Jetson Green

One Waterfront Place Going Super Green

Just recently, I noticed news that One Waterfront Place in the River District of Portland has received Platinum precertification under the LEED-CS program.  One Waterfront Place is said to be the first Platinum precertified project on the West Coast and the first precertified project of any level in Oregon.  And, as you can tell with the above rendering, the $100 million, 270,000 sf commercial office building has a posh location right near the river.  The Class A+ building will have a host of green amenities:

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. 

[Video] GM Installing $78 M World's Largest Solar Roof

Earlier this week, GM announced that they were adding the world's largest, rooftop, solar photovoltaic power installation to its car assembly plant located in Zaragoza, Spain (a factory that manufactures Opel vehicles for sale in Europe).   When the project is completed in the fall of 2008, the solar installation will have 85,000 solar panels covering about 2,000,000 sf of roof space.   Bloomberg further reports that the $78.5 million installation will avoid about 7k tons of emissions per year.

Certified Green Homes to Save Coin on Insurance

It looks like the nation's first provider of green insurance coverage for the commercial sector has decided to expand that coverage into the residential sector.  Fireman's Fund Insurance Company will be offering green coverage to homeowners who either own a green home or who want to upgrade their home with green features in the event of a loss.  So in a loss situation, the homeowners can rebuild their home and have it certified under the LEED system. 

Homeowners with green homes will be offered a five percent discount on their insurance premium.  In addition, homeowners will be able to rebuild and replace as follows:

Five Suggestions for Businesses Confronted with Green Fatigue and Green Noise

You may have noticed an article by Alex Williams in the NY Times yesterday entitled "The Era of Green Noise."  The article hits on some trends we're seeing, especially in the green lifestyle area, with people worn out by the green barrage of choices and information.  Green advertising and/or pitches might get a roll of the eyes, or worse, some backlash.  People may just repel and fight against the message.  So businesses are starting to get concerned about the proper way to move forward given this "green fatigue" from the "green noise."

I've been thinking about this and have a few suggestions for businesses that want to keep a quality connection to their customers. 

Nau Examines the Pros and Cons of LEED

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: 

First LEED Certified MLB Stadium [Nationals]

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. 

Nissan's $100 M HQ Goes Green, *Snubs* LEED

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?

Hawaii Gateway Energy Center, a Fascinating Display of Solar Potential

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. 

Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue, a Modern LEED Platinum 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.