Schinnerer's RM Blog - sustainable tag

Gazing into the Future

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:39:00 GMT

“It’s alive, it’s ALIVE.” No, we’re not talking about Frankenstein monsters. We’re talking about the possible next generation of buildings. The SmartPlanet blog recently ran a piece on the future life of buildings and how these buildings will be loaded with sensors that automatically adjust to the environment around them. The Media-ITC building will use “a nitrogen based fog and smart temperature sensors that collect information about the outside environment." The sensors will cause cushions to "adjust, inflate, deflate, and become opaque.” These sensors are only part of a network that monitors the entire building, making it function like it has a living skin. This particular building is only one of many new designs using cutting-edge technology and construction techniques to bring buildings into a modern urban environment.

Green Buildings Surviving Disasters

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:42:00 GMT

The ability of a building to withstand natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes is not currently taken into account by the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system that rewards buildings for being sustainable. However, this may eventually change, as architects have been pointing out that a green building is one that doesn’t have to be rebuilt after a disaster. This is a valid point, due to all of the energy and materials that are necessarily expended during new construction. While it may take years for LEED to incorporate the resiliency of a building into its rating system, LEED does recognize that the ability to withstand disasters is an important aspect of sustainable structures.

Rating System for Civil Infrastructure Projects Released

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:43:00 GMT

The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), an independent non-profit entity set up by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the American Public Works Association (APWA) has released a new infrastructure rating system called Envision™. The new rating system is intended to provide a project assessment tool that analyzes not only how infrastructure projects are delivered but also takes into account how long they last, accounting for durability, flexibility, and utility of the constructed works. According to ISI, the rating system is intended to provide designers, decision-makers and the public with the tools to evaluate and rate infrastructure projects against the needs and values of the community, recognizing efforts that replenish and restore natural resources. The Envision System is intended to evaluate infrastructure throughout its full life with rating systems for design and planning, construction, operations, and decommissioning phases. This initial release of Envision™ addresses the design and planning phase; subsequent phase ratings will follow.

Additional information on the Envision rating system can be found at http://www.sustainableinfrastructure.org/.

Airport Terminal in San Francisco Awarded LEED Gold Certification

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:34:00 GMT

The new Terminal 2 at San Francisco’s International Airport has been awarded LEED™ Gold certification for sustainable building. According to news reports, it is the first airport facility in the United States to achieve the ranking. The terminal cost $383 million and earned the LEED™ Gold certification status because of the many attributes that support green building practices.

Planting Roots for Sustainable Living

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:17:00 GMT

They say that old habits die hard. A Connecticut prep school is taking action to ensure that good habits as they pertain to sustainable living are instilled at a young age. Choate Rosemary Hall, in Wallingford, CT, will open the Kohler Environmental Center next fall. The center was made possible through a $20 million gift from Choate alumnus Herbert Kohler (CEO of Kohler Co), and was designed by Graham Wyatt and Kevin Smith of Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

As reported by Fast Company magazine, the 31,325 LEED Platinum facility will allow students to live there while competing against each other as they attempt to live their daily lives in the most sustainable way, in addition to creating and implementing an environmental project. As Linda Tischler writes:

The challenge is that while they're enjoying their new digs, they will constantly be managing their environment to try and be net zero—that is, they can't consume more energy than the building produces. The building's needs will be provided by a 325-kilowatt photovoltaic array, a roof-mounted solar water-heating system, a geothermal heat pump, a water-recycling system, and waste vegetable oil. Choate is considering installing stationary bikes so students themselves can generate power.

As a member of the Eight Schools Association, Choate is hoping that this experiment will spread to other schools and teach students about how their daily activities impact the environment and how little changes can add up to a big difference.