institutional building
that use recycled and resource-efficient materials.
EnergyValue
Housing Awards, sponsored by the NAHB Research Center,
honor builders who voluntarily integrate energy efficiency into
the design, construction, and marketing of their new homes,
and educate the home building industry and the public about
successful approaches to energy-efficient constuction.
Federal
Energy Management Program (FEMP) Federal Success Stories
provides links to agency and individual winners of awards for
energy efficiency, water conservation, and the use of advanced
and renewable energy technologies.
Green
Building Challenge entries by the United States are
profiled by the US DOE. The US entries in this biennial international
competition have included schools and office buildings. Entries
in the 2002
competition are also described online.
High
Performance Buildings Database, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Energy, seeks to improve building performance
measuring methods by collecting data on various factors that
affect a building’s performance, such as energy, materials,
and land use. The database collects information from buildings
around the world, ranging from homes and commercial interiors
to large buildings and even whole campuses and neighborhoods.
LEED
Registered Projects provides a list of projects nationwide
that have been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council
under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)
Green Building Rating System™. Projects are rated as certified,
silver, gold or platinum level.
National
Green Building Awards are presented annually by the
NAHB Research Center. Six awards honor advocates, builders,
programs and products in the advancement of the green-home building
industry.
Northeast
Green Building Awards profiles the winners of this annual
competition for residential, commercial and student projects.
Winners for 2004 were named in four categories: Places of Learning,
Places of Work,
Places to Live, and Student Projects.
PATH
Field Evaluations , Demonstrations and National Pilot Projects
links to profiles of individual building projects and
developments throughout the U.S. that are applying innovative
building technologies to achieve durability, quality, environmental
performance, energy efficiency and affordability.
Savings by Design is an annual competition that offers energy efficiency integration design awards, co-sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, California Council. Winners are listed online.
Megalinks
to success stories on other sites
Provides links to success stories on a wide variety of sustainable
development topics, including Green Buildings.
Last updated: February 10, 2005
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